New Market, MD, Business Lawyer

For many people, working for someone else quickly loses its allure. Being your own boss, especially in a place as nice as New Market, MD, appeals for several reasons. You can make your own decisions, work when you want to and benefit directly and proportionately from the proceeds of your own endeavors. However, there’s more to any business than simply following your passion. While many business owners will gladly work slavishly to pursue that which excites them, there are still many tasks that entrepreneurs and business owner would rather avoid. Corporate compliance, legal contracts, workplace disputes and other legal duties are best handled by specialists.

While it is true that business owners remain responsible for everything from paying the rent to ensuring customers are fully satisfied, you can ease some of the burden of all this responsibility by enlisting a New Market, MD, area business lawyer to advise you about your rights and obligations as a business owner. Your attorney can also help you devise strategies for expansion or diversification, and they will support you with every significant challenge you face as you grow.

Rebekah Lusk and Steven Bright of Lusk Law, LLC are not just business lawyers near New Market, MD. They are also small business owners themselves. They own and operate a horse boarding facility in Union Bridge, MD and own rental properties in Frederick, MD. Rebekah and Steven understand the challenges that come with business ownership. They seek to build long-lasting relationships with clients so that they can help them to grow and prosper.

What Does a New Market Business Lawyer Do?

“Business” can be defined as coordinated activities which promote goods or services to customers in exchange for financial recompense. The term is broad enough to encompass solo entrepreneurs working from home and global enterprises with hundreds of outlets or offices and tens of thousands of employees.

Regardless of their size or complexity, all businesses have obligations, mandatory requirements, and a need for legal representation. When a business lawyer takes on a new client, they get to know their business inside and out, as well as becoming familiar with owners’ hopes and aspirations, concerns, and ongoing needs.

A business lawyer working near New Market will draft vital documents to help a business start, creating contracts for business services, employment, and other vital functions. When disputes arise, a business lawyer will advocate for the owner. Should there be arguments over contracts, or disputes over overdue invoice payments, a business lawyer will step in to represent their client’s interests.

When Do I Need a New Market, MD Business Lawyer?

You might enlist a New Market area business lawyer right from the beginning, as you develop the core idea which will form the foundation of your business. This is especially important if your business plan relies upon intellectual property, trade secrets or protecting a unique business model. Your business lawyer will help prepare for the pitfalls you may face in realizing your dream. Obtaining legal advice and representation early in the process can mitigate problems further downstream.

Furthermore, even if you’re in the thick of a dispute or legal difficulty, it’s never too late to enlist a New Market, MD, business lawyer to help represent your interests. Speak to an attorney as soon as possible to avoid stressful disputes, financial consequences and missed deadlines.

How Can a Business Lawyer Serving New Market Help Me?

A business lawyer serving the New Market area can help you in a host of different ways. Beyond legal duties, they can also introduce you to third parties better suited to assist with specific needs.

Business Formation

It’s not mandatory to form a business structure, such as a corporation, to run a business. An informal business structure like a sole proprietorship or general partnership has advantages for some people. There’s often less paperwork to file, for instance.

However, going it alone as a sole proprietor leaves you personally liable for any business debts. A corporation, limited liability company (LLC), or other formal business entity protects you from liability, but it might involve more paperwork. A business attorney in the New Market, MD, area can advise you about the best way to organize your business and file all the necessary papers, in exemplary detail, and well in advance of crucial deadlines.

Corporate Governance

When a business is owned by two or more people, it is important to set clear protocols for decision-making, and to have legal documentation in place to limit disputes. Disagreements are inevitable, but rancorous arguments are not. When business owners disagree on the best course of action, having agreements in place for what happens next is vital. Take profit sharing, for instance (a common subject of disagreement):  A business lawyer can limit disputes by drawing up partnership or stakeholder agreements and corporate governance documentation to help clarify what happens next when interests are not aligned. These formal arrangements mean that your business continues to run smoothly until an equitable solution is reached.

Business Contracts

A business relies on relationships with vendors, landlords, employees, customers, and other parties in order to function. Maintaining these relationships is often a case of ensuring that the business owner’s rights and interests, plus those of third parties are protected. Your New Market, MD, area business lawyer will identify where such contracts are required and will draft effective agreements.

Business Licenses

Depending on state, county or city laws, your business might need to obtain certain licenses or certificates to operate. Your business attorney in the New Market area can advise you on what is required and assist you with completing the paperwork on schedule.

Labor and Employment

When you’re starting up, you’ll probably be an employee of your own business. Later, as your business grows, you will need employment agreements and policy manuals for your employees. Your New Market, MD, area business attorney can help you prepare for obligations and claims under laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Risk Management and Safety Compliance

Your business attorney in the New Market area can help you identify, manage, and mitigate many of the legal risks you’ll encounter, in line with all current legislation. They will help you understand your obligations to maintain a safe and accessible workplace in compliance with legislation, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Business Financing

When it comes to expanding your business, branching out or making a capital investment, you may need to obtain business finance. You will need guidance from your attorney as you bring new investors into the fold, since these relationships may affect issues of ownership or governance. This is one area where your New Market area business lawyer will prove essential.

Mergers, Acquisitions, Reorganizations, and Sales

As your business grows, there may be an opportunity to acquire another company or to merge your business with another. Perhaps business reorganization or restructuring would be beneficial, such as converting a partnership into a corporation. Alternatively, you may receive an offer to buy your business that is simply too good to refuse. In each of these scenarios, the advice and advocacy of a business lawyer are indispensable.

Business Taxes

Businesses often pay different taxes than individuals and families. Depending on how your business operates, you could owe multiple types of taxes to the IRS and the Comptroller of Maryland. Your New Market, MD, business lawyer can assist you with understanding the kinds of tax liabilities to expect.

Succession Planning

Business owners are responsible for every aspect of their business’s operations. As you grow, you will develop many relationships with employees, vendors, clients, and other third parties. A network of reliance develops, as these individuals come to depend upon your business’s operating smoothly. Planning for illness, incapacity or worse can help put everyone’s mind at ease. Succession planning ensures that the business thrives when you move on. Your lawyer will help you draft a plan for who remains in charge if you are no longer around.

Civil Litigation

There are several reasons why business lawsuits may occur. Employees sue with allegations of unpaid salaries, worker safety violations or unfair dismissal, for instance. A vendor might launch a lawsuit for alleged contract breaches. A customer could even sue based on allegations of a lack of product safety. There are many more unpredictable scenarios like this, for which you’ll need support.

Joining forces with a skilled business lawyer near New Market, MD, gives you a powerful advocate for your rights in the case of a lawsuit being filed against you. Your lawyer can also file on your behalf against a third party with whom you are in dispute. They will either work toward settlement or fight on your behalf in court. By hiring an attorney, you may avoid many lawsuits before they’re even initiated. By drafting foolproof contracts and other documents, and by complying with all relevant legislation, your lawyer protects you against frivolous claims.

Get Help from New Market, MD, Area Business Lawyer at Lusk Law, LLC

Rebekah Lusk and Steven Bright are experienced business attorneys near New Market, MD, and advocates for life’s obstacles and opportunities. The team at Lusk Law, LLC is dedicated to helping businesses and business owners face a wide range of challenges.

Attorney Rebekah Damen Lusk

Attorney Rebekah LuskRebekah Damen Lusk is the Owner at Lusk Law, LLC. Rebekah brings personal experiences as a small business owner, real estate investor and landlord to the task of practicing law and working with clients. Her practice includes civil litigation, business, employment, landlord/tenant, real estate, family, equine and animal law. [ Attorney Bio ]

Protect Yourself from Unfair Contracts

Our Maryland Business Lawyers Can Help Protect You Against Unfair Contracts As a business owner, you will enter into a number of contracts -- leases, supplier agreements, employment contracts,…

What Is the MD Consumer Protection Act – And How Does It Affect You?

If you live in Maryland and have been the victim of an unscrupulous landlord, service provider, or seller of consumer goods, you have a powerful tool to help you…