Employment law is a complex subject that many employers hope they will never grapple with. However, it is an important part of business law, and to protect your business from wrongful claims, you will need to understand how it works – or work with a lawyer who understands.

Claims from current or former employees against your business can cause much damage. For example, some things to consider when facing these claims include financial liability, damage to the reputation of your business, and the disruption of your day-to-day operations. Even if you don’t have to change the way you do things immediately, the emotional toll of such claims may cause decreased productivity across your team.

It is a shock to the system, and employers rarely see it coming. While no one wants to think they need to prepare for such claims, having a business lawyer in your corner can help you with litigation and representation should employment law issues arise.

The negotiation process, in business law, happens when two or more parties have opposing interests as far as what should be done and attempt to work it out. If the negotiation is successful, the dispute will be resolved, and there will be a clear path forward that all parties are satisfied with. If the negotiation is unsuccessful, further legal actions may need to be taken before a resolution can be reached.

When issues arise with your business that could be taken to court, mediation allows everyone involved to avoid the expansive stress and expense of a formal court appearance. In mediation, each side of a dispute sits down with a neutral party to try to reach a settlement that meets everyone’s needs.

While everyone may still not get what they want with a mediation process, people can sometimes get a more desirable outcome and have a less stressful time getting there. Even if it’s likely that an issue will end up as a more significant legal process, starting with mediation is often a good idea to at least make an effort to avoid any severe legal consequences.

Contract disputes usually occur when one or more parties are found or believed to be in breach of their contract. To be in breach of contract, an individual or business must have failed to do what they agreed to do in the contract without any legitimate legal excuse.

Some breaches of contract are considered minor, such as whether an item was delivered on time or not when hard deadlines were not previously specified. However, other breaches of contract may be considered material, such as a party failing to deliver the correct product or not delivering any product. Whether the breach is minor or material will significantly impact how it is handled and what is considered a fair resolution to the issue.

Some contracts will have clauses in them regarding how disputes should be managed. For example, some may state that issues below a certain dollar amount must be resolved through arbitration. Because these details can be easy to miss in the heat of the moment, it’s valuable to take the time to have a lawyer for business contract law review your contract before you take any steps that may violate it.

Partnership disputes and the litigation process that follows usually involve two or more business partners that wish to dissolve their business relationship due to differing goals and opinions. Sometimes, these disputes can be resolved with strategies like mediation, but other times litigation may be required.

Either way, it’s important to be able to work with professionals in the business and corporate law industry to ensure that the process is as streamlined and painless as possible for everyone involved.

One-way business partners may choose to separate by having one or more business partners buy out the partner or partners that would like to leave the business. This process can be somewhat lengthy and often involves a valuation, a timeline for the buyers to pay out the sellers, and any other relevant information about the exit of some business partners.

While this process can sometimes happen amicably between business partners, even when that is the case, it’s still a good idea to consult with a business lawyer to ensure that everything done is both agreeable to all parties and following all applicable laws.

There are many real estate and property disputes. Still, we will go over two of the most relevant types for entrepreneurs: commercial disputes between landlords and tenants and commercial disputes between co-owners and/or co-tenants of the same property.

In the case of commercial disputes between landlords and tenants, there are a few areas for disagreement. 

• Dilapidation disputes usually involve the state of a rented property at the end of the lease. For example, tenants are usually responsible for the basic upkeep of a commercial rented property. Still, disagreements about basic upkeep vs. normal wear and tear may lead to a dilapidation dispute. 
• Rent arrears are a way for a landlord to pursue payments from the current or former tenant that were not paid on time.

While these aren’t the most common applications of business and corporate law, they are important disputes to be aware of should you ever find yourself in a difficult situation as a tenant or landlord.

Suppose you are concerned about whether your current landlord or tenant is following their contract and all applicable laws or other legal real estate matters. In that case, your best bet is to meet with a business attorney that can advise you on the matter.

In an ideal world, business dissolutions would only happen amicably between the entrepreneurs that started the business, but that isn’t always the case. A business may face involuntary dissolution if it fails to pay its taxes. Another scenario where a company may face involuntary dissolution is when the shareholders cannot agree on whether the company should be dissolved or not, resulting in unresolvable disputes within a business.

Wherever a given business may be on this spectrum, from an amicable, planned dissolution to an involuntary dissolution due to an unforeseen circumstance, a business dissolution lawyer can help entrepreneurs and shareholders wrap up their time in business efficiently, with minimal damage.

While this isn’t always the first step in forming a business, it is undoubtedly one of the earliest. For a business to manage taxes properly and be seen as legitimate in some industries, it must be recognized by the government as a specific type of business. While many different types of businesses exist, each of which has its pros and cons, it’s reasonable to expect that one of the first legal actions you will take as an entrepreneur will be to file for legal recognition as a business.

Even once you’ve filed all the legal documents needed for your business to be recognized as a legal entity, there is more you can do to protect yourself from liability down the line – or put yourself at risk.

For example, can you keep your business and personal finances separate? If not, that co-mingling could cause problems for your business in the long run. Signing documents as an individual while acting as a business executing paperwork can also cause problems down the line.

Suppose you are concerned that you need to maximize your liability protections or may even be putting yourself at risk. In that case, it’s essential to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible to learn what choices are best for you and your business.

Contract disputes aren’t the only time to consider hiring a lawyer to be involved in your contracts. Having your lawyer involved in all contracts regarding your business from the beginning can help ensure that your contracts are efficient, enforceable, and clear to everyone involved. Business contracts are often long and may include legal jargon and wording that is not easy for laypeople to understand. Having an attorney review these contracts for you, and ensure that they are in your best interest before you sign them, can save you a lot of stress and frustration later on.

Appellate practice involves representing a specific person or entity through an appeals process. An appeals process is usually initiated because one or more parties believe that an initial judgment in the matter was incorrect. Thus, they wish to seek an opportunity to present their case to a higher court that can undo the initial judgment if they agree that it was incorrect.

While going through the appeals process is not ideal, it can be made easier by having an expert lawyer who can guide you through it and ensure that you know your options at every stage of the appeals process.