Questions Your Corporate Lawyer Should Answer Easily

Corporate lawyers are not working with all types of cases. And you definitely shouldn’t hire just any corporate lawyer — you need a good one that will easily answer all your questions. Visit website of GLG LLP to retain a professional for your case if you already know what you need and what to ask. 

In case you have a startup, run a small business, or own a company that has just recently grown, and still have little experience with corporate lawyers in Canada — here’s all you need to know. 

What a Business Attorney Does

A business attorney provides legal services to the company, which might be related to drafting contracts, resolving disputes, negotiating employee and vendor contracts, handling compliance issues, representing you in court, and even providing advice on a possible merger.

How Do I Choose the Right Lawyer?

A long list of corporate attorneys is available across Canada. Before you start your search for one in your city or town, you should have an idea about the areas of law that your company or business needs for a successful operation.

Questions to Ask Your Corporate Lawyer 

While you definitely can ask them all sorts of questions about your case, both before you start and in the process, there are some questions that will help you determine a good lawyer from the one that is yet to gain experience. Here’s what you can — and probably want — to ask. 

Their Expertise

How long have they been practicing law? Are they specialized in corporate law or general law? Have they worked with businesses like yours before? A good corporate lawyer for your case should tell you that they have at least over a decade of experience, have worked with companies similar to yours in terms of field, size, specialization and budgets, and they definitely specialize in corporate law. 

Red flags: 

• Insufficient experience; 
• They work with only one area of law or many; and
• They work with companies that have nothing in common with your own. 

Corporate lawyers are specialists and their job is to provide legal services to clients in whatever field the lawyer specializes in. General lawyers can take on a case related to the law they specialize in, but when it comes to businesses, you want someone who has experience working with such companies. 

The Process

How much do they cost? In what form will you pay them? Will you have to pay in case of a failure? What are the associated expenses? How many billable hours is your case going to take, at least approximately, in best and worst-case scenarios? 

An experienced business attorney should easily provide you with all the technical details about your future cooperation.

Bad signs: 

• They can’t give you the price; 
• They give you a high price with no explanations of the costs;
• They don’t explain their fee structure or there are hidden costs; and
• They give you an approximate price that later turns out to be wrong. 

Corporate Lawyers in Canada provide their services to companies or businesses on a retainer basis. The more experienced the attorney is, the more you can expect to pay for their services. When it comes to your new business, some minor cases might even be free of charge or paid on a contingency basis, but the most important thing is no hidden fees or costs. The best way to avoid such situations is to know exactly how much you have to pay and in which form, and ask them about everything before signing the contract

What Should Your Corporate Lawyer Ask You? 

Yes, it works in both directions. A good corporate lawyer should at least try to understand your business goals and your field. It’s impossible without asking you some questions, that may include: 

• What exactly do you do?
• What would you like to achieve?
• How much money do you have to spend?
• What’s your deadline?
• Are you ready to negotiate? 
• In case of failure, do you have any backup plan? 

There’s just one type of lawyer that can be worse for your case than a lawyer with no expertise in the field: an indifferent lawyer. How are they going to help you in case they have no idea what your business is about? 

Something’s wrong if: 

• They ask no questions at all; 
• They ask questions about finances only; 
• They spend more time on your shoes, tie, or jewelry than on your business; and
• They ask questions unrelated to business and your goals. 

Do they really understand what you want to achieve? Or they are just doing their job, asking questions required by the law, but without any actual interest in your case, aiming at your money — not victory in your case? If the latter is true, you don’t need a corporate lawyer at all. If it’s not, we already know what type of person you need for your particular case and for your own interests.

Final Advice

Run your business as you wish, achieve your goals as much as possible, and save as much money as you can. But when it comes to the law and your legal interests — spend more on a good corporate lawyer that knows what he or she is doing than on any other legal service. It’s the best way to save money in the end.