- Use a business lawyer, not an accountant or Internet service, to set up your business.
- Instead of going it on your own or misusing a form, use a business lawyer to draft your sales contracts or terms and conditions in a manner consistent with the business risks your company is willing to accept.
- If you believe that a dispute is developing. call a lawyer before the lawsuit is filed.
Unfortunately, machinery and equipment companies, perhaps more than other companies, often call after a problem develops. Why? One word: Engineers.
Machinery and equipment companies are typically run by engineers. Engineers are wonderful people: They design and build real things -- things that benefit all of us. They understand difficult subjects, such as math and science. They often have soaring imaginations, allowing them to build things the rest of us cannot even imagine.
All the qualities that make engineers such engaging and important people tend to make them, as a group, challenging to represent. Being talented and intelligent, they tend to overestimate their ability to deal with legal issues on their own and often try to represent themselves, which can be damaging. They also may call later than the optimal time. Further, engineers tend to deal with issues that are black and white, while legal issues are every shade of gray. This means that the "intuitive" answer to a legal issue for an engineer may be incorrect.
So there you go, guys. If you want to save money on legal fees, call early. If you can!