Starting a new business brings with it many unique challenges and uncertainties.  You have an outstanding business idea, and you have even secured the start-up capital to get things rolling.  What now?  Within the first year of starting your new business, you will likely have these six legal needs, presented in the order you will probably face them.  While you may be able to go-it-alone on some of these tasks, the assistance of an experienced and competent attorney will no doubt save you in the long run.

#1  Choose an appropriate business structure.

You have probably been told you should incorporate your new business, but which business form should you choose from the many options available under state law?  A lawyer can help you decide whether to operate as a sole proprietorship or form a limited liability company (LLC), a C-corporation, an S-corporation, a general partnership, a limited partnership, or a limited liability partnership.  Each organizational form is unique and offers its own advantages and limitations.  Your attorney will not only help you file the appropriate documents (if needed) but also will help you understand the “formalities” required in the ongoing operations of your new business.

#2  Obtain appropriate state and federal licenses, permits, tax IDs, and approvals.

Once you have established the entity through which your new business will operate, you must collect a host of government approvals.  Your new business will likely need a federal taxpayer ID (known as an EIN number), a state workforce identification number, and various other state approvals applicable to the type of business you are founding.  An attorney will help you identify the list of needed approvals and file the needed forms in the correct and most efficient manner.

#3  Protect your intellectual property rights.

That great idea that sits at the heart of your new business, the one that makes you completely unique from everyone else in your field—is it really yours?  Make sure you have locked down the legal rights both to use your idea and to prevent others from using it!  “Intellectual property” refers not only to your business ideas (like patents for inventions or processes) but also to trademarks for your company name and logo, and to copyrights for the published resources you may produce.  Your attorney can help you analyze the relative costs and train you on methods of protecting these important assets.  He can also help you search public records to make sure someone else has not already secured the rights to something you plan to use.  A diligent search for pre-existing rights could prevent a legal disaster that would torpedo your new business before it even leaves port were you to begin using someone else’s protected intellectual property—even if you developed your concept independently.  This is a good time to secure internet domain names related to your business as an additional means of protecting your new brand identity.

#4  Procure commercial property for your new business.

Not every business will require its own physical location within the first year, but when your business does need a home of its own, your attorney can help you avoid some of the common pitfalls associated with real estate transactions.  Whether you are leasing or purchasing property, make sure you understand the liabilities both to your new company and to you personally.  When dealing with a new business without an established track record, landlords and lending institutions will require the personal guarantee of the business owners on all real estate documents.  Your attorney can explain the ramifications of personal liability and the types of insurance you may want to consider to protect your new business and your family’s assets.

#5  Draft and implement solid human resources policies.

When your new company hires its first employee it is crossing a dramatic legal threshold and entering a whole new world of legal liability.  Most of the rules applicable to employment relationships are not intuitive (in fact, some are downright counter-intuitive!)  How can you sort through the massive amount of misinformation, fear mongering, and over kill to establish a solid core of human resource management policies in this ever-changing arena?  An attorney can help you define employment policies and practices that fit your business model without making life overly complex.  After all, you have a business to run!

#6  Adopt and customize standard contracts and forms.

In its first year, your new business is likely to morph several times before you eventually settle into a sustainable and predictable work flow.  When you throw open the door, I’m sure you do so hoping to attract that first customer!  How will you define the expectations of this new relationship?  Your business will need to develop standard contracts and forms, and your attorney can help you develop an entire library of documents that reflect the unique character of your business and that are designed to protect you from disputes and legal disasters that seem impossible to you right now as you vigorously shake hands with that grinning new customer…  Rather than adopting “stock” contracts you found on a CD you purchased from an office supply store, you need something that is written to enhance your company’s standing in the relationship.

Your new business already faces extreme challenges in its formative stage of development.  Don’t make the mistake of neglecting these essential legal issues—and don’t try to do it alone!  A “can-do” attorney will help you design solutions that will protect your new company and grow with it as it matures into a profitable business.