Commercial lawyers are able to offer expert advice on a wide range of business-related issues to firms of all sizes. They are not only for large multinational corporations. Family firms and medium-sized companies can benefit too.
What commercial lawyers can help with
Finding a good firm of commercial lawyers in Sydney is important because they play a crucial supporting role in resolving disputes and making sure your business keeps running smoothly. Obviously, drafting contracts is central to their role. But they can help in the following areas and more:
- dealing with industry-specific regulations (e.g. pharmaceuticals)
- franchising your business,
- construction projects,
- manufacturing,
- logistics,
- communicating and complying with the government.
What makes a good commercial lawyer
While a lawyer can act on your behalf in these areas, especially when it comes to drafting contracts and correspondence, a lot of their value to you in a management role will be their ability to translate legal jargon and complex legislation into plain English that you can understand, and then explain specifically how it affects your situation.
It goes without saying that a good commercial lawyer also keeps things above board, including their own conduct. This means that they avoid or at least notify you of any conflicts of interest they have, and that they make every effort to ensure your data and any trade secrets are kept secure.
They will also be on the ball when it comes to reviewing agreements, making sure that no details are overlooked that could lead to costly mistakes later. And of course, sometimes things just don’t go smoothly. An ideal commercial lawyer will be ready with some solutions and essential tactics for managing a crisis.
Then there are some things that will separate really great commercial lawyers from the merely good ones. These are things like:
- having specialist knowledge in your industry,
- being proactive, seeing what legal headwinds may be down the road and giving you advice on how to avoid them,
- being aligned with your business values and long-term goals.
Finding the right commercial lawyer
Hiring a lawyer as a business is not difficult, however, there is one major thing you need to do first. That is to define your problem.
Commercial lawyers may play a major supporting role in your business, but they will never know it better than you. Before seeking them out, be clear about what you need their advice for. For example: do you want advice on opening a new factory, or are you looking for an ironclad contract to protect you against a client you’re unsure about?
Once that is done, you can start your search. Focus on looking for the qualities outlined above, such as excellent industry knowledge and values like yours. Probably the main addition you will want to make to this criteria is a proven track record. You want a lawyer who has a history of great outcomes with businesses like yours. Be sure to look at reviews and to ask them for examples of their previous work and client case studies.
The right commercial lawyer can help give your business the confidence going into the future that it needs to grow and evolve. Following these tips will ensure that you choose wisely.
