Corporate lawyers are one of your most useful advisors. Guides that traverse their way through confusing mazes using their specialised knowledge, and give you confidence every step of the way.
A bad guide would leave yourself lost. Or maybe they wouldn’t provide you the most efficient experience. The right corporate lawyer improves business efficiency and creates profits down the line.
But how can you find the right one? We’re providing you four key questions you can ask as your path in finding the perfect corporate lawyer. Keep these questions in your mind when browsing for corporate lawyers through LawPath’s lawyer directory.
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1. What is your experience as a corporate lawyer?
Corporate lawyers work within a wide range of areas. They include:
- Mergers and acquisitions;
- Contracts;
- Litigation;
- Corporate directors;
- Dispute resolution, and;
- Corporate governance.
These duties may extend far further than you ever thought you’d needed. It’s important that you hire a corporate lawyer with relevant experience in your area of need. If you’re looking at corporate governance for example, there’s little point engaging a lawyer that specialises in dispute resolution.
This question also lets you know if your lawyer has handled any similar cases. You can get a better understanding of likely legal outcomes, costs and your commitment to the matter heading forward.
You will also have more information about the types of clients the lawyer deals with. Corporate lawyers engage with a wide variety of businesses. You may want to consider having a corporate lawyer who deals with businesses that are a similar size to yours.
You may want to first consult a business lawyer if you want to deal with smaller matters.
2. Who will work with you on my issue?
There’s a warning here. The lawyer you choose may not be the only, or even main, person behind your matter. Lawyers are extremely busy people who rarely work alone on a case. Law firms in particular have teams of junior and senior staff who handle a case together.
Regardless, you want to ensure that the person you’re hiring is doing the majority of the work, or enough that you feel comfortable with. After all, you aren’t responsible for the other members on their team.
3. How will you help me moving forward?
You may expect a certain type of communication with your lawyer depending on your legal matter. Whether constantly through phone, or infrequently via email, it is important to set expectations for how, and when you would like to be in touch with your lawyer. There’s no point hiring a lawyer who is unavailable when you need their advice the most. Further, you may want your lawyer to review the work they’ve done at the end of the year and see if anything else is required.
It’s also worth thinking about future corporate law issues. The lawyer that you select today should be the one you trust to deal with your matters moving forward. Lawyers are close partners to your business objectives so it’s essential to get the right one as quickly as possible.
Even if your preferred lawyer doesn’t have the expertise you need for future issues, they can still provide recommended lawyers to you and save time in searching for a new one. If you ever need help with corporate directors for example, your lawyer can suggest one which fits your style.
4. What are the legal costs?
A corporate lawyer can do wonders for your finances. However, you also don’t want spend so much that hiring a lawyer puts you in the negative. Legal fees add up fast, so get a good grasp of how much they cost before you commit to doing anything.
There are two common ways lawyers accept payment.
Billable hours
Billable hours are when the lawyer charges for every hour spent on your issue. You should try and get an idea of how many hours the lawyer expects to take. Keep in mind that even a short five minute conversation can add much more than that into your final charge.
Flat fee
A flat fee can provide a better idea of what you’re paying. The flat fee, however, may not cover all legal costs such as filing in court.
You can connect with a corporate lawyer using LawPath’s lawyer directory. You can also learn more about how lawyers charge clients by reading our legal guide on how much you should pay a lawyer.
Conclusion
A corporate lawyer can give the legal boost to your business heading forward. This guide gives you four questions that keep you on track to find the perfect lawyer to deal with your matter. You can search LawPath’s lawyer directory to find a corporate lawyer today.
Need a corporate lawyer? Contact a LawPath consultant on 1800 529 728 to learn more about customising legal documents, obtaining a fixed-fee quote from our lawyer marketplace or any other legal needs.
