Franchisee Attorneys Start Your Franchise Experience off Right

Before You Purchase a Franchise Franchise law firms help people make sound franchise investments while helping them understand legal vulnerabilities that can arise with franchise ownership. If you work with a franchise attorney before purchasing your franchise, you have a much better chance of your franchise being successful. Franchise attorneys take a long view, helping clients foresee potential legal problems and head them off before they can occur. Regulatory, Business Plan, and Contract Review One of the most important things franchise lawyers do is performing a regulatory review of the franchisor. By learning about past or pending complaints against a franchisor, your franchise lawyer can help you choose a franchise wisely. By reviewing your business plan, your franchise attorney can point out vulnerabilities and potential legal problems. He or she will thoroughly review your franchise contract before you sign it and make sure you understand it. Funding, Costs, and Income Franchises can be terrific business opportunities, and franchise law firms can go over your funding, cost, and income projections to help you determine exactly how much money you need to get started and to understand the various methods of raising capital, whether it's borrowing from family, using savings, or selling off investments. Another great service provided by trusted franchisee attorneys is helping you calculate anticipated income realistically so there are fewer surprises down the road Risk-Benefit Assessment Franchise attorneys can help you find a competent accountant to prepare income and expense statements for your proposed franchise, using all financial data available. Experienced franchise lawyers can also provide general franchise guidance about common questions such as how long franchise terms last, what royalties are standard, and what kind of reputation the franchisor has if possible. Knowledge is power, and nowhere is this truer than when purchasing a franchise. Franchise Litigation Franchise litigation can sometimes be avoided by engaging competent legal help from the beginning, but when litigation occurs, an experienced franchise attorney is there to protect your rights by working to stop wrongful franchise terminations and determining whether you have grounds for suing your franchisor. If you're the defendant in a franchise lawsuit, he or she should aggressively defend your rights in court.

The Business Litigation Lawyer and Your Long Term Business Plan

Contact a Commercial Litigation Attorney Before You Have a Legal Problem Billions of dollars per year change hands due to business litigation disputes. When you run a business, you have to anticipate unforeseen circumstances, and one way to prepare yourself is to contact a business litigation lawyer before you have a legal problem. Whether you run a small professional business or a huge multinational corporation you're wise to have legal representation on your side so you'll be prepared if a legal problem arises. Breach of Contract Cases Breach of contract cases are exactly what they sound like: cases where someone has not lived up to the terms of a business contract. Every state has rules for contract interpretation, and your best approach to protecting your rights is engaging a competent, experienced commercial litigation attorney. Examples of contracts that may be breached include construction contracts, vendor agreements, partnership agreements, and real estate contracts. Franchise Litigation Franchise cases occur between franchisors and franchisees and often have to do with disclosure (or nondisclosure) of information under Federal Trade Commission franchise regulations. Franchise cases often focus on breaches of franchise agreements, trademark or copyright infringement, fraud, and sales of unregistered franchises. If you plan to purchase a franchise, having the guidance of a franchise attorney can save you a lot of legal headaches. Fraud and Misrepresentation Business professionals, business owners, and ordinary consumers may be victims of business fraud. Business fraud may involve fraud between multiple businesses, or it may involve a business-consumer relationship. Breach of warranty, investment fraud, partnership disputes, and real estate fraud are all examples of fraud and misrepresentation. You need competent legal representation to protect your rights whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant. Business Disputes Business disputes can often be solved without resorting to litigation. And when a lawsuit is filed, the case may well be resolved before going to trial. The key to navigating any type of business dispute is working with experienced, competent business litigators who know the law inside and out. Your business is a big part of your life, and you deserve the best possible representation in a business dispute.

Does a Small Business Need an Intellectual Property Lawyer?

Intellectual Property in the News Intellectual property is a subject that makes the news frequently these days. Whether it's Apple versus Samsung, or a case with a much lower profile, courtrooms are seeing an increase in intellectual property cases. The fact is business success today depends heavily on intellectual property, including branding and trademarks. If you're in business, you have a stake in intellectual property rights, whether you know it or not. Startup Businesses and Intellectual Property Many successful startups today are built on software innovations, but even if your new business isn't tech-related, you owe it to yourself and your investors to have an intellectual property lawyer review your business methods to determine whether any are patentable. There are time limits for filing patents, and the process can be expensive. However, in some cases obtaining a patent can be critical to your success. Speaking with an intellectual property attorney early in the life of your business can be a wise move. The "Useful, Concrete, and Tangible" Definition Before 1998, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office didn't grant patents for business methods, but they do now. Today, with new online and software companies coming up with completely new ways of doing business, this is an important protection. Patent laws protect any method as long as the method creates a "useful, concrete, and tangible" result. An example of a patented business method would be Amazon's single-click ordering system. Costs of Patenting Business Methods The cost of obtaining a patent must be weighed against the benefits. While you can obtain a patent without an intellectual property attorney, the time and effort involved can be prohibitive for someone with a business to run. With a patent attorney, costs can run to several thousand dollars. However, speaking with an attorney is highly advisable if you think you have a business method to patent. Protecting Your Intellectual Property If you own a business built on your own intellectual property, it's important that you learn the value of things like non-disclosure agreements and methods to search out patent and copyright infringers. Working with a lawyer from the beginning is the best way to ensure that your intellectual property rights are protected.