Back to Basics: What Your Business Attorney Wants You To Know

1. Don’t Be Embarrassed, Part 1

You are good at fixing cars or websites or mangled QuickBooks entries. I am good at fixing contracts and missing paperwork. It is actually smart for you to concentrate on what you do best and outsource the rest. Whatever mistakes or omissions you’ve made, I’ve seen them before. I actually have a form file called “Clean-up Minutes” for clients who are behind on their annual meetings of shareholders and directors.

2. Don’t Be Embarrassed, Part 2

You know that old favorite, “There is no such thing as a dumb question”? It’s true. As your business attorney, I am here to facilitate your interaction with all things legal. Just as I wouldn’t know a manifold from a marigold, I don’t expect you to understand the difference between an S-Corp and an LLC. Ask as many questions as you want, as many times as you need until you either understand or are comfortable with me taking care of it.

3. Don’t Be Embarrassed, Part 3

Whatever your current situation, it helps to tell me the entire truth. Have you helped a client who didn’t know they were supposed to rotate their tires, accidentally erased their hard drive, or didn’t understand double-entry accounting (two of these three are true stories)? If people could do all this themselves, you wouldn’t have customers. Same with business attorneys. We like to be needed. We like to help you succeed. We can’t do that if we don’t have the whole picture.