For many small businesses, hiring a lawyer is an expense that they simply can't afford. Matters such as capital, salaries, marketing and production take priority, and there is no budget left for hiring additional consultants such as lawyers unless there is a problem. Unfortunately, this mindset has led many business owners to a lot of trouble because of making uninformed decisions that led to breaking the law. Here are four ways a commercial lawyer can help your business and keep you on the right side of the law.

Corporate Governance 

For most people, the services of a lawyer end after they get their company registered or incorporated. Unfortunately, there are many legal requirements that a business has to undertake in its lifetime and many people don't know them. Most companies are required to have annual directors, shareholders, and partners meeting as well as document their correct financial statements. Failure to do these things can lead to legal problems if the company faces a lawsuit in future.

Register and Protect Intellectual Property

Do you have a unique way you do things, and you need that process to be protected? Are there distinctive goods and services that make your business what it is? Do you have unique creations such as software and vessel hull designs? All these are things that need to be protected under intellectual property law so that no one else will steal them and benefit from your ideas and inventions. Unless you know the rules of intellectual property, it can be hard to know what to file and what to protect, so a commercial lawyer will come in handy.

Dealing with Employees

Other than paying their salaries and ensuring they have the right tools to do their work, there is a lot more that goes into dealing with employees. For example, what do you do when an employee is not performing, and they need to be fired? Sometimes you may also need to retrench some people for financial reasons. There are also secret processes and skills that employees know, so you need to ensure they don't leak that information when they leave the company. A commercial lawyer will give the company advice regarding all these employee issues, so there is no legal liability.

Granted, hiring a full-time commercial attorney is not cheap but neither are lawsuits. Many law firms can help you with all your legal requirements on need basis when you retain them, and that is cheaper than employing a lawyer on a full-time basis.