Every business needs a lawyer to keep legal matters in check and to ensure that everything is legally running smooth. There are many legal matters that require a thorough insight and explanation but there are matters on the other end of this spectrum as well. Such issues can be solved in one word – yes or no. You don’t need a big document explaining why yes or why no. If your lawyer does not draw the line, he is either not experienced enough or he is taking advantage of you.
In order to avoid too much lawyering, which wastes too much time and patience, and not to mention money, you have to take a stand. Depending completely on the lawyer and going by everything he says will work against you, which is why you have to start playing a very important role in legal matters as well. Don’t be under the impression that lack of legal knowledge (academically and professionally) makes you weak. You only have to brush up the basics and be aware.
To help you accomplish this listed below are a few pointers that will help you:
Be Active
In many cases, bad lawyering comes into play because the lawyer is not able to understand what the client wants or needs. When this happens, they do not weigh the parameters and work assuming everything that is going on is highly important. To eliminate this, you should be active and involved. This will help you understand negotiations and dynamics. You will also be able to identify when your lawyer is fighting over something that is not even important, thereby advising him to stop.
Always Make An Effort To Understand
Just like your lawyer, if you fail to understand what is going wrong you will make bad decisions as well. Before any deal is finalized you should be sure that you have a hang of it. Otherwise you will fall into a trap. Thinking that as long as your lawyer knows everything you are fine is also wrong – you own the business, he doesn’t. You know your business, he doesn’t.
Be Straight Forward
Do not hide anything even if it is bad because once your lawyer knows about these things, he will be able to solve them. However, if you hide them, they will rot to worsen. Moreover, an uninformed lawyer will make the worst decisions and give you bad advice.
Be Prepared
Things can go wrong every now but the incidence of this will increase if you don’t get involved. Sometimes you will have to be in the midst of things to understand and to avoid miscommunication. This will cause you to spend time and patience but it is worth it when compared to the consequences you will face if you don’t.
Therefore, in order to avoid too much lawyering and depending on your lawyer too much, you should be active and involved in all matters.
Entrepreneurial Learning
Many businesses end up spending too much money and time on legal issues because they are not informed about what is going on. More often than not, lawyers end up taking advantage or take bad decisions because you don’t give them enough information. Eliminate such issues by being open and involved.