Educate Yourself About Law

The Work Of Commercial Lawyers

by Erika Reed

A commercial lawyer is your best bet when your business has litigation issues. Unfortunately, most businesspeople do not know when they need the services of commercial lawyers. This extract details some of the services offered by commercial lawyers in Australia. 

Evaluating Compliance 

Is your business compliant with local and international regulations? This question bothers most businesspeople. Unfortunately, they lack the legal knowledge needed to make these assessments. A commercial lawyer has in-depth knowledge of government regulations and industry best practices. As such, they evaluate your business operations to know whether you flout tax regulations, workers' welfare laws, customer rights, import conventions and production or manufacturing laws.

Consequently, they recommend the best course of action if you have disregarded these laws. For example, they could recommend self-reporting if the business has evaded tax in the past. Alternatively, the lawyer could ask you to streamline your operations to prevent litigation in the future. 

Drafting Contracts 

A commercial lawyer's expertise comes in handy when drafting business contracts. Ideally, the lawyer helps you; 

  • Evaluate your business interests to ensure they are well addressed in the agreement.
  • Ensure the contract meets the required legal standards. For instance, absurd clauses and coercion are grounds to void the contract.
  • Determine the conditions for contract termination if you wish to break off your relationship with the other party.
  • Establish suitable contract amendment conditions to ensure the document can be adjusted to suit changing situations. 

Negotiating Partnerships 

Your business will partner with local communities, clients, financial institutions, suppliers and distributors. Your commercial lawyer helps negotiate these partnerships to ensure they do not affect your profit margin or brand image. For instance, if you intend to use celebrity advertising to boost your brand image, the lawyer conducts background checks to determine if the proposed celebrity is the right fit. Moreover, they draft a code of conduct that compels the individual to avoid activities that could negatively affect your brand. For example, your brand image could suffer severe damage if the individual makes racist or sexist remarks. 

Safeguarding Intellectual Property 

Does your business own intellectual property? For instance, you could want rights to own some of the products you manufacture. Securing patents for such items can be a nerve-wracking process that is best handled by a commercial lawyer. The lawyer contacts government agencies and justifies why you need a patent for the product. Once this happens, the lawyer can help you secure licencing deals that allow other parties to manufacture the product and pay loyalties to your business. 

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