What do business law firms do, anyway?
There are so many different types of lawyers, including business law firms. When you’re trying to figure out what you need, all of the areas of focus can make your head spin. Instead of trying to make your best guess, let us break it down for you. Here are two of the primary areas of focus of business law attorneys:
#1: Business Litigation Attorneys
When it comes to business attorneys and what they do, one of the primary areas of focus is litigation. Litigation is when an attorney takes a case or lawsuit and represents it through the judicial system. It can include working with attorneys for the other side to come to a settlement or defending a business in court.
When you’re picturing a litigation attorney, picture what you see on TV. The reality is they do spend time in court, but they spend significantly more time preparing their case. Preparation includes interviewing the client, interviewing witnesses, doing research, reviewing documents, analyzing all information related to the case, and working with the opposing counsel. Sometimes all of this can lead to an out-of-court settlement, and sometimes it ends up going to trial.
#2: Business Transactional Attorneys
Business attorneys that focus on the transactional aspect of their clients’ cases almost never spend time in a courtroom. Transactional attorneys spend their time advising and counseling their clients on legal issues related to the operation of their business. This can include anything from drafting contracts to real estate acquisition. It focuses heavily on negotiations and creating documentation that supports the clients and their business. They work to protect their clients before they have the chance to face legal issues.
The Areas of Focus of Business Law Firms
Business law attorneys have a wide range of areas of focus, whether their focus is litigation or transactional law. Then most common include the following:
- Fraud: fraud cases can involve contracts, false advertising, disparagement of competitors, fraudulent conveyance (the act of hiding assets from creditors), fixed bids, insurance fraud, fees hidden from the consumer, kickbacks, misrepresentation, and financial fraud
- Real estate: real estate issues that require an attorney include adverse possession, boundary disputes, the disclosure of defects, easement issues, foreclosures, evictions, challenges to land titles, agreement disputes, lending litigation, damage to property, mortgage disputes, insurance claims, and zoning disputes
- Breach of contract: breach of contract issues most often involves non-performance or incompetency. A resolution requires either action through the court, mediation, or contract cancellation
- Construction: construction litigation issues can include change orders, collection and payment disputes, contracts, defect claims, work delays or stoppages, insurance, permit disputes, license disputes, personal injury claims, property damage, and warranty claims
There numerous ways to practice law, but attorneys that focus on business and commercial cases have experience handling the specific needs of their business-owner clients.
Click to learn more about business law firms and how they can help your business by contacting the Wilbanks Law Firm, P.C. online.