Looking for Skilled Business Lawyers in Orlando, Florida?

If you decide to hire someone to manage your business, their responsibilities as well as their rights need to be clearly specified.

Few people going into business in the state of Florida understand the complexity of their undertaking. No matter if you want to launch a tech startup or to open a small production facility, you’ll be faced with an impossible number of contracts and agreements you need to sign. The signing part is easy, but it can also destroy your business if you don’t pay attention to the documents in front of you.

The best way to avoid costly mistakes is to get legal counsel from reliable Orlando business lawyers. Their experience can prove invaluable at a time you’re just starting out. Not only can they advise on the contracts you’re already working on, but they can also point out the need for contracts and agreements you weren’t even considering.

Let’s start with the very practical issue of money. If you need to take out a loan to purchase property, equipment or raw materials, you have two options. You can go to a bank or you can get a loan from a private person or company. Either way, you should have an experienced Florida business lawyer check out the terms and conditions, including the fine print most people don’t bother with, to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. The loan agreement needs to be very clear when it comes to interest rates, payment schedule or penalties. Any confusion in terms can ruin your business.

Management contracts are another delicate issue. If you decide to hire someone to manage your business, their responsibilities as well as their rights need to be clearly specified. This refers to their day to day responsibilities, such as overseeing financial operations, managing contracts or hiring personnel. Also, the contract must spell out their benefits, including stock options, as well as the conditions for termination. If those are not crystal clear, you might have difficulties getting rid of an underperforming manager, or they might sue you.

While you’re at it, your business lawyers can help you draft the terms of employment contracts for any other positions within your company. One smart move is to have key employees sign confidentiality agreements. By signing such agreements, your managers and other key employees will be faced with severe consequences if they make use of any trade secrets they might have learned while working for you. A confidentiality agreement also prevents them from stealing your lists of customers.

Non-compete agreements are somewhat similar to confidentiality agreements. They can be used to prevent an employee from quitting their job to start a similar business on their own or to work for one of your competitors. Don’t trust anyone. Even if you get some of your friends to work for your new company you don’t know how things will work out. If they’re not happy with the money they make, they can easily set up their own company using your ideas and strategies. 

If you want operations to run smoothly, you should also have your lawyers prepare supply, sales and subcontractor agreements. Your legal experts will make sure that each of these contracts are very clear on quantities, prices and due dates. The agreements should specify the penalties that apply if a supplier fails to deliver the expected goods on time or if a subcontractor fails to provide the services expected of them.