Commercial lawyers provide legal services to businesses and organisations, ensuring that their business interests are protected and any legal risks are minimized. Specifically, the area of law that commercial lawyers practise in relates to trade and commerce, with commercial lawyers drafting and providing advice on anything from service agreements to multi-billion dollar merger and acquisition deals. We’ve compiled the following guide to help you understand what it is that commercial lawyers actually do and how they can help your business.
Advising on business formation and structure
A commercial lawyer advises on what type of legal structure suits a particular business. For example, commercial lawyers may assist a business to decide on whether they want to structure as a sole trader, a company, a partnership or a trust, and can then prepare the various documents needed for the chosen structure. Commercial lawyers can also advise on the risks that come with the different structures.
Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts
Transactional work forms a large part of the day-to-day life of a commercial lawyer. Common transactions that commercial lawyers work on include purchase and sale of businesses, loan agreements, shareholder agreements, consultancy agreements, and non-disclosure agreements. Commercial lawyers also work on bigger transactions such as merger and acquisition deals, which involves two companies consolidating their assets together or one company buying or “acquiring” the other to form an even larger entity. A good commercial lawyer has a keen eye for detail and is able to quickly spot any issues when reviewing contracts. Since negotiation is a central part of the deal-making process, commercial lawyers must possess strong negotiation skills and be able to persuade the other party to the transaction to see their side of things.
Providing guidance on regulatory compliance
They can help businesses navigate the complex regulatory environment in which they operate. For many businesses, keeping up to date with the various state, federal and international laws that apply to their particular industry is a headache. This is particularly true for businesses in the technology space as laws relating to privacy and data protection are constantly evolving. That’s why commercial attorney can assist businesses to stay compliant and advise them of any important changes to the laws that affect their business operations.
Advising on intellectual property issues
One key role commercial IT lawyers play is in helping businesses protect their intellectual property. They can assist with things like registering a trademark and applying for a patent. Since intellectual property is one of the most important assets a business has, commercial attorney have a very important role to play in providing businesses with strategic IP advice that helps their brand in the long run.
Resolving disputes and representing clients in court
Whilst transactional work forms a bulk of a lawyer’s work, litigation can from time to time occur. Commercial attorney can help your business when there is a contractual dispute, either by resolving it by way of the various dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration, negotiation or mediation, or otherwise by representing your business in court.
Do you need a commercial attorney with experience advising the IT sector? At Arnotts Technology Lawyers, we excel in providing commercial advice specific to the IT industry and can draft, negotiate and review the contracts you need for your tech business. If you would like to find out more about us, contact us today at law@arnotts.tech or call us on 1800 749 294.
