Maryland Business Attorney
What Can a Maryland Business Attorney Do For You?
As a business owner or entrepreneur, you're likely well-versed in all aspects of your business. However, there may be numerous ways a Maryland business attorney could simplify your life and increase your company's profitability you can’t even imagine.
The reality is the laws and regulations governing businesses can be complex and ever-changing, making it challenging to stay current on all the legal requirements. By hiring an experienced Maryland business attorney, you can take advantage of their knowledge and expertise to help you navigate these intricacies with ease.
Why Hire a Maryland Business Attorney?
A business attorney can assist you in various ways, from making sure your company complies with all relevant regulations to drafting and reviewing contracts and even representing your interests in legal disputes. Ultimately, having a skilled attorney on your side can save you time and money while also mitigating any potential legal risks that could harm your business.
You can focus your attention on keeping your company ahead of the game if you work with a Maryland business lawyer on tasks like these:
Explaining the different types of business entities your company could take. When you decide on whether your company will be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company, your business law firm can draft the required forms and other documents and file them with the state and other government agencies.
Providing guidance about the necessary terms in your contracts, crafting your agreements, and negotiating contracts. These could include contracts between you and your partners, employees, vendors, suppliers, and other businesses.
Protecting your intellectual (IP) property rights. If you have invented a product or process, you might protect the item with a patent. Copyrights can protect your original literary works like books, computer software, and other items you authored. Your trademark or service mark can be protected from unauthorized use by competitors. Also, a Maryland business lawyer could provide legal advice on protecting your company's trade secrets.
Providing information on your regulatory and compliance responsibilities to avoid the expensive repercussions of noncompliance. The regulations you must follow will vary depending on where your company is located, where you do business and your industry. The laws change all the time. Unless you want to spend a large portion of your time staying up to date on the law instead of running your business, you should seek the guidance of a Maryland business lawyer.
Providing legal advice about risk management. Maryland business lawyers can perform a risk management audit on various aspects of your company to decrease the likelihood of your company getting sued. Your best option is to avoid litigation, but sometimes that is impossible because some people file groundless lawsuits. An experienced Maryland business lawyer could help you keep these nuisance lawsuits to a minimum.
You can schedule a consult to discover more ways we can help your company.
How Our Maryland Business Lawyer Can Help
If you run a business, you've likely got more on your to-do list than there are hours in the day. Often, items on that list could be better managed by someone with an advanced law degree and decades of experience helping Maryland business owners on legal matters. When you work with me, you can always count on the best possible legal advice, so you can put your full attention into operating your business.
Before you open the doors to do business in Maryland, you'll need to have the right business structure in place. Choosing the right business entity can help reduce your tax burden, protect your personal assets, and make borrowing money easier. After gaining an understanding of your business objectives and goals, I can help you determine the best Maryland business structure to meet your priorities.
Choosing the right business entity is a vital step in starting a business. If you do not choose the correct business entity, you could incur additional tax liability and legal liability, in addition to dealing with ineffective business operations. You do not want to set up the legal structure of your business without the assistance of an experienced business transactions lawyer.
Business owners throughout Maryland can benefit from Thienel Law’s experience and knowledge of business formation.
As a business owner, you do not want to risk your company’s future success and jeopardize your personal assets because you do not understand the basics of choosing the right business entity. Making an uninformed decision about the structure of your business can have grave consequences. So I encourage you to contact Thienel Law to learn more about how I can help you choose the right business entity for your company.
Drafting and Negotiating Contracts
Maryland contracts must be written with the “3 C's” in mind.
They must be clear, concise, and comprehensive enough to address all aspects of a particular business transaction.
Whether you need me to review contracts offered by your vendors, or draft custom contracts for transactions related to your Maryland business, I have the experience you want on your side. For contracts that are clear, understandable, and less likely to result in a dispute (or help you prevail in the event there is one), having a Maryland business contracts attorney on your side is critical.
Developing Exit Strategies
Many people dive into a Maryland business endeavor without considering their exit strategies. They don't consider whether they'll be passing the business to heirs, merging with another company, or selling the business outright. Exit strategies should be considered at the time the business is structured or as soon after as possible, so you can maximize the future sale value. As a business attorney, I can help you develop a strategy that works for your particular needs --ensuring your business continues with or without your help.
Structuring Mergers and Acquisitions
When your Maryland business has developed a strong reputation and market presence, you may receive offers to merge or sell your business. Don't be fooled -- mergers and acquisitions are complex transactions. I can help guide you through the process and ensure your interests are protected.
Start-Ups: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Business Success & Minimize Risk
Starting a business? Get up-to-date, expert advice on creating a proper legal framework for your business. From formation and finance to contracting and protecting your intellectual property, this 45-page ebook has the real-world experience and resources you need to form your next business venture.
Can a Maryland Business Lawyer Help Me Proactively Protecting My Personal and Business Assets?
I can help you protect your business assets by providing legal advice about risk management and appropriate insurance for your situation. Also, I can provide guidance on how to avoid legal disputes and running afoul of the laws of Maryland and the United States. In addition, I can help my clients protect their personal assets for themselves and their loved ones through estate planning services that can include an exit strategy for your business.
Family law issues can rip a family-owned business apart. I can help you structure a property distribution that can protect your personal and business assets.
Should Your Business Have an Attorney on Retainer?
You might not have the budget to hire a full-time General Counsel for your company right now, but you still need legal advice occasionally.
Going the DIY route is common but highly discouraged.
There’s a better option though.
I offer the Fractional General Counsel model, which lets you get the legal services you need at affordable costs.
In our fractional general counsel program, you can receive:
Legal services tailored to your personal needs from an experienced Maryland business lawyer.
The legal services your business needs when it needs it for a fixed monthly fee. You can plan your budget because you will have predictable billing at a consistent fixed rate fee each month.
You will not have to spend the time or money to educate a new lawyer on the details of your business every time you need legal help because we take the time to get to know you, your employees, and your business so we can provide comprehensive legal recommendations.
Instead of the traditional hourly rate for the legal services of an experienced business lawyer, you would pay a fixed rate for a specific number of hours each month for the business law legal services covered in your agreement. Your Fractional General Counsel service agreement might also include emergency legal advice and general legal advice.
Contact a Maryland Business Law Attorney
I serve the top cities in Maryland, including Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown. I make it easy for my clients to meet with me online through virtual consultations and meetings without having to leave their office and waste their valuable time stuck in traffic to come to my law office. You can get a responsive law appointment on your time.
I have extensive experience in the worlds of small business, major corporations, business law, law firms, and academia. Because of my sweeping professional interests and experience, I can "speak the language" over a broad spectrum of businesses. From small business owners to massive corporations, my business legal experience can meet your needs for your business transactions and legal issues. You will find Thienel Law to be a small law firm with no gatekeepers.
What our clients say…
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“Unbelievably knowledgeable and responsive, particularly where it concerns ... financial planning matters. I truly feel like Steve cares about me and any issues that I bring before him - in other words, I’m much more than a client.”
— Rob Gould
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“Mr Thienel provided very good guidance for me when doing a fairly complicated will and health care document. He worked quickly and efficiently, was very accurate in his work, and provided extremely helpful guidance. His fees were reasonable and he made himself available when I asked.”
— Lester
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“Throughout years, Steve has been my go to guy for business, real estate, and legal work. Steve works fast and is highly reliable. I would recommend Steve to anyone.”
—Tom L.
How much does it cost to hire a business lawyer in Maryland?
Hourly rates for Maryland business attorneys can go as high as $600 an hour or more. Most range between $150 an hour for junior lawyers to over $1000 an hour for a managing partner. If you find these numbers startling, remember you can enter into a fractional general counsel agreement for much more affordable legal services for your business law needs and transactional matters.
Whether you need the services of business lawyers to help you with intellectual property law, the formation of business entities, real estate matters, contract disputes, commercial transactions, or another legal issue, you can get the business law legal representation you need at competitive rates. Responsive law appointments from our law offices can be a phone call away. Small businesses can benefit from easy access to a law firm that knows them and their business and has experience in multiple practice areas.
What is the purpose of a business attorney?
Business lawyers can help with business formation, regulation and compliance, intellectual property, corporate law cases, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions, business law and business conflict resolution. Also, Maryland business attorneys can help with countless other legal issues that can arise when operating small businesses or large corporations.
Is a corporate lawyer the same as a business lawyer?
No, a corporate lawyer is not exactly the same thing as a business lawyer, but sometimes people use the terms interchangeably. Using their correct definitions, a corporate lawyer typically focuses on the formation and operations of corporations and the laws and regulations that govern them. On the other hand, business lawyers usually handle the interactions between businesses and their customers and employees. Still, you will find these terms used with other meanings.
How do I find the best business attorney?
If you have a Maryland company, you will want experienced lawyers to provide your legal counsel. Your business attorneys should be well-versed in employment and labor laws, know how to avoid commercial litigation, and understands general Maryland business law. If you have international clients, you will want to select a law firm with a legal team that includes a deep understanding of a broad range of domestic and international business issues.
As a business owner, you will want a law firm where you can feel comfortable when you need to work closely with them. Think about why you need a business attorney. Do you need a law firm to negotiate your real estate deals, draft your transactional documents, and advise you on resolving business disputes with clients to avoid civil litigation?
You should tap into your professional business network for recommendations of business attorneys. When you gather a few names of business lawyers, you will want to meet with each one to find the right Maryland business law attorney who can meet the needs of your company. Do not be afraid to ask frank questions of the candidates.
What can a lawyer do for a business?
Your MD business law attorney should be able to do the specific tasks for which you hired them. In general, your business lawyer can represent you in business legal disputes, business formation, entity incorporation, intellectual property protection, labor law issues, contract negotiation and drafting, and regulatory compliance matters.
Also, a business attorney can perform an audit regularly of your company to look for regulatory or compliance issues before they become a problem for your company. In any given business, your business law attorney could perform multiple tasks in the best interest of your company.
For example, in the area of intellectual property protection for a company that relies heavily on its trade secrets, patents, or copyrights, a business lawyer could prepare and file the forms necessary to register your patents, copyrights, trademarks, or service marks. They could draft legal documents like nondisclosure agreements and post-employment noncompete agreements to help protect things like trade secrets, secret formulas, and customer lists that cannot be registered for protection.
What lawyers deal with businesses?
Transactional lawyers, corporate attorneys, business law lawyers, and commercial litigators all deal with businesses. Sometimes, a highly experienced business law attorney can manage the tasks of all of these areas of law.
Businesses usually hire lawyers to solve their many current legal needs and adapt as the business grows. Typically, a business law attorney will advise clients on legal issues that affect their business including business incorporation, contract drafting, entity formation, business strategy, interpretation and negotiation of contracts, intellectual property protection, licensing and regulation issues, and compliance.
