Commercial law can be complicated, and depending on the nature of your dispute or query, it can encompass many different intersecting areas of the law. Commercial lawyers in Melbourne are skilled law professionals who can help you understand commercial law as well as work with you when you want to initiate a commercial law dispute or wish to defend your business against one. Here are five areas of commercial law a lawyer can help you with.
Contracts
A lawyer can help you with the negotiation, drafting and reviewing of contracts. They can also help you to interpret contracts and advise you on your rights and obligations under them. This is a crucial task that commercial lawyers in Melbourne help business owners with, as failure to have the correct contracts in place or having employees sign contracts that aren’t legally sound could lead to heavy penalties and fines for your business.
Business Formation
Commercial lawyers in Melbourne can help you choose the right business entity for your company and file the necessary paperwork with any legally governing bodies in your state or territory that your business must be registered with or recognised by. You must also ensure that your business is legally able to receive and make payments before opening your business officially. Depending on the nature of your business and your personal finances, you may need to undergo clearance checks and other financial vetting processes before you can do business in a professional B2C or B2B environment.
Intellectual Property
A lawyer can also help you protect your intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, and any proprietary software or technology that your company uses. Business owners often underestimate the importance of protecting their IP. The services of commercial lawyers in Melbourne are often enlisted in order to file disputes against employees who have stolen proprietary software from the company they work for or against competitors who are using a similar or the exact same logo and material assets to promote their business.
Employee Disputes
A lawyer can help you navigate the complex laws governing employment, including discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour laws. Even if you have the best intentions for your employees, sometimes an employee dispute may arise due to a simple miscommunication or ignorance on your part. Commercial lawyers in Melbourne can help you swiftly take care of these disputes as well as put processes and contracts in place to help mitigate the chances of an employee dispute occurring in the future.
Compliance
One of the most important jobs commercial lawyers in Melbourne perform is helping business owners to ensure that their business is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Again, while you may have the best intentions when starting your business, simple oversights or a lack of knowledge could land you into a potential compliance dispute, so it’s best to consult with a lawyer before you even open your business if you’re not certain which laws, licenses and regulations you must be compliant with in order to operate legally.