Let’s Talk About Why You Need A Lawyer For Your Freelance Business
Getting scammed isn’t sexy.
For the first fifteen years of my career, I was coddled by affordable healthcare and in-house attorneys. Without worrying about getting charged every fifteen minutes, all I needed to do was pick up a phone and a lawyer would help me negotiate contracts, file trademark applications, register for copyrights, and send the kind of strongly-worded letters that made people shake in their little pantalones. Unleashing a reign of terror gratis? Those were the days, my friends.
When I went out on my own in 2013, it took me a few years (read: seven) to realize I’m not a lawyer and I can’t play Perry Mason on TV. I’ve no business redlining contracts and getting on the phone with attorneys without advisement. And for someone who preaches from the pulpit on the importance of hiring experts, I realized I needed to follow my sermons.
And while you think lawyers are expensive, paying for the mess you’ll invariably create without one is catastrophic. I recently listened to an excellent podcast episode where attorney Autumn Witt Boyd broke down what legal help you’d need at various stages of your business and which services you can skip.
Here are three ways retaining an attorney will help me in my business in 2021.
