Lesson 5: Three Rules for Legal Domination

This is a rule that has its applications beyond the legal context or even in the business world. Talking to a lot of clients and lawyers, the same characteristic that separates the ones who find long-term stability and success are those that have gotten there with the help of others. You might be an expert in developing computer software, but no single person can be an expert in everything that it takes to build a thriving business. That’s why the best leaders know how to delegate tasks to those who are in the best position to achieve successful results. As a business owner, knowing that other people have the expertise to help you more than you can help yourself is important. Especially when we talk about legal.

A big part of this rule stems from something we’ve been touching throughout our lessons as well: recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know. Spending some time and taking stock of your own limitations isn’t meant to demean or discourage you, but instead provide an opportunity for growth in an area that you aren’t familiar with. This can even apply to areas that you may actually consider yourself an expert in too!

Let’s come back to our smart business owners at Ice Cream co. They are extremely well-versed in the culinary arts having gone to one of the finest ice cream universities in the world. Even though they know the ins and outs of the ice cream they’ve created, they have the wisdom to understand that creating their intellectual property (the ice cream in this example) is not the same as protecting their intellectual property.

Instead, they realize that things like intellectual property assignment agreements, licensing and royalty agreements, and patent or trademark registration processes are all required to protect the business. Instead of bankrolling the entire value driver of their company on an (at best) educated guess or doing it themselves, the well-informed founding team recognizes that they are out of their depth, so they contact a respected intellectual property lawyer to get their secret sauce protected. Additionally, they are in regular communication with their lawyer and never hesitate to ask them for help!

On the other hand, the not-so-well-informed entrepreneur takes a different approach. They have a team of contractors who are still extremely gifted at making ice cream, but due to a lack of research and information, they assumed that whatever was created in their company belonged to the owner of the company! I mean it makes sense right? If someone paid by the company creates something on the company time and dime, it would be logical to assume that the IP goes to the company owner.

But, there’s a bit to unpack here: if an employee creates IP for the company, there is a presumption that the owner of the IP is the company itself, not whoever founded the company. That’s why there are IP assignment agreements and special clauses in service agreements that would make these clear! Now this business owner might have to spend thousands of dollars and jump through hoops just to ensure they own the IP that their contractors created on the job. It could have all been avoided if they had just talked to a lawyer!

No one in their right mind, particularly when they have a million other things to do, would want to overcomplicate and overpay for their legal work. By following our first two rules, you’re starting to make the law work for you already and turning your legal work from a sunk cost into a long term savings plan. But there’s a third rule you can follow to drive your savings even further: shop around, keep things practical, and don’t overpay for a bunch of bells and whistles.

When you’re keeping it practical, that perspective applies to your legal work and your lawyer! If you’re discussing your problem and they’re constantly using terminology you don’t understand, adding clauses that feel too specific or confusing for your situation, or you generally just get a sinking feeling in your stomach that the service (and the fees) are not what you’re looking for, then chances are you’re right. Listen to your legal spidey sense.

Our well-informed entrepreneurs at Ice Cream Co. know our three legal rules. They start early before their legal questions become legal problems, and recognize that they are not legal experts. And when it comes to hiring a lawyer, they don’t go looking for a partner at the nation’s top firm, and they certainly don’t hire a lawyer who gives them vague answers and won’t give them a price. They use Goodlawyer, where we connect small businesses to solo and small-firm lawyers with the expertise they need, all on a user-friendly platform at prices that are consistently less than half of the national average. Boom.

How do we do it? Goodlawyer is not a law firm, and we don’t follow the same archaic model that most law firms do. Instead of the expensive billable hour where lawyers charge you for every 6 minutes that they spend thinking about your file, Goodlawyer sets out fixed prices for your legal needs upfront. That way you’ll always know what to expect — no surprise fees, just consistent and transparent legal pricing.