Oklahoma City Startup Attorneys & Lawyers

Why Hire a Startup Attorney?

No matter what industry your startup business is in, there are two experts you should hire to make sure your company launches successfully: an accountant and an attorney. By helping you with financial and legal issues, these professionals let you spend your time on business ownership and management.

The reason you'd hire a lawyer or a law firm that calls itself a startup specialist is because the field is very broad in the U.S. Business law has several subcategories big enough for a law firm to handle only those cases. But a startup needs to deal with every kind of business law at once, and so they need a firm that can do the same.

For instance, business law includes:

• Intellectual property law. This includes copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Most businesses have to deal with trademark law, even if they don't plan to register one. That being said, hiring an attorney to help with your trademark gives you a 50 percent better chance of approval. A top lawyer can also let you know which other IP protections you need, how you can get them, and if you should protect your IP later.

• Business organization and entity decisions. Startups don't turn into megacorporations overnight, and until yours does, you need to decide how to organize it. Options include single ownership, limited and general partnerships, an LLC, and full incorporation. Each type has tax advantages and drawbacks, and the best lawyers can help you figure out which one works best for you.

• Contract law. Aside from products and services you sell to the public (and sometimes even then), every professional relationship your company has comes with a contract. This includes employees, clients, suppliers, contractors, and distributors. If you want to make sure these relationships are honest and not harmful to your company, you need a top lawyer who can create, read, and negotiate these contracts for you.

• Property law. Once you get past the point of working out of your garage or home office, you need to lease commercial or office space. These are contracts, too, and you should have a lawyer who can handle them.

How to Find the Best Startup Attorneys in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City has the advantage of a solid industrial foundation that isn't going anywhere. The city is practically the capital of the southern Great Plains, and just about all the ranches and farms in the region funnel through here.

However, the farm and cattle industries aren't the only ones responsible for Oklahoma City's vast skyline. The state capital is also home to several major energy corporations, and the number of small businesses is going up. Oklahoma City is cooler and windier than East Texas, plus the taxes and cost of living are both low. For these reasons, the city government has pushed to make small business loans more available. These days, dozens of startups and small businesses appear every year.

To support these companies, startup attorneys are becoming more common in Oklahoma City. However, not every firm is as good as the next. You need to decide what kind of lawyer and firm you want, so you should keep several things in mind.

• Personality matching. Do you take big risks or do you play it safe? Do you take an aggressive approach, or do you play nice? Your startup attorney may be with you for a long time, so you should make sure you won't spend your time arguing over the details.

• Size and fees. A big firm has a lot of staff and resources, but it usually has the fees to match. A smaller firm won't drain as much of your startup loan, but it also can't help as much. Which one you choose is as much about your industry as your funds. If IP laws are important and the competition uses lawsuits as a kind of greeting, a big firm on permanent retainer is a good investment.

• Client reviews. Lawsuit and contract details may be confidential, but which companies hire which firms is usually public knowledge. You should ask your fellow startups which firms they trust, and you should ask firms you're interested in whether they understand your industry and have references you can check.

Questions for a Startup Attorney

• How many years have you been a professional lawyer?

• How many years have you helped other startups in my industry?

• Can your firm handle every legal aspect of starting a business in Oklahoma City? If not, do you have contacts with other law firms that can fill in the blanks?

• Can you respond to a legal crisis in less than 24 hours?

• How do you structure your fees? How much would it cost to put your firm on retainer?

• Can you put me in touch with other startups like mine for references to help my business grow?

A startup attorney should be someone you can get along with for a long time. Make sure you choose carefully.