Tasks You Need a Business Lawyer for as a Freelancer

As a freelancer, you will run into several tasks that require legal assistance. These tasks differ greatly and will be necessary throughout your freelancing career. Though you can learn how these different tasks work, you can't handle most of the tasks on your own. This is why you need to consider a business lawyer to keep on retainer for the tasks you need periodically through the year and your career. Here are a few of those tasks and what to know about each one.

Freelance Contracts

One of the main tasks you will need a business lawyer for is your freelance contracts. These contracts are the ones you create between yourself and your client. They generally have the amount you will be paid, the deadlines for the work, and the type of work you will perform for the client. Though you can do this on your own, if something does go wrong, the contract may not be legally binding. A business lawyer can draw up the contracts for you and ensure they are legally binding should something go wrong. This will help you to obtain any lost fees or to gain the intellectual property rights if the client tries to take the work without paying.

Payment Contracts

Payment contracts are contracts you may have for ongoing clients with different needs. For example, you may have payment contracts that cover only written content, while others cover visual content or audio content. If you are a bookkeeper or similar type of freelancer, your payment contracts will be based on the number of hours or the types of bookkeeping you will be doing. These are different from freelance contracts. Where a freelance contract covers all aspects of the client and freelancer relationship, including non-disclosures, the payment contract deals strictly with payments and payment methods.

Incorporation Documents

Your incorporation documents will require a lawyer. You need to make sure that the documents are in order to incorporate your business. You also need to have the documents filed with the proper business offices and permit offices. With that in mind, you also need to have these documents updated each year. Your business lawyer can handle these tasks for you and inform you of any changes that may occur.

These are just a few of the tasks you need a business lawyer for as a freelancer. If you have any of these tasks coming up, contact your business lawyer. They can let you know their schedule of fees, how to contact them for your different tasks, and how to keep them on retainer if you will have many of the same ongoing tasks and needs.