Attorney, Advocate and Counselor: How Each Role Helps Your Business

When you think of needing or hiring an attorney, you know your attorney is on your side, but you probably think of your business lawyer more as an expense, than as a business partner, with the goal to save you money, or keep your business running smoothly.

But although you may think of your lawyer as just someone who knows the law and helps you understand and apply it, your business lawyer is actually much more than that. Understanding the multiple roles that a business lawyer takes or plays, can help you maximize the benefit you get from using your attorney.

Your Zealous Advocate

Your attorney plays two roles, and knowing what they are can help you understand where your attorney is coming from when he or she gives you advice.

On the one hand, your business lawyer is your attorney; the person charged with advocating for you, touting your position, and telling the world why you should get what is legally yours. When there is dispute or conflict, your attorney is the one who tells the world why you are correct, and why you are correct.

Your Trusted Counselor

But your attorney plays another role as well: the role of counselor. And sometimes, the counselor doesn’t tell you everything that you want to hear, for your own good.

This is why your attorney often tells you things that may be hard for you to hear. When your business law attorney tells you why your case is weak, or why you may want to think about conceding a legal point or issue, or why you may want to settle a case, your attorney is not working against you: your attorney is being your counselor, counseling you as to what the most prudent legal (and business) move may be.

Looking Long Term

As attorneys for businesses, we not only want to ensure that you are successful in whatever the legal challenge is at the moment, but we have other, bigger concerns: the long term health and success of your business. And that often means taking into account things like the cost of litigation, weighed against the likelihood of success (or what you may recover in a given lawsuit if you are successful).

We often may advise you that a certain business or marketing strategy you want to take isn’t advised legally—that’s not to stop you from doing business, or to deliver bad news: it’s because like anybody close to your business, your business law attorney has a vested interest, as your counselor, in the business thriving.

Continuing Relationships

Many times, attorneys hired for a specific legal situation or problem, end up being valuable business confidants, and providing business advice.

While as lawyers we aren’t trained in your specific business (although some lawyers are very skilled businesspeople), the bond between your attorney and you and your business, and your attorney’s dual role as both legal counsel and your advocate, often creates long lasting relationships that can help your business grow and thrive.

Do your attorneys understand how to help your business? We do. Call the West Palm Beach business litigation attorneys at Pike & Lustig today.