Over two thousand companies work in the automotive aftermarket. Many of these companies still do not utilize the proper legal protection to help their business succeed. They will try to handle everything in house and end up woefully unprepared to deal with the legal business challenges that eventually face them. At Aftermarket Law, we have been working with the aftermarket industry for over fifteen years. Here is what we know about the value of your company having an outside general counsel.
The first benefit is to be positively proactive. Having a lawyer can help you legally protect your products from knock-offs and competitors. Lawyers can help your file trademarks and copyrights for your Intellectual Property. They can also help you draft your contracts so they don’t fail you down the line, and help you with any international manufacturing agreements. More aspects of running a business require a lawyer’s help than you would realize at first.
The second, and sadly sometimes more realistic, benefit comes when you are facing legal trouble. Oftentimes, businesses can sense they have a legal problem coming up but they do not know what to call it. Only at this point will they contact a lawyer. If the chosen lawyer is not used to working in the automotive aftermarket industry, it can cost huge amounts of money and time just to get to a place where they understand what the issue is and how they can help it.
Businesses often have the wrong idea about lawyers – or, at least, generalize them. They can tend to think of a lawyer helping them with legal trouble as being as much their enemy as their enemy is. They will see lawyers whose only concern is billing at every moment and getting paid in forty-five days. Instead of a helpful asset, a lawyer becomes just another expense.
At Aftermarket Law, we think your outside general counsel should be a trusted partner, not a recurring bill. It is essential to work with someone who can get to know how your business operates and understands the larger industry you are working in. At Aftermarket Law, we don’t bill for calls, and we offer dedicated flat fee billings more similar to a business than a law firm. The value of having someone who will work on business strategies with you in addition to offering you legal protection is a giant boon to your company.
If you are working in the automotive aftermarket and need help – or are smart enough to look for help before you need it – contact Aftermarket Law today. We will help you be proactive against competitors, protect you in court, and help you move your business forward – not just ask you for a check. If you made it, we will protect it!
Aftermarket Law
