Member Article

Top 10 legal tips for dentists

Lawyers from leading law firm Aaron & Partners have provided dental practices with ten ‘Top Tips’ to take the pain out of partnership agreements and disputes.

Paul Bennett and Mark Briegal, both professional partnership specialists at the North West-based firm, presented their ten top tips for a healthy partnership at industry event Professional Dentistry London at Olympia Conference Centre on 7 February. The presentation followed a day of legal clinic slots where dentists could book a free check up with the duo, to determine the legal health of their practices.

Featuring handy hints such as ‘have the difficult conversations before the honeymoon’ and ‘plan for absence and staff changes’, Mark and Paul’s tips take a whistlestop tour through the ten main areas of legal practice dentists need to consider as they progress through different stages of their partnership.

Paul said: “Dental partnerships, just like any other partnership, require regular check ups to ensure the partners have an accurate assessment regarding the health of their business.

“Tips such as ‘do your due diligence’ before buying a practice, and ‘check the register’ when considering a new partner are best practice for any partnership agreement and will hopefully help dentists to asses any areas where they need to polish up their business practices and help fill some of the gaps in their legal knowledge.

“Of course, getting advice specific to your individual situation at the right time is invaluable, so keeping potential legal flashpoints front of mind is always a good idea.”

Mark and Paul’s first five tips are:

1. Have a partnership agreement (or shareholders agreement if limited company); it saves time and money later on.

2. Have clear agreements with your associates – tax and people problems occur if not.

3. Follow the right procedure when bringing in a new partner and do your due diligence.

4. Don’t forget that you are running a business and managing people as your main job, whilst still being a top-class dentist.

5. Do careful due diligence when buying a practice; know what you’re getting.

To view the top tips in full, please visit:

www.aaronspartnershiplaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/AP-Dental-Presentation-Display.pdf

(http://bit.ly/1LC8O61)

The dental legal clinic will return on 6-7 November this year at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.

For more information about Aaron & Partners please visit: www.aaronandpartners.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elle Brunton .