Member Article

Free legal advice for business start up’s

Anyone wanting to start a business can access free legal advice via social media thanks to a popular twitter service run by Yorkshire law firm LCF Law.

LCF Law’s latest #uklegalhour takes place on 13th May and will provide free advice and address key issues like business structures and contracts.

Figures from Companies House reveal that 2014 was a bumper year for Company registrations with a record breaking 581,173 businesses registering compared to 526,447 in 2013. Almost 7,000 of those were registered in Leeds. Managing Partner at LCF Law Simon Stell says: “There is a growing appetite in our region for starting a business that is being bolstered by a rapidly improving economy. Having previously run highly successful advice sessions via Twitter on employment law, property issues as well as wills and probate, we are now keen to lend our support to entrepreneurs and anyone thinking about setting up their own business who could benefit from some valuable free legal advice.

“Starting a business is a very exciting time, but ambitious entrepreneurs often get the legal part wrong. A business relationship is just like any other, problems between founding members of a business can often occur so it’s a good idea to have partnership agreement in place. If the business is being launched as a Limited Company, then a Shareholders Agreement should also be drawn up.

“Both the Partnership Deed and Shareholders Agreement can regulate what happens in the event of disagreements, how profits are shared, how decisions are made and how the business will be funded. If the business is ever put up for sale these pieces of paper will of course be invaluable!”

#uklegalhour will also provide advice on contracts. Simon adds: “When business are starting out their main priority is to generate income, so a contract is often forgotten about or difficult to approach. A contract ensures that if something goes wrong there is no misunderstanding and a lawyer can easily arrange this and make sure that all possible eventualities and conditions are covered.”

Guidance on other aspects of running a business like terms and conditions of trading; advice in relation to employment contracts for all staff involved, including the founders of the business, to protect their rights, will also be provided via #uklegalhour.

Simon concludes: “Although we are a regional law firm our last four twitter sessions have attracted questions from all over the country so we know there’s a strong appetite for this type of legal advice. It’s essential start up’s get things right from the beginning.”

LCF Law will be answering Business Start-Up’s questions free of charge during #UKlegalhour on Twitter between 1pm - 2pm on Wednesday 13 May 2015. Follow LCF Law @lawfairsquare on Twitter or visit www.lcf.co.uk for more details.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Mortimer .