If you’ve been wondering What is business litigation law anyway, and why should I care about it at all? — you aren’t alone. Many people don’t understand this type of law at all. simply because it’s such a specialized industry (and doesn’t have much use, unless you actually run a business yourself).
But for those of us who do run a small business, knowing the ins and outs of how to legally protect your business can be the one thing that allows your business to thrive. All too often, bigger corporations are able to take advantage of independent businesses because these small business owners often aren’t aware of the legal protections they have; or, if they are aware, they may not have the financial means to take legal action and pay for a lawyer for small business disputes.
This is why it’s so important to know what business litigation law is, and when it’s inappropriate to contact a business litigation attorney for help.
It’s important to note that, although claims involving disputes are often associated with business litigation law (or commercial litigation law), not all litigation cases necessarily involve a disagreement that could be taken to court. Because of the sheer amount of negotiations, partnership agreements, and employee contacts (among dozens of other official documents) that businesses have to deal with, many small business lawyers simply help businesses sort through all of the legal processes.
That being said, lawsuits that do involve disputes have been on the rise in the past two decades, and a small business that gets hit with a lawsuit could have a lot of trouble recovering from it. Disputes can arise from a variety of different sources: employees (past or present), vendors, business partners, and competitors are often the opposing party in a litigation claim. These disputes often focus around disputes of contracts, non-compete clause breaches, and intellectual property infringements.
The industry of business litigation really seems endless just because it can be broken down into so many subgroups. And research shows that, for a modern day business owner, it’s nearly impossible to avoid a litigation lawsuit forever. It’s estimated that about 53% of all businesses in the U.S. are involved in at least one litigation claim every year, and employee lawsuits have risen by over 400% in just the past 20 years.
No one is expecting small business owners to know everything about their legal rights, but it is worthwhile to do some research and be aware of the situations in which a litigation lawsuit may occur. Small businesses usually don’t have to deal with as many serious cases as big corporations do, but for an unprepared business owner, just one lawsuit could be enough to cause irreparable damage. More can be found here: clearwaterbusinessattorney.com