Should I have a lawyer create my business entity?
I've started a few businesses and done the LLC creation and legal fillings myself. It's not too difficult but it's time-consuming and I've never felt confident that I'm doing it correctly or fully.
Do you have a lawyer that handles the legal fillings for your business? If so, do you have a recommendation for a good lawyer or service?
Note: It might be helpful to know that I'm located in the US.
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Something like this is typically easy enough to do without a lawyer these days. Assuming you don't have some special conditions, of course. I would try something like Legalzoom to start off. You can always amend things later with a lawyer if it gets serious enough. One service I've been interested in trying is Stripe Atlas, which looks pretty cool: https://stripe.com/atlas
If you're deadset on a Lawyer, Upcounsel is a good option for finding someone.
Does legalzoom have a registered agent service? Otherwise, they look pretty solid.
Have you tried Atlas before? I don't know anyone who has and I don't really want to be the guinea pig.
One of the reasons I'm thinking about going with a lawyer is so I have a person that can answer questions and help me better understand the legal side of business.
Looks like Legalzoom does have an RA service:
https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html
I haven't tried Stripe atlas, but they're a huge company so I'm sure the service is pretty good. They tend to focus on developer-friendly tools. Looks like you're building a package for client-side libraries, which tends to be the kind of audience they focus on. Generally, tech companies (that plan on raising funding) incorporate as a Delaware C-Corp, but there's no reason you couldn't start off as an LLC and change down the road once the business is on its feet. Really just depends on your situation. I use Incserv for my RA service out of Delaware: https://incserv.com/
They're cheaper ($120/yr.) than the prices advertised by Legalzoom.
This is amazing, thank you!
I recently used Rocket Lawyer for a sublease agreement, you tell the site what kind of legal document you need and it asks you a series of questions to customize the document for your situation. When you are finished they have lawyers that can review documents and answer questions
I didn't realize they had the option for a real person to review it and answer questions, that's helpful!
If you intent to sell your business then consider QSBS or you will end-up paying lots of capital gain tax.
I've never heard of QSBS - I'll look into it!
My experience for starting LLC:
I am thinking about next time though. I want to go with Stripe Atlas but I'd still need to do local city and state... so it would be just waste of money to go with Stripe Atlas when just starting out..
This is pretty much where I'm at. I'm not sure I'll end up saving any time (or effort) going with a service. But I would imagine if I go with a lawyer who specialised in business law and formation, then I have a great resource and they're experienced in the execution.
But it might be just as well doing it myself!
I guess it doesn't hurt to go through it once ;)
It depends on your circumstances. There are tons of online tools that help you determine which corporate structure makes the most sense for you. Whether you operate as a SP, LLC or C-corp, it really boils down to a a shortlist of questions about ownership, liability exposure, stock issuances, tax advantages, and a few other key pieces. Once you select a corporate structure, there are tons of online platforms that help you form a business entity and stay up-to-date with ongoing administrative requirements.
Unless there is a specific question pertaining to a unique ownership/tax/financing/etc. situation, I'd say most businesses can successfully form their entity without hiring a lawyer.
As a company grows, it becomes more challenging to cope with all the tasks independently. You must expand your staff, hire new employees, and contract with other organizations. You may feel overwhelmed or stop dealing with the workload. In this case, it is advisable to contact an experienced lawyer to handle one-time tasks. Not all lawyers cover the full range of issues. Therefore, you should choose a firm that specializes specifically in doing business. If you have problems that do not concern the company, I advise contacting https://puschnguyen.com. A lawyer is a person who can save not only your money but also your life.
I did not use a lawyer to create my biz. But I can recommend using upcounsel for a reasonably priced lawyer services. I had to use them in the process of getting a code certificate for validating my llc.