When starting a new business, you may be tempted to take on the legal work yourself. But this can lead to costly mistakes and missed deadlines due to lack of experience in the field. And even if you do everything right, it will just cost more time and money than hiring an attorney from the beginning would have. So here are five compelling reasons why you should consider hiring a lawyer when taking your idea for a new company off the drawing board and into reality:

To Protect Your Interests

Every new business is vulnerable to lawsuits. An attorney can help you avoid these by ensuring your agreements and forms of operations are legally valid. Helping you do things the right way from the beginning will save you from paying for mistakes later on.

To Establish Legal Protection

A business lawyer helps you put together all the documents you need to start a company: a plan letter, articles of incorporation, bylaws, contracts with partners and clients, trademark searches, and applications for patents (if necessary). And all these documents can have legal consequences later on.

To Ensure You Don’t Forget Any Important Steps

As exciting as it is to get your new business off the ground, it’s easy to overlook important legal details as you get caught up in the excitement. An attorney will help you avoid costly pitfalls and time-consuming red tape afterward by ensuring your company is set up properly from the beginning.

To Instill Trust

prospective investors and partners want to see that legal contracts bind a business because this is a sign of professionalism and stability. When you have an attorney draw up legal documents for your company from the beginning, these folks will know that you’re serious about your business plan—and they’ll be more likely to get behind it.

To Save Money

A lawyer specializing in business law can help you avoid expensive mistakes and legal proceedings by looking over all your contracts, agreements, forms of operations, and other documents. Your attorney will also be able to review your business plan—and give professional advice on how to improve it—for free or for a nominal fee.

Paying for professional legal help up front may seem expensive, but it will save you time and money and instill trust in people who are willing to invest. And if you start your business correctly from the beginning, you’re more likely to achieve the success you had envisioned when you first had your idea. Seek out a local business attorney, like Boynton Waldron Doleac Woodman, for help with your new business venture.