As with a physical checkup that catches a problem early and prevents substantial medical complications and bills and possibly saves the life of the patient the investment of a few hours of an attorney's time can potentially avoid hundreds of hours of litigation expenses down the road. Mr. Sprague formerly served as Senior Research Fellow at the University of Denver College of Law, working in conjunction with the National Center for Preventive Law to create automated legal audits. Many business owners generally don't consider seeing an attorney unless a significant, complex transaction is being negotiated, or the threat of litigation has arisen. As with physical checkups, however, business owners should consider having their businesses undergo periodic legal checkups. The principal goal of preventive law is to identify, isolate and treat potential legal problems before they occur.
Preventive law can also do more than help avoid potential problems.
By proactively involving the attorney in basic business processes, businesses are better positioned to exploit new business opportunities, such as licensing internally developed intellectual property or crafting more sophisticated business arrangements through improved contracts. A legal audit can be quite comprehensive, and is tailored to the specific requirements of each business. There are, however, a few issues that are generally applicable to almost every business. If the business is not a corporation but is owned by two or more individuals, they should execute a partnership agreement specifying the rights and obligations of each partner in the business. This can avoid serious misunderstandings whenever monetary distributions are made or in the event additional contributions are needed.