A mistake in any of these areas can cost you -- and your business partners -- serious money. In any of these situations, paying for the help of an experienced lawyer will more than offset the potential harm you might cause your business if you don't deal with these issues properly. The tricky part is finding a lawyer who is experienced in these specialty areas, as well as being someone you can work with.

When You Probably Don't Need a Business Lawyer

If you're just starting out in business, you can take care of most tasks yourself. The following is just a small sample of tasks lawyers charge lots of money for, but which you can easily accomplish yourself with a good self-help resource:

• research and reserve a trademark or trade name for your business
• file a fictitious business name statement if you will do business under a different name
• research and reserve a name for your corporation or LLC
• apply for and reserve a domain name, if you will do business on the Web
• create your own partnership agreement, LLC operating agreement or shareholder's agreement
• form your own partnership, LLC or corporation
• apply for your business employer identification number (EIN)
• apply for the required business licenses and permits
• lease commercial space, and
• interview and hire employees, and complete the necessary IRS paperwork.

There are some great self-help resources that can get you started on all of these tasks that can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in legal fees. You can find a book or software product that will walk you through each of these transactions on the Nolo website at www.nolo.com.

Once your business is up and running, there are even more legal tasks you can take care of yourself. For instance, you can:

• hire independent contractors and consultants, and prepare written agreements for them
• create written contracts with customers and clients for the sale or rental of goods
• document LLC meetings and actions
• call and hold corporate meetings and prepare corporate minutes
• create a buy-sell agreement with your business partners
• update your partnership agreement, operating agreement or shareholder's agreement as your business circumstances change, and
• handle an IRS audit.