Business Law in Louisiana
Don’t settle for a lawyer in Louisiana that lacks the experience and deep knowledge of commercial law that your business deserves. We can connect you with an experienced business law attorney to handle your case.
What Is Business Law?
Business law regulates the conduct of merchants, persons, and businesses who engage in commerce, trade, and sales. Business law is also commonly referred to as commercial law. It covers a broad area, such as real estate laws, safety laws, food laws, and environmental regulations.
According to The National Law Review, the Louisiana Legislature recently passed legislation amending several provisions of the Louisiana Business Corporation Act (LBCA). These amendments broaden the power of boards of Louisiana corporations beyond the current LBCA. For example, the board of directors of a Louisiana corporation can now hold “virtual-only” shareholder meetings. As well, a corporation may merge parent and subsidiary corporations without board or shareholder approval at the subsidiary level.
Staying abreast of current commercial laws can be extremely overwhelming, especially as you’re trying to run a business. Keeping an experienced Louisiana business law attorney on retainer or at least a simple phone call away can help ensure your business remains compliant. Compliance issues can lead to costly damages, so a proactive approach is always best.
How a Qualified Louisiana Business Law Attorney Can Help
Louisiana Business laws are often associated with unique legal issues. One of the most substantial parts of business law is contract violations. When transactions occur between customers and businesses, this usually involves a contract. Still, some legal concerns and problems happen more often than others. Here are some additional aspects of commercial law that a business attorney can help with:
- Starting a new business
- Protecting intellectual property
- Protecting trade secrets
- Terminating a business
- Transferring a business
- Tackling unfair competition
- Addressing consumer complaints
- Handling marketing and advertising disputes and violations
Costly commercial disputes often cover multiple areas of business law. This is why hiring experienced commercial law lawyers in Louisiana is essential to the legal compliance and sustainability of your business.
Areas of Business Law
There are business attorneys who specialize in Louisiana that offer their services to businesses in unique situations. Following are some of the many areas of business law that they tackle.
Organization
If you are developing your business in Louisiana, a lawyer can help you decide whether you list your company as a limited liability company or a corporation. They will also assist with the paperwork you need to file for your business.
Contracts
When you need to form contracts with your suppliers, clients, customers, and your employees, a Louisiana business attorney will help you to prepare the necessary paperwork quickly and professionally. They also help you to respond to any contracts that other organizations or people want your business to sign.
Licenses and Taxes
While your accountant handles preparing and filing your business tax returns, a business attorney in plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance. They guide you through registering your business for state and federal tax identification numbers and help you understand potential tax implications. If legal issues arise, they can also represent your business in court to protect your interests.
According to the Louisiana Secretary of State (SOS), a new business in Louisiana must register with the SOS, the Louisiana Department of Revenue, and the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Additionally, different types of businesses require different permits and licenses from the state. For example, a retail food establishment must obtain a permit from the State Sanitarian in the parish where it plans to operate.
Intellectual Property Rights
When an individual creates something, they have some automatic rights to their ideas. However, if someone steals the idea, they may have a difficult time proving the idea or creation was theirs, to begin with. Attorneys can help with the process of protecting IP rights through trademarking and copyright. A business lawyer in Louisiana can also help you seek reparations from companies that infringe on your IP rights or defend you against accusations.
Property Law
Physical properties also need protection. In Louisiana in most instances, this refers to immovable property, such as real estate. Property law governs the use, sale, transfer, or rental of this type of property. Some business attorneys may include premises liability in this area, such as slip-and-fall accidents. Property law may cover moveable assets as well. For instance, companies that rent products would fall into this category.
Consumer Protection
When most people picture Louisiana businesses going to court, they imagine businesses or business people suing each other. This certainly happens quite often, but companies and consumers sue each other too. Consumers often sue companies for defective products or false advertising. Companies, in turn, may sue consumers for libel or slander.
The Public Protection Division (PPD) of the Louisiana Department of Justice is responsible for consumer protection in Louisiana. The PPD provides oversight in the areas of consumer protection and environmental protection. As well the PPD is involved in insurance receivership and fair housing. Additionally, the PPD has the authority to conduct civil investigations into unfair methods of competition, and unfair or deceptive trade practices. The Attorney General may bring actions for injunctive relief and civil penalties against businesses engaging in these practices.
Lobbying
A qualified Louisiana company and agents that lobby on its behalf can advocate for changes to laws. However, first, they must have a deep understanding of the following:
- What the current laws are
- How the current laws affect the business
- What changes might provide better opportunities for the business
This is an especially common hurdle in the world of tech and engineering. For instance, the tech and transportation industries have banded together to lobby governments to consider allowing autonomous vehicles on public roads for testing and eventual official use.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics runs the Ethics Administration Program (EAP) in Louisiana. The EAP enforces the statutory provisions of the Code of Government Ethics, the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act, and the Lobbyist Disclosure Act. All lobbyists must register and file all reports online with the Lobbyist Online System.
There are many other types of business attorneys that your organization in Louisiana may benefit from using. If you’re not sure about what type of business attorney your company needs, use the form below to get connected with the best legal help in your area.
Work With an Experienced Louisiana Business Law Lawyer
Hiring a business law attorney near you can help you to resolve many commercial issues that may emerge. In addition to this, commercial law attorneys in Louisiana can provide you with legal research, legal advice, and any other types of services that your business needs to protect itself or to fight a claim.
A commercial law attorney is also beneficial if your business needs to file a lawsuit or if you’re ever in a situation where you have to attend a court hearing. Additionally, a business law attorney in Louisiana will help you determine the best course of action for your business if you are ever in violation of any laws.
Most importantly, a business attorney helps your Louisiana business stay out of trouble. Steering clear of legal disputes is always less costly than trying to find your way out of one. While it is not always possible to avoid business litigation, doing all you can to avoid one can go a long way to protecting your business.
Are you looking for a business attorney in Louisiana to defend your business interests? We can connect you with an experienced and passionate lawyer at no cost to you. We can even help you connect with an attorney across Louisiana state lines.
Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!
About the Author
Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.
With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations.
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