25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer
Hiring a business lawyer in Utah is not just about finding someone who can answer a few legal questions. It is about choosing a legal advisor who understands business formation, contracts, owner disputes, employment risk, commercial litigation, regulatory compliance, and the practical pressures of running a company in Utah.
The most important takeaway is simple: ask specific questions before you hire. Do not rely only on personality, price, advertising, or a general promise to “handle business law.” A good business lawyer should be able to explain Utah entity rules, contract strategy, ownership rights, dispute prevention, local court issues, and how legal work supports your business goals.
This guide explains what to ask before hiring a Utah business lawyer, why each question matters, what mistakes to avoid, and how to evaluate whether counsel is the right fit. Utah business owners should also understand that legal issues can involve state filings, Utah statutes, employment agencies, court rules, and local licensing requirements. For business-law-related guidance in Utah, attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472 serves clients in and around Utah.
What Is 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer and How Does It Work?
The phrase “25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer” refers to a practical screening process. Instead of hiring the first lawyer who appears online, Utah business owners should evaluate whether the lawyer has the right legal knowledge, communication style, responsiveness, and business judgment for the company’s needs.
Business law in Utah may involve several overlapping areas. A company may need entity formation, operating agreements, corporate governance, contract drafting, employment compliance, commercial lease review, collections, ownership transfers, intellectual property protection, or dispute resolution. Utah’s Division of Corporations and Commercial Code provides state-level business services, including business entity filings, business searches, trademark filings, and UCC filings through the Utah Department of Commerce (Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code).
A Utah business owner might need legal help before starting a company, signing a major contract, hiring employees, accepting investor money, buying assets, selling a business, removing a partner, responding to a lawsuit, or fixing old paperwork. For early-stage owners, Starting A Business In Utah In 2026 The Legal Checklist is a useful internal resource to review before a consultation.
The goal is not to become a lawyer. The goal is to ask the right questions so you can choose a lawyer who explains risk clearly, documents decisions correctly, and helps your company avoid preventable legal problems.
10 Key Things to Know Before Hiring a Business Lawyer in Utah
1. Ask What Types of Utah Business Matters the Lawyer Handles Most Often
Business law is broad. A lawyer who occasionally reviews contracts may not be the right fit for mergers, shareholder disputes, commercial litigation, investor agreements, intellectual property assignments, or complex employment issues.
Ask what percentage of the lawyer’s work involves business clients. Ask which business issues come up most often. Ask whether the lawyer regularly works with Utah LLCs, corporations, partnerships, professional entities, family-owned companies, contractors, service businesses, real estate businesses, or startups.
This matters because companies face different legal needs at different stages. A new company may need formation documents and founder agreements. A growing company may need contract templates, employment policies, vendor terms, confidentiality agreements, and collection procedures. A mature company may need succession planning, asset-sale documents, governance cleanup, or dispute strategy.
If your company is an LLC, ask whether the lawyer regularly prepares operating agreements, member admission documents, buyout provisions, authority provisions, and ownership transfer documents. Utah LLCs are governed by the Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, found in Utah Code Title 48, Chapter 3a (Utah Code Title 48, Chapter 3a). If LLC planning is central to your issue, review Business Lawyer For LLC before speaking with counsel.
2. Ask How the Lawyer Approaches Contracts
Contracts are where many business problems either get prevented or created. Ask how the lawyer reviews and drafts contracts. Does the lawyer only mark up legal language, or do they also evaluate business terms, payment triggers, delivery obligations, warranties, indemnity, termination rights, venue, attorney fees, and dispute resolution?
In Utah, many transactions involving goods may be affected by Utah’s Uniform Commercial Code, found in Utah Code Title 70A. Title 70A includes chapters on sales, leases, negotiable instruments, bank deposits, funds transfers, letters of credit, investment securities, and secured transactions (Utah Code Title 70A, Uniform Commercial Code).
A strong business lawyer should explain how contract terms affect real-world risk. For example, a Utah supplier agreement should clarify payment due dates, inspection rights, delivery risk, late fees, limitation of liability, warranty disclaimers, and remedies if the buyer refuses payment. A service agreement should define scope, change orders, cancellation rights, intellectual property ownership, confidentiality, and dispute procedures.
Do not hire a business lawyer who treats every contract as a generic form. Good contract work should match the business model, transaction size, industry norms, and risk tolerance.
3. Ask About Entity Choice and Governance
Entity choice affects liability, taxes, ownership, management, investor rights, transfer restrictions, annual filings, and long-term control. Ask whether the lawyer can compare LLCs, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, and professional entities in plain English.
A Utah business formation attorney should ask about ownership, capital contributions, expected investors, management authority, tax planning, licensing, exit strategy, and risk exposure. Utah law provides that one or more persons may form a limited liability company by delivering a certificate of organization to the Division for filing (Utah Code Section 48-3a-201).
Entity planning should not be based only on what a friend used or what an online filing tool suggested. A company with outside investors may need a different structure from a single-owner service business. A professional practice may have licensing considerations. A real estate holding company may need different risk planning than a retail business.
If entity planning is central to your decision, review Utah Business Formation Attorney and ask how formation choices connect to liability protection, tax advice, ownership rights, and future growth.
4. Ask How the Lawyer Handles Owner Disputes
Owner disputes are among the most disruptive business problems. They often involve money, control, access to records, alleged misconduct, deadlock, buyouts, fiduciary duties, and emotional conflict.
Ask the lawyer how they prevent and handle disputes among members, shareholders, partners, founders, or investors. A lawyer should be able to explain operating agreements, shareholder agreements, voting provisions, buy-sell terms, deadlock procedures, confidentiality obligations, dispute resolution clauses, and transfer restrictions.
Utah business owners with investors should be especially careful. Before accepting capital, owners should define voting rights, dilution, information rights, management control, exit rights, and what happens if the investor wants more authority later. Review How To Handle A Partnership Agreement With An Investor before asking counsel about investor terms.
If a dispute has already started, ask whether the lawyer has experience negotiating buyouts, sending demand letters, seeking injunctions, defending claims, preserving records, and coordinating with valuation professionals. If you are considering removing a co-owner, How Do I Remove A Partner From My Business In Utah can help frame the questions to ask before taking action.
5. Ask About Utah Courts and Business Litigation Risk
Even if you do not expect litigation, your lawyer should understand how disputes work. Ask what happens if your company is sued, what deadlines matter, what records must be preserved, whether insurance may apply, and whether a case belongs in district court, small claims court, arbitration, mediation, federal court, or Utah’s Business and Chancery Court.
The Utah Courts describe the Business and Chancery Court as a trial court with limited and statewide jurisdiction over actions and claims described in Utah Code Section 78A-5a-103 (Utah Business and Chancery Court). Utah Code Section 78A-5a-103 provides that the court has jurisdiction concurrent with the district court over certain qualifying actions, including actions seeking monetary damages of at least $300,000 (Utah Code Section 78A-5a-103).
A strong lawyer should explain litigation risk without exaggerating it. Litigation can be expensive, distracting, and uncertain. Early strategy may reduce damage through settlement, mediation, document preservation, insurance notice, early motion practice, or negotiation.
If you are already facing a lawsuit or demand letter, review What Happens If Sued As A Small Business Owner and contact counsel promptly.
6. Ask About Fees, Budgets, and Scope
Legal fees should be discussed clearly before work begins. Ask whether the lawyer charges hourly, flat fees, retainers, project fees, contingency fees, or a combination. Ask what is included, what is excluded, how communication is billed, whether paralegals are used, and how often invoices are sent.
Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 states that a lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or unreasonable amount for expenses (Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5). A business owner should still ask practical questions about billing because “reasonable” does not mean “predictable.”
The cheapest lawyer is not always the least expensive choice. A poorly drafted contract, incomplete operating agreement, or missed litigation deadline can cost far more than careful legal work. Still, lawyers should be able to explain likely budget ranges and phased priorities.
For pricing expectations, How Much Does A Business Lawyer Cost In Utah can help owners prepare better fee questions before calling attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472.
7. Ask How the Lawyer Communicates
Legal skill matters, but communication determines whether the relationship works. Ask how the lawyer explains options, how quickly they respond, whether they prefer email or phone, who on the team will communicate with you, and how urgent issues are handled.
A business lawyer should translate legal complexity into business decisions. For example, instead of simply saying that a clause creates indemnity exposure, the lawyer should explain who pays if a claim occurs, whether defense costs are included, whether the obligation is capped, and how the risk compares to the value of the deal.
Good communication also includes documentation. Important decisions should be confirmed in writing. Contract revisions should include explanations. Litigation steps should identify deadlines. Formation advice should connect to the owner’s actual business plan.
8. Ask About Employment, Licensing, and Compliance
Many Utah business owners think of business law as contracts and LLCs, but employment and compliance can create major exposure. Ask whether the lawyer can identify issues involving employee classification, independent contractors, wage payments, final paychecks, payroll records, workplace policies, confidentiality, discipline, termination, and workers’ compensation.
The Utah Labor Commission explains that the Utah Payment of Wages Act addresses employer responsibilities involving paydays, final paychecks, electronic payroll deposits, lawful deductions, wage disputes, and payroll records (Utah Labor Commission Wage Claim).
Licensing is also local. A business registered with the state may still need a city or county business license, zoning approval, sales tax account, professional license, or industry permit. Ask whether the lawyer helps identify those issues or coordinates with the right agency.
9. Ask About Intellectual Property and Confidential Information
A company’s value often includes its name, brand, customer list, software, content, designs, trade secrets, processes, and confidential business information. Ask whether the lawyer reviews intellectual property ownership and confidentiality early.
Many Utah companies assume they own everything created for the business. That may not be true if an independent contractor, developer, designer, marketing vendor, or former employee created the asset without a proper written assignment.
This matters before investment, sale, licensing, franchising, or major growth. Buyers and investors often ask whether IP rights are clean. If ownership is unclear, the deal may slow down or lose value.
For more background, Intellectual Property is a relevant internal resource to review before asking a Utah business lawyer about trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing, and ownership provisions.
10. Ask Whether the Lawyer Can Serve as a Long-Term Legal Advisor
Some legal needs are one-time projects. Others require ongoing guidance. Ask whether the lawyer can support the business through formation, contracts, hiring, financing, disputes, acquisitions, succession, and eventual sale.
A long-term advisor learns the business model, risk tolerance, negotiation style, recurring issues, and internal decision process. That familiarity can make legal work faster and more strategic. It can also reduce inconsistent documents.
For larger or growing companies, ask whether the lawyer can function like outside general counsel. This may include periodic check-ins, contract review systems, board or member meeting support, compliance calendars, dispute triage, and coordination with accountants or insurance brokers.
If you are comparing outside counsel and in-house counsel concepts, What Is Corporate Counsel can help frame the difference.
The Real Cost and Impact of Getting 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer Wrong
Choosing the wrong business lawyer can be expensive. Financial costs include bad contracts, lost leverage, litigation expenses, penalties, missed filing deadlines, tax complications, unpaid invoices, weak collections, and ownership disputes.
Time costs can be just as damaging. Owners may lose weeks or months dealing with document revisions, court deadlines, discovery requests, partner conflict, vendor disputes, or government agency issues. Legal confusion can distract leadership from sales, operations, hiring, and customer relationships.
There are also emotional and relational costs. Business disputes often involve friends, family members, partners, employees, vendors, and investors. A vague agreement between friends can become a bitter ownership fight. A missing buy-sell provision can make death, disability, divorce, or departure much harder.
Long-term consequences can include loss of liability protection, investor concerns, inability to sell the company, loss of trade secrets, damaged credit, collection judgments, or a court order restricting business activity. Most of these problems are avoidable when Utah business owners ask better questions up front.
How an Experienced Attorney Helps You Succeed With 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer
An experienced Utah business attorney helps you move from uncertainty to a clear plan. The attorney can identify the relevant legal framework, review documents, explain options, prioritize risk, draft or revise agreements, negotiate with third parties, and help you make decisions that protect both short-term operations and long-term value.
Proper preparation includes entity documents, ownership agreements, contract templates, employment practices, compliance calendars, IP assignments, and dispute response plans. Risk management includes identifying where your business is most exposed and reducing those risks with practical documents and procedures.
If a conflict arises, a business attorney can help evaluate settlement, mediation, litigation, arbitration, insurance coverage, injunctions, demand letters, and court deadlines. In Utah, familiarity with state agencies, Utah Code, district courts, local business licensing, and the Business and Chancery Court can improve strategy.
Attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472 serves clients in and around Utah and provides guidance on business-law-related matters in Utah.
25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer Options, Alternatives, or Strategies
One-Time Project Representation
This works when you need a specific task, such as forming an LLC, reviewing one contract, preparing a demand letter, revising a lease addendum, or drafting a contractor agreement. It is often efficient and budget-conscious. Its limitation is that the lawyer may not see broader patterns across the business.
Ongoing Outside General Counsel
This works for growing companies that need recurring contract review, employment guidance, governance support, compliance reminders, and risk management. The drawback is cost, but ongoing help may be more efficient than emergency legal work after a problem escalates.
Litigation Counsel
This is appropriate when the company has been sued, needs to sue, or faces a serious dispute. Litigation counsel focuses on deadlines, evidence, pleadings, motions, negotiation, mediation, trial preparation, and collection strategy. The limitation is that litigation counsel may not be the best fit for routine preventive planning unless they also handle transactional business work.
Preventive Legal Audit
A legal audit reviews entity records, contracts, employment documents, IP ownership, licenses, insurance issues, and dispute risks. It is useful for Utah companies preparing to grow, sell, raise capital, buy another company, or clean up old problems. Its limitation is that it requires owner participation and document collection.
What to Do If You Are Currently Dealing With 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer
- Write down your top legal issue in one sentence.
- Gather formation documents, contracts, emails, invoices, licenses, insurance policies, employment documents, and ownership agreements.
- Identify any deadlines, including lawsuit response dates, renewal dates, payment deadlines, closing dates, or government filing dates.
- List the decision-makers, owners, managers, investors, and key employees involved.
- Separate urgent issues from long-term cleanup.
- Prepare the 25 questions in the FAQ section below and mark the most important ones.
- Do not sign new documents without understanding the consequences.
- Do not delete emails, texts, financial records, or contract drafts.
- Do not remove a partner, terminate an employee, or ignore a legal notice without advice.
- Contact attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472 if you need Utah business-law guidance.
How to Choose the Right Attorney for 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer in Utah
Choose a lawyer with relevant business-law experience, not just general legal experience. Ask about entity formation, contracts, ownership disputes, employment issues, litigation risk, compliance, and Utah-specific rules.
The lawyer should understand Utah courts, state agencies, local business requirements, and the practical pace of business transactions. A good lawyer should also communicate clearly. You should leave the consultation understanding your options, risks, likely next steps, likely costs, and deadlines.
Look for a comprehensive approach. A contract issue may involve insurance. A partner dispute may involve tax and valuation. A formation issue may affect future financing. A good business lawyer looks beyond the immediate task and helps you avoid the next problem.
Common Mistakes People Make With 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer
- Hiring based only on price. Cheap legal work can be costly if documents fail.
- Waiting until a dispute escalates. Early advice is usually less expensive than crisis response.
- Using generic online forms. Forms may not fit Utah law, ownership terms, industry needs, or your business model.
- Not asking who will do the work. You should know whether the attorney, associate, paralegal, or staff will handle tasks.
- Ignoring communication style. If the lawyer cannot explain clearly, the relationship may fail.
- Not discussing fees in writing. Scope and billing expectations should be clear.
- Assuming state registration equals full compliance. Utah businesses may still need local licenses, tax accounts, or industry permits.
- Not reviewing ownership documents. Many serious disputes arise from unclear control, money, exit, and authority terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the first question I should ask a Utah business lawyer?
Ask what types of business matters the lawyer handles most often. This quickly shows whether the lawyer fits your issue, such as contracts, formation, litigation, ownership disputes, employment, or acquisitions.
2. Should I ask whether the lawyer knows Utah business law specifically?
Yes. Utah has its own entity statutes, business filing procedures, courts, labor rules, and licensing environment. Local knowledge can affect strategy, timing, and document drafting.
3. How do I ask about legal fees?
Ask for the billing method, hourly rate if applicable, retainer amount, likely budget range, invoice timing, and what is included. Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 addresses unreasonable fees and expenses, so fee clarity should be part of the hiring conversation (Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5).
4. Is a flat fee better than hourly billing?
It depends. Flat fees work well for defined projects. Hourly billing may fit negotiations, disputes, and unpredictable matters. Ask which model fits your project and why.
5. Should I hire a lawyer before forming an LLC?
Often, yes. Formation decisions affect liability, taxes, ownership, management, and future disputes. Utah law allows formation of an LLC by filing a certificate of organization with the Division, but the filing itself does not replace planning documents such as an operating agreement (Utah Code Section 48-3a-201).
6. What should I ask about contracts?
Ask how the lawyer reviews payment terms, warranties, liability limits, indemnity, termination, dispute resolution, attorney fees, and Utah law provisions.
7. Can a business lawyer help with local licenses?
A business lawyer can often identify licensing issues or direct you to the right agency. State registration does not always satisfy city, county, zoning, tax, or industry licensing requirements.
8. What should I ask if I have business partners?
Ask how the lawyer handles operating agreements, voting rights, buyouts, deadlocks, capital contributions, owner duties, transfer restrictions, and removal procedures.
9. What if an investor wants part of my company?
Ask about securities issues, voting rights, dilution, information rights, exit rights, management control, and transfer restrictions. A resource like Salt Lake Business Partnership Agreement may help you prepare.
10. Should I ask about litigation experience?
Yes. Even transactional lawyers should understand dispute risk. If you are already threatened with a lawsuit, litigation experience becomes more important.
11. What documents should I bring to the first consultation?
Bring formation records, contracts, operating agreements, emails, invoices, employee documents, demand letters, court papers, insurance policies, and a timeline of important events.
12. How quickly should a lawyer respond?
Urgency depends on the matter, but the lawyer should explain response expectations. For lawsuits, deadlines can be strict, so immediate communication matters.
13. Can a lawyer represent my business and me personally?
Sometimes, but conflicts may exist. Ask who the client is: the company, an owner, multiple owners, or an individual. This is especially important in partner disputes.
14. What should I ask about confidentiality?
Ask how communications are protected, who will access your files, and whether the lawyer has any conflicts involving competitors, vendors, employees, or partners.
15. Can a business lawyer help prevent lawsuits?
Yes. Good contracts, entity records, employment practices, insurance review, and dispute procedures can reduce lawsuit risk, although no lawyer can guarantee disputes will never happen.
16. Should I ask about industry experience?
Yes. A restaurant, software company, contractor, manufacturer, medical practice, and real estate business may face different legal risks. Industry familiarity helps the lawyer spot recurring issues.
17. What should I ask about employees?
Ask about wage rules, classification, handbooks, confidentiality, non-solicitation, discipline, termination, workers’ compensation, and workplace safety. The Utah Labor Commission’s wage claim materials are useful background for employer wage responsibilities (Utah Labor Commission Wage Claim).
18. Can a lawyer help if my LLC is not in good standing?
Yes. Ask about reinstatement, annual renewals, missed filings, registered agent issues, contracts signed while inactive, and whether any deadlines apply.
19. Should I ask about intellectual property?
Yes. Ask who owns your brand, website content, software, designs, customer lists, and trade secrets. Ownership should be documented before financing, licensing, or sale.
20. What if I only need one contract reviewed?
Ask for a limited-scope review. The lawyer can focus on key legal and business risks without taking on every aspect of the company.
21. What should I ask about communication?
Ask who your contact will be, how updates are provided, whether calls or emails are billed, and how urgent issues are handled.
22. How do I know if a lawyer is too aggressive?
Ask about negotiation philosophy. A good lawyer protects your position without creating unnecessary conflict that damages deals or escalates costs.
23. How do I know if a lawyer is too passive?
If the lawyer cannot identify risks, deadlines, options, or strategy, that is a concern. You need practical recommendations, not vague reassurance.
24. Should I ask for a legal audit?
Yes, especially before growth, financing, sale, partner changes, or major contracts. A legal audit can reveal weak documents, missing assignments, unclear ownership terms, and compliance gaps.
25. Why hire attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472?
Utah business owners looking for guidance on business-law-related matters may contact attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472. He serves clients in and around Utah and can discuss business legal issues, planning, and next steps.
Key Rules, Laws, or Standards You Should Know About 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer
Utah business owners should know several legal reference points before hiring counsel.
Utah business entities are commonly filed through the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, which provides business entity search, business registration, trademark filings, and UCC filing resources (Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code).
Utah LLCs are governed by Utah Code Title 48, Chapter 3a, the Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. That chapter includes rules on formation, members, managers, records, transferable interests, dissociation, dissolution, merger, conversion, and related matters (Utah Code Title 48, Chapter 3a).
Commercial transactions may implicate Utah Code Title 70A, Utah’s Uniform Commercial Code. This is especially relevant for sales of goods, leases of goods, negotiable instruments, bank deposits, funds transfers, letters of credit, investment securities, and secured transactions (Utah Code Title 70A).
Employment issues may involve the Utah Labor Commission, including wage claims, workplace safety, antidiscrimination, workers’ compensation, and related employer obligations (Utah Labor Commission).
High-value or specialized business disputes may involve Utah’s Business and Chancery Court, which Utah Courts describe as a trial court with limited and statewide jurisdiction over qualifying actions and claims (Utah Business and Chancery Court).
Lawyer fee discussions should also be handled directly. Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 states that a lawyer may not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or unreasonable amount for expenses (Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5).
Next Steps
The best way to handle 25 questions to ask before hiring a business lawyer in Utah is to treat the hiring decision like an important business decision. Clarify your problem, gather documents, identify deadlines, ask specific questions, and choose counsel who understands Utah business law and your company’s practical goals.
Most business legal problems become worse when owners wait, rely on generic forms, ignore documents, or hire based only on price. Careful planning can reduce disputes, protect ownership, strengthen contracts, preserve liability protection, and support long-term growth.
For guidance related to 25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Business Lawyer in Utah, contact attorney Jeremy Eveland (801) 613-1472.
Jeremy Eveland
17 North State Street
Lindon UT 84042
(801) 613-1472
Jeremy Eveland
8833 S Redwood Road
West Jordan UT 84088
(801) 613-1472
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