When business owners in Salt Lake City, Utah come to attorney Jeremy Eveland, one of the first things he offers is a free pre-business evaluation — a comprehensive, front-to-back review of your company’s legal standing. This evaluation is designed to identify gaps, risks, and opportunities before they become costly problems. Whether you are a brand-new startup or an established company looking to grow, understanding exactly where your business stands legally is the foundation of long-term success.

What Is the Free Pre-Business Evaluation?

The pre-business evaluation is a no-cost initial consultation in which our legal team reviews your entire business structure and operations from a legal perspective. We look at every dimension of your company — from how it was formed to how it operates day to day — and we give you an honest, plain-English assessment of what we find.

Many businesses we evaluate have actually done a solid job setting things up. Their entity is properly formed, their agreements are in place, and their compliance obligations are being met. In those cases, we tell the owner exactly that: you are in good shape, here is what routine maintenance looks like going forward, and here is our number if something changes. We do not manufacture problems that do not exist.

Other businesses come to us with significant legal exposure they were not even aware of. We commonly find issues such as:

• A business operating as a sole proprietorship without any liability protection
• An LLC or corporation that was formed but never properly maintained — missing annual reports, no operating agreement, mixed personal and business finances
• Handshake agreements with partners, vendors, or employees that have never been put in writing
• Missing or unenforceable non-compete or non-disclosure agreements
• Employment practices that violate Utah or federal labor law
• Intellectual property — trademarks, trade secrets, copyrighted materials — that the owner has never formally protected
• Contracts with customers or suppliers that expose the business to unlimited liability

When we find these issues, we explain them clearly, prioritize them by risk level, and present a path forward. We believe business owners deserve honest legal advice, not intimidation tactics or unnecessary legal work.

What Does the Complete Business Legal Program Include?

After the evaluation, if we identify areas where your business needs legal assistance, we offer what we call the Complete Business Legal Program. This is an outside general counsel arrangement — meaning instead of hiring a full-time in-house attorney at a salary of $150,000 or more per year, you get the same quality of ongoing legal support at a fraction of the cost.

As your outside general counsel, we handle all the legal functions a business attorney typically provides, including:

Business Entity Formation and Maintenance

If your business is not properly formed — or if it was formed but never maintained — we fix that. Utah offers several business structures, each with different liability protection, tax treatment, and management requirements. The most common choices for small and mid-sized businesses are the Limited Liability Company (LLC) and the corporation. We help you choose the right structure for your goals, draft the governing documents (operating agreements for LLCs, bylaws and shareholder agreements for corporations), and make sure your entity stays compliant with Utah state requirements year after year.

Proper entity maintenance matters because courts can “pierce the corporate veil” — meaning a judge can strip away your liability protection and hold you personally responsible for business debts — if you have not treated your business as a separate legal entity. We help you avoid that outcome.

Contract Drafting and Review

Contracts are the backbone of every business relationship. We draft, review, and negotiate agreements for every stage of your business:

• Client and customer contracts — service agreements, sales contracts, and terms of service that protect your business if a dispute arises
• Vendor and supplier agreements — purchase orders, supply contracts, and distribution agreements
• Partnership and joint venture agreements — clearly defining who owns what, who contributes what, and how decisions are made
• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) — protecting your trade secrets and confidential business information
• Non-compete agreements — enforceable only if carefully drafted under Utah’s specific requirements (Utah Code § 34-51-101 et seq.)

A poorly written contract — or no contract at all — is one of the most common and preventable causes of business litigation. Our goal is to resolve disputes before they start by getting the terms right on the front end.

Employment Law Compliance

Once a business starts hiring employees, its legal obligations multiply significantly. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) all impose requirements on employers. Utah adds its own layer through the Utah Antidiscrimination Act and Utah wage and hour laws.

Under our Complete Business Legal Program, we help you:

• Draft legally compliant employee handbooks and workplace policies
• Properly classify workers as employees or independent contractors (misclassification is one of the most common — and expensive — employment law violations)
• Create offer letters and employment agreements that protect both parties
• Navigate terminations, layoffs, and disciplinary actions in a way that minimizes legal risk
• Respond to complaints, EEOC charges, and Utah Labor Commission inquiries

We also work closely with businesses on workers’ compensation matters, helping employers understand their obligations and defend against improper claims.

Intellectual Property Protection

Your business name, logo, proprietary processes, software, and creative works may all qualify for intellectual property protection. We help Salt Lake City business owners identify what they own, register trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Utah Division of Corporations, and take action when others infringe on their rights. We also draft confidentiality and assignment agreements to make sure that IP created by employees or contractors belongs to your business — not to the individuals who created it.

Business Transactions and Acquisitions

Whether you are buying a business, selling one, or bringing in a new partner, transaction work requires careful legal attention. We conduct due diligence reviews, structure deals to minimize tax exposure and legal risk, draft and negotiate purchase agreements, and guide you through the closing process. If you are looking at a franchise opportunity, we review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and help you understand what you are signing before you commit.

Dispute Resolution and Litigation Support

Even well-run businesses end up in disputes. A client refuses to pay. A former employee files a claim. A vendor breaches a contract. A business partner goes rogue. When those situations arise, having a business attorney who already knows your company is invaluable — we can respond immediately rather than spending weeks getting up to speed.

We handle business disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and, when necessary, litigation in Utah’s state and federal courts. Our goal is always to resolve disputes efficiently and cost-effectively, but we are fully prepared to fight for you in court if that is what it takes.

Why Outside General Counsel Makes Sense for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Most small and mid-sized businesses in Salt Lake City cannot justify the cost of a full-time in-house attorney. But they also cannot afford to operate without legal guidance — the risk is simply too high. Outside general counsel bridges that gap.

As your outside general counsel, we are not billing you every time a quick question comes up. We build a relationship with your business, learn how it operates, and become a trusted advisor rather than just a vendor you call when something goes wrong. That ongoing relationship means we catch problems early, before they become expensive litigation.

Compare the cost of proactive legal planning — drafting a solid employment agreement, for example — to the cost of defending an employment lawsuit. The American legal system makes it easy for employees to bring claims, and even a meritless case can cost a small business $50,000 to $150,000 or more to defend. The investment in getting things right from the beginning pays for itself many times over.

Who Is This Program For?

The Complete Business Legal Program is designed for Salt Lake City area business owners who:

• Are starting a new business and want to set it up correctly from day one
• Have an existing business that has grown beyond its original legal structure
• Are entering contracts or transactions that require legal review
• Have employees and want to make sure their employment practices are compliant
• Are facing a legal dispute and need representation
• Simply want the peace of mind that comes with having a business attorney in their corner

We work with businesses across a wide range of industries and sizes. You can learn more about what types of businesses we typically work with and what specific areas of business law we handle.

How the Evaluation and Program Work Together

The process is straightforward:

1. Schedule a free consultation. Call our office at 801-676-5506 to set up your free initial evaluation. There is no charge and no obligation for this first meeting.
2. We evaluate your business. We review your current legal documents, entity structure, contracts, employment practices, and any pending issues.
3. We give you an honest assessment. If everything looks solid, we tell you that and give you guidance on routine maintenance going forward. If we identify problems, we lay them out clearly and prioritize them.
4. We offer a tailored program. If you need ongoing legal support, we propose a Complete Business Legal Program sized to your business’s needs and budget. We do not offer one-size-fits-all packages.
5. We get to work. Once you decide to move forward, we begin addressing your legal needs in order of priority, starting with the highest-risk issues.

If you are wondering what questions to ask before hiring a business attorney, we have covered that in detail — see our guides on the first question to ask a business attorney and the third question to ask when hiring a business lawyer.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

The most common mistake business owners make is waiting until they have a problem before calling an attorney. By that point, the options are often limited and the costs are high. A business that never signed a partnership agreement ends up in court when the partners disagree on direction. A business that never protected its trade name loses it to a competitor who registered the trademark first. A business that misclassified its workers faces back taxes, penalties, and class action exposure.

The law does not make allowances for business owners who did not know the rules. Ignorance of legal requirements is not a defense — it is a liability.

The good news is that most of these problems are entirely preventable with the right legal guidance upfront. That is exactly what our Complete Business Legal Program is designed to provide.

Serving Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front

Jeremy Eveland’s law office serves business owners throughout Salt Lake City, West Jordan, South Jordan, Sandy, Murray, Draper, Orem, Provo, and communities across the Wasatch Front. We understand the local business environment, the Utah courts, and the specific legal requirements that apply to Utah businesses.

For more information on how Utah law structures business entities, the Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Utah Code Title 48) governs LLC formation and operation in the state.

Get Your Free Business Evaluation Today

If you are a business owner in Salt Lake City or anywhere in Utah, you owe it to yourself and your business to know exactly where you stand legally. Our free pre-business evaluation gives you that clarity — at no cost and with no sales pressure.

Call us today at 801-676-5506 to schedule your free initial consultation. We are happy to meet with you, evaluate your business from front to back, and give you an honest picture of what you need — and what you do not need. That is the foundation of the Complete Business Legal Program, and it is how we build long-term relationships with the business owners we serve in Salt Lake City, Utah.