Insight 37 - Magazine - Page 42
Step into Spring legally healthy
A
s we head into spring, it's not just
the perfect time to declutter and
freshen up our living spaces – it's
also an ideal moment to do a muchneeded legal health check.
Here are my top 3 areas to address this
spring.
1. Ensure your business contracts are
protecting your business.
When did you last review your business
contracts? You’ll have contracts with
employees, suppliers and customers. Are
they all drafted properly and are they still
fully relevant to your business today?
You may have expanded into new business
areas, began trading online, or opened
new premises. Are all the intellectual
property rights held by your business
documented correctly? Do your terms
and conditions for sales still stack up with
your current business model and cover all
products or services you are providing?
Terms and conditions for customers must
also be easy to find. If you have a website,
are they featured there? Is your website
cookie policy and privacy policy up to
date?
It's essential that your contracts are
relevant to your business today to protect
you and minimise potential legal disputes
with your business.
2. Update your shareholders’
agreement or put one in place.
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Does you shareholders’ agreement still
protect the interests of your business?
Maybe you don’t have one in place yet,
but now is a good time to do it. A well
written shareholders’ agreement will
contain provisions about who are going
to be the directors of the company and
how key business decisions are made.
It will also consider the worst-case
scenarios that might happen. While
we hope we never need to refer to it, a
crisis can happen to any business at any
time. For example, what if the business
relationship breaks down between the
shareholders and they can no longer
work together, or a senior shareholder
passes away? What if a third party wants
to buy the business but one minority
shareholder doesn’t want to sell? You
can include provisions for all these
situations in a shareholders’ agreement
ANDREW DONGWORTH
Partner, Company and Commercial Solicitor
HRJ Foreman Laws Solicitors,
Welwyn Garden City
Email: info@hrjforemanlaws.co.uk
Telephone: 01707 887 700.
www.hjrforemanlaws.co.uk
bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024
and prevent costly and timely litigation
arising after the event.
3. Renewing your commercial lease
If you are leasing your business
premises, or are a landlord with
commercial tenants, at some point
your lease agreement will need to
be renewed. Business leases receive
statutory protection, generally giving
the tenant the legal right to continue
the lease at the end of the term and
renew the lease on similar terms at
the market rent. If a tenant or landlord
wishes to renegotiate new lease terms
such as rent, length of term and liability
of repair, it is recommended to seek
legal advice. Don’t leave this to the last
minute. Typically, you should seek to
begin your renewal process at least six
months before the renewal date.