(MENAFN- AzerNews)
A business strategy is a powerful tool for helping entrepreneurs
to achieve their business goals. A good strategy includes plans in
relation to the products or services, assets, customers, suppliers,
employees, business partners, government organizations, financial
institutions, trademarks, competitors and so on. If the
businesspeople plan to successfully implement the firm's strategy,
then they need to consider legal aspects of the above matters. In
other words, without having the proper legal strategy
implementation of the business strategy will not be effective.
Products/Services
Before the businessmen make a decision as to which products
and/or services they will provide to customers, they need to
consult with a lawyer and the list of products and/or the scope of
the services require a legal review.
For example, a company provides repair and maintenance services
of equipment to be used in oil and gas industry. Depending on the
type of the activity, the company may need to obtain a license. If
the company fails to obtain a license where it is required and
continues to carry out its operations, there can be adverse legal
consequences such as penalty (depending on the amount of income
from the illegal operations), imprisonment etc.
Assets/Trademarks
The status of the assets needs to be legally analyzed. What
kind of assets does the business have? Are they movable or
immovable? Have they been properly registered into the name of the
company (whether applicable)? Have the trademarks been registered?
How your legal interests over the premises, facilities are
protected?
All these questions need to be addressed.
For example, an entrepreneur decides to start a taxi business.
Will he/she own the vehicles or the vehicles will be leased from
third parties? Why? What are the legal consequences of each
option?
Employees/service providers
Relations with the employees and/or service providers need to be
analyzed beforehand to avoid any future risks. Azerbaijani
employment laws set out strict regulations and without local legal
experts it is hard to manage employment processes. Depending on the
nature of the breach, the legislation sets out administrative
penalty, criminal liability and so on. For instance, a company
provides delivery services and the management may think that staff
may be hired based on the service agreements and not based on the
employment agreements (what are the differences between the
two?). Before making such crucial decisions,
businessmen/managers need to consult with the local lawyers since
the approach of the regulatory authority may be totally
different.
Customers/Suppliers/Business partners
All related risks should be considered in advance and need to be
set out in the contracts. Never use template contracts. It is
strongly recommended to use the contracts specifically drafted and
tailored for the needs of your company. In case of any dispute,
template (formal) contracts may put your company at risk and in an
adverse situation. A document turnover of the company requires more
legal attention for successful business.
Financial institutions/government
organizations
With respect to financial transactions Azerbaijan has strict
regulations. For cash flow management the businesspeople do not
need only to consult with tax specialists and accountants, but also
with the lawyers. For example, making an advance payment may impose
both contractual and regulatory risks. When it comes to the
relations with the state authorities, it is strongly advised to be
represented with the lawyer (for instance, when a company needs to
obtain a license/permit, or when a company participates in public
procurement process, or when state authority carries out an
inspection and in all other similar circumstances).
Engaging a lawyer/legal team to the implementation of the
business strategy or even in an earlier stage, is the proactive
approach which will always add value to the business.
About the author: Fuad Gashamov is a
professional lawyer with over 12 years of experience in consulting
industry. He mainly specializes in dispute resolution, real estate,
contracts, regulatory, intellectual property and compliance. He is
the founding partner at Legalize Law Firm. He is a member of the
Bar Association since 2014. For more information about the author
please see the following link:
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