Preface<br > Picture the situation in which you might find yourself. You<br >have just acquired or started a small company..， or purchased<br >a business franchise.，.or been promoted to a managerial<br >position in your existing company，<br > You are a businessowner or manager， not an attorney. Legal<br >advice is something you will buy when necessary， you tell<br >yourself. But at every turn you find yourself， as one small<br >businessperson puts it， "practicing law without a license."<br >That is， making decisions with legal ramifications but without<br >the benefit of paid-for legal advice that would make you more<br >comfortable with those decisions. So what do you do? This<br >book will help you decide.<br > A note of caution: This is not a do-it-yourself law book，<br >although the authors are attorneys. It is designed to provide<br >a framework for understanding some of the legal issues，<br >opportunities， and pitfalls， as well as to help you utilize your<br >attorney more effectively. Indeed， it may encourage you to<br >talk to your lawyer more frequently than you do nov，，.<br > For example there may be son*re legal issues where one<br >visit to your lawyer may provide a roadmap for your future<br >actions， making it unnecessary to consult each time the same<br >~Ssue arises. On the other hand， if you are involved in seeking<br >patents for your products or processes you will find yourself<br >necessarily spending a considerable amount of time--and<br >probably money--with your registered patent attorney.<br > The follOwing chapters are meant to be practical and<br >applicable to business situations. You hire and fire employees，<br >borrow money sign contracts， purchase insurance， pay taxes<br >and. deal with the IRS， arid plan for your and your employees <br >etlrement. Every day you make decisions that may invo ve<br >egal Issues. this book seeks to arm you with basic awareness<br >of these issues as you deal with your day-to-day problems.<br >