I don't disagree with the idea of "division of labor" and specialization and all that, but I think it's short-sighted to say an entrepreneur should not read at least a little about business law. As an entrepreneur, I think it's valuable to have at least enough of an understanding to know what questions to ask, and to be able to have an informed conversation with your legal counsel.
There's quite a continuum between studying as much as a lawyer-in-training, and going and taking a "Business Law 101" course, or just reading the textbook from a "Business Law 101" course. I think most entrepreneurs would be well served by at least reading over such a textbook or taking such a class.
I agree with you though I concede that one should hire a lawyer when facing litigation or starting it. I meant more along the lines of starting a project, finding an idea to take further. I think that it is this stage where an entrepreneur when researching should read some law books and was wondering if there were any some could suggest..
Good luck on your project research, then. I don't have any law book recommendations. I still contend you may be better off talking to a lawyer about what you need to know rather than reading law books during your research phase. They can cut through all the company formation, IP, etc. jargon pretty quickly.
If you're boot strapping a business you'll want to have a base level of understanding which will save you thousands in legal fees. It's one thing to get legal strategy for $300-$400/hour, it's another thing to pay that for basic legal explanation.
In the long run you cannot make some serious decisions without knowing what the Law is or is likely to be. Neither can you call your lawyer to advise you at every decision.
Large companies operate on the "what we can get away with" principle, which of you put it in the context of this forum is a Law hack.
For example earlier today the telephone company O2 in the UK was lambasted for including people's telephone number in the header of all http requests of every site visited on a mobile device. Someone somewhere made that decision not knowing it was illegal, perhaps not even stopping to think about it. Or alternatively they made the decision in full knowledge that it was illegal, but so obscure that Joe Public would probably not find it or understand the implications even if they did discover it.
Also, what computer books should attorneys read? Obviously, if an attorney had a big IT project they should hire a professional, but they could probably get a good head start if they read a few computer books for background, right?
The law game is generally about solving disagreements and disputes between people, but you already have a good idea of what comes into play if you are a logical thinker.
You can mostly second guess the issues, although lawyers are there to add the experience (case law) to what you may already know. Some of it is surprising and that's what can wrong foot the amateur.
I would never advocate not having a lawyer, but as I say thinking about what could already be a point of dispute is already ahead of the issue.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 33.7 ms ] threadThere's quite a continuum between studying as much as a lawyer-in-training, and going and taking a "Business Law 101" course, or just reading the textbook from a "Business Law 101" course. I think most entrepreneurs would be well served by at least reading over such a textbook or taking such a class.
Large companies operate on the "what we can get away with" principle, which of you put it in the context of this forum is a Law hack.
For example earlier today the telephone company O2 in the UK was lambasted for including people's telephone number in the header of all http requests of every site visited on a mobile device. Someone somewhere made that decision not knowing it was illegal, perhaps not even stopping to think about it. Or alternatively they made the decision in full knowledge that it was illegal, but so obscure that Joe Public would probably not find it or understand the implications even if they did discover it.
It's the only one you'll need - it basically covers everything required to jump into an intelligent conversation with your attorney.
You can mostly second guess the issues, although lawyers are there to add the experience (case law) to what you may already know. Some of it is surprising and that's what can wrong foot the amateur.
I would never advocate not having a lawyer, but as I say thinking about what could already be a point of dispute is already ahead of the issue.