A company is a legal entity. You must at the very least formally register your business before you can begin trading. This is perhaps the simplest type of transaction. Most companies will need to undertake more complicated tasks as they grow and expand.

Buying assets, acquiring new companies, forging mergers, forming alliances and partnerships, carrying out initial public offerings (IPOs)—these are some of the activities that most companies will need to engage in. If you are the head of a company, you will also need to negotiate contracts with a variety of suppliers, clients, and vendors. And you will need to work out legal language that limits the risk and liability to your company.

You will also need to protect your company from lawsuits. As a business, you are target. Individuals, other companies, state and local government, and non-government organizations and pressure groups all have you in their sights. You will need the legal expertise and skill of a business law attorney to defend your interests. In most instances, such lawsuits can be settled out of court. But if you need to go to trial, you need someone with unmatched competence and effectiveness.