Woman signing a car insurance in the office, model car on the background

Why Auto Dealerships Want a Lawyer if They’re Looking to Expand

If you're looking to expand your auto dealership, you might consider hiring legal counsel before doing so. A legal advisor may be able to help your dealership negotiate favorable acquisition deals, handle lawsuits on your behalf and take other steps to make it easier to run a growing business.

Dealerships May Expand Through Acquisitions

It's not uncommon for auto dealers to expand by buying its competition. During the acquisition process, it's important to spend time doing due diligence. An attorney may assist in the process of reviewing and verifying any claims made by a seller before a transaction becomes official. Your legal counsel may also work to ensure that the sale won't incur the wrath of government officials, regulatory bodies, or others who could potentially scuttle a proposed deal.

Larger Companies Are More Likely To Be the Target of Lawsuits

The larger a dealership grows, the harder it is to remain directly involved in its daily operations. Therefore, you may not know that a manager has harassed an employee until you are served with legal papers. Furthermore, you might not know that a customer had a bad experience with the service center until that person files a lawsuit.

It's also not unheard of for individuals to file frivolous lawsuits against larger companies in the hopes of obtaining a cheap settlement. Your attorney will be able to represent your dealership's interests during each case, and he or she may be able to resolve them in your favor without having to go to court. This can save your company a significant amount of time and money without having to worry about experiencing a public relations disaster.

It's Always a Good Idea To Be Proactive

As your dealership grows, it may experience legal problems that you didn't think of when creating your business plan. Your legal adviser may be able to address those issues before they potentially undermine your ability to expand your dealership empire.

As your business expands, it will likely need assistance dealing with various legal issues. Hiring an attorney may make it possible to handle these issues in a discrete, timely, and favorable manner.