Contractor Disputes

Attorneys Who Help Resolve Contractor Disputes

Almost all businesses hire contractors for one reason or another. Some contractors can be temporary (i.e. a contractor hired to paint the premises, or build a website) and some contractors can be ongoing (i.e. providing some critical service necessary for the business). What many business owners fail to realize, is that contractors own the intellectual property of the work product they produce for the business (without a very specific provision in a contract), and there are few laws that protect the confidential information of a company without taking some proactive steps.

As a consequence, if you’re not careful as business owner, you can find your business seriously damaged by a contractor. You owe it to yourself to hire competent, experienced and effective business attorneys to help navigate contractor disputes, such as Business Law Southwest.

Disputes with contractors can be very damaging to a business, which is why it’s critical that a business does at least two things related to contractors:

• Execute a Contractor Agreement. A contractor agreement spells out a number of critical provisions in a relationship, including payment, confidentiality / trade secrets, non-compete / non-solicitation, and intellectual property ownership.
• Ensure Proper Legal Status as a Contractor. An individual working for your company isn’t a contractor simply because you say they are. Contractors are required to meet very specific requirements, in order to be classified as a contractor and not an employee. Otherwise, a contractor can later file a complaint with the Department of Labor (DOL) and other governmental agencies, saying they weren’t paid properly. The business could end up paying back-taxes, unpaid hourly and overtime, penalties and interest.

Business Law Southwest Can Help with Many Types of Contractor Disputes

If you find your business in a fight with a contractor, contact us to help you fight. Disputes the lawyers at Business Law Southwest can help with include:

• Intellectual property disputes, especially around trade secret information and intellectual property.
• Breaches in a contractor agreement.
• Pursuing causes of action against third-parties, who take advantage of trade secret information, or information, employees, partners or other third-parties in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation obligations.
• Improper classification of contractors as employees.
• Unfinished, incomplete or negligent services provided by a contractor.
• Placing liens and resolving lien disputes.
• And, much more.