Being a business owner in 2025 is perhaps more difficult than it’s ever been, with all of the usual challenges now being accompanied by issues such as the increasing influence of artificial intelligence, the need for intellectual property protection and concerns over ever-changing legislation. Many try to go it alone without the services of an experienced business attorney, choosing instead to only seek out legal expertise when something damaging to the company arises.
But cultivating a long-lasting relationship with a trusted lawyer can actually provide benefits in both the short term and the long term.
“As part of our general counsel model, we think that if the clients are speaking with us on a regular basis, they’re going to end up spending less on legal fees because we’ve been involved in guiding them toward decisions and helping them avoid problems,” says Lloyd C. Birnbaum, a real estate and corporate attorney at Lauletta Birnbaum LLC. “We pride ourselves on having business acumen. At our firm, many of us were in business before practicing law, so we look at the law through the lens of business. … Oftentimes, if we’re speaking with the clients on a regular basis and they’re having issues with their customers or others, by speaking with us we can often help them avoid litigation and save a lot of money.”
Matthew Arnold, an attorney with Parker McCay who focuses his practice on business formation, real estate and commercial lending, understands that business owners want to operate efficiently and may seek technological shortcuts, but many times those options can’t match an actual legal professional.
“The problem with that is, a lot of issues arise over small details that eventually become larger details in disputes,” he says. “It’s always advisable for us to be familiar with the transaction and relationship in any deal and to advise based on those specific needs. … Our hope is that we avoid those problems by being proactive rather than reactive. It takes a lot more time and money to undo issues than it would to make sure they’re addressed in the beginning.”
Christine A. Amalfe, an employment lawyer at Gibbons P.C. who also serves as the president of the New Jersey State Bar Association, believes small business owners in particular feel that they can’t afford representation.
“People have to get away from the idea that going to a lawyer is too expensive,” she says. “There are lawyers at every price point, and there are lawyers who are very efficient. If you go to a lawyer and all they do is contracts, in very quick fashion they’re going to be able to tell you the terms you can negotiate and the terms you can’t negotiate. They can very quickly tell you that you need to add a provision—it’s important and here’s why. It’s an investment, but it gives you security that if something goes bad, you are going to have some protection on the back end.”
The NJSBA brings the state’s lawyers together to network and share ideas at such gatherings as their annual meeting in Atlantic City and their upcoming members trip to Italy. They also provide continuing legal education to members on everything from the latest court decisions to new laws and why adopting AI might be good for their business.
Business attorneys, in turn, can pass on that knowledge to their clients. A recent example is the New Jersey Pay and Benefit Transparency Act, which requires employers with 10 or more employees to disclose a salary range and benefits in job postings.
“That’s part of our job, to make sure that we’re up to date on the latest,” Arnold says. “Something like pay transparency is important, and that’s the advantage of being a full-service firm like Parker McCay where we have various departments. If something comes up with a business that I represent and there’s an issue that could be related to labor and employment, then we have a great labor and employment department that I can send something over to. And there are changes all the time.”
Birnbaum, Arnold and Amalfe all encourage their clients to be active participants in the legal process. That means reading all documents fully, asking questions and pointing out concerns. Over time, that helps the attorneys get to know them better and what’s most important to their business.
“There are clients who I know what their temperament is, and I can make business decisions for them, which is the benefit of having a long-term relationship with a client,” Birnbaum says. “I love relationships—that’s what I’m in it for. Yes, I’m in it to earn a living, but I love having relationships with clients, and I actually enjoy having relationships with opposing counsel. You can learn from opposing counsel how they think. A lot of attorneys think they know it all, but they don’t.”
Arnold likewise feels that all sides in a deal or dispute should have legal representation to make for easier resolutions.
“South Jersey is a small community, we all know each other, and I find that there’s a level of decorum. We all try to find a good solution,” he says. “I cannot recommend it enough that [business owners hire an attorney] to make sure there are no surprises and they have a full understanding of what they’re agreeing to.”
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Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Biz, Volume 15, Issue 9 (September 2025).
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