Don’t Let These 10 Legal Myths Stop Your Doing Business In The United States!

By Marc S. Friedman |Director of Professional Relations | Global Commerce Education

After practicing law for 47 years including with the World’s #1 Global law firm, I have learned that many non-US companies, including Baltic businesses, are discouraged from exploiting a robust US marketplace by 10 legal myths than can easily be debunked.

The 10 legal myths are:

1. The costs of entry into the US, including the costs of business formation, are very great and, thus, prohibitive.

2. Forming a business in the US takes a very long time with too many hurdles to overcome.

3. There are so many methods of market entry that it is impossible to know which is best for my company.

4. There are too many governmental regulations that will make it very difficult to grow a business in the US.

5. If we enter the US we may be jeopardizing our valuable intellectual property.

6. The risk of liability and lawsuits relating to our products and/or services is too great.

7. The US is very litigious and that is too threatening to a small company like ours.

8. The possibility of many employee lawsuits scares us.

9. There are no effective ways to control the risks to our business if we come to the US.

10. It is almost impossible to locate trusted advisers including reliable and cost-effective lawyers and accountants.

None of these myths is true. And, with careful planning the business risks normally associated with them can be significantly reduced and, often, eliminated. With careful planning by your company and trusted advisors, you can materially increase the chances of having a “soft landing” and a successful expansion to the US (and its neighbors Canada and Mexico).

This series of 11 articles, beginning with this one, will discuss each of the 10 legal myths, demonstrating why they should not prevent your company from doing business in the US. As you likely know, the US has 350 million consumers and a very strong economy. The US stock markets are at an all-time high. Business regulations, especially those affecting small and medium companies, are being drastically reformed. Now is the time to consider US expansion and none of the 10 legal myths is a barrier.

We look forward to addressing and debunking the 10 legal myths, one by one, in the ensuing articles.

Compliments of Global Commerce Education, a member of the EACCNY