10 things to check every year to keep your business legally sound
Running a business is a full-time job. Legal housekeeping tends to fall to the bottom of the list. This annual checklist brings everything back to the top — before a problem forces it there.
Why an Annual Legal Review Pays for Itself
Most of the business owners we work with at Voytas Law did not get into legal trouble all at once. Problems usually develop slowly: a contract that was not updated when a business relationship changed, a license that quietly expired, an employee classification that drifted into legally murky territory.
An annual legal audit is not about finding problems for their own sake. It is about catching small issues while they are still small — before they become expensive. Think of it like a car’s oil change. A few minutes of maintenance prevents a catastrophic engine failure later.
Here is your annual 10-point legal checklist. Work through it once a year, ideally around the same time you do your annual tax preparation.
Check 1: Review Your Business Structure
The structure you chose when you launched your business may no longer be the best fit for where your business is today. As covered in Article 1 of this series, an LLC that was right for a solo freelancer may need to become an S-Corp election once revenue grows significantly. A single-member LLC might need to evolve as you bring on partners.
Ask yourself: Has my business grown significantly in revenue or complexity this year? Have I brought on new partners or investors? Has my risk profile changed? If yes to any of these, schedule a conversation with your attorney to evaluate whether your structure still serves you.
Check 2: Update Your Contracts
Review your standard client contracts, service agreements, and contractor agreements. Do they reflect how your business actually operates today? Have your services, pricing structures, or delivery methods changed? Have you added new service lines that are not covered?
Also check the dates on any fixed-term agreements. Client retainers, vendor contracts, and lease agreements with expiration dates need to be renewed, renegotiated, or replaced before they lapse. A contract that has expired and is being operated on informally creates significant legal uncertainty.
Check 3: Check Your Trademark and IP Status
If you filed a trademark application in the past year, check its status in the USPTO database. Trademark applications require responses to Office Actions within specific deadlines, and applications can be abandoned if deadlines are missed.
If you have a registered trademark, note that federal trademark registrations must be maintained. You will need to file a Declaration of Use between the 5th and 6th year after registration, and renew every 10 years. Missing these deadlines cancels your registration.
Also revisit any creative work you have commissioned in the past year. Do your contracts with designers, developers, and content creators include proper IP assignment language? As discussed in Article 4, creator-owned work is the default. You need explicit contract language to own what you paid for.
Check 4: Review Employee Classifications
The independent contractor vs. employee distinction is one of the most actively enforced areas of employment law. Review your working relationships with anyone you have classified as a contractor. Have any of those relationships evolved to look more like employment? More control over their schedule, exclusive work for your company, or use of your equipment?
If you have full-time employees, review whether your overtime-exempt classifications are still correct. The salary thresholds for overtime exemptions have been changing in recent years, and a classification that was correct two years ago may not be today.
Check 5: Renew Missouri Licenses and Registrations
Depending on your industry and location in Missouri, you may have licenses, permits, or registrations that require periodic renewal. Common ones include business operating licenses from your city or county, professional licenses, sales tax permits, and industry-specific permits.
The penalty for operating without a valid license ranges from fines to forced closure, depending on the type of license and jurisdiction. Create a calendar reminder for every license renewal date in your business.
Check 6: Review and Update Your Operating Agreement
If your business is an LLC, your Operating Agreement is the governing document that controls how your business runs — profit distribution, decision-making authority, what happens if a member leaves or dies, and how the business can be sold or dissolved.
If your Operating Agreement has not been updated since you formed your LLC, review it now. Has your ownership structure changed? Have you brought on a business partner? Have your profit distributions changed? An outdated Operating Agreement creates serious legal risk, especially in multi-member LLCs.
Check 7: Review Your Business Insurance Coverage
Insurance is a legal protection tool as much as a financial one. Review your current policies for gaps or changes needed:
- General liability: Is your coverage limit appropriate for your current revenue and risk level?
- Professional liability (E&O): Do you have it if you provide professional services, consulting, or advice?
- Workers compensation: Are you covered if required by Missouri law based on your employee count?
- Cyber liability: Do you collect, store, or process customer data? A data breach can be financially devastating without this coverage.
- Business interruption: Would your business survive if you were forced to close for 30, 60, or 90 days?
Check 8: Secure Your Digital Assets
This one is underrated but increasingly critical. Your website domain name, social media accounts, email lists, and digital accounts are business assets. Are they properly owned and secured?
Check that your domain registrations are current and renewing automatically. Confirm that your website and social media accounts are registered in your business name, not your developer’s personal account. Ensure you have two-factor authentication on all critical business accounts. And review who has administrative access — former employees with admin access to your website or accounts are a real vulnerability.
Check 9: Review Any Outstanding Disputes or Legal Exposure
Take stock of any unresolved disputes, unpaid invoices in collection, or potential claims. Are there any situations from the past year where a client, vendor, partner, or former employee has expressed dissatisfaction in a way that could escalate?
Early, proactive legal involvement in potential disputes is almost always less expensive than reactive involvement after a lawsuit has been filed. If something has been nagging at you, now is the time to get a professional opinion on your exposure.
Check 10: Schedule a Legal Check-In With Your Attorney
The final and perhaps most important item on this list: schedule a 30 to 60 minute annual check-in with your business attorney. Not because you have a specific problem, but because an experienced eye on your business once a year can catch things you cannot see yourself.
A good business attorney who knows your company can review the highlights of your past year — new hires, new contracts, new products or services, any disputes — and identify legal risks you may not have recognized. This kind of proactive relationship is what separates businesses that navigate legal challenges smoothly from those that are constantly firefighting.
The Bottom Line: Proactive Beats Reactive Every Time
Every item on this checklist is easier to address before it becomes a problem than after. Updating a contract takes a fraction of the time and cost of litigating a dispute over a bad one. Maintaining a trademark registration takes minutes. Reviewing your business structure once a year is a conversation, not a crisis.
This is exactly the kind of proactive, relationship-based legal counsel that Voytas Law has been providing to St. Louis small businesses since 2002. We know our clients, we know their businesses, and we stay ahead of their legal risks so they can stay focused on what they do best.
This article is the final installment in the Voytas Law Small Business Legal Survival Guide series. You can read all six articles at voytaslaw.com.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every business situation is unique. Please consult with a qualified attorney before making legal decisions for your business.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP? Want Voytas Law to run your annual legal audit? We have been keeping St. Louis businesses legally sound since 2002. Our small business review covers all 10 points and takes the worry completely off your plate. Visit voytaslaw.com to get started.
