General Counsel & Study: Shortsighted Business Law Firms Ignoring Hispanic Business Growth

© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.By Natalie Posgate and Mark Curriden Staff Writers for The Texas Lawbook (January 20) – The legal needs of the quickly expanding Hispanic business community in North Texas are going unmet by lawyers in the region, according to a new study, leaders of the Chamber of Commerce and a growing number of corporate general counsel. The report, “Legal Watch Dallas 2014,” found that Dallas-Fort Worth business law firms are unprepared to represent Hispanic business owners because they employ very few Spanish-speaking lawyers or attorneys with strong relationships within the Hispanic community. The result, according to the study’s authors, is that Hispanic business leaders are not receiving critical advice and legal representation in matters involving incorporating their companies, contracts with other businesses, protecting intellectual property, taxes and regulatory matters. In addition, DFW area business lawyers are missing out on potentially tens-of-millions of dollars in revenues from paying clients that are being ignored by law firms that are stuck in shortsighted business models that discourage long-term creativity and business development, according to the report and several corporate general counsel interviewed by The Texas Lawbook. “I don’t think [Dallas lawyers] realize just how many Hispanic business owners there are,”…