Harris Beach Murtha attorney Mark F. Schuber recently provided insight to the Rochester Business Journal for an article on small businesses.

Mark, a senior counsel in our Corporate Practice Group, said the current economic climate has pressured small businesses, as they grapple with elevated operating expenses and face higher borrowing costs.

“Borrowing is still relatively expensive for small businesses,” he told the publication. “Lenders are starting to tighten their standards, so that can often cause small businesses to be priced out of borrowing.”

Mark added that Harris Beach Murtha is encouraging clients to focus on proactive risk management, and to build flexibility into agreements, including pricing provisions and clear exit clauses that allow businesses to adapt if economic conditions change.

“Nowadays we’re seeing more customers come to us with their commercial contracts, or at least their important commercial contracts, in order to tighten the risk allocation and make sure the risk allocation is appropriate for their business,” he said.

Mark identified cybersecurity as another significant legal and regulatory issue for small businesses today.

“Cyber threats are no longer big-company problems,” he said. “They’re everybody’s problem.”

To learn more of what Mark and others said about the current small business climate, read the full article. (Subscription may be required.)