For most businesses, deciding whether to call a lawyer is just like deciding whether to go to the doctor or not. Just like you will contact your doctor or go to the ER if you suffer from severe pain, you must be in touch with your business lawyer whenever any small issues that have the potential of turnign big, come up. Likewise, you should call a lawyer when you have a serious legal problem, for instance if you're being investigated for securities fraud by the SEC or a customer is severely injured by one of your products.