I am looking to purchase a small business, when do I need to bring a lawyer on to help and look over documents?

I have been representing purchasers and sellers of small businesses in Colorado for many years.  It is best to have an attorney involved early in the negotiation of the transaction.  How the transaction is structure can have important tax and liability ramifications.  These are implicated from the outset. Often there is a letter of intent or term sheet and an attorney should be consulted with respect to that.  The principal legal document will be a purchase agreement and obviously, it is a good idea to have legal representation at that point.