Prepaid Legal Services for Small Business
If you are operating your own business, you cannot afford to go it alone when it comes to legal matters. The ever increasing complexities of law, spiralling costs of lawsuits and the proliferation of government red tape can land you in a lot of trouble.
The flip of the coin is hardly attractive either! Hiring a lawyer can constitute a substantial financial investment many cash-strapped small businesses and entrepreneurs cannot sustain. Lawyers charge a minimum of $200 per hour when it comes to "business law" and it can get very costly if you are involved in lengthy legal procedures, complicated contracts or business transactions.
There may just be a glitter of hope in prepaid legal plans. For a set monthly price, some legal providers are now bundling a whole suite of prepaid legal services especially tailored to the needs of small-businesses. Whether you need phone consultation on the legal complexities of a lease contract, or require legal representation during tax audits, a pre-paid plan can help you manage legal costs. An array of services is included as "standard coverage" at no cost to you in the plan, and any legal matters not covered can be provided with a discount on fees.
Before you take the leap, you need to keep some caveats in mind.
You need to know more about the quality of service you are likely to get. While lower fees do not necessarily infer lower quality of work, it is always necessary to bear in mind that legal specialization plays a crucial part and lawyers are not interchangeable. Ask for references from previous clients or ask entrepreneurs who've used the services of the provider about the quality of work they have received from them. Use your state bar association, service organizations in your locale and your local Better Business Bureau to research law firms and the background of the attorneys in the network before selecting them. Things to look for are the number of years they have been operating, complaints from previous customers, the education background of attorneys, professional track record and so forth.
With the increasing amount of small businesses involved in litigation and fee disputes with their legal providers, I iss important to give some thought to alternative courses of actions when dealing with disputes. Ask your prospective provider about the way in which they settle disputes or complaints. Do they have an in-house procedure to deal with complaints, appoint a senior attorney to deal with such things or do you simply have to settle out of court?
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Small Business News Articles:-
- Small business hiring flat in January: poll
(Reuters) - U.S. small business hiring was flat in January, a poll released on Friday showed, slightly better than the previous month's reading but still far from levels consistent with strong employment growth. The National Federation of Independent Business survey of 2,155 firms also found an increase in the percentage of owners reporting hard-to-fill job openings. NFIB said this measure has ...
- Small Business Employment Slows in January
The January CBIZ small business Employment Index , a barometer for hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees, decreased by 2.75 percent during the past month,
- President Obama?s small business bobble
?I elevated the SBA [Small Business Administration] administrator to a Cabinet level position so that they are talking directly to me, so that there is no one in between me and the SBA when they are advocating on behalf of small business. ?And [even after a reorganization] I?ll still have an SBA administrator in my Cabinet who?s advocating directly for small businesses.? Read full article >>
- 3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Feb. 3
NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- What's happening in small business today? 1. What happens when a franchise contract ends? Even before the first hamburger is sold or the first elderly patient cared for, franchise owners should already be thinking -- and prepared for what happens if and when their contract ends. Franchise and trademark lawyer Jeff Fabian shares some of the biggest concerns from the ...
- Small Business Summit deemed successful
The second annual Small Business Summit offered through the Sampson County Economic Development Commission and the Small Business Center at Sampson Community College proved to be successful. Despi...
- 3 Important Loan Programs for Small Business Owners
Everyone in the market today knows small businesses are in dire need of capital and loans to finance their historic activity and their growth. It is clear that the biggest drag on the U.S. economy and the small business segment has been the US and global de-levering process. Federal, state, and local governmental bodies are ...
- US Small Business Hiring Flat in January: Poll
U.S. small business hiring was flat in January, a poll released on Friday showed, slightly better than the previous month's reading but still far from levels consistent with strong employment growth.
- Report: Slow sales biggest small-business worry
Weak consumer demand is the biggest concern for small-business owners, according to a new survey from three liberal business advocacy groups.The survey, "Small...
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