As a business owner, you are usually run off your feet with the challenges of operating your business. The last thing you need to worry about is a legal problem. Many business people put off dealing with a legal problem because they don't know where to turn, don't have the time, or most
Legal issues come in many forms: · A customer failed to pay an account despite many promises. · You just received a letter from a government agency. · You just found out that your former manager has set up a competing business and has stolen your best customer and one of your key employees. · You have just been sued for $100,000. · Someone told you that one of your standard form contracts won't stand up in court and you are worried about it. · You have a dispute with your landlord. · You have a problem with a US or European customer. · Your business has been defamed on the internet. · You just found that your warehouse manager has been sexually harassing a female employee. · An employee is damaging your business but threatens to sue if you fire him. You are not sure how to handle it. · You are involved with a Workplace Safety Insurance claim. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg of the kinds of legal issues business people run into frequently. Tip #1 - Seek out legal help at the first sign of a problem Suppose a competitor has been passing off its business under your name and it's costing you customers and sales but it's hard to estimate the amount. Unless you act promptly, it may be too late to seek an injunction from the Court. If you think you have a claim against another party under a contract, a limitation period begins to run from the time the contract is breached and usually expires two years later. It's not a good idea to leave the claim to the last minute. If you have an issue with an employee who is working unacceptably, it's important to develop a legal strategy as early as possible. The longer you wait, the more it may cost your business. The short point here is that it is important to seek advice as soon you detect a problem and before anything has been done to make it worse. Crisis management is always more expensive and time-consuming than early response. Tip #2 - Have a team of lawyers to call on when you need them. Every business should have a team of on-call lawyers. This is less expensive or complicated than it sounds. All you need are the telephone numbers and email addresses of trusted corporate, employment law and litigation lawyers. Depending on the nature of your business, you may also need an intellectual property lawyer, who deals with trademarks, patents and copyright. You may even need a tax lawyer because not all tax issues can be solved by an accountant. If the amount of your legal dispute is very small, such as a claim or complaint by a customer for $1,000 or less, it will be uneconomic to hire a lawyer. Fortunately, there are other helpful resources. The BBB has a dispute resolution process which permits BBB businesses and their customers to resolve disputes by arbitration or mediation. You don't need a lawyer and the only cost is a small administration fee. More information about this process is available on the BBB website. If your case is in the Small Claims Court ($10,000 or less), you might need a paralegal who specializes in these kinds of cases. Paralegals are now regulated by the Law Society but they are not lawyers and they are not a substitute for an experienced lawyer. Tip #3 - Learn what to expect when a dispute arises. As a business person, you have learned that success is often the result of building relationships. The relationships you build with your lawyers can be just as important to your business success as the ones you have with your customers, suppliers, banker and insurance broker. A relationship with your lawyer built on mutual trust and respect will save you many sleepless nights over the years and probably make or save you a lot of money. There are several ways to find good lawyers for your business:
When you call, don't expect the lawyer to solve your business problem over the telephone. The first discussion is for the lawyer to identify whether s/he can represent you and for you to assess whether the lawyer appears to have the skills to deal with your problem. If you have a legal problem the lawyer believes his/her firm can resolve, an office meeting will be arranged. In business matters, lawyers customarily charge a consultation fee for the first office meeting. At the meeting, the lawyer will give preliminary or urgent advice and develop a go-forward strategy. The lawyer may be able to give a partial fee estimate and will ask for a retainer to cover some of the work. No lawyer can guarantee the outcome. At this early stage, there are usually a lot of unknown matters. While the lawyer may be able to give you a partial fee estimate in a litigation matter, it's impossible to say with accuracy how much it will cost. It depends on too many unknown factors. It will be then up to you to decide whether or not to hire the lawyer to represent you further. The decision you make will depend on your sense of confidence in the lawyer. Has the lawyer listened to you? Have your questions been answered? Does the lawyer appear to understand your problem? Has the lawyer presented the risks and downsides of your case? Every case has risks and costs. Beware of a lawyer who tells you only what you want to hear without assessing the strengths of the opposing party's case. Some lawyers will accept a monthly or annual retainer which entitles the client to telephone advice a few times a month. More complicated issues require separate engagements. Tip #4 - The least expensive lawyer is unlikely to be the best person to handle your legal problem Consider this scenario: you are looking for a lawyer for a complicated lawsuit. You call Mr. Jones, who answers on the first ring. You tell your story, which has many facts the opposite party disputes. Mr. Jones says, "You have a great case. I'm sure you're going to win." When you ask how much it will cost, Mr. Jones says "Don't worry, you won't have to pay me anything unless you win. Just come on down to my office and we'll get started." Beware of any lawyer who tells you this. While Ontario lawyers are permitted to charge their fees based on contingency, i.e. a percentage of the result, this type of fee arrangement is only rarely applicable in business cases. It never occurs when facts are in dispute, recovery is uncertain or if the amount is small. When you retain a lawyer, you need a trustworthy advisor, who will point out the weaknesses of your case as well as the strengths. A litigation lawyer who is waiting by the phone for your call and tells you exactly what you are hoping to hear may be too hungry or too inexperienced to manage your case. He may be in over his head and will bail out as soon as your case takes a negative turn. By then, your legal situation may have worsened. It will be more expensive and perhaps impossible to repair it. Even worthwhile cases require careful analysis and risk assessment. An experienced litigation lawyer will typically do his by for fees on an hourly basis plus GST and any out-of-pocket expenses necessary for your case. Good litigation lawyers are often in court, at mediation or other litigation procedures, at meetings or discovery. However, good litigation lawyers always call or respond by email within 24 hours. In case of urgency or vacation, the lawyer will arrange for someone in the office to contact you. Tip #5 - Prevention is better and much less expensive than litigation. Legal problems are like computer crashes --- they are bound to occur, it's just a matter of time. Unlike computer crashes, some lawsuits can be avoided. Often, businesses owners deal with legal matters only when a crisis arises. They look for the least expensive Family Lawyers Brisbane to draft their leases, contracts, corporate and employment agreements without regard to skill, competence and experience. Sometimes, business owners avoid legal steps like failing to make a shareholder agreement, failing to file a trademark application or failing to prepare a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement with a key employee. When served with a lawsuit, they ignore or tear the papers up in anger. These business owners will be caught short when the inevitable occurs. While litigation or arbitration may still occur when there are written agreements in place, you will be in a far more secure position if you have taken precautionary steps before the dispute occurs. If you respond to correspondence and legal papers promptly, you will be better protected than if you ignore them. Competent legal advice is available for matters such as corporate organization, leases, the wording contracts and other documents you use in your business, partnership and shareholder agreements, your relationships with your employees, your company's trade names, logos and website, your regulatory compliance, your risk management and litigation prevention techniques. It's all important to arrange legal affairs to ensure that your personal liability is limited in the case of a claim against your business. Ensure that the legal issues affecting your business are in good order. This is likely to save you a lot of money and grief in the future. You might even consider having a legal audit or a "business legal checkup". We plan to write about this topic in a future article in this newsletter. Preventative legal advice may be expensive but it is just as important as fire insurance. Tip #6 -- Don't assume that 'going to court' means 'going to trial' If you haven't been involved in litigation before, you may not appreciate that more than 90% of cases settle before trial. While a trial (or even an appeal) is not always avoidable, lawyers use techniques to try to resolve cases at earlier stages. Business people are looking for certainty and to limit expense and exposure. It's never a bad idea to negotiate a settlement with the opposing party but the timing and approach will depend on the case. It is best to negotiate from a position of strength. This may mean holding off negotiations until enough facts and documents have been disclosed to favour your position. Mediation is another technique lawyers use to achieve settlement before trial. Mediation involves a neutral mediator, who is usually an experienced lawyer, acceptable to all parties. The parties and the lawyers prepare briefs to explain their positions to the mediator. On the mediation date, after an opening session, the parties retire to separate rooms. The mediator will "shuttle" between the parties until an agreement is worked out or an impasse is declared. This process produces a high rate of settlement even in very complicated cases. Tip #7 - Understand the risks of the litigation process: Why do lawyers emphasize settlement? Even if you have an airtight case, your lawyer will still recommend settlement. Lawyers assess risk every day. Even the most airtight case could have problems at trial. The judge may prefer the evidence of the opposing party over yours. The other party's expert witness may be more persuasive than yours. These are just two of many possibilities. A trial is always a last resort. Another good reason to settle is that even if you win at trial, the case may not be over because
A settlement involves a resolution both parties can live with. If the case involves the payment of money, there won't be a settlement unless payment is made. Even with these concerns, some cases can't be settled. The positions of the parties may be so far apart that a trial is necessary. As the case progresses, you and your lawyer will have to revise and update your strategy and estimate the legal cost and risk of each stage of the case. Keep in mind that the opposing party is dealing with similar risk assessment and cost issues as you are. Tip #8 -- Be a good client. From a lawyer's perspective, a good client is a business person who does the following:
One of our firm's clients is a technology business which started as a family operation and has grown to the point that its brand is now accepted and recognized globally. Our client's president knows hows to get the most out of his professional advisors. He is always respectful, trusting of professionalism, intelligence, experience and competence. He is prompt in responding to requests for information, appreciative of good advice and excellent service. He works hard but he usually has a happy and cheerful attitude. Our client expects is professional advisers to have the same enthusiasm for their work as he does for the operations of his business. And another small matter: our client pays every professional account within 48 hours of receipt. He believes that if he had to challenge his lawyer or accountant's bill, the professional relationship is not a healthy as it should be. Our client expects fair treatment, excellent service, sound advice, creative strategy, experienced advocacy and determined, no-nonsense negotiations. And he gets all of them in spades! A lot of business people who are dissatisfied with their professional advisers could learn a lot from him. These tips offer no assurance that your legal matter will turn out exactly as you expect. However, by following our suggestions, the resolution of your business dispute is likely to be a less expensive, less time-consuming and less stressful experience and possibly more successful. Keeping your business legal affairs in good order permits you more time to focus on making your business flourish. Igor Ellyn, QC, CS and Orie Niedzviecki are partners of ELLYN LAW LLP Business Litigation and Arbitration Lawyers, a Toronto law firm, established specializing in dispute resolution for small and medium businesses and their shareholders.
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As almost half of marriages end up in divorce or separation and as almost a quarter of the kids' population are born to unwed parents in the United States, child support issues are quite rampant in the country. Since in most cases custody is given to the mothers, the fathers would be the one required to give financial support by the state family court. This is why child support help for fathers might be needed in the form of legal counseling. It would be hard to resolve issues regarding this matter without help from a lawyer. Even filing something such as a modification of the amount of the support you need to pay would need the assistance of the lawyer.
Reasons to Hire a Child Support Lawyer There are several benefits as to why you should hire a lawyer when it comes to dealing with child custody and support, such as the following: • The lawyer can do the research work for you. Each case is unique and you need to investigate your case more. There is also the daunting work of getting all the forms that you need, the cost of filing, and more issues. Instead of spending a lot of time without even knowing if you are dong things right, you can hire a Family Lawyers Brisbane who would know how to find the right answers to your concerns. • The lawyer can help you save money. If the other parent is asking for more support, you might want to ask for legal advice as to how you are going to ensure that the changes will still be fair to you. It is also important that the amount you need to pay is still within your means. You have to remember that failure to pay child support might have legal repercussions. • The lawyer can save you time. The legal expertise of the lawyer can help settle any issue regarding providing for your child's needs quickly. • The lawyer can review all the documents that you need to submit and receive. The lawyer can give you all the forms and documents that you need so there will be no problems with the process, such as the lack of signatures or missing information. Choosing a Good Lawyer There are certain factors that you need to evaluate first to find a good lawyer including the following: • Experience. It is enough that you are going through a lot of trouble with your divorce. You don't need another problem regarding your child, which is why you need a lawyer who specializes in child custody and support services. A family lawyer can help you make sense of legal matters such as child support, visitation rights, joint custody, divorce cases, relationship breakdowns, and more. • Knowledge. The lawyer you should be knowledgeable of all cases related to child support. It is important that the lawyer knows a lot about laws and formalities. He should also be qualified to work in your jurisdiction. The more knowledgeable and experienced your family lawyer is, the more chances you have of winning the judges over. • Track record. The lawyer should have a good rack record of getting his clients the amount that they want or help them get more visitation rights. Legal problems can easily sink your internet business before you even begin to swim. Legal requirements abound in the internet arena. It’s your responsibility to get yourself up to speed on these requirements. Ignorance of the law is not acceptable.
Links to your Contact Information and All About Us Information should be on all of your web pages. Your main legal information is your Copyright, Terms of Service, Disclaimer, and Privacy Policy and they should be included as well. Copyright Make sure the word copyright and the copyright symbol are at the bottom of your web pages. If you are selling anything, include the words All Rights Reserved. If your product is available worldwide, include that term also. The Family Lawyers Brisbane can help you getting out from such type of critical legal problem as soon as possible. Terms Of Service An age statement is strongly advised. In the US, the minimum age is 13 years old, 18 in most other countries. To safeguard yourself, use 18 years old as the required age for your site. Also include the terms for using your site. Cyberspace has its boundaries. There are rules and regulations that govern advertising. They are called the Dot Com Disclosures. They can be found here: Disclaimer The internet is riddled with viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, and all those other attackers of your computer. Tell visitors to take precautions. Are you giving advice? Always let your visitors know they should see a relevant professional before using your advice. Also, due to the fast changing nature of the internet, information goes out of date. You cannot be held liable for that, so let your visitors know. If you sell a product your visitors expect to help them make money, never say the amount they should make. Your legal problems will multiply if you do. You really don’t know. So many variables go into others being as successful as you. The visitor may not have the internet savvy that you have, or the motivation. You can’t guarantee results. Here is where you state all of that information. Privacy Policy Should you capture a visitor’s private information, include your policy for doing so. Tell your visitor what you intend to do with the information. If you intend to share the captured information, you must say so. I’ll just add this about spamming. This is a small area in the Can Spam Act that receives much abuse. It states, “The Act also prohibits false or misleading subject headings in commercial email messages.” Don’t send any grand promises of fame and fortune in your email subject line. This is generally done to encourage people to open your email. Build a great relationship with your list. There’s no need for grandstanding. When the people who know you see your name they will open your email. You can take that to the bank! I can’t guarantee that you will not have legal problems during your internet journey. But if you include these items in your website, you would have done much to reduce your risk. The Daily Telegraph Newspaper in the United Kingdom is reporting on a Family Law case similar to the recent reports of a case in South Australia where the legal costs incurred were entirely out of proportion to the issues in dispute. According to the Daily Telegraph, the English Court of Appeal has refused to increase the amount awarded to the husband Mr. Alyami. In the original decision Mr. Alyami was awarded a house worth £450,000 and a cash sum of £50,000. Mr. Alyami sought an order increasing the cash lump sum from £50,000 to £320,000 but, not only did the Court of appeal refuse to increase the amount of the cash lump sum Mr. Alyami was left with a legal bill of nearly £500,000.00. Expert Family Lawyers Brisbane can handle such issue and get a good solution instant.
Mr. Alyami’s wife Ms. Musallam had also run up a legal bill of more than £800,000. With any litigation in relation to Family Law matters it is critical to ensure that however emotional the situation might become that you do not pursue unrealistic claims in the Court and that your legal costs remain proportionate to the matters in question. For practical legal advice in relation to all types of Family Law matters please contact Ian Field on 3236 0001. It is important to hire a family lawyer who is reliable and who will help you throughout the legal process when you think about separation or filing for divorce. Such lawyers can help you with any family related legal issues. It helps to hire a family lawyer even when legal representation is not required, to make the whole process easier and smoother.
The following points will help you to know how you can benefit from hiring a reliable family lawyer:
A competent family lawyer will have broad knowledge about family law. A skillful lawyer can handle the technicalities of the case aptly and can assist you with the legal aspects in a better way throughout the process. An experienced lawyer also possesses the skills to handle sensitive issues related to family law cases. If you hire a legal representative with such skills, knowledge and experience he or she will be able to provide continuous legal support to you whenever you need throughout the entire process.
Hiring a reliable Family Lawyers Brisbane will reduce a lot of effort from your end. Once you give the details and entrust your case to the lawyer it will be their duty to make the regular follow ups and handle everything related to the case.
It is always stressful for individuals to go through divorce or separation. It is emotionally tiring and mentally challenging to keep up with the process. If your lawyer is experienced you will get the much needed support both legally and emotionally while your case is in process and your lawyer will be able to refer you to other experts to ensure you have the expert support you need. This kind of support will help you smoothly pass through and deal with the legal process involving your family.
Divorce lawyers offer more services than merely giving legal advices, they work extra hard to protect the interest of their clients and make sure everything goes smoothly without wasting time and money. Some family lawyers are also now offering their clients fixed fees rather than billing on the traditional hourly rate method. Conclusion: Apart from the above listed benefits, there are many more benefits of hiring a lawyer for your family related legal issues. If you have legal concerns related to the divorce, child custody, financial agreements or any other family related legal issues it is better to hire an expert lawyer to represent your case in the best possible way. A case that came before the Superior Court of Ontario in Canada recently serves as a salutary reminder of the dangers that can befall a business who are not very careful with their use of email. In this case, a Senior Manager sent an email to their Lawyer regarding the possible termination of employment of one of their employees.
Unfortunately the manager mistakenly cc’d that email to the Employee who was being considered for dismissal. Having received and read the email, the employee left her employment and started proceedings in the court for wrongful dismissal from her employment, with the contents of the email that she had mistakenly been sent forming part of her case for wrongful dismissal. The employer attempted to argue that the contents of that email were privileged as between them and their Lawyer and should not be able to be used by the employee. The Court accepted that the email was indeed privileged but the court took the view that in those circumstances it was unfair to maintain the legal professional privilege and the court determined that the privilege should be waived and the employee was therefore free to use the contents of that email as part of her claim. For such type case the best Family Lawyers Brisbane can help your company by the legal way. This is an easy mistake to make and the facts of this case serve as a reminder of the importance of taking great care with the use of emails. |
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