Business and the Law 2

Reprinted with permission from Janet Attard* Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
     
How much does it cost to hire an attorney?

You may pay anywhere from $75 to $300 an hour or perhaps more for legal help. Geographic location, experience of the attorney, and area of specialization will all influence the fee. Depending on the situation, you may have to pay the attorney a retainer up front to take your case. This money is held in an account, and the attorney takes his or her fee and costs out of this account as the work progresses. If you are paying an hourly fee, get an estimate in advance of what the total costs may be and how long the legal work may take or how long it is likely to take for the case to come to trial.
In some instances, an attorney may work on a contingency basis. In this case he or she will take a percentage of the settlement (what you win). The contingency fee will generally be at least 25 percent and often higher.


Is there any way to keep legal fees down?

If the work you need done is routine, consider reading up on the subject before you talk to the attorney. Always do whatever preliminary work you can. You might do a preliminary trademark or trade name search, for instance, before retaining a trademark attorney. Another way to keep costs down is to use boilerplate contracts for some jobs. The boilerplate could be either one created initially by your attorney or one adapted from an industry-standard contract. If you adapt a standard contract, have the attorney look it over to see if it needs any changes to fit your individual circumstances.
If you are being sued or will be suing another party, collect and organize all the pertinent data or documents that may be necessary to put together your case. If your attorney will need industry statistics, information on government regulations affecting your business, or other information you have or know where to get quickly, let the attorney know and gather the information yourself, rather than have the law firm do the research. Remember, the less time the attorney spends on your behalf, the lower your bill will be. While the value of your own time always has to be considered, chances are if you are running a small business your hourly billing rate is going to be a lot lower than the attorney's. Furthermore, you may have more knowledge of your industry and be able to hunt down the facts or pertinent regulations more quickly than the attorney could.
If you have to call the attorney for anything, gather all your facts and list the points you want to cover in the call before you lift the receiver. When you reach the attorney, get right to the point. Since attorneys bill for phone time, the less time you spend on the phone, the lower your bill will be.

When should I ask customers to sign a contract?

You should have a written agreement with your customers whenever the amounts of money or work involved will be substantial. A written agreement is also advisable whenever you want to avoid misunderstandings about the terms of a sale or agreement.
Oral contracts are enforceable up to one year only if you are selling services and only when the amount of the sale is $500 or less if you are selling goods. Whichever you sell and regardless of the amount, it can be extremely difficult to prove who agreed to do what if you don't have a written contract.

What should I do if my customer and I agree to a deal over the telephone?

You should put the details of the oral discussion into a letter confirming the deal and send the letter to your customer. That way you and the customer both have something to refer to in case a dispute develops about what was agreed to. Be sure the letter includes everything you discussed, including details of the job, fees, and due dates.

A supplier sent me a letter summarizing details of a deal we had discussed, but he seems to have left out a couple of points I thought we agreed on. What should I do?

Let the supplier know immediately in writing that you dispute what he has summarized in his letter to you. If it is a sale of goods, under the Uniform Commercial Code you could be bound by the supplier's letter if you do not object to the terms within 10 days.

Can I write my own contracts?

You can write your own contracts and probably will in many situations. If the contracts are for large sums of money or will obligate you to do anything for any length of time, you should have your attorney review them to be sure they cover your needs.

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