Business and Law

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You only get one life and life is a little short to be worrying about the rediculous little bits of paper we value so much yet we virtually live for. Money is a blessing and a curse, but there is a simple answer to the problem. Get your equitable share.

Simply, the only way to really be free from the cursed pull of money is to actually have enough of it that it will never again dictate what you do, where you go, what clothes you wear, what cars you drive, where your children go to school and so on, and on and on. Money is literally a prison guard and a saviour in one single concept. Lets face it, thats all money is, a numerical concept manufactured by men to make bartering simpler.

I dont need to carry my sheep around when I go shopping for a new hat. I can pay with paper IOU’s called money. These are as good as the 2 sheep and a hec of alot less messy. Money is civilized.

Money is also very abundant. It permeates our lives like oxygen. VALUE is money. The two cannot be seperated. If it has value then it is worth money. A simple idea? I think it is. I promised you in the title of this article that I will tell you a money making secret that will embolden and empower you. And so I shall.

Here is the first part already revealed. Value is intrinsically connected to the concept of money. (I can’t just blurt it out, I am going to make you work a little to get the point across on a deeper level) This doesn’t need too much more explanation does it? Its obvious, its just that we dont think about the relationship between money and value very often.

The second part of the secret is much more emancipating and you are about to hear something that will change the way you think about your life, your family, and everything you value! Theres that word again.

Starting a business can be a daunting prospect. There are loads of people to help you establish one and the law is there to guide you with each step. Just follow them and you are open for business.

Before the start-up

You need to gather your finances, decide upon the type of company structure (solo, LLP, partnership, limited company), the area of business, the supply demand in the current market, etc have to be very carefully planned.

Taxes

A part of your hard-earned cash is in some way going to go into the government’s pockets. If you are running a limited company, corporation tax (21%) is levied. Value added tax is levied on goods within UK (15%). If you have employee then additional national insurance has to be contributed. Solo traders pay taxes via self assessment and register with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.

When I started my law firm I was confronted with many choices. What kind of law will I practice? Where will I practice? Who do I want for clients? What kind of fees will I charge? It wasn’t until I actually got into the planning stages of the law firm that I began to see these questions as more big picture, firm philosophy type of questions. These type of questions may never be fully answered because they are not static.

One big picture question that is static and that can have a profound effect on the success of your firm is its name. What’s in a name? A lot if you think about it. Think about your own name for starters. What if you had been named something different? What if you were a boy and had been given a girls name? What if you were born in a particular religion and were given a name not associated with that religion? Have you ever been to a place where for some reason your name was looked down upon? These same types of feelings can be encountered with your law firm name.

The great thing about starting a law firm is that you get to think about this and plan ahead. If you are starting a law firm and are reading this article, you are probably either fairly young, fairly technologically proficient, or both. If you are, then you can probably see that the face and structure of the practice of law are shifting gradually beneath everyone’s feet. Competition is fierce, and image is everything. And guess what, one of the first things people will learn about you, something they will probably use to form an opinion about you before they even meet you, is your firm name.

When naming your law firm there are some things you should think about to make sure you are maximizing that first impression. First, don’t use your name. Second, it should be easy to remember. And finally, it should make people feel and think the way you want them to feel and think about your law firm. Although this may seem easy, when you actually try to do it, I think you’ll find it is a pretty tough exercise.

Some you are probably thinking, “why not use your name? Everyone else does.” That is precisely why. Although people have different goals, if you are starting a law firm, one of those goals is probably to make money practicing law. You make money by having people sign up for your services. People sign up for your services when they know who you are. Why blend in with everyone else when you can set yourself apart? Not only does not using your name allow you to present an image in prospective client’s minds, it allows you to build the brand you want. A great example of this is Valorem Law Group. If you look at their website a central theme is discarding the billable hour to provide clients value for what they are being paid. If you don’t already know, valorem is latin for value (loosely). Do you see the jump start you can get on the competition with a good name?

Second, easy to remember. This is practical for obvious reasons. If people refer your services to friends or colleagues, what is easier to remember, Valorem Law Group or Smith, Sands, Zaremba, Charles, Flippy and Jagermeister? Make your name easy to remember and you make it easier to get business – a key when starting a law firm.

Finally, the brand. When you start your own law firm you start out as the brand. At all times you are promoting your practice, you are what your practice stands for. But before anyone knows what you are all about, you can start them down the right track with a great name that represents the firm philosophy. A strong, powerful, confident name can make the difference in someone choosing to call you. It can also mask your size. “The law firm of Joe Shmoe” implies that you are a small firm. Like it or not many people associate small firm size with poor performance or cheap services. Look bigger than you are immediately by having a firm name that connotes structure, organization, and numbers.

contractor mortgages

Medical malpractice is the most common legal complaint that involves hospitals and doctors. This takes place when a medical error, even the smallest or simplest one, occurs due to negligence or carelessness and results in injury, disability or fatality. It’s a popular misconception that for a medical error to be considered malpractice, death should occur. It’s not necessarily that way. If a mistake committed by a doctor or member of the medical staff results in serious injury or disability, this can also be grounds for a medical malpractice complaint.

Some of the common errors in medical malpractice include failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of a disease, improper treatment, surgical errors, incorrect administration of anesthesia, prescription errors, and so on. If you or anyone in your family member were a victim of medical malpractice, you can file a complaint and recover for damages. Here are the steps that you need to undertake regarding this matter.

Talk to a lawyer

The first step is to find an attorney who specializes in the area of medical malpractice. Having a good lawyer by your side will help make things easier and less complicated for you. As you can probably imagine, the doctor or hospital that committed the error would do everything in its power to safeguard his/her/its reputation so you can expect that they will not be too easy in disclosing information pertinent to your case. A lawyer will help you get through this obstacle. Since most of medical malpractice cases involve lots of money, the doctor and hospital will have their malpractice defense lawyers fight arduously for the case.

Get certification of merit

Your lawyer will have a medical professional on his/her staff who will be ready for consultation regarding the details of the case. This medical professional will give a certification of merit to confirm that negligence in the medical care or treatment was present.

Notify all the parties involved

It’s not only the doctor who’s involved in the case but also the nurses and hospital (or clinic or any other medical facility). They will all be notified about the claim. They in turn will get in touch with the medical malpractice insurance providers to notify them about this. Their defense attorney will start to build defense.

File the suit

After it has been established that the case is meritorious, you and your lawyer can now work to file the case in the civil court. This will begin the legal process. The parties will have time to establish their cases and build their evidences. This will help determine the strength of the claim.

Consider settlement negotiations

Most of the cases that involve medical malpractice are settled out of the court. Since both parties are aware of the costs and risks of taking the complaint to trial, they usually agree to settle the amount out of court. If it happens that the amount of damages are not amicably agreed upon, then the plaintiff attorney will bring the case to the court.

Like legal malpractice, medical practice cases are hard and complicated. It’s best that you have a good lawyer to help you in every step of the way.