Business and Law

Archive for the ‘Employment Laws’ Category

Does your lawyer charge you an arm and a leg? Do you feel like you are getting the short end of the stick every time you talk to your attorney, as if he or she is holding you out for ransom, even hiding the law from you so you have to pay them more? Do you think it is a giant conspiracy at the ABA American Bar Association and the consumer, small business, or client just cannot win? If so, you may be interested in learning the reality behind it all.

So, let’s start from a free-market theory; something is only worth what someone will pay for it, and supply and demand determines the price in free markets. Thus, much of the lawyers pricing has to do with value and perception of value by you the consumer, customer, or client. There are three main items that dictate the perception of value of lawyers, practicing lawyers, which are actually working for you, not necessarily politicians which happen to have law degrees:

Quality of Service
Quality of Work
Market Going Rates

Now then, if you hire a lawyer that is expensive you assume that their quality of work is excellent, as in that is a given, but beware because that is not necessarily so. But since it is assumed, that means it is a perception. Thus, by charging more this gives the illusion of quality, since “you get what you pay for” is a common theme in capitalism and if it costs more, it must be good.

The business world today is more sophisticated with many factors dictating whether you will be or even fail to appear in the list of successful business people. Unfortunately, many people want to engage in business without necessarily observing the law requirements. This puts you at a danger of losing a lot of money in future if there is anything that has some law implications. In fact, so long as you are living in a land where there is law that governs behavior, know that all that you do, including business has some law.

Are you thinking of registering your company, and do you know the procedure involved? Business registration is one of the fundamental prerequisites that define a serious business person. This shows that you are serious about business achievements. Know that you must build a strong foundation as it dictates how far you will go. Registration is an investment. It may appear costly in terms of time and the lengthy processes involved, but in the long run, it is very beneficial. No matter how carefully you do you finishing, if you do not lay the best foundation for you house, it will collapse at the most critical moment. This also applies to business.

If you are involved in a business where there are many partners, you need to forward you application for registration with several documents. First, a memorandum of association which states the objects of the company must be produced. Objects of the company is a word used to describe the main items in he company. These include the name, capital, official office, the directors and any other relevant divisions.

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.