Pre-paid 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 pre-paid legal plans. For a set 
monthly price, some legal providers are now bundling a whole suite of 
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? 

(Word count: 421)

ppppppp
