Looking for a Lawyer for your Business?

First, if you have continuing legal bills, you should be.

Maybe You Need A [Different] Lawyer

If you're in business and need a lawyer, for Pete's sake, don't hire some lawyer who went straight from college into law school and has never earned an honest dollar, that is, a dollar earned in business not the practice of law. [Yes, I still consider myself to be a businessman who is also a lawyer.] Those guys don't really have a clue. They don't understand that what appears to be a great argument and leads to a course of action may be totally impractical. Businesses have to meet payroll and a 100 other problems: cash flow, capital investment, depreciation schedules and methods, and so on.

Q. What do you call 500 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean? A. A good start!

Some businesses operate full steam on 3 shifts. I don't know of any law firms who employ 3 shifts of lawyers. [Some may have word processors or data entry folk on evening shifts, but not the producing lawyers.] All of my close friends who are also lawyers all were in business before they decided to become lawyers. Their views of business law are considerably different, and better, than those lawyers without business experience. [It doesn't hurt if they've taught, in law school, the Law of Corporations, the Law of Partnerships and Joint Ventures and the Law of Agency as I have.]

Myself? I'm a 20/20 guy. Twenty years in business management; twenty years in the law. [Yes, I'm over 25 years of age.] I have a Masters in Business as well as a Juris Doctor degree. [All together, I'm B.S., M.S., J.D.] I have experience as Director of Operations of a multi-million dollar company. By the way, it was a three-shift operation. I've also run my own business; both in business and the law.

When you explain your business problem to me, I'll understand the business impact as well as the legal solution -- if one exists. If you're on the losing end of the facts, [have you checked out the Perry Mason section?] I'll guide you to the least expensive solution. If the other lawyer is an awful lawyer, you may even make some money.

Here's A Conflict Of Interest That Matters

There are more lawyers in California than legal work available. For those who have clients, there's a huge temptation to over-bill. This is the unpublicized reality in business law: The conflict between a defense lawyer and his client.

Have you ever been sued over a small matter that you thought was pretty trivial? Did your lawyer talk about "precedent" and "opening the flood gates" or some such thing and convince you to spend more on legal fees than the case was worth? You may have been the victim of this conflict of interest.

The better business solution, if the facts are clear, may well be to settle early and as cheaply as possible before the other side learns the full value of their case. Years ago, before I became a lawyer, I attended a seminar on 'The Million Dollar Verdict'. [The company I worked for was worried.] The opening speaker started out something like this:

"Have you ever had a case that looked really good to you? Serious injury; appealing client? Did you call up the insurance adjuster early on and make a brilliant argument to settle the case for $50,000? And you got it? You thought 'Boy if I had a hundred cases like that!' Congratulations: You settled a million dollar case for $50,000!"

His point was lots of lawyers are so awful they don't recognize the true value of a case. They're looking for the quick buck. It takes time and effort to develop a case into a big value case. Often the best defense strategy is a quick settlement. A defense lawyer in conflict with his client can prolong the case until the other side is forced to prepare fully and the perceived value of the case goes up steadily. You lose both ways.

Are You Being Sued [Now or Often]?

I've had some excellent results for business clients. Some examples:

1. My client was being sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I pointed out to the other side that although they had early favorable results [before I was retained], that success didn't mean anything. I told them they had no chance to prove the damages they were ranting and raving about. After about the third time I made such an argument, carefully and quietly, they agreed! They dismissed the law suit. My client paid not one dime in settlement.
   
   
2. In a smaller matter, again my client [a different one] was being sued. Again I told the other side of the hopelessness of their case, but they persisted doggedly. The matter went to trial. I showed up ready to kill. The other side didn't. The judge dismissed the matter with prejudice.
   
   
3. Currently, I'm defending a workers' comp claim. I believe I'll prove the claimant is such a liar that the State Attorney General will investigate and the claimant will end up in prison!

Jury: A collection of people banded together for the purpose of deciding which side has hired the better lawyer.

Just because you're being sued doesn't mean it's going to cost you money in the long run. Often, the first person to sue is really the person least damaged. Do you think your company has been damaged more than the business suing you? You may be right. Often the best defense is a good offense.

What results may I be able to get for your business? Let's talk.

Think You Ought to be Suing?

I have just as much experience suing for business clients as defending them. I've obtained six figure settlements. I've obtained twice as much money for my client as my client thought it had lost. [I'll help you dig through the facts and get the full amount you're entitled to.]

Do You Have Continuing Legal Bills?
Need a Different Law Firm for Every Legal Problem?
Sued All The Time? Sued Too Often?

Maybe you need a best lawyer. The best way to cut down on lawsuits is to get a best lawyer and develop a reputation that you are difficult to sue. 'Sue us and lose' is a good motto to spread around.

I have experience in all matter of business transactions [corporate {profit or nonprofit}, partnerships [general, limited or special], 'incorporated partnerships', sole proprietorships] whether inter- or intra- matters, selling or buying or other, as well as the standard personal injury defense [including, especially, strict liability - I was at one time a Manager of Quality Control - my Masters thesis was "The Requisite Functions of a Quality Control Department"], and workers' compensation defense.

Often, I do as much business consultant work for a client as legal. Too many accidents? I'm a qualified efficiency expert/safety expert. Too many lawsuits? As noted, I'm expert in business systems. An imperfect system generates lawsuits time after time. With me, you get two expertises for the price of one.

If you have continuing legal bills, analysis may provide a benchmark that can lead to a flat retainer agreement. It's a solution I've used most successfully. This eliminates the conflict of interest problem. It's like the Chinese medical system. In China, at least the story goes, a person pays his doctor monthly to keep him healthy. If he gets sick, he stops paying until he's well. This system, if in fact it is true, eliminates the conflict between doctor and patient that we have in America. Retaining a lawyer for a flat monthly fee can put both you and your lawyer on the same page playing the same game.