Preventive law

Just as preventive medicine helps prevent disease by detecting their symptoms, preventive law helps prevent serious legal consequences by detecting early problems. In an increasingly litigious society, there is real concern that assets you have worked long and hard to accumulate may be attacked by creditors and litigants, through no fault of your own. By the time a potential claim or liability is identified, it is too late to act.

A competent attorney’s advice is your best option to minimize your exposure to potential risks and protect yourself from legal problems getting out of hand. Pre-paid legal plans offer a range of legal services on-call for a fixed monthly charge of up to $25 per month. With such a low monthly payment, most people are only too happy to get a legal coverage they would not have otherwise dreamt of in the stultifying, money-grabbing world of lawyers.

In a bid to cut on administration costs, employers, labor unions, and universities are now providing legal services at discounted or no cost altogether to their members. Employers are increasingly sponsoring legal plans to their employees as a fringe benefit, as part of their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Labor unions fund plans offered as member benefit, or under a collective bargaining scheme, in which case new members are eligible to huge discounts.

Universities are equally as involved with legal plans offered to students and staff. 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, spiraling 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.

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 have 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, it is important to give some thought to alternative courses of actions when dealing with disputes.