Small Business Legal Plan

I have been writing the last two days about a solution to protect individuals and families against Legal and Identity Theft issues. Today, I want to mention another large segment of our society that needs, but doesn’t normally have, affordable Legal aid. That is, the area of Small Business owners.

The Small Business Administration says that 50% of Small Businesses fail in the first five years of operation. Reasons range from lack of experience, poor location, competition, insufficient capital and of course, low sales. The Small Business owner usually wears many different hats and can’t be an expert in every area. Therefore, they can benefit from the expert advice and legal protection a Small Business Legal Plan can give them.

Prepaid Legal: A NYSE listed company in business since 1972, that provides Legal Rights protection to over 1.5 million families and 50,000 Small Businesses.

Small Business Legal Plan (businesses with 1-99 employees) For a low monthly rate, our Business Plan provides small businesses with comprehensive legal services. The Plan also provides focused benefits through GoSmallBiz.com.

Legal Consultation Services
Toll-Free telephone consultations with your Provider Lawyer. When you aren’t sure of a legal procedure, you won’t have to worry about the cost of consulting a lawyer. You’ll be able to call your Provider Law Firm when you have a question about such legal aspects of your business as:
• Employee hiring
• Equipment leases
• Joint ventures
• Bankruptcy
• Verbal contracts
• Incorporation
• Intellectual property
• Small claims
• Partnership
• Landlord/tenant issues
• Hiring/termination
• City zoning
• Vendor problems
• Bad check recovery
• Customer complaints
• Workers’ Compensation
• Creditor harassment
• Disclaimer verbiage

Legal Correspondence Services
You’ll get one letter per legal subject matter each year, at no additional charge – with a copy for your file. Follow-up letters are provided at a 25% discount.

Designated Consultations
For certain legal situations, your business is entitled to receive two telephone consultations per year arranged by your Provider Lawyer — each consisting of up to one-half hour. Legal matters addressed under this benefit are:
• Securities
• Patents
• Copyrights
• Anti-trust
• Immigration
• Complex tax issues
• Import/export customs matters
• Issues arising outside your state, within U.S.
• Commodities
• Trademarks
• Admiralty
• International Law

Basic Contract Review
You can have up to three contracts concerning separate subject matter and not part of a single related business transaction, up to 15 pages each, reviewed by your Provider Lawyer each month.

Executed Contract Review
Your business can have one signed contract per month, up to ten pages in length, reviewed by your Provider Lawyer at no additional cost.

Document Review
Each month, your Provider Lawyer will review three business documents on separate subject matters — up to 15 pages each — and give you prompt advice.

Debt Collection Letters
Your business may have up to ten separate initial collection letters per month at no additional charge.

Trial Defense Services
You have up to 75 hours of your Provider Lawyer’s time when your business is named defendant or respondent in a covered civil action filed in court which is related to business activities. Up to 15 hours are available for pre-trial work, and the remaining 60 hours are available upon actual commencement of trial.

Reduced Fee Services
Our Plan offers you litigation representation and other legal work within your business state at a 25% discount from the Provider Lawyer’s corporate hourly rate.

Reduced Contingency Fee Services
We also offer your business up to a five percent discount from the Provider Lawyer’s standard contingency fee for contingency type cases if the Provider Lawyer agrees to accept your case on this basis. Save hundreds, even thousands, with this benefit!

GoSmallBiz.com Benefits include:
Small Business consultation with small business experts by fax and email. When you need help and cannot find the answer in the GoSmallBiz.com resources, you have a panel of experts to provide direction and advisement on any business issue. You’ll be able to submit questions regarding such issues as:
• tax deductions
• financing options
• website promotion
• sales challenges
• computers
• time management
• locating information on the Internet
• motivating employees
• accounting
• management

Questions are submitted by fax and email, researched and responded to, typically, by the following business day. If your question leads our counselors to conclude that you need hands-on business advice, then you may be referred to a retired business executive in your area who will provide free consulting and advice.

• Content covering a wide array of business topics such as: Tax & Accounting, Sales & Marketing, Legal, Human Resources, Insurance and others
• Answers to Small Business Owner’s most frequently asked questions
• Answers to specific questions previously asked by members
• Current business news
• Stock quotes
• Access to capital
• Info on starting a business
• Database of businesses available for purchase
• On-line organizational tools, such as Calendars, Address Books, Bookmarks and File Storage

GoSmallBiz Toolbox (Optional purchase that can be added to Small Business plan)
As an add-on to your Business Plan or Legal Plan for the Self Employed, you’ll have access to the tools you need to help your business maintain appropriate HR functions. And these tools can grow with your business. You’ll receive a paperless Employee File Cabinet, the HR Document Builder, a Business Plan Development Tool, and much more! And, if your business is incorporated, the plan also gives you access to “Manage My Minutes,” a program which emphasizes ease and convenience for the organization and maintenance of corporate record books.

Toolbox contents:
Business Plan Builder
HR Document Builder
Employee File Cabinet
Distance Learning Center
Manage My Minutes
Risk Assessment Tool
Enhanced Website Builder

Take advantage of a Small Business Legal Plan to help protect and grow your business.