Consulting

It's no LOL: Few US doctors answer e-mails from patients (AP)

AP - Suzanne Kreuziger is a registered nurse who uses e-mail almost exclusively to communicate with friends. But when it comes to reaching her doctor, there's a frustrating firewall.

You could save hundreds of dollars by incorporating yourself without a lawyer. How? Is it advisable to do so?

1. This is Not Legal Advice!

The only ones who should be giving legal advice are those licensed to practise law (in other words, only lawyers). This article is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer.

This article is being written simply to inform you that it is possible to form a corporation or limited liability company without a lawyer.

2. Why Use a Lawyer?

First of all, if you make a mistake incorporating yourself, who do you sue? You only have yourself to blame. On the other hand, a lawyer has insurance to cover errors and omissions.

Secondly, you could benefit from the expertise of your lawyer. Perhaps a corporation isn`t the right vehicle for you under your circumstances. Be aware that there can be disadvantages as well as advantages to incorporating. Your lawyer can consider commercial law, securities legislation, limited liability, tax factors, estate planning, share structure, and a myriad of other business considerations. Sometimes the advice of a good lawyer can save you thousands of dollars.

3. Is it Advisable to Incorporate Yourself?

Is it advisable to perform surgery on yourself? It is illegal to perform surgery on someone else unless you are licensed to practise medicine, but perhaps in a wilderness survival scenario, self-surgery might be your only option. However, is performing surgery on yourself really a good idea in most instances?

Likewise, just because it is possible to incorporate yourself without a lawyer doesn`t mean it is always a good idea.

In some jurisdictions, only lawyers can incorporate others. For a paralegal or other person to incorporate a company for you could be considered unauthorized practise of law. Thus, it may be legal to incorporate yourself but not others.

Some factors you might consider are: Am I really that short of cash that I can`t spend the extra money for good legal advice that may save me thousands of dollars? Am I confident that my situation is one that really doesn`t need the services of a lawyer to incorporate? Can the money saved on legal fees be better utilized in financing other aspects of my business?

Each person will have to make their own decision on whether or not to seek the services of a lawyer in forming a corporation.

"He who has himself as a lawyer has a fool for a client." I have often thought that perhaps a law firm originated this common expression.

4. How To Incorporate Yourself

Many books have been written by lawyers on how to incorporate yourself.

For example, in Canada, M. Stephen Georgas, LL.B., has written books on the subject of forming your own corporation. Published by International Self-Counsel Press Ltd., he has authored "Incorporation and Business Guide for Ontario" ("How to form your own corporation Includes tax advantages to incorporating") and "Federal Incorporation And Business Guide" ("How to form your own Federal corporation under The Canada Business Corporations Act").

The same publisher sells forms and minute books as well as titles for incorporating in other provinces of Canada.

Forms, corporate supplies, name searches, and kits are available from legal stationers and other sources.

In the United States, there are likewise many manuals available for incorporating yourself in various states. "How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $75.00" by Ted Nicholas is one such book.

Sometimes helpful information on this subject is available from federal, provincial and state governments for free or nominal cost.

You can sometimes locate incorporation manuals at your local library for free. Be careful. Legal manuals become outdated very rapidly. You might consider very seriously purchasing the most up-to-date manual available; it might also include helpful reference material on maintaining corporate minutes and other helpful suggestions on operating your corporation.

Buy the appropriate manual and supplies and then follow the instructions. With a little effort, you could save hundreds of dollars incorporating yourself without a lawyer.

For further resources on incorporation, please visit:
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/incorporation.html

RESOURCE BOX

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

posted by law65716 @ 10:42 PM 0 comments

Pennsylvania votes in must-win for Clinton (AFP)

AFP - Democrats in Pennsylvania were choosing between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a bitterly-fought primary Tuesday that Clinton must not only win, but win convincingly to rescue her trailing White House bid.

If you are located in the Pittsburgh area and have an idea for an invention, what do you do next? The most important step is selecting a competent, Pittsburgh patent attorney who can determine if it is patentable; obtain suitable patent protection for the invention; and, through direct entry or licensing, help you get the invention into business.

By using a local, Pittsburgh patent attorney, youll be able to keep in touch easily with the steps of obtaining a patent.

The first stage in selecting a patent attorney is obtaining information about attorneys who will provide useful legal representation. By searching the internet you can get a list of Pittsburgh based patent lawyers, or if you have friends who have worked with patent attorneys, this can be a good starting point. Local bar associations can frequently provide information, as can legal directories. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have a journal that lists patent attorneys and patent agents admitted to practice before the office. Yellow-page telephone directories also have listings of patent attorneys.

After obtaining the names of patent lawyers that you may find, the center of attention shifts to what information is needed to make a decision on whether a particular firm or individual can provide the preferred service. A critical factor in this phase is the rapport and how at ease the inventor feels to ask questions.

It is important to know the educational background, as well as legal education and patent experience, of the attorney, both in terms of years and the nature of experience. The attorney preparing and prosecuting a patent application must be admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

It is important to ask about the legal fees; it is appropriate to determine what attorney's fees and disbursements are involved in proceeding with the work. Are there others in the law firm who are capable of doing portions of the job, with or without supervision, at a lesser rate, thus saving the prospective client money?

Since youll be working with the patent lawyer for approximately 6 to 18+ months after filing for your patent, the comfort level between you and your attorney or attorneys is very important. Evaluating patentability, obtaining a patent, and licensing the same involves a team project. The degree to which the inventor is able to help and wishes to participate actively is another variable that should be explored in terms of the manner in which the attorney prefers to work. It is appropriate to ask for client references and, to the degree to which client confidentiality is not involved, the opportunity to see examples of the individual's work.

As with everything else, no single set of questions will be fully sufficient for every situation. Questions related to items of particular interest to the potential client and items that provide unique circumstances for the case should be considered. In any event, it is critical that the potential client do a thorough job of asking all questions of interest and reach a comfort level with a particular attorney before entering into an attorney-client relationship.

The Inventors Network, Inc. is a full service Pittsburgh Patent Lawyer expert that was formed by David P. Gaudio - a company known as a top-notch patent attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Inventors Network will assign a representative to you that will answer your questions and supply you with the information needed to help you make the most educated, informed decisions about the future of your invention. To get more information on Pittsburgh Patent Attorneys, click on the links in this article. Phone: 1-888-477-9773

posted by law65716 @ 10:03 AM 0 comments