AUIC members have found the following Legal Resources to be cost-effective, important services and highly informational, helping them prevent inadvertent legal missteps and maintaining peace of mind.
Findlaw.com is a comprehensive legal resource that gives small businesses and entrepreneurs a basic understanding of legal issues: hiring, terminations, layoffs, wage and hour laws, retirement benefits, family and medical leave laws, employment discrimination issues, workplace safety (OSHA) laws, workplace safety, privacy and drug testing, unemployment and worker’s compensation benefits, wrongful termination guidelines, and exempt and non-exempt employees. Findlaw.com also provides a national database of legal and contract forms that allow entrepreneurs to either have the forms completed by Findlaw or the business. Findlaw also has a “Find a Lawyer” service that identifies local lawyers with expertise in selected areas of law as needed. The following is one section of Findlaw.com regarding employment issues.
“Whether you are entering the job market for the first time or were recently terminated, it is important to understand your rights as a worker. Both federal and state governments have enacted a wide range of employment laws protecting employees from discriminatory treatment, unfair labor practices, unsafe work conditions, and more. This section provides in-depth resources on all phases of the employment process — from the interview and hiring stage to promotion and termination. In addition, you’ll find information about privacy in the workplace, wage and hour laws, workplace safety, family leave policies, and detailed advice on hiring an employment lawyer.”
Popular Content
- Last Paycheck Laws: When Do I Get a Paycheck After Leaving
- Exempt Employees vs. Nonexempt Employees
- Jury Duty and an Employee’s Right to Pay
- What is FMLA? FAQ on Federal Leave Law
- Was I Wrongfully Discharged From My Job?
Most Recent
- FAQs About Union Members’ Rights
- Self-Employment Taxes Q&A
- Paying Estimated Taxes
- Military Service and Re-employment Rights
Legal Club: Small Business and Family Legal Plans
Small Business Legal Plan
AUIC members receive a 15% discount off the cost to have access to a nationwide network of attorneys for all your business legal needs.
The rising costs of health insurance and the overall running of a business has made it very difficult for business owners to make ends meet. Legal Club of America® helps alleviate some of that financial pressure by providing business owners with access to a nationwide network of pre-qualified attorneys that will provide them with free and discounted legal care.
BENEFIT FEATURES
When you become a Legal Club member, your business becomes a corporate member of Legal Club’s Small Business Plan. The plan is designated for use by the business only.
FREE LEGAL SERVICES*
- Unlimited initial phone consultations during business hours for new legal matters.
- The attorney will review as many as 5 independent documents each quarter. These include business documents, contracts, signed or unsigned, up to 10 pages each.
- Initial telephone calls made on behalf of your business if deemed appropriate by your plan attorney (two per month). Follow up calls are made at the guaranteed low hourly rate.
- Initial letters written on behalf of your business if deemed appropriate by your plan attorney. Three per month for new subjects; follow up letters are written at the guaranteed low hourly rate.
- Initial collection letters are limited to 10 per quarter. More than 10, and any follow-up letters are written at the guaranteed low hourly rate or at the contingency fee percentage, depending on what you and your plan attorney decide.
- One on one consultations for each new legal matter. Thirty-minute time limit per subject matter. Time over the 30 minutes per subject will be at the guaranteed low hourly rate.
- Registered Agent for your business in the state in which you are incorporated as well as other states where you do business.
*In certain situations, attorney liability may require plan attorneys to ask for a retainer from the member prior to providing some of the Free Legal Services.
Detailed Legal Services definitions can be found in Section 3 of the Plan Guidebook.
Guaranteed Low Hourly Rates** – Plan attorneys have contracted to charge no more than $125.00 per hour, or 40% off their usual and customary hourly rate, whichever is greater, for legal care that goes beyond the free and discounted services described above. In most cases, the attorneys will be able to estimate the number of hours any given case may consume prior to beginning work on the case.
Retainers** – In the case of extended legal care, plan attorneys may ask you for a retainer. Any retainer sought will be computed by multiplying the number of hours a plan attorney believes a case will take, by the appropriate discounted hourly plan rate. For instance, 10 hours x $125.00 = a retainer of $1,250. Any unused portion of the retainer will be returned to the member.
Contingency Fee Discounts** – Attorneys often work on a contingency fee basis on such cases as personal injury and collections. This fee is usually expressed as a percentage of the amount collected or awarded. In collection matters, your attorney will accept 18% if the case is settled before formal court proceedings begin. After proceedings begin, the fee is 27%. On all other contingency matters, there is a 10% discount on the lower of either the state maximum or the attorney’s standard rate.
** Court costs, filing fees and time charged for travel to and from any courts are additional.
When to Use an Attorney
- Business Contracts
• Copyright
• Landlord/Tenant
• Patents
• UCC Filings
• Worker’s Compensation
• Document Review
• Title Searches
• Tax Law
• Accident/Liability Claims
• Employment Matters
• And much more!
Family Legal Plan
Through AUIC, members get a 15% discount off of the regular $12/month ($10.20/month) cost of the Family Legal Plan from Legal Club of America. For as little as $10.20/month you can have access to a nationwide network of attorneys for all your personal legal needs.
BENEFIT FEATURES
Legal Club is a discount legal referral service with a nationwide network of plan attorneys who provide free and discounted legal care for over 1 million families. Membership includes you, your spouse or domestic partner, dependent children under the age of 25 and any dependents that may be living with you, such as a parent or grandparent.
FREE LEGAL SERVICES:*
The following nine (9) services are available at no charge.
- Initial phone consultations for each new legal matter (no time limit)
- Initial face to face consultations for each new legal matter (no time limit)
- Review of independent legal documents (6 page maximum per document, no limit to the number of new independent documents)
- Plan attorneys will prepare a free Simple Will for you and your family, as well as update the Will annually for free. (See definition of Simple Will in Section 3 of the Plan Guidebook). Alternatively, members have access to a more comprehensive and customized web-based Simple Will
- A state-specific, web-based, free Living Will form is available to Members. This form can be notarized by a Notary Public.
- Plan attorneys will help Members represent themselves in small claims court
- Assistance in solving problems with government programs, such as INS and welfare
- When deemed appropriate by your plan attorney, he or she will write letters on your behalf (one letter per legal matter, with no limit on the number of new legal matters)
- When deemed appropriate by your plan attorney, he or she will make phone calls on your behalf (one phone call per legal matter, with no limit on the number of new legal matters)
*In certain situations, attorney liability may require plan attorneys to ask for a retainer from the member prior to providing some of the Free Legal Services.
DEEPLY DISCOUNTED LEGAL SERVICES:**
The following are eight (8) commonly used legal services for which plan attorneys have agreed to charge a one-time, deeply discounted fee.
| LEGAL SERVICES | MEMBER RATE |
NON-MEMBER RATE |
||||||||||||||||
| Traffic Ticket Defense |
|
|
||||||||||||||||
| Name Change | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simple Will with Minors Trust | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chapter 7 Bankruptcy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-Support (Spouse/Child) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simple Divorce | ||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Incorporation | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal Real Estate Closing | ||||||||||||||||||
**Court costs, filing fees and time charged for travel to and from any courts are additional.
Detailed Legal Services definitions can be found in Section 3 of the Plan Guidebook.
GUARANTEED LOW HOURLY RATE:
Plan attorneys have contracted to charge no more than $125.00 per hour, or 40% off their usual and customary hourly rate, whichever is greater, for legal care that goes beyond the free and discounted services described above.
RETAINERS:
In the case of extended legal care, plan attorneys may ask you for a retainer. Any retainer sought will be computed by multiplying the number of hours a plan attorney believes a case will take, by the plan’s discounted hourly rate. For instance; 10 hours x $125.00 = a retainer of $1,250.00. Any unused portion of the retainer will be returned to you.
CONTINGENCY FEE DISCOUNTS:
The contingency fee discount will be a 10% reduction of the state maximum rate or the attorney’s usual rate, whichever is lower.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision. Before hiring the lawyer to whom you may be referred, ask the attorney for written information about the lawyer’s qualifications and experience.
Startup Lawyer
www.StartupLawyer.com is a free website for participants of the startup ecosystem. Articles are generally legal in nature but topics may include issues and current events as they relate to the startup ecosystem.
Who writes Startup Lawyer?
Ryan Roberts, a partner at Roberts Foster LLP. The law firm represents startup companies through all phases of their growth process, including over $100 million in venture capital transactions.
What topics doesStartup Lawyer cover?
Ryan Roberts writes about legal issues involved in a startup’s lifecycle, including incorporation, funding, stock options, venture capital, etc. Consult specific topics of relevance and interest to you:
- Incorporation
- Accelerators
- Boards and Advisors
- Seed Rounds
- Venture Capital
- Acquisitions
- Start-up Issues