Ideally,
you will know one or more trustworthy persons in
California
in similar circumstances who can refer you to an attorney.
If not, you must do some homework.
On the Internet, you can Google search for an attorney in your
area of interest in your area of concern in
California
, or you can use lawyer searching websites, such as FindLaw at http://www.findlaw.com/.
Then, check with the California State Bar to determine the disciplinary
status and other information for each attorney candidate at http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member.aspx.
Once you have at least 3 qualified candidates, call each of them
and explain your situation and listen to their feedback.
Your instincts should determine the right attorney candidate from
these calls.
If
you are a small business, you should concentrate on small business
attorneys, ideally with experience in your specific business, as each
business shall have its own set of legal and regulatory circumstances.
To give you a headstart in this process, and to assist you in
finding the appropriate permitting information for your specific
business and specific location, the CalGOLD database at www.calgold.ca.gov/
provides links and contact information that direct you to agencies that
administer and issue business permits, licenses and registration
requirements from all levels of government.
The CalGold listings include descriptions of the requirements,
the contact information of the agencies that administer those
requirements, and in most cases a direct link to the agencies' Internet
web pages.
During
your calls to attorney candidates, ask them if they have personal
business experience. For
example, if they own their own firms, they will have a perspective
closer to yours. Working
with one or more attorneys deep within large firms may result in more
legal expense.
Ask
them if they are litigators, as litigators are many times unavailable.
General counsel do not usually litigate and are there to advise and
service you, when you need it. General counsel aim to keep you
out of court. If you are unfortunate enough to need or defend
litigation, your corporate counsel will refer you to the most
appropriate litigation attorney or firm and thereafter monitor and
manage the costs of litigation, which could otherwise spiral out of
control.
Ideally,
your corporate counsel will have sufficient prior litigation experience
in order to do the foregoing effectively.
Also, he or she will be able to draft contracts with an eye
towards staying out of litigation or litigating in a friendly venue.
For example, the existence (or lack thereof) of a contact clause
providing for a prevailing party’s right to attorney fees can mean the
difference between having (or not having) litigation.
In
addition, a corporate counsel, rather than a litigator, is more likely
to give you all the advice you want or need and then get out of the way
so as not to frustrate your business goals.
Business risk is your decision, not a lawyer’s.
Once a transaction’s basic terms and conditions have been
negotiated, a good corporate counsel will rapidly draft an industry
standard agreement, as simply stated as safely possible, customized to
your particular circumstances and risk tolerance levels, oftentimes for
a fixed fee. You can see my present
fixed fee schedule here. Such an
agreement should not result in protracted negotiations.
Armed
with the foregoing, I hope you find the ideal attorney for your business
in
California
.
Disclaimer:
The purpose of this article is to provide information, rather than
advice or opinion. It is accurate to the best of my knowledge as of the
date of the article. I have no duty to update this article. The
information, examples and suggestions presented in this article have
been developed from sources believed to be reliable. This article should
not be viewed as a substitute for the guidance and recommendations of a
retained professional and should not be construed as legal or other
professional advice. In addition, I do not endorse any actions addressed
herein, unless they are produced or created by me. I recommend
consultation with me or other competent legal counsel and/or other
professional advisors before applying this material to any particular
factual situations.
