Small business can be quite lucrative. For some, this appeal outweighs the unavoidable problems which arise. For instance, when customers aren’t satisfied with merchandise or service, when products do not arrive on time or in a suitable condition, or when a business partner breaks a contract. Most of the time, these problems are manageable and tend to run their course without a lot of hoopla, but on occasion they do not and this may lead to lengthy business litigation. Sidestepping that, many companies choose to resolve their differences through arbitration and mediation. Even though business dispute resolution does not take place in a courtroom it is important to consult a lawyer prior and possibly retain them for the duration of the arbitration.

Attorneys specializing in business dispute law take the emotion out of a rather emotional situation. Consultations will bear new perspectives on what the actual circumstances are and on some realistic solutions for your dilemma. They help business owners focus more on outcomes than on the problems and wrongs surrounding the case, which tend to clutter their mind.

Because business dispute resolution is constantly in flux, it’s good to have someone on your side who has been there before. Although each case is unique and things that worked in one case may not work in another, having lawyers with extensive bargaining experience can prove fruitful. They may have a similar case which they’ve consulted on that turned out favorably and have a framework of how to arrive at these desired outcomes.

Another reason to (at minimum) consult with a lawyer is the other guy may have a lawyer too. Obviously you’re not on good grounds with this person so it’d be tough to get a bead on if they actually do or not, but why chance it? Having representation ensures at least a level playing field and hopefully an edge at the bargaining table.

Business owners should not consider a business dispute attorney as an expense, but rather as part of the package. Litigation is quite costly and agreeing to arbitration is already saving tons of money. An experienced lawyer actually saves time and money by allowing one to delegate his or her energies toward other pressing business matters.

The bottom line is that consulting and hiring a lawyer saves a business owner by helping to ensure a speedy arbitration without any speed bumps. At first you’d think arbitration would be a one-speed process, but addressing key aspects of the dispute instead of getting bogged down in the minutia will speed the process up immensely. This is why the next time a conflict needs resolution make sure to consult an attorney, because as business people know- time is money.

Present Your Business Dispute case to Toronto Lawyers, Vancouver Lawyers, Ottawa Lawyers, Mississauga Lawyers, and Brampton Lawyers.

Instead of starting a new business, many entrepreneurs become franchisees. There are some definite pros and unfortunate cons to franchising and knowing as much as possible before taking the plunge will help stave off future problems.

The Franchise Agreement. Any franchising arrangement requires a lot of paperwork. The bulk of the deal is the franchise agreement. This stipulates the framework of the arrangement, detailing what both parties must do. Some franchises require a percentage of the gross revenue. Others may only want an upfront, one-time fee. Most require certain uniforms be used, suppliers, and a specific store layout. It’s important to note that there is little to no term negotiations with established franchises. Your lawyer will help you decipher the different commitments expressed in the many clauses of a franchise arrangement.

 

 

Laws governing franchising vary depending on location. Since franchise agreements fall under provincial jurisdiction, it is important to research what applies. Only a few provinces have laws regulating franchises (Ontario being one of them) so it is important to do your homework. Lawyers and Attorneys experienced with franchise law know what will affect the specific situation.

The main idea with franchises is that you are “leasing” the name. One of the most beneficial elements is the built-in customer base of the company. Franchising allows you to skip the arduous process of building a good name for the business. People already know what they are getting when they come to a Tim Horton’s in Windsor even if it is their first time visiting the city. The main idea is uniformity and as the saying goes, if it’s not broke don’t fix it.

Good deal or a bad deal? After the agreement is understood, it is vital to crunch some numbers and find out if it is worth it. In general, franchising has its perks, but specifically, it can get messy. For example, Dan buys a McDonald’s franchise. After six months, the restaurant is making money hand over fist. Business is outstanding and Dan can’t be happier. Soon after, another McDonald’s springs up down the block. Business at Dan’s store slows as customers start going to the new McDonald’s. Because the contract he signed did not stipulate any exclusivity rights, Dan is now stuck in a situation where his franchise is competing against itself. McDonald’s doesn’t mind, because it’s getting its cut either way and probably more now that there’s two separate stores paying franchising fees and a percentage of the profits. The customers don’t mind because of the shorter lines at either restaurant. In the end, Dan’s left holding the bag because he didn’t realize the initial deal he was getting wasn’t that good.

Overall franchising is a viable course for entrepreneurs. With the help of a good lawyer, doing your homework, and some common sense, becoming a franchisee can be a rewarding experience- especially, if it means free happy meals for the kids.

One of the initial appeals the internet had to offer was anonymity. Users went online, browsed around from page to page with a sense of freedom. As time went by, the internet grew and so did liability concerns as in the now infamous case of the MySpace user who committed suicide- in part, because of online bullying. Internet crimes have increased and gotten lawmakers attention. If everyone online is anonymous, how do you hold someone accountable? Then again, what cyber rights do we have?

Recently, the Superior Court of Ontario ruled it legal for police to ascertain users’ identities without a search warrant by way of their ip addresses. Users have “no reasonable expectation of privacy” according to Justice Lynne Leitch. She went on to conclude that, “One’s name and address or the name and address of your spouse are not biographical information one expects would be kept private from the state.”

On its face, this makes sense. Allowing police to acquire basic information about a suspect through their ip address is much like them obtaining the same information from a street address.

York Law Professor James Stribopoulos questions the Crown’s intent in the matter. “It is not just your name [police are seeking], it is your whole Internet surfing history. Up until now, there was privacy. An IP address is not your name, it is a 10-digit number. A lot more people would be apprehensive if they knew their name was being left everywhere they went.”

This too makes sense. People use the internet for a variety of things, some of which are under the pretense of anonymity. Using the metaphor of a street address again, imagine if the clerk at the grocery store you frequent kept a log of your street address and name. Imagine if the bar you went to on occasion kept a log. Or that ONE time you went to a strip club… eish.

The case causing all the ruckus is, you guessed it, related to children. The defendant in the case is charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. Eish again. Exploiting children is a detestable crime, but then again, when you say “child porn”, people immediately default to emotional thinking and the pitchforks come out.

The internet has irrevocably changed the landscape of how the world works. In some ways, it’s brought us closer together and in other ways, pushed us farther apart. Liability is a definite factor at play here, but so are our rights. Subduing child pornography rings is one thing, but should we all have to pay for it? Right now, it’s “just a name” as Leitch puts it, but is it or is it something more. The case is ongoing and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  Sooner or later, we’ll know if this ruling is “just a precedent” or one of those good intentions that paves the road to hell.

 

Find Business Lawyers, Criminal Lawyers, Toronto Lawyers, Vancouver Lawyers or any other Lawyers by posting your case at Lawyerahead.ca.  Lawyers will then contact you on how best they can help you solve your legal needs.  Its simple, free and it is the best way to find a lawyer.

So you have decided to go into business for yourself and now you are wondering what to do. The variety of options can be mindboggling at first, but by consulting with your accountant and lawyer and by doing a bit of homework, one can discern what the appropriate course their business venture should take. One of the first steps after you have decided what sort of business interest (e-store, restaurant, manufacturing, etc) to pursue is to figure out what sort of business structure is best for you.

The three basic business structures, sole-proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, handle taxes in diverse manners and one should decide whether they expect profits or losses during the startup phase to arrive at the most suitable option.

Although corporations offer the entrepreneur the least amount of liability, they are less than favorable when you expect initial losses. Remember, corporations are legal entities and this means any losses they take stay with them. Entrepreneurs are not allowed to use these corporate losses to hedge against their supplementary incomes. Sole-proprietorships and partnerships tend to benefit the entrepreneur in this circumstance. Unlike corporate losses, which cannot be used, initial losses from starting a sole-proprietorship or partnership can be used to offset other sources of income. When profits are expected, the entrepreneur should consult with his accountant and have them compare the respective tax burdens for each business structure scenario.

Planning for what will happen with the business once the entrepreneur is deceased is another important part of the process. The method of transfer should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis to avoid swamping loved ones with taxes. Gifting the business to your spouse or to a trust for the spouse is one of the simplest ways to defer capital gains tax. Trusts come in handy when you want to ensure the business will be transferred to following generations. Estate freezes, which involve “freezing” the value of the business and allowing future growth in value to be transferred to the next generation without capital gains tax, is valuable because it postpones heavy taxes until the death of the next generation.

Tax and estate planning is a very in depth issue. Hopefully, this post gives you a glimpse into the intricate world of tax and estate law, but please recognize that it is only a glimpse. Jumping in without the guidance of an experienced lawyer and an experienced accountant is not a good idea. Many facets of your business may need special consideration and consulting with your accountant could result in large structural changes to better suit you from tax or other standpoints.

You can use lawyerahead.ca to find tax lawyers, estate lawyers, business lawyers and other lawyers quickly by posting your case.

Canada’s system of government and its legal regime are quite similar to those in the United States. In Canada various regulatory matters will have to be taken into account while starting a business.

Business Structure

The business structure can be a sole proprietorship, partnership, incorporation or a not for profit organization. For setting any of these business structures the rules and regulation of the state where the business will be set up has to be understood and followed by the business.

From a legal point of view, there are three common types of businesses: sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. Each has different and important implications for liability, taxation and succession which have been specified below:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Proprietorship

This is the simplest way to set up a business. A sole proprietor is fully responsible for all debts and obligations related to his or her business. A creditor with a claim against a sole proprietor would normally have a right against all of his or her assets, whether business or personal. This is known as unlimited liability.

In a proprietorship, one person performs all the functions required for the successful operation of the business. The proprietor secures the capital, establishes and operates the business, assumes all risks, accepts all profits and losses, and pays all taxes. The proprietor is said to be self-employed.

Advantages

• Low start-up costs

• Greatest freedom from regulation

• Owner in direct control of decision making

• Minimal working capital required

• Tax advantages to owner

• All profits to owner

Disadvantages

Unlimited liability
Lack of continuity in business organization in absence of owner

Difficulty in raising capital

Advantages and Disadvantages of Partnership

A partnership is an agreement in which two or more persons combine their resources in a business with a view to making a profit. In order to establish the terms of the partnership and to protect partners in the event of a disagreement or dissolution of a partnership, a partnership agreement should be drawn up. Standard form partnership agreements can also be purchased for about $5.00 at stationary stores. Partners share in the profits according to the terms of the agreement.

In a General Partnership, two or more owners share the management of a business, and each is personally liable for all the debts and obligations of the business. This means that each partner is responsible for, and must assume the consequences of, the actions of the other partner(s).

A second type of partnership is a Limited Partnership which involves limited partners who combine only capital. They are not involved in managing the business and cannot be liable for more than the amount of capital they have contributed. This is known as limited liability.

A limited partnership also involves general partners, who are involved in management. They are fully liable for the debts and obligations of the business, but may be entitled to a greater share of the profits.

Advantages

• Ease of formation

• Low start-up costs

• Additional sources of investment capital

• Possible tax advantages

• Limited regulation

• Broader management base

Disadvantages

• Unlimited liability

• Divided authority

• Difficulty in raising additional capital

• Hard to find suitable partners

• Possible development of conflict between partners

• Partners can legally bind each other without prior approval

• Lack of continuity

Advantages and Disadvantages of Incorporating

A corporation, also known as a Limited Company, is a legal entity which is separate and distinct from its members (shareholders). Each shareholder has limited liability. A creditor with a claim against the assets of the company would normally have no rights against its shareholders, although in certain circumstances shareholders may be held liable. This type of business can be incorporated at either the federal or provincial level.
Ownership interests in a corporation are usually easily changed. Shares may be transferred without affecting the corporations existence or continued operation.

The following characteristics distinguish it from a partnership or proprietorship:

Limited liability - normally no member can be held personally liable for the debts, obligations or acts of the corporation beyond the amount of share capital the members has subscribed; and

Perpetual succession - because the corporation is a separate legal entity, its existence does not depend on the continued membership of any of its members.

Advantages

• Limited liability

• Possible tax advantage (if you qualify for a small business tax

rate)

• Specialized management

• Ownership is transferable

• Continuous existence

• Separate legal entity

• Easier to raise capital

Disadvantages

• Closely regulated

• Most expensive form to organize

• Charter restrictions

• Extensive record keeping necessary

• Double taxation of dividends

• Shareholders may be held legally responsible in certain

circumstances

• Personal guarantees undermine limited liability advantage

The following legal aspects should be taken care of by all types of business entities:

Employment law

The contract of employment is important in individual employment relationship in Canada. An employer that wishes to define with certainty the terms of employment should enter into written contracts of employment with its employees. In Canada, employments laws relating to unionized workplaces are differentiated from those relating to particular individuals.

Antitrust Law

The Canadian equivalent of the American Anti-trust Legislation is the Competition Act. The Act grants broad power to the Competition Tribunal to prevent an unfair abuse of power by a competitor in a dominant position.

Environmental Protection

Environmental protection is the joint responsibility of Federal and Provincial levels of government. Federal Legislation regulates the import/export manufacturing use in Canada of prescribed substances as well as prescribing obligations in the event of unlawful discharge of toxic substances into the environment. The Act imposes penal sanctions together with a substantial fine if the environmental regulations are not followed.

Patent, Copyright and Privacy Regulation

The Patent Act in Canada grants monopoly to the holder of the exclusive right to manufacture, sell or use an invention in Canada for 20 years from the date of application. In Canada, copyright arises automatically upon creation of a work. Copyright affords the owner the sole right to reproduce or publish the work or any substantial part. Regarding privacy regulations, the Personal Information Protection on Electronic Documents Act passed substantially tracks the provisions of the European Unions data protection directive.

To find a lawyer, especially a business lawyer at Lawyer Ahead, post your case and have a lawyer or lawyers experienced in Business law contact you.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons for a particular purpose. In general, contracts are always formed on the same pattern. A person offers to give another person something; to provide a service or to refrain from doing something. If the offer is accepted, the contract is then valid in principle.

A contract is, therefore an agreement that legally binds the parties to the agreement to do (or not do) what the contract stipulates. The essential elements of a contract are the offer, acceptance, and consideration.

Common law is the system of law that evolved from the decisions of the English royal courts of justice since the Norman Conquest (1066). Today the common law, considered more broadly to include statutes as well as decisions, applies in most English-speaking countries, including all Canadian provinces except Québec. Civil Law is the system of law that evolved from the Roman law compilations of the Emperor Justinian. Today it is found in countries of continental Europe as well as their former colonies and, in Canada, in Québec. Canadian common law and Québec civil law generally follow similar rules in this regard, that is a contract legally entered into represents a legal bond between the parties. Parties are free to contract whenever and for whatever reason they wish.

Five conditions that must be met for a contract to be legally binding

Mutual Consent

The first condition is that there should be mutual consent of both parties. In other words there must be an offer by one side and an acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer was made.

Contractual capacity

The second condition is the contractual capacity of both the parties. For a contract to be enforceable it must be between competent parties. All persons are legally authorized to enter into a contract except for the following:

• Minors, who are above 18 years of age,

• Mentally incompetent persons,

• Person who is ineligible from entering into the contract by law.

Purpose

The third condition is that the contract should have an object or a purpose; it must concern a specific and agreed-upon good or service.

Lawful Cause

The fourth requirement of a valid contract is that its provisions be legal. If a purported contract requires an illegal act, the result is a void contract. Parties to an illegal contract have no standing in court. If one party receives money or property under an illegal contract, the other may not sue to recover what was paid under the contract. Contracts to commit crimes or to engage in immoral acts are void.

Written formalities

The fifth condition, which is not required in all cases, is the compliance in certain circumstances to formalities provided by law such as, for instance, a valid written instrument.

Lawyer Ahead, Inc. has the best business lawyers you can find in Canada. To find a lawyer for your legal needs, post your case and have lawyers contact you with their expertise. Easy as step 1, 2, 3.

Considering all the talk (and action!) of outsourcing these days, I suppose it was only a matter of time before we outsourced some of our legal work, too. While call centers and technology-oriented operations were the first to head over to India, slowly medical analysis, and now lower-end legal services, are heading there too.

This isn’t something that’s likely to affect most people here in Canada- unless, of course, you happen to be a contract lawyer. The work that’s heading over to India and elsewhere is mainly document review. During the discovery process of a lawsuit, where both sides collect information and build there cases, there’s quite a bit of tedious searching through mountains of documents to find information relevant to the case.

Right now, most document review work is done by contract lawyers- lawyers who work part-time to review documents, here in Canada and the US. Major law firms usually have junior attorneys who do this work. However, contract lawyers cost upwards of $60 an hour, and junior attorneys at major firms usually receive salaries of over $100,000. So, quite a lot of money is going into what is, essentially, relatively simple work.

While academia has harnessed the wonderful strategy of paying students minimum wage to do research grunt work, the legal profession is finding another way to lower costs- outsourcing. Pangea3 and other companies have set up offices in India, supervised by American attorneys, to conduct document review- for only around $30 an hour.

This doesn’t mean your case is about to be phoned in from Mumbai- it will, hopefully, just mean that next time you hire a lawyer, some of those “billable hours” from discovery will be a bit cheaper. Companies like Pangea3 also argue that the work will be done better- since these outsourcing companies are one of the only opportunities for lawyers without family connections to work their way up in the profession. Contract lawyers here, on the other hand, are the bottom of the profession, and not likely to work their way up through this work. So, goes the argument, lawyers in India doing this document review have much more motivation to do it well.

Other lower-level legal work may also move overseas, as the number of companies doing document review increases and companies try to become more competitive. Some corporations here are even trying to use their knowledge of the offshore legal market to force firms here to lower their fees, or at least the markups they charge on document review.

Then again, maybe some of the big-name firms over here who are so convinced that doing this menial work for them is “valuable training experience” will start charging their junior associates to do it! Then again,

save some money for us, someday.

Recent Contracts cases in Business Law that drew most attention from Business Lawyers.

Find Business lawyers in Toronto, Business Lawyers in Ontario, Business Lawyers in BC, Business Lawyers in Vancouver in 3 easy steps at Lawyerahead.ca.