MSP Legal Issues? Find a Human Being.

When it comes to selecting legal representation for your Contracts and Agreements, it is important to find a local resource that can be a part of your Strategic Plan for your business.  After all, legal advice is something that you will use for situations beyond making edits for contract/agreement edits. The everyday CEO, often counsels with a local attorney for recommendations in dealing with slow paying clients, strategies regarding how the law applies within their business model and yes, representation if and when a business owner has to appear before a Judge or Magistrate.

Virtual Advice or Real Human Being?

For this reason, it is important to find legal counsel from a human being and not a value-priced online resource. LegalZoom and other online legal resources, are not considered ideal situations for Managed Service Providers (MSP) and Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSP). LegalZoom (like most online legal services) are entities that contract with hundreds of entry-level attorney’s and new to market firms that offer to work for a low rate per hour, in order to ensure that the profit margin is kept high for the host/online company.

At the end of the day, if an MSP or ITSP is litigated against, a website will not be standing next to you – in front of a judge in a court of law. It will be a living, breathing and (hopefully) passionate lawyer – that wants nothing more than his client, prevail.

So, where to find a local resource for legal counsel?   Ask around.

From your local Chamber of Commerce, to other business owners in your town – don’t be afraid to ask for a reference. Lawyers, like most reputation-centric providers – rely on strong referrals.  Seek out the best relationships you have, and ask who represents them. Good is always referred easily, just as negative reviews are so freely provided.

Always Interview for Success

Just as you would seek out and apply a vetting process to hiring for a new employee, the same principal should be applied in aligning with a specific Attorney or Lawyer. To begin, make contact with those attorneys who set time aside to meet with you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like, “How much experience do you have in the Small to Medium Sized Business market?” or “Why do you seem to be successful with Small Business owners?” as these are open ended questions, that allow you to hear the experience of the attorney, without the pressure of having to keep a conversation going.

If attorneys won’t make time for you now, I’ve found that that’s a clear indicator of how they’ll treat you as a client. Never allow yourself to forget, They need You; not the other way around. Lawyers and Attorney’s that are worth their weight in gold, know how to ensure that the client feels and experiences, value. You want to find a measure of synchronicity with the lawyer you choose, because if ‘it’ hits the fan – you want to know that the person who will defend your side of the case – is someone you feel more than just 'confident' in.

Finding your local resource, increases your probability in being able to ensure that you run a business in accordance with your State and Federal Laws, which endorses an ongoing business strategy of Preparation and Guidance.