Business Lawyers Minneapolis: Preparing for Initial Consultation II

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In previous article, I discussed what type of information you should bring to your Minneapolis business attorney. In this essay, I shift the focus toward the second part of the preparation which is about what type of questions you need to ask your business lawyer.

Usually, the questions that you want your Minneapolis business lawyer to answer should, at the very least, cover the following four areas:

1.    Cost and Billing

The most common and important issue is the cost of the case as well as the manner in which you will be billed.  Unless this is a flat-fee case, you should not expect your business attorney to give you a precise amount of money you will need to spend on your case.  Usually, a Minneapolis business lawyer will give you an estimate, which, in the end, may or may not correspond to the actual cost of the case.

In terms of the manner of billing, you are likely to billed per hour in most business litigation and large business transaction matters. Small contracts and certain common-place business services are often subject to a flat fee with an additional hourly fee charged in case of further modifications as requested by a client.

2.     Time

The next area you should discuss with your Minneapolis business attorney is how long the case will need to be conducted.   The estimates here are likely to vary significantly.   While it is often fairly easy to predict when an employment contract will be finished, it is much harder to estimate an amount of time a business litigation case may take (especially if an extensive motion practice is anticipated).

3.    Participation

Ask your Minneapolis business lawyer about who will handle your case – i.e. whether the attorney will handle it personally or turn it over to his associates.  When you are dealing with a large law firm, you run the risk that the attorney with whom you are having the initial consultation will not be the one handling your case, especially if you are a small business or an individual.  Due to common division of labor in large law firms, it is very likely that the case will be turned over to inexperienced associates whose work will be only reviewed by the attorney who conducted the initial consultation.

If, however, you are hiring a small firm or a solo practitioner, you are very likely to avoid this problem and your case will be handled from the beginning through the end by your experienced business lawyer who is probably an owner of the law firm and personally responsible for the case.

4.     Percentage of Practice

The last question is how much time per month, on the average, your Minneapolis business attorney devotes to his business practice.  At a minimum, your business lawyer should devote about 25% of his practice to business law.

Conclusion

While these four questions do not represent a complete list of questions you should ask your business attorney, they are likely to provide that minimum background necessary for the review of a retainer agreement with your Minneapolis business lawyer.

Sherayzen Law Office can help you with your business issues, whether you want to establish a new business, create a legal structure for an existing one, draft an employment contract or an Independent Contractor Agreement, engage in complex business planning, litigate a business dispute, and so on.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office to discuss your business case with an experienced business attorney!

Business Lawyers Minneapolis: Preparing for Initial Consultation I

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Preparing for the initial consultation with your Minneapolis business lawyer usually involves at least two steps. First, gathering the information you need to supply to your business attorney. Second, preparing the questions you want to ask your business lawyer. This essay deals with the first part of the preparation.

It is important to understand that your Minneapolis business lawyer will initially have to rely almost exclusively on the information that you supply to him. Moreover, failure to supply the necessary information during initial consultation may lead to significant delays in your case and increase your legal expenses. This is why it is very important to come prepared to the initial interview.

The first step is to ask your Minneapolis business lawyer about what you should bring with you. While Minneapolis business lawyers commonly recommend that you should bring all documents that are related to your case, I usually list specific documents which are customary in a given business situation.

“Everything related to the case” usually includes all documents, statements, e-mails, letters, corporate business documents, et cetera. Sometimes, this would mean divulging sensitive financial and personal information. You should not feel uncomfortable in doing so, because a lawyer will guard all of this information. Client confidentiality is the cornerstone of Sherayzen Law Office’s practice. We jealously guard all client information that a client supplied to us in confidence.

The second step is for you to review what documents you actually have against the list of the documents requested by your attorney. It is possible that you may lack some documents. The purpose of this step is to identity the missing information.

The third step is to try to obtain the missing information before meeting with your business attorney. If this is not possible, then let your attorney know during the consultation what information you are missing and whether you will be able to find it after the meeting.

Once you go through these three steps, the first part of the your preparation for the initial business consultation is finished. I will discuss the second part of your preparation in the next article.

Remember, Sherayzen Law Office can help you with your business issues, whether they are concerned your business license, administrative appeals, litigation, business organization or business planning.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office to discuss your business case with an experienced business attorney!

Minnesota Contract Litigation Lawyers | Truth in Repairs Act Highlights

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Minnesota’s “Truth in Repairs Act” (Minn. Stat. §325F.56 through §325F.65) spells out the rights and obligations of repair shops and their customers for repairs costing more than $100 and less than $7,500.

Here are some basic highlights of your rights as a customer:

a). You have the right to receive a written estimate for repair work, if you request one.

b). Generally, once you receive this estimate, the repair shop may not charge more than ten percent above the estimated cost. If the customer is told about an additional charge before the estimate is issued, however, a shop may impose an additional charge for disassembly, diagnosis and reassembly of the item in order to make the estimate.

c). The shop is required to provide you with an invoice if the repairs cost more than $50, and/or the work is done under a manufacturer’s warranty, service contract or an insurance policy. Special statutory requirements apply with respect to what the invoice should contain.

d). The shop cannot perform any unnecessary or unauthorized repairs. If, after repairs are begun, a shop determines that additional work needs to be done, the shop may exceed the price of the written estimate, but only after it has informed you and provided you with a revised estimate. In this case, if you authorize the additional work, the shop may not charge more than ten percent above the revised estimate.

e). Prior to commencement of the repairs, you have the right to ask for and receive replaced parts, unless those parts are under warranty or other restrictions. In that case, they must be returned by the shop to the manufacturer, distributor or other person. You may pay an additional charge for retrieving parts because the shop usually can sell them. Even if you are not allowed to keep the old parts, you should have an opportunity to examine them for up to five days after the repair.

f). A shop may impose a towing, minimum, or other service charge for making a call at a place other than the shop. However, upon the request of the customer, the shop shall inform the customer before making a service call that a service charge will be imposed and the basis on which the charge will be calculated.

It is very important to keep proper written records. If a dispute arises between you and the repair shop, these records are likely to be an indispensable proof of what the parties agreed to and what provision, if any, of the agreement was violated.

If you have any questions with respect to the Minnesota’s “Truth in Repair Act”, contact an experienced Minnesota contract litigation lawyer at Sherayzen Law Office.

Trademark Attorney Minneapolis | Cease and Desist Letter: Minimum Format

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Most trademark lawyers in Minneapolis recommend that a cease and desist letter regarding trademark violation should contain, at the very minimum, the following components:

1. Trademark Owner’s Identity

The cease and desist notice should identify who is the trademark owner. If the letter is being drafted by a trademark owner’s representative, then representative should identify in the letter himself and his relation to the trademark owner.

2. Trademark

The letter should state clearly the trademark that the owner believes is being violated. If the trademark is formally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or a relevant state or foreign government authority, then provide the registration number in the letter. It is a good idea to attach a copy of the registration certificate to the letter.

3. Notice of Violation

The letter should explicitly state that the recipient violated the trademark owner’s rights. One of the primary purpose of a cease and desist letter is to give notice, and, usually, the best way to do so is to state it clearly.

4. Description of Violation

The cease and desist notice should explain how the recipient violated the trademark owner’s rights. Usually, a general statement briefly describing the nature of the violation is sufficient. There is no reason to provide a detailed violation of the account for two reasons. First, it is not a good idea to divulge too much information to the other side. Second, a overly-detailed account of violation may actually weaken the trademark owner’s case by stating facts which the other side can prove to be wrong.

Nevertheless, in some situations, describing a violation in an attached trademark complaint may be highly beneficial to the trademark owner’s case, demonstrating the seriousness of his intentions and his confidence in the case. This strategy should be discussed with a trademark attorney in Minneapolis.

5. Description of the Trademark’s Strength

If there are favorable facts that augment the perceived strength of the owner’s trademark, then it may be beneficial to briefly state them in the letter. This is especially true if this a descriptive trademark that acquired distinctiveness through a long period of use and promotion. Again, a trademark lawyer should determine how to pursue this strategy.

6. Trademark Owner’s Demands

The cease and desist letter should set the demands of the trademark owner. Demands may vary greatly depending on the circumstances of a case, but there are some fairly common ones, such as:

a) Cease and desist all illegal activity;
b) Promise in writing not to violate the trademark in the future; and
c) Destruction of infringing materials.

7. Deadline

The cease and desist notice should state the deadline for a written response to the letter. The deadline should give the recipient a fair chance to comply with the trademark owner’s demands. Usually, Minneapolis trademark lawyers use a period between seven and thirty days.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned components merely constitute a basic skeleton of a cease and desist letter. Putting the “meat on those bones”, however, is an art rather than a science: more components can be added, certain arguments may be emphasized, others ignored, wording must be selected very carefully keeping in mind a highly probable litigation in the near future, and countless number of other considerations should be taken into account. Remember, a cease and desist letter is more about advocacy and negotiation, rather than simply giving notice.

This is why you should retain a Minneapolis trademark attorney to write a cease and desist letter for you. Sherayzen Law Office can help! We can draft a proper cease and desist letter, help negotiate a settlement, and litigate the case for you.

Call us NOW to discuss your trademark case with an experienced trademark attorney!

Trademark Attorney in Minnesota: Cease and Desist Letter and Trademark Enforcement

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Prior to engaging in expensive trademark litigation, it is common for Minnesota trademark lawyers to send the violating parties a notice of infringement, demanding that the violators comply with certain demands of the trademark owner and threatening lawsuit otherwise.  This notice is usually called “cease and desist letter”, because it demands that the violator: ceases his trademark infringing activities and promises to desist from future trademark infringement.

Cease and Desist Letter is a very useful pre-litigation tool.  Three factors are usually cited by trademark lawyers in Minnesota to support the usefulness of a cease and desist notice.  First, the letter provides notice to the recipient that he is in violation of the sender’s trademark violations.  This means that, if the recipient persists in his illegal activity, his actions are very likely to be regarded as “intentional”, opening up a host of new legal claims and larger penalties.  Moreover, the trademark owner can subsequently argue that he has done everything he could to end this case amiably and it was the violator who did not want to stop his illegal acts. Second, the letter gives the recipient a chance to stop his infringing activities without paying the costs of an expensive trial and, ultimately, paying a hefty penalty.  Third, the letter is also a chance for the trademark owner to enforce his rights without going through an expensive trial with (depending on the facts of the case) less than certain outcome.   Fourth, the recipient of the letter (unless he is sure of his innocence and wants to go straight to trial) is likely to feel compelled to produce some sort of response to the letter.  This response may be a good way for the trademark owner to assess the strength of the other side’s case.

The format of a cease and desist letter may vary wildly in substance as well as style. In fact, while a certain minimum format is commonly used, the content and style of writing a cease and desist letter depends greatly on the circumstances of a case and is more of an art, than science.

Sherayzen Law Office can help you enforce your trademark rights.  We can help you draft “Cease and Desist Notice”, negotiate the settlement with the party, and litigate your case in court.

Call us NOW to discuss your case with an experienced trademark attorney!