#GathingsBizTalk How Startups Can Avoid Expensive Legal Fees

This week on #GathingsBizTalk Gathings Law Attorney, Will Lattimore, is talking about boutique law firms, small businesses, and startup companies.

When you first start a business, there is a lot of work to be done; building a business from the ground up is no easy task. So much of your time, money, energy, tears, and sweat go into your business. You may not even realize it, but one of the most financially straining aspects about starting a business can be legal fees.

While you’re juggling the various roles you take on in your company to get off the ground, there are a lot of legalities that you need to be aware of. However, few new businesses can afford to hire lawyers from large law firms that charge $400-700 an hour.

At Gathings Law, we know this better than anyone. Not only do we have decades of experience helping small businesses and startups, but we have walked a mile in the shoes of a new business owner. A few years ago Gathings Law Senior Partner, Lloyd Gathings, started his own small business and saw how legal fees could potentially put a strain on a new business. That’s why we provide our legal services to our startup clients at a much reduced hourly rate. Our services include determining the best entity for your business, licensing, contracts, and much much more.

If you’re starting a business or need legal help with your current business, call Gathings Law. We have the years of legal expertise you need and the firsthand knowledge you want. Let’s talk about what we can do for you.

As a reminder, on our #GathingsBizTalk weekly series, Gathings Law discusses different legal points of interest in business every week on our social media. Follow us on social media and tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Click here to follow #GathingsBizTalk on LinkedIn. To follow our other weekly series, #GathingsLawTalk, which discusses personal injury and domestic relations, follow @GathingsLaw on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

#GathingsBizTalk What You Need To Know About Trademark Litigation

This week on #GathingsBizTalk Gathings Law Attorney, Will Lattimore, talked about a recent case in which he represented a startup company in a trademark infringement action that involved similar products that we being sold by two competing startups.

Trademark litigation in Federal Court can get complex and expensive. Because of that expense, Will handled the case on a contingency fee basis. When we handle cases on a contingency fee basis that means that Gathings Law pays for all the expenses on the front end and there are no hourly fees.

Typically, startups prefer this arrangement whenever possible. This arrangement is particularly beneficial in complex cases, such as those involving federal trademark law. When handled by other larger firms, expenses and hourly fees for this type of case can become overwhelming and can put a significant strain on the client.

In this particular case, Will filed a trademark infringement action in Federal Court. Later was able to settle the case for a payment of our client’s damages, an agreement to stop all infringing activities, and an agreement for both parties to post disclaimers clearly distinguishing their products and services from their competitor’s. It was a successful result for our client and didn’t cost them anything on the front end.

At Gathings Law, we understand startup companies and the issues they face. We’ve got the ability to meet your complex legal needs. Whether you’re a startup or a thriving business, we always put your needs first. Whether our clients need us to litigate or to perform other legal services, we always reduce our hourly rates when we’re dealing with a startup company. We also consider alternative fee arrangements, such as contingency fees, or a combination of contingency fees and lower hourly rates.

As a reminder, on our weekly social media series #GathingsBizTalk, Gathings Law discusses different legal points of interest in business. Follow us on social media and tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Click here to follow #GathingsBizTalk on LinkedIn. To follow our other weekly series, #GathingsLawTalk, which discusses personal injury and domestic relations, follow @GathingsLaw on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

#GathingsLawTalk Finding The Right Attorney

This week on #GathingsLawTalk, Gathings Law Personal Injury Attorney, Will Lattimore, is talking about tire blowouts.

One of the points Will makes this week is to find the right attorney with the right experience.

If a tire blowout has caused a wreck that injured you or a loved one, you need to talk to lawyer who’s experienced in handling these types of cases. These types of cases are handled differently than other car wreck cases. For tire blowout cases, you need a lawyer with considerable experience handling product liability cases.

After an investigation, an experienced products liability lawyer will usually be able to tell you what caused the tire blowout. Was the blowout caused by a weakness in the adhesion between the rubber and the steel belts inside the tire? Are there any marks on the tire suggesting that a problem was encountered during the manufacturing process? A lawyer with experience in these specialized types of cases will know to look for these things and many more to help ensure that your case is handled correctly.

So if you, or a loved one, are injured due to a tire blowout, call Gathings Law. We have decades of experience handling personal injury cases and product liability cases. Whether you want us to file a case, or just investigate to learn more, let us put our expertise to work for you. Let us give you the representation that you deserve.      

As a reminder, on our #GathingsLawTalk weekly series, Gathings Law discusses different legal points of interest every week on our social media. Follow us on social media and tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Follow @GathingsLaw on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For all things business, click here to follow our business series, #GathingsLawBizTalk, on LinkedIn.

 

 

 

#GathingsBizTalk Your Business Needs A Trademark

Trademarks can be an effective way to help your business stand out from the competition.

When you put in the hardwork to create a business from the ground up, you want to properly protect it. A unique idea is the starting point, but to make sure your idea stays unique, you need a trademark.

One way you can help do that is to protect what’s called trade dress. That’s things like packaging for the products you sell, or the font you use to print your brand name on all your promotional material. Protecting your branding will help your business stand out from any potential competitors. These are simple ways you can help your business become recognizable to customers and stay unique.

Don’t be intimidated by the trademark application process. The lawyers at Gathings Law have years of experience navigating the federal trademark laws and are here to help you.

Trademark laws are just some of the legal aspects you need to consider when starting a business. If you own or manage a startup or small business, call Gathings Law. We have decades of experience helping startups and small businesses and we’re ready to put our expertise to work for you.

Additionally, Gathings Law is offering a free startup checklist to new business owners. The list consists of various agencies that businesses need to register certain legal documents with, different business laws that owners need to consider, and so much more. The checklist even includes references that business owners can reach out to for free help and advice. If you would like a copy of this list, call our office at (205) 322-1201 and we’ll be more than happy to email you a copy free of charge.

As a reminder, on our #GathingsBizTalk weekly series, Gathings Law discusses different legal points of interest in business every week on our social media. Follow us on social media and tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Click here to follow #GathingsBizTalk on LinkedIn. To follow our other weekly series, #GathingsLawTalk, which discusses personal injury and domestic relations, follow @GathingsLaw on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Procedures All Small Business Corporations Need To Follow

Small business owners incorporate their businesses for basically two reasons: tax reasons and to protect themselves from personal liability. However, most small business corporations get involved in the business once their incorporated and forget to follow the necessary corporate procedures in order to maintain good standing with the IRS and to keep their corporate shield protecting them from personal liability.

Because of this common occurrence, Gathings Law Senior Partner, Lloyd Gathings, has developed a checklist for his small business clients so that they can know exactly what they need to do in order to follow the correct corporate procedures.

If you own or manage a small business and would like a copy of our corporate procedures checklist, call our office today and we’ll be more than happy to email you a copy free of charge.

 

As a reminder, Gathings Law posts different legal tips every week on social media. If you have any questions that you would like answered, comment below and tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. To see the new #TipOfTheWeek every week, follow Gathings Law on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube @GathingsLaw.

Trademarks 101

Trademarks can be an effective way of protecting your business, your products, and your services. But navigating trademarks can be difficult, especially when you’re not a lawyer. But don’t worry-Gathings Law here to help!

You see the different trademark symbols on almost every product you have ever purchased. The three most frequently used trademark symbols  are ™, ℠, and ®. The ™ and ℠ symbols mean that you are staking a claim to the rights related to trademarks even if you haven’t formally registered them. The ™ mark is for goods while the ℠ mark is for services. You don’t have to use the ™ or ℠ symbols however it can help your business if you did. That’s because while there is no legal significance behind the symbols however using the symbols sends a message to your competition that you’re claiming branding rights and this will hopefully deter others from doing something similar.

The ® symbol however is regulated by federal law and does have legal significance. You may only use the ® symbol with a federally registered mark. However, if you do not use the symbol when your mark is officially registered you could give up your right to recover lost money damages if someone else uses the mark unless you can somehow prove that they knew it was a registered mark.

So how do you get a registered trademark? Talk to Gathings Law. We can help your small business navigate the federal trademark laws and ensure that your rights are protected. We have the knowledge and experience you need and the dedication and commitment that you want from your lawyer.

Tip Of The Week: What Is A Boutique Law Firm?

When you hear the word “boutique”chances are you think of a beauty or fashion boutique, not a law firm. But there are such things as boutique law firms, and no, they have nothing to do with fashion. A boutique law firm is a law firm with specialized lawyers who can perform the necessary legal services for small businesses more efficiently and at a lower rate than larger firms. Gathings Law is proud to be a boutique law firm and to help many small businesses grow and prosper.

In this week’s #TipOfTheWeek video, Gathings Law Attorney and Senior Partner Lloyd Gathings talks about what it means to him to be a boutique law firm. He has spent his entire legal career winning against large law firms with their armies of attorneys through efficiency, ingenuity, and legal skill. Not only that, but he himself is a small business owner and knows first hand the struggles and issues that a small business might face. That’s just one of the reasons why Gathings Law is dedicated to helping small businesses.

If you own or manage a small business, give Gathings Law a call for your legal needs. We have the experience and knowledge that you need and the commitment and dedication that you want from your lawyer.

As a reminder, Gathings Law will be posting different legal tips every week on social media. If you have any questions that you want answered, tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Go to our Facebook page, @GathingsLaw, to cast your vote for next week’s topic. To make sure that you don’t miss any Tips of the Week, follow Gathings Law on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube @GathingsLaw.

Trademarks & Small Business

Building a business from the ground up takes a lot of hard work and as its founder, there are many countless roles you have to play. A lot of your time, money, energy, and soul is put into your business. That’s why it’s important to protect the brand you’ve built.

Just like Gathings Law attorney Will Lattimore, said in this week’s #TipOfTheWeek video, trademarks can be an effective way to make your business stand out from the competition. You can even protect things specific to your brand such as the font your business uses to print its brand name on your promotional materials and the packaging for the products you sell.

Your unique idea is the main event and protecting it should be a top priority. At Gathings Law we know small business and we know trademark laws. And we’re here to help you. If your small business needs a lawyer, give Gathings Law a call!

As a reminder, Gathings Law will be posting different legal tips every week on social media. If you have any questions that you want answered, tell us what you’d like to hear about next; we’d love to hear from you. Go to our Facebook page, @GathingsLaw, to cast your vote for next week’s topic. To make sure that you don’t miss any Tips of the Week, follow Gathings Law on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube @GathingsLaw.

 

Gathings Law Fights For The Family Of A Man Killed On The Job

In one of our most recent cases, we are representing the family of a man who was killed on the job. The man was a truck driver and was killed on the interstate as the result of a tire blowout. That blown out tire caused his heavy truck to flip and go off the highway. We have extensive experience with product liability cases and have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the tire. We always strive to give our clients personalized attention and the best possible service. For this case, we have hired investigators to analyse the crash to give further insight into the events that took place. We have also called in an expert witness who has decades of experience with tire manufacturing to give a scientific opinion of what happened to the tire in order to help further our case.

Additionally, we are working hard to ensure that the family recovers all the benefits they are entitled to under workers compensation laws and we helped to set up an estate for the family. The loss of a loved one is a tragic event and we know how hard it is to have your life turned upside down in an instant. That’s why, at Gathings Law, we always go the extra mile for our clients to help them be protected.

If you or a loved one has experienced the devastating loss of a family member due to an on the job injury or unsafe product, give us a call. You are not in this alone; we are here to help.

Congress Attempts to Limit Patient Rights in Medical Cases

This week, Congress will debate H.R. 1215, the “Protecting Access To Care Act.” Unfortunately despite its friendly name, the bill does very little to protect anyone’s access to care. Instead, the bill protects pharmaceutical companies and negligent nursing homes from liability for wrongful conduct.

If H.R. 1215 is allowed to pass, then people who have been wronged by defective drugs and negligent nursing home caregivers will have a difficult time obtaining justice through the legal system. The bill caps non-economic damages in these cases at $250,000, even when the defendant is found to have acted intentionally or recklessly to harm the plaintiff.

The proposed federal statute would preempt many state laws currently on the books. States that have decided not to cap damages in medical drug and device cases, for example, would become subject to the $250k cap.

The bill is explicitly written to protect pharmaceutical companies who knowingly place catastrophically defective products on the market. It would leave families whose lives have been destroyed by these products, tragically, with little recourse.

The vote on this bill is coming up soon, so if you oppose H.R. 1215, you need to make your voice heard now. Debate begins tomorrow, Tuesday, June 27, with a vote on final passage scheduled for Wednesday, June 28. Easy instructions for calling and writing your representative are available at http://takejusticeback.com. Make your voice heard. Say no to H.R. 1215.