We here at Devins Law Firm are excited to watch their company succeed with such leaps and bounds and wish them the same continued success with their endeavors in this coming year!

Keith with Kojo Nnamdi

The requirement to maintain properly completed I-9 forms puts the burden of verifying employee work authorization directly on the employer.  Employers may face civil and criminal liabilities should an I-9 audit reveal the company hired illegal aliens, whether knowingly or unknowingly.  The burdens and penalties of such an audit include significantly decreased productivity and PR image, tremendous legal expenses, substantial fines, asset forfeiture, and possible criminal charges.

The Obama Administration has used unannounced I-9 audits as one way of cracking down on illegal immigration.  It is crucial to not only have the proper I-9 forms for employees, but the information must be accurate and error free.  Our firm can help your company maintain better records and we can run a practice audit to see where your company stands.  It is in your company’s best interest to be prepared by maintaining correct paperwork to verify that each of your employees are eligible to work in the US.

For more information and to view the I-9 form, please click here.

Devins Law Firm would be glad to assist you in an I-9 internal audit.  Please contact us today to learn how we can help.

Photo courtesy of Arvind Balaraman

• Rural Business Loans
• Loans for small exporter businesses
• Loans for special purposes (for example, businesses seeking pollution control implementations, businesses impacted by NAFTA, and assistance for Employee Stock Ownership Plans)
• Microloans – Small ($50,000 maximum) and short-term.  Limited purpose use, including working capital, purchasing inventory, supplies and equipment.
• CDC/504 Loans – Long-term and fixed-rate financing designed for land and building purchases, to pay for extensive improvements/modernizations, or to construct new facilities.  Businesses seeking this type of loan must meet certain size requirements.  

To qualify for the above mentioned loans the business must be operated for-profit in the US, it must be independently owned and operated, and it may not be dominant in its industry.  The business owner must be financially invested in the company, including some personal assets.

For more details, visit the US SBA’s website

Devins Law Firm maintains strong relationships with many different banks.  Contact us and we can help put you in touch with a local lender!  

Photo by anankkml. 

1. Highrise – The replacement to your business card collection. Collect your contacts in one place. Besides contact information, you can also add other fields and notes about the person. For example, when I add a contact, one of the pieces of information I identify is if he or she is a potential client or referral source. I can also write a brief background description and add “To Do” tasks related to the person. http://highrisehq.com/

2. MyStickies – I love sticky notes! But I loose them all the time. This application takes the concept of using sticky notes for reminders, and allows you to apply a sticky note to a website you would like to bookmark. When you come back to the bookmarked site, the note you left for yourself reminds you exactly why you bookmarked it in the first place and what on the website piqued your interest. I like the app because, before it, I had many, many websites bookmarked and I would not be able to recall why I bookmarked them without taking lots of time to sort and read through them again. http://www.mystickies.com/

3. Google Calendar – Google calendar is so easy and intuitive to use. I love that I can set it up to view multiple calendars, my personal and business calendar, as well as, say, UNC’s sports calendar! It is easily accessible on my cell. There are also neat features such as allowing other people to view my schedule without letting them see details (appointments will just show as “Busy”). http://www.google.com/calendar

4. Neptune – The more To Do list reminders I have, the better for me. As mentioned, Highrise offers a To Do list option related to your contacts (i.e. “Follow up with Jane…”). Neptune will cover these tasks and more (i.e. Pay the electric bill!”). Streamlined and easy to keep up with, Neptune will email you your tasks for the day each morning, and you can email Neptune back as you think of more tasks to add. It is only $10 per year, but they offer a free 15-day trial. http://www.neptunehq.com/

5. Dropbox – I use this app everyday to share files with my legal assistant and to access them easily once I am at home and am on a different computer. This app allows you access to your files from any computer that has Internet connection. So you no longer need to worry about carrying around that (in my case) ever-hard-to-find thumbdrive. You can upload folders and files and choose who you would like to have access to them. This is a neat feature for sharing personal files such as photos and videos. https://www.dropbox.com/

Check out the Entrepreneur’s Guide for more app suggestions for the small business owner.

Photo courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot.

Due to North Carolina’s adherence to the employment-at-will doctrine, it is a good idea for employers to create an employee handbook as a communication tool for their employees.  An employee handbook provides employees with the company’s expectations and lets them know what they can expect of the company as their employer.  The handbook may also define the company’s legal obligations to employees and provide an explanation of employees’ rights.

Beyond this general scope, specifically the handbook can include the company’s policies on anti-discrimination, plan for compensation and benefits, work schedule and vacation policies, dress code, and other information such as resignation procedures, and use of social media at work.

If you would like help putting together or modifying an existing employee handbook, please give our firm a call and we would be happy to be of assistance in making certain all elements of the handbook are legally compliant.

If you are an employee, be sure to read your handbook so you are aware of your employer’s policies and procedures, as well as your rights as the employed.

Photo by sheelamohan.

1. Auto Expenses
2. Travel
3. Entertainment (can claim 50%)
4. Continuing Education
5. Cost to Move/Relocate
6. Software
7. New Equipment
8. Advertising
9. Charitable Contributions
10. Taxes
11. Interest on Credit
12. Legal & Professional Fees
13. Office Furniture and Office Supplies
14. Licenses and Fees
15. Dues and Fees
16. Insurance
17. Utilities
18. Telephone Service
19. Employee Wages, Pensions, and Benefits
20. Costs of Postage, Delivery, Printing, and Copying

If you have used LegalZoom to generate documents and have questions about their legal soundness, please consider letting Devins Law Firm review these documents for you.  If you are considering using LegalZoom be sure to carefully read the company’s disclaimer on its limitations and to weigh the cost of questionably valid DIY documents compared to those compiled by an attorney who has researched the matter and applied the law to your specific facts.

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Thankfully, a new option is emerging for small and medium-sized businesses besides whether to take on the costly expense to have in-house general counsel or to risk and do without. This third option is referred to as outsourced general counsel through which law firms, such as Devins Law Firm, offer a consistent source of legal counsel for a lower monthly rate than the cost of hiring a lawyer as a full-time company employee. Features and services offered by the outsourced counsel include:

• Accessibility. Attorney is available for easy client access. Clients receive feedback concerning pressing legal issues without worrying about hourly rates.
• Check-ins. Attorney provides routine check-ins to help keep the business’ current activities and policies legally sound.
• Corporate Counseling. Includes the selecting and managing of other specialized legal resources.

The outsourced general counsel maintains a network of other specialized attorneys outside its own core expertise on corporate counseling. This network allows the firm to offer the most complete general counsel coverage. The relationships maintained within the outsourced counsel’s network also enable the attorney to negotiate competitive rates for his client. In addition to the legal network, the outsourced general counsel maintains connections with angel investors, business consultants, venture capital firms, and other business-related resources.

Consider hiring Devins Law Firm as your outsourced general counsel and count on receiving efficient and strategic guidance without the in-house counsel price tag. Contact us today to learn more about our business model and how we can help your business succeed.

Authored by Rohit Deedwania

Using an assumed name can be a great benefit to a business. It allows a company to do business under another name without creating an entirely new legal entity. DBAs can advertise, accept money, and do general business on behalf of the true entity. However, when doing business under an assumed name, North Carolina General Statute 66-68 requires a company to file its DBA with the local county’s Register of Deeds. While the penalty for the violation of this act seems minimal – a misdemeanor accompanied by a $50 fine – not registering your fictitious name could result in some dire consequences. The purpose of NCGS 66-68 is to protect consumers by allowing them the ability to track down the true identity of the people they are dealing with. If you do not register your DBA, you are not giving other businesses notice of your usage of the name, which could cause you multiple problems if other businesses use the same or a similar name.

Another possible benefit of registering your name would be to avoid frivolous lawsuits. While a court will not necessarily bar a lawsuit when the true business name is not correctly stated, a court will most likely hesitate to let a frivolous suit through when the plaintiff could have simply looked at the county records to reveal the DBA’s true identity. Besides, filing the certificate of assumed name is usually relatively simple and can be done through the county Register of Deeds for less than $20. Before filing a DBA, the business owner or an attorney should do a quick search of the name with the Register of Deeds and the NC Secretary of State. In most instances if the search reveals that no other businesses are using the name, then the DBA is yours to use!

Authored by Sarah Rothecker