The Consultant's Legal Guide [A Business of Consulting Resource] [Paperback]

Elaine Biech (Author), Linda Byars Swindling (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787947636 | ISBN-13: 978-0787947637 | Publication Date: October 15, 1999 | Edition: 1

Avoid costly litgation!

You'll want to keep this user-friendly overview of legal issues on your desk at all times! This is the only complete "how-to" guide and overview of legal issues you face as a consultant. You'll learn how to make sense of legal jargon and a variety of contracts as well as learn when to seek out the advice of legal counsel and when to walk away from losing relationships. This book isn't intended to replace competent legal advice-rather it is a time- and cost-effective means to understand legal issues before pursuing legal.

Includes a diskette with useful tools, sample forms, checklists, and links to technology-based resources.

"I beg you, do not start your own consulting business without first reading The Consultant's Legal Guide. And if you already have, read it now! I assure you that when you put into practice the sound advice of Elaine Biech and Linda Byars Swindling you will save yourself the heartache and headache of needless legal hassels...The Consultant's Legal Guide will help you every day of your business life."
--James M. Kouzes, chairman, Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems, co-author of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart

"A great flight plan to avoid turbulence...Whether you are a consultant or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, this book should be on your desk for a reference in so many areas."
--Howard Putnam, Former CEO, Southwest Airlines and Braniff International, author of The Winds of Turbulence

"A well thought out, practical approach to dealing effectively with lawyers and other consultants. If followed, it should help all parties be better prepared and do a better job."
--Rita Reuss, attorney, former vice president, Land O' Lakes

"The Consultant's Legal Guide is better than an MBA in business relationships. Clear, concise, thoughtful and thorough. . .after reading this book, consultants will sleep better at night!"
--Pamela J. Schmidt, vic

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Consultants are increasingly the target of malpractice suits, note CEO Biech and attorney Swindling. Here they offer basic advice to help the consultant avoid legal problems. They define and explain the legal issues consultants confront as they start a business, negotiate contracts, deal with employees and independent contractors, and safeguard their intellectual property. The authors also give advice on how to choose the correct form of business entity, create an employee handbook, and choose insurance. They also cover the complexities of buying or selling a business and present an excellent chapter on trademarks, copyright, and trade secrets. Checklists scattered throughout help readers create a business plan or prepare to collect overdue fees from clients. A CD-ROM (not available at the time of review) supplements the text, providing more forms, checklists, and links to additional resources. Recommended for most public libraries.
-Joan Pedzich, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, Rochester, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A well thought out, practical approach to dealing effectively with lawyers and other consultants. If followed, it should help all parties be better prepared and do a better job." —Rita Reuss, attorney, former vice president, Land O' Lakes

"The Consultant's Legal Guide is better than an MBA in business relationships. Clear, concise, thoughtful and thorough . . . after reading this book, consultants will sleep better at night!" —Pamela J. Schmidt, vice president, American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

"I beg you, do not start your own consulting business without first reading The Consultant's Legal Guide. And if you already have, read it now! I assure you that when you put into practice the sound advice of Elaine Biech and Linda Byars Swindling you will save yourself the heartache and headache of needless legal hassel. . . . The Consultant's Legal Guide will help you every day of your business life." —James M. Kouzes, chairman, Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems, co-author of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart

"A great flight plan to avoid turbulence.... Whether you are a consultant or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, this book should be on your desk for a reference in so many areas." —Howard Putnam, Former CEO, Southwest Airlines and Braniff International, author of The Winds of Turbulence

"Ah-ha-the missing piece to the puzzle. Biech and Swindling have filled the hole (and an important one I might add) in all the reference books on consulting. Don't start your business without it." —Dianna Booher, CEO, Booher Consultants, Inc., author of 37 books including, Communicate with Confidence!

"Elaine's earlier book, The Business of Consulting, is an incredible resource and handbook that I've used extensively. This companion piece on the legal aspects of consulting continues the tradition-a practical handbook that hits the mark from an experienced practitioner who has learned these lessons in the trenches!" —Linda Growney, assistant vice president, CUNA Mutual Insurance Group

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1 edition (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787947636
• ISBN-13: 978-0787947637
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,463,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't even think about calling your lawyer...., November 28, 1999

By 

Jack R. Snader C.M.C. (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Consultant's Legal Guide [A Business of Consulting Resource] (Paperback)

As a consultant, don't even think about calling your lawyer without having read this book first. Unless you like to pay legal fees, this book will prepare you to get much more input for less money from your attorney. Plus it will show you how to run your practice more effectively, and efficiently while protecting your intellectual property rights. No matter how many books you have read on consulting, this book plows new territory. A must for any consultant's library.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nonprofit/charity sector consultants' reference book, November 24, 2000

By 

Michael Wyland "Nonprofit Consultant" (Sioux Falls, SD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Consultant's Legal Guide [A Business of Consulting Resource] (Paperback)

This book is a well-crafted, easily readable treatment of an important topic for all consultants. The authors do an excellent job of stressing that consulting is a serious business without overwhelming readers with jargon and legal process.

The book's sixteen chapters cover basic and advanced topics, from retaining an attorney BEFORE starting a consulting practice to how to handle the legal problems that may come up despite the consultant's best efforts to avoid them through good planning. Concise narrative, entertaining case studies, and solid analysis are interspersed with examples of contracts and forms a consultant can use in their own practice.

The contracts and forms discussed and shown in the book are also included in a 3.5" floppy disk. The documents on the single PC-formatted diskette are stored in Word 6.0/95 format.

One of my personal pet peeves is sole-practitioner consultants who do not treat their consulting practice as a business. The first few chapters of the book address all the contracts, agreements, and situations that a consultant faces before dealing with a client -- leasing office space, contracting for insurance, banking, telephone, advertising, and other services. It's a useful reminder that a consultancy is more than a one-man-band, and that "being your own boss" involves significant responsibility and risk as well as significant freedom and personal satisfaction.

The chapter that discusses working with nonprofit clients is written from a for-profit perspective; the stereotypical case studies center on agencies with no budgets and volunteers making promises and representations the board can't or won't honor. This is unfortunate, since most nonprofits, like their for-profit brethren, are fiscally sound, responsible corporations that can and do retain consultants in a businesslike way and compensate them based on their value.

Whether you're a novice or experienced consultant, The Consultant's Legal Guide is valuable as both a tutorial and a reference/resource work to help your practice succeed.

-- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- Selecting an Attorney -- The Relationship of Ethics and the Law -- Setting Up a Consulting Practice -- Starting Your Office -- Contracts and the Law -- Employment Issues -- Working with Other Consultants -- Client Issues -- Clients Outside the Corporate Arena -- Unique Consulting Situations -- Protecting Work Product, Trade Secrets, and Intellectual Property -- Giving Credit Where Credit is Due -- Protecting Assets Through Insurance -- Buying or Selling a Consulting Practice -- Avoiding Legal Problems -- What to do When You Have a Legal Problem -- Glossary -- Index

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible A-Z Resource, October 27, 2005

By 

TudorSue (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Consultant's Legal Guide [A Business of Consulting Resource] (Paperback)

Attention, consultants. This book is worthy of prime real estate on your book shelf. It's been my invaluable business resource for several years, and one I usually review even when I know we'll eventually have to consult our legal counsel. The topics cover key legal consulting issues from soup-to-nuts and in plain English. The chapters are set up so you can easily access the specific topic or issue at hand. Generous case studies provide real-world context. Highly recommended.