This is the first post in our series talking about the billable hour, specifically: The words “lawyers” and “hourly billing” have almost become synonymous over the past 50 years, to the point that someone hiring a lawyer may just assume they will have to pay an hourly rate and might not even be aware that […]
None of this is legal advice for you, so it’s important to note that these strategies may or may not be the best option in your situation and it’s always recommended you speak with a qualified tax professional to determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances. Taxes are often the last thing […]
As the year ends and the new year begins, many of us take some time to reflect on our current situation and make resolutions to improve ourselves and our lives. It’s a time many people use to assess where we are and where we want to be, and to make the necessary changes to get […]
One of the biggest problems with hourly billing is it assumes that time spent equals value, but that assumption is incorrect. In fact, the opposite is usually true – it is almost always more valuable to have the results faster. Imagine you hire a kid to cut the lawn at your house and you agree […]
If you’re deciding between two lawyers and one bills by the hour while the other bills fixed fees, it can be like comparing apples to oranges. With fixed fees, the price quoted is the price you pay, whereas the hourly lawyer’s estimate on fees is only a guess as to what the total hourly fees […]
One of the biggest differences in our firm is that we quote fixed fees on all matters. Most other lawyers bill hourly, which means the fee estimate they give you is only their best guess as to what the total hourly fees will be at the end of your legal project, but that estimate is […]
Most shareholder agreements include an option to buy out a shareholder if certain events happen, for example: if the shareholder dies (you probably don’t want to be in business with that shareholder’s estate); if the shareholder becomes disabled for a certain period of time; if the shareholder gets divorced and the ex-spouse would otherwise be […]
Some common situations that most shareholder agreements try to address are: What happens if a shareholder dies or becomes disabled, or gets divorced? What happens if the shareholders aren’t getting along? What happens if a shareholder wants to sell their shares to a third party? How is the company going to distribute dividends, or make […]
Each year, the corporation has to have certain director meetings and shareholder meetings that follow the strict rules that are set out in the Business Corporations Act (Alberta), unless all of the directors and all of the shareholders sign written resolutions instead of having those meetings. With a small, closely-held corporation, the directors and shareholders […]
The price to incorporate is made up of a few different parts, so when you’re looking at prices to incorporate, take all of these things into account – don’t just look at the “incorporation fee” that is listed since that usually just refers to the fee to file the Article sof Incorporation. The first part […]