Why a start-up must hire a lawyer

When a company is in its budding stage, it is necessary to follow all the rules and procedures of the law for its efficient growth and development. A right lawyer can take up the company to new heights and ensure its smooth passage through some rough times. It is important to know the role of a lawyer in a start-up organization.

What to look when hiring a lawyer?

A start-up is not highly strong on financials and therefore, must not concentrate on hiring a lawyer of high expertise with enormous legal fees but a good, knowledgeable and responsive lawyer with whom the company is compatible to work. The lawyer must be interested in the work of the company and the company should trust him with all the work while it enjoys working with him. Referrals are a good option.

A lawyer helps in fixing the problems before its too late. He knows a lot many things from which the company benefits.

When does a start-up need lawyers?

·         Company Formation – When a company is to be formed, various agreements are to be drafted, MoA and AoA are to be incorporated, corporate structure is to be defined;

·         Founders – When a company is formed, regulating the rights and obligations of the founders and their shares would be a piece of cake if a lawyer was looking after such affairs;

·         Intellectual Property – It is better to engage a lawyer if intellectual property is the core of the business and the company specifically deals in the same;

·         Laws in general – A founder should pay all its taxes and not violate any laws for its boosted growth and for that, a lawyer is necessary;

·         Negotiating contracts – Negotiation upon contracts between customers, suppliers, license agreements, etc is necessary for which a lawyer comes into action;

·         Employees – Change in employment agreements and hiring new people does require some legal advice;

·         Investments – Documents relating to investments are pretty hazy to layman and therefore, hiring lawyers would be the best judgment;

·         Dispute Resolution – Disputes arising between companies would consequently involve lawyer consultation and to have one beforehand is a better sort of preparation as he knows that in and out of the company.

Important Things to Remember

Ø  You have to ponder whether you need a full-time lawyer or an independent lawyer to look after the legal affairs of the company;

Ø  A lawyer who doesn’t understand your business would not be adequate to represent you in the professional world;

Ø  Surprise costs of lawyers would eat away from your business;

Ø  Don’t hire a lawyer when police is standing at your gate: hire him sooner;

Ø  Ensure the lawyer is not working with your competitor also;

Ø  Meet with your lawyer on a regular basis.

How Legal Resolved is changing the legal services scenario in India

What is Legal Resolved?

Legal Resolved is an online legal help portal which aims at providing legal aid to the society via multifarious methods. One thing that interests its user is that it covers both lawyers and clients. It is one of the most convenient ways to get in touch with the lawyers of District Courts, High Courts, Supreme Court and numerous Tribunals. Being a stern believer of the concept of quality, Legal Resolved provides free legal answers in a way which is cost effective.

How does it work?

Active in numerous cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune to name a few, Legal Resolved has maintained a network of lawyers throughout the nation. From availing divorce lawyers to getting legal opinions, Legal Resolved tends to maintain a sense of flexibility for its users. The users may get in touch with a lawyer without having to step out of their homes. One of the most alluring features of this online platform is its cost effectiveness. The services are provided at a reasonable cost and in certain cases free of cost.

It’s role in legal services market

The lawyers connected with Legal Resolved deal in various areas like civil law, criminal law, family law, taxation, consumer disputes, cyber law etc. These lawyers do not only provide legal advice but also give you an insight into the budget estimate of your case.  Besides being able to read legal articles the users may also post questions on varied and distinct legal subjects. Thus, its approach is not only limited to providing legal aid and giving insight into legal rights but through its article section, Legal Resolved stands as a beacon of opportunities for upcoming legal writers and readers as well.

Important Do(s) and Don’t(s)

·         Be direct and precise in your queries for better outcomes.

·         Do not use the ‘lawyer referral service’ approach while using this portal. 

Marriage Counselling

The most crucial pillar of the society and the basis for the system of family – marriage has been the most peculiar aspect for humans. Spouses do everything in their capacity to sustain their lifelong marital bond but there are certain mental repercussions which should be duly tackled. When the spouses are unable to make the marriage work in their capacity, marriage counseling should be the preferred option before consulting a divorce lawyer.

Marriage Counselling

Couples’ therapy or Marriage Counselling is a psychotherapeutic platform which allows the spouses to recognize the conflicts in their marriage and resolve them in order to improve their relationship. Such differences always pose a long-lasting consequence over the mental status of the couples and their children. Therefore, it is advisable to acknowledge the psychological benefits of such counseling.

Psychological Benefits of Marriage Counselling

* It reduces avoidance between them and enable them mentally to face each other and converse about their problems;

* There is a drastic improvement in the communication skills;

* Helps in communicating needs without expressing anger or feeling of resentment;

* Fear of hurting or abuse by the spouse is tapered down;

* The whole perspective of seeing things gets augmented;

* The spouses start inculcating the feeling of taking responsibility for their actions;

* A road to self-discovery to undertake common activities and goals;

* A person gets a deeper understanding of the needs and aims of his/her spouse and his/ her overall personality;

* The counselor tries to strengthen the relationship and build resilience to leave an everlasting positive outcome;

* Pestering of the past gets downsized and is replaced with happy and desired memories;

* Building up of self-esteem;

* The choked-up frustration gets released before the counselor which sets off the steam and brings down the room temperature;

* Rejuvenates the old lost emotional connection;

* Children learn a lot from their  parents – if parents are going for divorce, children will assume that it is the only solution to a problematic marriage but marriage counseling would have an everlasting positive impact;

* Children would be emotionally stable as their parents would be busy working out their problems.

Important Things to Remember

• Marriage Counselling costs are usually overstated but are not;

• A psychologist would advise you pills but a marriage counselor would provide you with suggestions, motivation, etc;

• A counselor always try to change dysfunctional behaviors, especially the psychological ones;

• Seeking to counsel in early stages of problems increases the chance of saving the marriage;

• Degree of counselor does not matter but his compatibility with the spouses;

• Do not consider the various statistics of marriage and divorces around the world;

• It should be carried out through mutual consent of the spouses;

• Search for a good couples counselor before taking up marriage counseling;

• The counselor is not responsible for curing the marriage;

• Go for counseling with a positive attitude, even if you don’t want your marriage to work because you never know what good might happen.

Requesting quotes from lawyer online

Most of the people who seek legal advice are afraid of the quotes they will get from the lawyer – will they be very steep or they would be just average? Quotes differ from lawyer-to-lawyer. A well-reputed lawyer would provide high quotations while an inexperienced lawyer would provide lower quotes.

Quotes from lawyer

When a person wishes to consult with an attorney or seek lawyer consultation, it is necessary to get the quotes from him. When faced with a legal problem, a person usually contacts a lawyer and asks his quotation for the first consultation or first legal opinion. The lawyer then provides with the fee he will charge from the client for such opinion. After the first consultation, the client may ask the attorney his quotes for the whole case – they may be hearing-wise or case wise or any other type. It solely depends upon the lawyer. The client being in the whirlpool of legal problem generally accepts his quote. It is uncommon for a client to seek another attorney after the first meeting unless the latter comes out as an unacquainted and uninformed one.

The client is burdened with the lack of knowledge of efficient and reliable lawyers around town. But in this century, finding lawyers is not so much difficult.

Requesting quotes online

If someone has a legal query and that someone is not aware of a lawyer he so desires, then it is better to seek online legal help available on web portals. Online platforms like Chaostruct, etc. enables the people to get the required legal opinion in a few hours and that too without any prior appointments. And in the whole process, the person can request the quotes from any lawyer he wishes legal opinion from. Some platforms provide its clients with the opportunity to post their case online and a legal advisor online then contacts such client. Subsequently, the client can review the lawyer’s profile and he/she can ask for quotes online only. The payments are secured online through various gateways. And the person receives his legal opinion in a matter of time. Quotes for legal drafting, legal analysis are also within reach of a person.

Advantages

·         Payments are secured through payments gateways;

·         Attorney-client privilege is present including confidentiality of information furnished;

·         Online platforms offer discounts on quotations;

·         If the client does not likes the legal advice, he/she can search for another lawyer on the website;

·         Accessible from anywhere;

·         No appointment required;

·         The client can get the best opinion from various lawyers at a time;

·         Due to the genuineness and credibility of the online platform, the lawyer associated with it would provide continual support to the client;

·         Productivity of attorneys increase and so the competition;

·         Efficient communication channels;

·         A huge time-saver.

Maintenance Under Section 125 of Cr.P.C.

Section 125 of Cr.P.C. has provided the procedure by which a person who has unable to maintain himself can claim maintenance to another if that another fails to discharge his duty to maintain certain of his relations.

Who can claim maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C?

1. A wife.
2. A minor child (both legitimate and illegitimate)
3. A child who has unable to maintain himself due to physical or mental abnormality or injury.
4. Parents.

Important points

1) The application for claiming the maintenance shall be presented before the Judicial Magistrate of First class.
2) A monthly allowance is paid as maintenance.
3) An Interim maintenance and expenses of the proceeding can be claimed during the pendency of the proceeding which should be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice of the application.
4) A wife includes a divorced wife who has not remarried.
5) A married minor daughter can claim maintenance to her father if his husband is unable to maintain her.
6) A daughter who is not married can claim maintenance to his father whether minor or not if she has no means to maintain herself. (Noor Saba Khatoon v. Mohd. Quasim, AIR 1997 SC 3280. )
7) The parents can claim maintenance from their daughter if she has sufficient means, but only from the income of their daughter. But they can’t claim maintenance from her husband’s income (Vijaya Manohar Arbat v. Kashirao Rajaram Sawai, (1987) 2 SCC 278).
8) Stepparents can also claim maintenance from their step child.
9) A Muslim woman can also claim maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. irrespective of enforcement of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, 1986).
10) A husband can refuse to maintain his wife if -
a) She is living in adultery.
b) She refuses to live with her husband without any reasonable cause.
c) She is living separately by mutual consent.
11) The Judicial Magistrate can enforce the order of maintenance by committing the person for one-month imprisonment if he fails to pay the monthly allowance after executing the warrant for every failure.

Cases:

1. Mohd. Ahmad Khan v. Shah Bano Begum (1985) 2 SCC 556.
2. Daneil Latifi v. Union of India (2001) 7 SCC 740.
3. Khatoon Nisha v. State of U.P (2014) SCC 646.
4. Shamima Farooqui v. Shahid Khan JLT (2015) SCJ 109.

Do’s

1. The application shall be filed within the jurisdiction of the Judicial Magistrate of the First class where the person (the respondent) is residing.
2. Specify that the petitioner has no means to maintain himself.
3. The petitioner has to prove that the respondent has neglected or refused to maintain him.
4. All the income and resources of the respondent should be mentioned so that the proper allowance can be fixed.
5. If the custody of children are with mother .it must be mentioned also so that the provision for their maintenance can also be made.
6. The allowance is fixed according to the living standard of the parties.

Online Legal Consultation

As our society is moving towards a digital era, several processes have been trying to adopt an approach based on the growing technology. More and more things every day are added to the online digital world where the internet is the key to everything. A person may search anything and everything on the internet of what they desire or need. One of such requirements is legal consultation.

Legal Consultation
Legal consultation and legal advice are two identical twins only and are used interchangeably. The word “consultation’ connotes a meeting or a discussion with a professional expert for the purposes of gaining some information over a matter or a formal discussion on such matter or collaboration for that matter. “Legal consultation” is the discussion of a client with an attorney/lawyer where the latter apprises the former of his legal rights in a particular factual case.

Evolution of Legal Consultation over online platform
The first generation of lawyers could be attributed to ancient Greece where one had to plead his own case. During 200-210 B.C., Rome developed a class of specialists in law, i.e., “Jurisconsults”. Roman judges, Governors and ordinary people would consult with the Jurisconsults for legal opinion. From the 13th century onwards, legal profession bloomed in England where various statutes were passed to regularize the code of conduct for the lawyers such as loyalty and confidentiality of the client’s case. The whole consultation was to be kept confidential and private.
Various laws were enacted throughout time and in 1961, Advocates Act came into place which regulates the legal profession in India. Any person who wishes to have a legal opinion on a particular set of facts or case or require a legal representation can have a legal consultation with an advocate. The common practise was that the client used his personal contacts and phonebooks to search his desired lawyer. But as we are entering into a digital world, everything is available on our tips meaning thereby we can get our desired legal advice in a few minutes sitting at our nice and cozy homes.
Gone are those days when people used to search for a good lawyer for months. An alarming rate of people is turning towards online legal advice and are relying less upon phonebooks, visiting cards, and personal contacts. Various online platforms like Chaostruct, etc. are providing lawyer-client matching services by applying the best possible permutation and combination in accordance to the client’s requirements. Online legal consultation or contacting a legal advisor online is a great way for a client to save time and money.

Advantages
• Attorney-client privilege is present including confidentiality of information furnished;
• Online platforms offer discounts on legal fees;
• If the client does not likes the legal advice, he/she can search for another lawyer on the website;
• Accessible from anywhere;
• No appointment required;
• The client gets the best opinion from various lawyers at a time;
• Due to the genuineness and credibility of the online platform, the lawyer associated with it would provide continual support to the client;
• Productivity of attorneys increase and so the competition;
• Efficient communication channels;
• Free legal advice is also available;
• A huge time-saver.

10 Most Influential Lawyers in the world

Lawyers are essentially the social engineers who drive the society through time. Their presence is an absolute necessity which establishes and topples governments all over the world. Here is a list of the 10 Most Influential Lawyers in the World who have made their name and the lawyers of today should draw their inspiration from these eminent personalities:

1 Joe Brown

Being the first African-American Prosecutor in Memphis, Joe’s life was pushed to the spotlight while he was the presiding judge over the last appeal of James Earl Ray of his conviction for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He also helped lay the concrete for numerous African-American lawyers after him. He is also famous for his reality court show “Judge Joe Brown”.

2 Harish Salve

Hailing in constitutional and taxation laws, Harish Salve made his name through landmark cases like Vodafone tax case, Doordarshan telecast rights case, Salman Khan’s hit-and-run case and Ambani brother gas dispute. He also served as the Solicitor General of India from 1999-2002.

3 Richard Scruggs

Richard is a prominent American trial lawyer. On behalf of ill shipyard workers, he successfully sued the asbestos industry and helped in removing asbestos from modern day practices. Further, he represented the state of Mississippi in the tobacco litigation of the 1990s. He also helped the homeowners in placing claims against the insurance companies to mitigate the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina.

4 Soli Sorabjee

Soli Sorabjee has been the talk of the century as a jurist. He has served as the Solicitor General of India, Attorney General of India, received Padma Vibhushan for his defense of freedom of expression and protection of human rights. He has also served as a Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and held several offices in international organizations.

5 John Ray Grisham, Jr.

John Grisham is an American lawyer, politician, and novelist who has written popular and bestselling legal thrillers. He was a criminal lawyer originally and also served as a Democrat in the House of Representatives in Mississippi. His novels have been adapted into various films and TV series.

6 Jane Wanjiru Michuki

Jane is a Kenyan lawyer and businesswoman. She is the Managing Partner at Kimani & Michuki Advocates whose client list includes Equity Group Holdings Ltd., the largest bank holding company in all of Africa. Moreover, she is the largest female stockholder on the Nairobi Stock Exchange with approximately US$50 million as net worth.

7 Wichai Thongtang

Before being a businessman, Wichai was a lawyer and worked for a big law firm where he represented giant companies such as Siam Yamaha, Swissair, and Union Oil. He also represented former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Being a corporate lawyer and expert in finance and securities, he dived into real-estate and health industry and now stands at an estimated net worth of US$ 1.57 billion.

8 Vladimir Putin

The current President of Russia and shuffling between the posts of Prime Minister and President since 1999, Putin has various credits to this name. Graduated in law from Leningrad State University (oldest law school in Russia), he was a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer for 16 years.

9 Christine Lagarde

Christine has been the gem of aspiring female eyes all around the world. She is a French antitrust and labor lawyer and held various posts in the French government including Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance, and Employment, etc. She is currently serving her second term as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

10 Barack Obama

From teaching Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School, Obama went on to involve in civil rights litigation through a firm. He was elected as a Senator in Illinois and subsequently, he went on to become the President of the United States of America twice and the rest is history.

Divorce Risk Analysis

Divorce is the dissolution of marriage in a legal manner sanctioned by a competent court. It is not just a legal phenomenon but a psychological occurrence as well. It triggers a whole lot of risks for either or both the partners like depression because of loneliness, radical changes in the lifestyle, loss of hope, loss of children, etc. Nonetheless, the rate of divorce is still pretty low in India.

The Affected People

 The children (if any);

 The partners themselves;

 Parents of both the partners;

 Siblings of both the partners.

Reasons behind Divorce

 Woman unable to bear child (especially a son);

 Not enough dowry is given by wife’s family;

 Adultery;

 Desertion;

 Incurable disease (mental, physical)

 Second marriage

 Husband guilty of a heinous crime (rape, murder, sodomy)

 Child marriage

 Mental or physical cruelty (danger to life or limb or health of spouse)

 Uneducated husbands

Divorce Risk Analysis

After the husband/wife sends a legal notice for divorce to his/her counterpart, there are numerous high-end risks that may be irreparable in the future. If the spouse replies to the notice in affirmation or the court grants divorce, the following may happen

• The spouses invite social trauma and lowered social status for the whole family;

• Husband may be required to pay maintenance for lifetime;

• Half of the total property of husband would go to wife;

• Poverty (for the spouse who is not financially sound);

• Loneliness and Depression;

• Question as to who will get the custody of children would be a mind-boggling issue;

• Remarriage is quite difficult and cumbersome in Indian society. Even if the spouse remarries, the step-father or step-mother may not be welcoming for the children;

• One study also suggests that children of divorced parents consider divorce as the perfect solution to marital problems;

• Studies have found that children with divorced parents show lower levels of success at schools, poorer and deranged behavior, the number of emotional problems, low self-esteem, difficulties in making social relationships, etc.

Statutes Governing the Divorce Law in India

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Special Marriage Act, 1954

Divorce Act, 1869

Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936

Important Do(s) and Dont(s)

• Don’t opt for divorce for petty marital problems;

• Contact a divorce lawyer for legal consultation or seek online legal help from top divorce lawyers.

SC refuses to stay Parrikar Oat taking ceremony

On March 14^th, 2017, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India refused to stay the oath taking ceremony of Manohar Parrikar before the Goa Legislative Assembly to be sworn as the Chief Minister of Goa. Furthermore, it ordered a floor test to be held on March 16^th, 2017.

Where it all began

At the completion of Goa Assembly elections on 40 seats, Congress party stood at 17 seats, BJP at 13, Goa Forward Party (GFP) at 3, Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) at 3, Independent numbering 3 and NCP at 1. BJP got support from GFP, MGP and two independent MLAs and claimed majority before the Governer of Goa. Mridula Sinha, the Governor of Goa, invited BJP to form the government in the state. Congress filed the petition before the Supreme Court challenging the decision of Mridula Sinha.

Contentions of the Parties

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Congress, contended that the Governor failed to adhere to the mandates of the Constitution of India and acted in a mala Fide and arbitrary manner as he should have invited Congress, i.e., the single largest party in Goa to form the government. They also contended that BJP employed a late-night political maneuver and defeated the mandate of the people which was in favor of Congress.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Mridula Sinha, contended that the Governor was convinced of BJP’s majority while on the other hand, Congress failed to prove its majority. He also stated that the floor test will happen as soon as possible. Moreover, the swearing-in ceremony should go as planned, on 14^th March at 5 p.m.

The Verdict

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar observed that there is no rationale for staying the oath taking ceremony. It further stated that all the formalities required by the Election Commission to be completed by 15^th March and the floor test to prove the majority should be conducted on 16^th March at 11 a.m. Supreme Court cracked down on Congress by pointing out that “The Congress don’t have the numbers or else it would have proven its majority before the Governor. Everything is lacking in their plea and they haven’t approached the Governor to form the government.” It finally directed the parties to appoint a ‘Protem’ speaker to conduct the floor test.