Legal

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I’m not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I’m talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you’re talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here’s a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that’s more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there’s always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That’s when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn’t deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I’m trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount etc. But he didn’t care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you’re saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn’t take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don’t want breaks. I can’t tell you how many people I′ve dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don’t mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that’s all fine, but yelling at me isn’t going to help.

So I’ve put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don’t have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don’t yell out immediately “Why did you stop me!” I can’t tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of “Why the f**k did you stop me?” It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he’s standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn’t do what I just saw them do. If you′re going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I′ve had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I′ve had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I′m running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like “You don′t have anything better to do with your time?” and “You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?” These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you’re likely to get yourself. If you’re convinced you did nothing wrong, don’t argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

You can find more information at realpolice.net realpolice.net on legal questions, research, police reviews, police vidoes, news, and much more.

(This article may be placed on your website as long as the above paragraph and active link is not removed or altered in any way).

Perhaps you are a pilot or just love aircraft and you want to start a business washing, cleaning and detailing general aviation aircraft such as single engine, cabin class twins and private or corporate jet aircraft? There will be things that will be required of you by the local airport in order to get an activity permit, as well as some regulatory issues.

Should you build your own aircraft washing unit? Well, if you build your own unit, you will need a way to remove the water from the ramp, as most Airports have NPDES Permits of what storm water is allowed to leave. Even though it is full of Jet A and de-ice fluid run off, they seem to go over board to regulate aircraft washing? Silly I know? But realize the EPA is a little insane anyway? I am sure they will tell us we cannot breath the air, because it is regulated by the FAA and the EPA says it has contamination from the Chinese Dust Storms or an Indonesia Volcano?

Between the EPA and the FAA you have to at least understand what you will be dealing with. One person told me that he read on the FAA website that the FAA now regulates aircraft washing, well this is simply not so, and if the FAA website states this, well then the FAA site is in error, basic washing requires no licensing. I am sure someday those blithering idiots might attempt to control more that which they do not understand. Such as Private Space Flight? Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

PATENT PROTECTION FOR SOFTWARE IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

Patentability of the software- related inventions are very controversial in these days. In early 1960s and 1970s uniform response was that software was not patentable subject matter. But in subsequent years United States and Japan expanded the scope of patent protection. But several countries including Europe and India are reluctant to grant patents for computer program for the fear that technological progress in this volatile industry will be impeded. Proponents for the software patenting argue that patent protection will encourage, and would have encouraged, more innovation in the software industry. Opponents maintain that software patenting will stifle innovation, because the characteristics of software are basically different from those of the innovations of old Industrial, e.g. mechanical and civil engineering.

PROTECTION FOR SOFTWARE –RELATED INNOVATIONS

WIPO defined the term computer program as: “A set of instructions capable, when incorporated in a machine readable medium, of causing a machine having information processing capabilities to indicate, perform or achieve a particular function, task or result”. Software can be protected either by copyright or patent or both. Patent protection for software has advantages and disadvantages in comparison with copyright protection. There have been many debates concerning patent protection for software as information technology has developed and more software has been developed. This caused mainly due to the characteristics of software, which is intangible and also has a great value. It needs huge amount of resources to develop new and useful programs, but they are easily copied and easily transmitted through the internet all over the world. Also due to the development of e-commerce, there is urge for patenting of business methods.

Computer programs remain intangible even after they have actually come into use. This intangibility causes difficulties in understanding how a computer program can be a patentable subject-matter. The questions of whether and what extent computer programs are patentable remain unresolved.

More than half of the 176 countries in the world that grant patents permit the patenting of software-related inventions, at least to some degree. There is a worldwide trend in favor of adopting patent protection for software-related inventions. This trend accelerated following the adoption in 1994 of the TRIPS Agreement, which mandates member countries to provide patent protection for inventions in all fields of technology, but which stops short of mandatory patent protection for software per se. Developing countries that did not provide such protection when the TRIPS agreement came into force (January 1, 1995) have until January 1, 2005, to amend their laws, if necessary, to meet this requirement.

EUROPEAN PATENT CONVENTION

The European Patent Convention is the treaty that established the European Patent Organization (EPO). The EPO grants patents that are valid in those member countries designated in the EPO application and subsequently perfected in those countries. Enforcement of the EPO patent is obtained through the national courts of the various countries.

The software has been protected by copyright and excluded from patent protection in Europe. According to Article 52(1) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), European Patents shall be granted for any inventions which are susceptible of industrial application, which are new and which involve an inventive step. Article 52(2) excludes schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programming computers from patentability. Article 52(3) says that prohibition relates only to software ‘as such’.

For Some years following implementation of the EPC, software in isolation was not patentable. To be patentable the invention in such a combination had to lie in the hardware. Then came a test case, EPO ⃪/86, a question of patentability of a hardware-software combination where hardware itself was not novel. It concerned patent for a computer control X-ray machine programmed to optimize the machine’s operating characteristics for X-ray procedures of different types. The patent office refused to patent the invention. Technical Board of Appeal (TBoA) disagreed and upheld the patent, saying that a patent invention could consist of technical and non-technical features ( i.e. hardware and software). It was not necessary to apply relative weights to these different types of feature.

RECENT CASES

1.VICOM CASE

The VICOM case has authority on what does mean “computer Program as such” and what constitutes a “mathematical method”. The patent application related to a method and apparatus for digital image processing which involved a mathematical calculation on numbers representing points of an image. Algorithms were used for smoothing or sharpening the contrast between neighboring data elements in the array. The Board of Appeal held that a computer utilizing a program to carry out a technical process is not claim to a computer program as such.

2. IBM cases

Subsequent major development occurred in 1999, when cases T935/97 and T1173/97 were decided on appeal to TBOA. In these cases the TBOA decided that software was not “software as such” if it had a technical effect, and that claims to software per se could be acceptable if these criterion was met. A technical effect can arise from an improvement in computer performance or properties or use of facilities such as a computer system with limited memories access stimulating better access by virtue of the computer programming. Decisions T935/97 and T1173/97 were followed elsewhere in Europe.

The European Technical Board of Appeals of the EPO rendered two important decisions on the patentability of Business Methods Inventions (BMIs). Business Methods Inventions can be defined as inventions which are concerned with methods or system of doing business which are using computers or internets.

3. The Queuing System/Petterson case

In this case a system for determining the queue sequence for serving customers at plural service points was held to be patentable. The Technical Board held that the problem to be solved was the means of interaction of the components of the system, and that this was a technical problem, its solution was patentable.

SOHEI CASE

The Sohei case opened a way for a business method to be patentable. The patent was a computer system for plural types of independent management including financial and inventory management, and a method for operating the said system. The court said it was patentable because “technical considerations were applied” and “technical problems were solved”. Thus, the Technical Board considered the invention to be patentable it was dealing with a method of doing business.

The most widely followed doctrine governing the scope of patent protection for software-related inventions is the “technical effects” doctrine that was first promulgated by the European Patent Office (EPO). This doctrine generally holds that software is patentable if the application of the software has a “technical effect”. The EPO law regarding patentability of software tends to be somewhat more liberal than the individual laws of some of the EPO member countries. Thus, one desiring to patent a software-related invention in Europe should generally file an EPO application.

INDIAN PATENT ACT

Like in Europe, in India also the doctrine of “technical effects” governs the scope of patent protection for software-related inventions. The patent Act of 1970, as amended by the Act of 38 of 2002, excludes patentability of software per se. Section 3(k) of the Patent Act states “a mathematical or business method or a computer program per se or algorithm” is not patentable invention. The computer program products claimed as “A computer program product in computer readable medium”, “A computer-readable storage medium having a program recorded thereon”, etc are not held patentable for the claims are treated as relating to software per se, irrespective of the medium of its storage .On the other hand “a contents display method for displaying contents on a screen”, “a method for controlling an information processing apparatus, for communicating via the Internet with an external apparatus”, “a method for transmitting data across an open communication channel on a wireless device that selectively opens and closes a communication channel to a wireless network, and each wireless device including a computer platform and including a plurality of device resources that selectively utilizes a communication channel to communicate with other devices across the network” are held patentable though all above methods utilize computer programs for its operation. But computer program solely intellectual in context are not patentable.

CONCLUSION

In India software per se is not patentable. The inventions relating to the application of the computer program or software is held patentable under the Indian Patent Act, 1970 when claimed in combination of hardware and software components of a computer which provides a “technical advancement” over the prior art. It is necessary for the applicant to describe the “technical contribution” to the prior art when the invention involves software. The technical problem, which needs to be solved by the invention, should be sufficiently described as to how the hardware is controlled by the software to overcome the previously described problem. The “technical character” of the invention should be brought out clearly in the claims.

V.R.GOPU M.A, LL.M (U.S), Attorney at Law of PMG ASSOCIATES, Patent and Trademark Attorneys, India of pmgip.com pmgip.com

The corporate structure of your business will provide shelter for your personal assets. There are several events that will cause a judge to disregard the corporate entity or “pierce the corporate veil.” There are several reasons why the corporate veil may be pierced. There are also several easy steps you can do to avoid the corporate veil from being pierced.

The corporate veil can be pierced if a party is tricked or misled into dealing with the corporation rather than an individual. Whenever the corporation does correspondence with a third party, the officers and directors of that company need to make it clear that they are acting on behalf of the corporation and not themselves individually. All the documents need to clearly be entered into on behalf of the corporation otherwise there may be a conflict that could arise that would pierce the corporate veil.

If the corporation is set up to never make a profit or always be insolvent it is considered too “thinly” capitalized. This could be when the corporation is formed without sufficient capital to meet potential liabilities and debts. This often occurs when an individual or group of people uses a corporation as a form of shield from liabilities instead of a legitimate business.

When the corporation fails to follow corporate formalities where the corporation is located, it can be pierced. A few of the corporate formalities are meetings, minutes, stock ledger. If the corporate entity fails to do some of these duties the judge can rule that it is not a proper corporation.

The biggest mistake small corporations usually make is not keeping separate accounts for the corporation. If an individual moves funds from their bank account into the corporate bank account, and vise versa then the court will disregard the corporate entity.

If the corporation is engaged in illegal enterprise where it is ruled that the corporation was setup as a sole means for those involved to partake in an illegal activity, the corporate veil can be pierced. For instance, a corporation will not be tried for murder. The individuals responsible will be tried for it. The same thing can be applied for all kinds of cases such as drug trafficking, etc.

While it is possible for the corporate veil to be pierced, if you take the proper precautions when setting up your corporation you will help to protect your own personal assets. A few of the steps to protecting your personal assets are quite simple and some are even common sense. The important thing is that you take care when operating a business, and you get sound legal advice before doing anything questionable.

Tyler Weaver is a writer for lawyer-locater.com/ Lawyer Locater and has written many articles on the subject of corporations.

A DUI (driving under influence of drugs or alcohol) is considered a severe offense in the United States, and involves complex procedures and severe punishments. Hence, people caught in drunk driving cases need a good DUI lawyer to protect and defend them through the various complicated legal representations. Los Angeles is one of the main cities of California and there are a large number of people caught, for drunk driving on a regular basis, in this city too. Hence, the importance of DUI lawyers in Los Angeles has also gone up, as they help in defending such cases and save the offenders from rigorous punishment.

Driving under intoxication is regarded as an act of sheer irresponsibility, and can possess serious threat to the life of the driver as well as the innocent people on the road. Hence, it is advisable to consult a DUI lawyer in such cases. Sometimes accidents occur by chance but the blame is always put on the drivers even if they are innocent. In such cases, it is most important for lawyers to defend the offender, and prevent him from facing the harsh penalties for something he did not do. There are several things that are taken into consideration for defending DUI cases in Los Angeles. Firstly, all drivers have the right to choose a blood, urine or breath test when stopped by any law enforcement officer. Secondly, the DUI lawyers always advise offenders not to accept the charges as soon as they are arrested, even if they are guilty, as this admission may result in more serious penalties, a criminal record and heavy fines. An admission of guilt will also harm the court case, and defenses that a lawyer may be able to provide for the offender.

There are minute details that play a major role in defending DUI cases in Los Angeles. For instance, if an on duty officer refuses or does not provide all the test options, a DUI lawyer can charge that officer was acting in violation of constitutional rights, which in turn would strengthen the defendant’s plea. Hence, good DUI lawyers are always needed for defending DUI cases in Los Angeles.

e-losangelesduilawyers.com Los Angeles DUI Lawyers provides detailed information on Alcohol Treatment, Driving Under The Influence, Dui And Fines, Dui And License Restriction and more. Los Angeles DUI Lawyers is affiliated with e-losangelespersonalinjuryattorneys.com Los Angeles Personal Injury Claims.

Migration of human beings from one place to another has been there since prehistoric times. It is the migration or movement of people from one nation-state to another in recent times that is referred to as immigration. The people move to a place of which they are not citizens. It may be noted that it is the long term permanent residence in a foreign country often leading to finally acquiring of citizenship that is called immigration. Tourists and short term visitors are not called immigrants though seasonal labor migrants for periods usually of less than a year may be looked upon as immigrants.

The immigration law refers to the policies of the national government relating to the controlling of the phenomenon of immigration to the country concerned. The nationality law concerning the legal status of the people in a country in question with regard to citizenship etc. closely associated with the immigration laws. Thus, immigration laws not only vary from country to country but also according to the political climate and policies being pursued from time to time.

With regard to immigration there are many countries that have strict laws. Such laws relate to the regulation of entry of foreigners into the country, right to work in there, participate in government of the country and such other aspects. Most of the countries however have laws that specify a process of naturalization for immigrants to become citizens over a period.

The immigration policy of a country is also closely associated with the immigration laws. These can range from isolationism wherein no migration is allowed at all to free immigration where there is permission granted for most forms of migration.

In the US immigration has acted as a major source of population growth and has also played a crucial role in bringing about cultural change over a period. There are economic, social and political aspects of immigration. This has the potential to give rise to controversy about race, ethnicity, religion, economic benefits, job growth, settlement patterns, and impact on upward social mobility, levels of criminality, nationalities, political loyalties, moral values and work habits. The US of the day is the one country that accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than the rest of the world combined. Thus the immigration laws, policies and aspects of the US are of particular importance.

Approaching a competent immigration lawyer can help you out regarding your immigration concerns in a number of ways-

• An analysis of the facts of your case is carried out thoroughly.
• The benefits for which you may be eligible are explained.
• The best ways for obtaining legal status is recommended.

• Help in completing and submitting the application in a proper manner is provided.
• You are briefed and updated about the new laws that may be affecting you.
• Avoiding delays, discussing the status of the case, speaking on your behalf, filing necessary appeals and waivers and making use of the system to your best advantage.

Somdev Mukherjee is a Kolkata (India) based writer of articles, short stories, poems and web content related to finance, mortgage, debt consolidation, insurance, laws and other topics of interest. Somdev is presently associated with 0001articleworld.com 0001articleworld.com, jmcgarments.com jmcgarments.com and nathinfosolutions.com nathinfosolutions.com as a content developer and manager.

Nonetheless it’s a popular term used by personal injury solicitors. There are advertisements all over the place, online and offline by solicitors and claim management companies. “If you lose, we won′t charge you a penny” and many of the likes. But do you understand what it means…

A solicitor will mention he or she will work on a no win no fee basis. In an instant you’ll think, ‘if the solicitor loses, I don’t pay anything’, which is correct. But what happens if the solicitor wins?

That’s right, there’s a fee to pay. Not many people grasp this… they only think if they lose they don’t need to pay. Majority of people think it’s a free service. It’s true… to a certain extent.

If the solicitor wins and you receive your final settlement, have they ever happen to mention, ‘by the way I’ve won your case, my fees are £XXXX!’ They′ve won, haven’t they and you’ve received your cheque, but what about the fees?

What happens behind the scenes…

This is what happens but I must point out it doesn’t apply to all solicitor firms. It all in the paperwork, some refer to it as the ‘small print’. When a client wins, the fees are received from the 3rd party, who you are claiming against. But there are conditional clauses where you might even have to pay for their fees additionally if they are not recovered. Solicitors don’t work for free, they also have a family to feed and a legal firm to run.

So what’s the catch?

Solicitors have a CFA (conditional fee agreement), which states obligations to be carried out by both yourself and the solicitor. There are also other agreements such as insurance policies, medical consent forms, authority forms and loan agreements.

Your final settlement cheque depends on what forms you sign. So before you go ahead and start signing papers with any solicitor firm, ask them specific questions.

• Will I get 100% of my compensation?

• Will you charge me any fees, if so, why and how?

• What’s a Conditional Fee Agreement for?

• Why is there an insurance policy for my claim and will it be deducted from my settlement cheque?

• Why do I need sign a loan agreement?

These are ‘power’ questions you need to ask to be on the safe side rather than questions like:

• How much will I get in compensation?

• How long will my case take?

• Is there any way to speed up the process so that I can get the settlement cheque quicker?

These are NOT questions in terms of the solicitor helping you. These are money related questions and not really helpful in the initial stages of a compensationsecrets.co.uk personal injury case. It’s true that the final result is about the money, but not at this moment.

By asking ‘power’ questions, it won’t have a burden on you once your claim is settled. Communicating with the ‘right’ compensationsecrets.co.uk/no-win-no-fee-solicitor.html no win no fee solicitor helps tremendously especially if you want the maximum final results. They are working with you, not against you. So get these issues out of the way before you sign any papers or you could end up in shock!

It’s easy to claim compensation without receiving any final moments of ’shock’. It’s a new era in 100percent-compensation.co.uk no win no fee claims; ask power questions and you’ll be laughing to the bank.

Getting a personal injury lawyer after the occurrence of an accident wherein you sustained personal injuries should never become a burdensome process for you as a victim. As you may know, the legal assistance of a personal injury lawyer is necessary in order for your personal injury claims to be successful. The knowledge, expertise and experience of a personal injury lawyer to litigate your claim will give you many advantages in your pursuit of damages and indemnification against the person who has caused you the personal injuries.

In these modern times, we all know that we can easily access everything with the use of the Internet. And just like other personal concerns, we can now get the competent personal injury lawyer that we want through the use of this technology. All the personal injury victim has to do is to search through “Yahoo” or “Google” and there you go, a list of personal injury lawyers will readily be shown.

Here is an advice, if ever you sustained personal injuries due to the negligent or reckless conduct of another person, you should immediately get the legal services of a personal injury lawyer. As discussed, you should never be burdened getting the legal services of a personal injury lawyer. Use our modern technology. Access the Internet and get help from among the personal injury lawyers listed therein. It really does not matter whether you intended initially to file a case or not against the person who caused your injuries. Contacting a personal injury lawyer just for discussions will be of great help. This way, your rights and interests may be well protected. With the help of a personal injury lawyer, your personal injury lawsuit will definitely be in good hands. So what are you waiting for? Browse the Internet and seek legal recommendations from a personal injury lawyer 24/7.

“Our mesrianilaw.com/ Professional Los Angeles Lawyers specialize in all fields of

When looking for California lawyers to represent you in your case, choose someone that has a good academic background coupled with experience and expertise in a particular aspect of the law pertaining to your case. The attorney should be a graduate of a reputable law school and an accredited member of the bar or a lawyer’s association in a particular area. He should have a license to practice law in the area where the case is being tried.

Another important consideration is the legal fee that the lawyer charges his client. If the lawyer has a sound educational background, this translates to a higher professional fee.

Both the client and the lawyer should talk about the legal fee on their first meeting. The lawyer can give the client a rough estimate of the fee to be charged although he cannot predict the exact amount of money and time that will be required to handle the case. The attorney can only make a sound estimate based on the facts of the case provided by the client and his past experiences in handling similar cases.

At all times, the client should be the one to shoulder all the expenses and fees inherent to the case. In some cases where the judge awards either a full or partial sum of money to be paid by the other side, the client still has the duty to pay the lawyer.

In most legal cases, a deposit or a retainer fee is required to pay for the expenses of lawyers and other future charges. The lawyer normally bills the client on a monthly basis. Upon completion of the case, a contingency fee is billed except for charges that may have already been incurred.

The client should discuss fees with the lawyer. A written contract should be drafted describing the details of the payment fee. The client should be able to understand the details of the billing process. He should communicate honestly and openly with the lawyer at all times to avoid unexpected costs.

e-CaliforniaLawyers.com California Lawyers provides detailed information on California Lawyers, California Personal Injury Lawyers, California Business Lawyers, California DUI Lawyers and more. California Lawyers is affiliated with e-californiapersonalinjurylawyers.com California Personal Injury Lawyers Web.

A great way to build your practice is to start out doing pro bono work. Pro bono work has a number of different advantages. First, it helps new practitioners (or those looking to break into a new field of law) gain valuable experience that you can’t get by reading a book. By being able to show that you have actually practiced in the area you are looking to work in, you gain credibility. Another advantage of pro bono work is the opportunity to network. By doing pro bono work in a specific area of law, you are then able to meet other practitioners in the area you’d like to practice in. Getting your name out there is a great way to gain referrals, additional work, and even employment opportunities. Reputable pro bono organizations also offer mentoring and resources that provide you with great opportunities to learn even more.

There is another choice of you don’t want to work for free in order to gain experience and build your practice. Sliding scale and reduced rate services can be made available to those potential clients who are resourceful enough to seek it out. These type of services are usually made available to clients who are of limited means and unable to afford an attorney at their normal rate. Many solo practitioners have found this work to be their bread and butter, at least when they were first getting started. Your fees can be a straight reduction of your hourly rate, a capped flat fee, or a fee based on the income of the potential client.

So where then, do you find these opportunities? Pro bono work is available almost everywhere you look. Nonprofit organizations frequently require help. Bar associations usually have established pro bono programs, and directories of organizations that need help. There are even established pro bono organizations that do legal work internally. As for sliding scale work, it depends on the type of work that you want to do. The courts typically have assigned counsel cases for the criminally indigent. The courts also have legal guardian, guardian ad litem, and court evaluator trainings and accreditation, affording a number of opportunities to you. Many nonprofit legal funds also maintain their own lists of attorneys willing to work for a reduced rate or on a sliding scale. Try to get on their lists. Finally, a targeted search on the internet, or contacting your local bar association is sure to put you in touch with the right entity for your needs. Good luck!

Jack McDonough is a Colorado CPA, speaker, coach, author, and consultant to professionals in the legal and accounting industries who desire to make more money while working less hours. Jack is President of Wealthy Professionals LLC. wealthyprofessionals.com www.wealthyprofessionals.com