businesslaw

I had a blog reader pose this question recently:

Does an employer have to pay an employee overtime pay for requiring the employee to work on a holiday, such as the Fourth of July?

Short Answer? No.  The federal law controlling overtime, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) make no distinction about which days employees can or cannot work.  The FLSA requires overtime for hours worked in addition to 40 in one work week.  Holidays do not receive any different treatment.

Practically, many employers pay more for working on holidays simply to be fair and motivate people to work on days when most people do not want to work.

For more Oklahoma business law tips, sign up for the email list below.

Have you ever wondered “How is an Oklahoma corporation different from a limited liability company, or from a partnership?”

If the answer is *yes* then the Entity Table I created below is for you.  It is not the only source you need to consider when starting a business but it is a solid source of information.

This chart shows some of the distinctions between each type of entity and provides some of the benefits of each.

If you have any questions or need any help with putting something together, let me know, that is what I do. You can email me at sjr@shawnjroberts.com.

I talk about this issue with clients regularly and it is one of the fundamental decisions that many small business owners are faced with when thinking about Oklahoma business law:

Do I operate my business as a corporation or a limited liability company?

A few months ago I posted my Entity Explanation Table which provides an overview of the factors to consider in choosing between a corporation and a limited liability company.  To add to this discussion, take a look at this recent article To C or LLC, that is the question from Brad McCarty at The Next Web

The carries out the corporation vs. LLC discussion in a bit more detail.

In my last post I discussed the circumstances that led to the creation of Legal Zoom services and why its creation was a good thing for attorneys.  Today, I describe that downside of the commoditization of legal services.

Legal Zoom is less than good because it offers an incomplete solution.

For the low, low price of $$$, you can have a Will, form a corporation or secure a basic trademark.  You get the bare minimun:  existence as a corporation, a functioning Will or a simple trademark.  What is missing?  The counseling element, knowledge and experience that all good attorneys provide.  The question should not be “Can I get incorporated?”, the questions should be:  “Do I need a corporation or limited liability company?”, “How should the entity be structured?”, “How do I develop a structure for recordkeeping and legal documents?”  

These are the questions that when answered properly help lay a solid foundation for any business or estate planning document.  The acts of incorporation, drafting and executing a Will or bringing a limited liability company into existence is a part of the process, not the whole process.  It is like fixing a leaky faucet with a do-it-yourself kit from Home Depot only to discover later when your kitchen floods that all your plumbing is bad.  

Legal Zoom and similar sites provide access to the system but do not completely equip users for flourishing within the system.  In “3 easy steps” a business has addressed all the necessary legal issues and built a solid foundation.  If you check all the boxes you have addressed all the issues.  Law is a commodity that can be bought and sold in bulk.  My experience teaches me that none of those statements are correct.

With the creation of your business or your Will you want a relationship with your attorney not a one-click stand.

What are your experiences with Legal Zoom and related products?

It is a loaded question: asking a practicing attorney what he thinks about a service which reduces the need for attorneys.  However, I want to weigh in and you might be surprised at some of my thoughts.  

Legal Zoom is one of several services that allows people to form corporations and make Wills for a very low price, all online.  As part of the work I do for people, I bring corporations into existence and assist people in setting up Wills.  

Legal Zoom is good because it forced attorneys to consider what we provide that has actual value.

There was a time when actually creating the documents that are Wills and that form corporations was closer to “magic.”  When word processing was limited to a chosen few individuals and businesses that could use computers.  When there were no websites that provided information, connected people and allowed online transactions.  When word processing and access to materials was at a premium, the market supported charging for those items.

Those days have passed and most people can process their own documents and access the Internet from the comfort of the couch.While the times changed, much of the legal profession did not.  We (or many of us) kept operating in an market that had long since been altered.  There was little value in actually typing the document – a million forms were available online.  There was almost no value in knowing a process that was open to everyone (such as filing documents with the secretary of state online).  We were left selling services 1975 style in the 2000s.  There was a response from the market:  Legal Zoom and similar companies.

What did Legal Zoom get right?  It charged the correct price for the technical act of completing form documents.  It guarantees the documents are legal and for the low, low price of $$$ you can have a Will or form a corporation while you are at Starbucks.  In the process, Legal Zoom and similar sites actually helped attorneys and consumers of legal services.

Tomorrow, I will discuss the downside of Legal Zoom and related services.