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COMMENTS ON HIRING A LAWYER FROM ARTICLE ON DEC 17, 2015
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Ken:
    Years ago a ‘buddy’ of mine recommended a similar type of service for my employee handbook. Simple enough….save lots of dough on NOT having legal counsel.  Welllll, after spending the day answering the on-line questionnaire I got to thinking. I went ahead and contacted a counselor I knew, met over lunch and presented him with my ‘finished product’.  I ended up trash canning it after he started talking about differences between Kansas & Missouri laws that could get us in BIG TROUBLE….  Needless to say, all of our agreements are now prepared by legal counsel (you included!).  Going it alone with some canned program that cannot help you in court is not a good feeling at the end of the day.  Then, selling your company is the LAST thing someone consider via the canned programs…..you are wanting a Kazillion dollars for the hard earned work you have built and not wanting to spend some bucks – NOT A GOOD IDEA! I am quite sure the opposing counsel will just LOVE TO SKIN YOU WITH WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW BUT THEY DO!!!
Joe
Jade Alarm
Kansas City
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Ken
    A person who acts as his own Council has a fool for a client.
    Regardless of how tough you are, never go into the ring with a professional boxer.
A.J. Demarzo
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COMMENT ON LAWYERS AND BROKERS FROM DEC 16, 2015

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Ken
    I wanted to respond to this question from a different aspect.  As an independent, professional services provider (system designer) in the industry, and as co-owner of a commercial real estate brokerage, it comes down to a team approach when selling a business.  I agree that a business broker who knows the vertical market, in this case the fire and security industry, is a must.  An attorney who is licensed to practice in all jurisdictions where the business may have entities is a must.
    An experienced real estate broker who can assess and value the real property that may be owned by the business or the owner is a must.  This becomes a significant issue if the owner is trying to re-invest the proceeds from the real property into other properties, i.e. a 1031 Exchange.
    The accountant and/or financial planners should be on the team as well, because there is nothing worse than successfully completing a transaction and then realizing unintended tax consequences.
    All too often, I have witnessed turf wars between the various professionals that are part of a transaction, and the only one who really takes it on the chin is the seller because they end up paying everyone's fees for what often has been a lot of wheel spinning.  To be bluntly honest, often this has been caused by lawyers who hold too much status due to their having a JD, which does not necessarily equate to the highest level of education or experience.  Each team member needs to stay in their wheelhouse and know when to refer to a fellow team member for the benefit of the selling party.
Dave Miller, SET, Principal
MCG Design Services
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