What type of clients do you typically represent?
Many of our clients are small businesses. Others are large, multi-state employers who need experienced workplace attorneys, but are overpaying or unhappy with their current large firm relationships. We endeavor to partner with our clients and provide legal services that are modern, efficient, practical, and effective, as well as focused on timely and effective communication. Put simply, we will not engage you as a client and then push your work down to associates who need training or may not know yet the best way to approach your case. The attorneys at The Workplace Counsel are experienced and have worked in large firms where clients are often treated as revenue-generating entities only, rather than as individual clients with unique legal needs and matters.
What industries are your clients in?
We have worked with clients in almost every industry, including hospitality, retail, energy, transportation, telecommunications, technology, sports, entertainment, restaurants, financial services, farming, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and staffing. Many workplace issues are common across industries and we therefore have direct and relatable experience. However, we are not ego-driven and we recognize what we may not know or have experience with - in which case we will offer our vast resources and extensive network to assist with our clients' legal issues, whatever they may be.
As a small business, what services do we need?
When you are first setting up a business, we understand that you want to operate your business and manage employees properly from the onset to avoid costly, time-consuming and stressful issues later on. We can help you draft, review and assess workplace policies and an employee handbook, ensuring they are the right fit for your company's needs and values. Additionally, we can assist with setting up and evaluating employee compensation issues, understanding proper meal period and rest period issues, paid and unpaid leave time, when and how best to set up employment agreements, and walk you through employee onboarding, discipline and termination issues, and everything in between.
Can you handle more complex matters involving litigation or dispute resolution?
Absolutely. Your business may require legal assistance with defending against discrimination or harassment claims by one or more employees, prosecuting non-compete or trade secret matters, recovering money due to employee theft or fraud, dealing with governmental entities, or setting up workplace violence protection plans. We have vast experience in these areas and, while our approach is always to try to resolve matters before litigation, if litigation has already been filed or is inevitable, we have extensive trial experience and can help navigate the complexities of defending or prosecuting lawsuits involving single plaintiffs or multiple plaintiffs in class and collection action litigation.
Do you provide non-traditional "employment law" services involving the workplace, such as white collar, start-up or traditional business law services?
Yes. We have the experience, knowledge and ability to handle white collar matters such as prosecuting employee theft (e.g., trade secrets, fraud or embezzlement), working with law enforcement for outside investigations, providing advice and counsel to avoid white collar crime or actions against our clients, and engaging in criminal defense or litigation when required. We also can assist with business formation, lease review, onboarding employees, proper wage and hour treatment, drafting policies, and helping you create a workplace reflective of your company's mission and values.
What type of workplace investigations do you conduct, and do you offer post-investigation strategies?
We handle employee charges filed with government agencies, issues involving employee misconduct and wrongdoing, white collar issues, litigation defense, security assessment, harassment and discrimination, wage and hour, and other workplace protection matters. Unlike firms who offer investigative assistance only, we also provide post-investigation advice and counsel. We understand that it is not enough to just conclude and relay the findings of an investigation - it is just as important for our clients to take steps to improve workplace practices, mitigate any issues and become more efficient after the investigative process.
How do you provide affordable and effective legal assistance to businesses or individuals that may not have a significant legal budget, if any?
Unlike our competitors, we do not over staff cases or suffer from billable hour goals (which needlessly and selfishly drive up legal cost for clients). Instead, we spend substantive time with our clients to learn their business and values, and provide effective, efficient and practical solutions they can employ. We also utilize technology to integrate our systems and processes and avoid re-inventing the wheel (to avoid unfairly and needlessly passing inflated costs onto clients).
What kinds of remote, online services do you offer?
In this unprecedented era of social distancing, we are uniquely situated to offer seamless legal representation utilizing secure, online systems. We are a paperless office and our clients' files are available to them electronically, at any time, through a secure client portal. We also utilize online payment options for our clients to pay their legal services invoices or retainers using electronic payments. Likewise, we frequently conduct consultation and client meetings using secure video conferencing capabilities. We believe it is important to allow our clients to engage with us, at times that work for them, using technology options that provide for security and convenience.
What is your approach to fees and alternative fee arrangements?
We understand the stress, headaches, and natural avoidance business owners and managers face when dealing with legal issues. That's why we take a down-to-earth approach and do not charge our clients every time we get on a call, listen to a voicemail or send an email. To that end, we offer value-based fee arrangements, budgets and flat fee/package options so our clients know what to expect from inception through finalization of legal services.
What if I have a question about my bill?
While we always strive to provide clear communication regarding legal costs, such as providing a budget or estimate of costs, the last thing our clients want is a surprise charge or an unexpected bill. Rather than hide behind an accounting department or blame overzealous attorneys who over bill without consideration of a cost-to-value analysis, we welcome communication with our clients to set and maintain expectations regarding legal costs and to ensure our clients are happy with our services. We believe in transparency and quickly resolving any billing questions, and we welcome dialogue related to what clients pay for our services.