Consistent legal advice for small business.

Reliance & trust in a confusing environment.

Legal advice when and where you need it.

A personal counselor who knows your business.

Identify and mitigate risks before they arise.

Confidence and peace of mind amidst the busy hustle and grind.

Someone to help you make the big decisions.

Do exorbitant hourly billable rates make you hesitant to call your attorney?

Are you tired of funding the big firm’s associate training program?

Small-medium size businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies without experienced legal advisors face an uphill battle when it comes to handling their unique legal matters.

Larger companies pay executive salaries and give away equity to retain full-time general counsel.

While they need consistent advice regarding day-to-day legal matters, these companies struggle to afford quality legal counselors.

The result: key decisions are either never made, delayed, or completed with fingers crossed.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

™

At Shrum & Associates, we share your entrepreneurial spirit. We also share your passion for business and want to see you pivot to success – so much so that we developed a program to help businesses like you. We call it our VIP COUNSEL™ program.

There are so many legal questions and obstacles involved in managing a small to medium-sized business, it is imperative that you surround yourself with a good team, regardless of whether you are a fledgling startup or a medium-sized business with 5 or more employees. Entrepreneur magazine identifies “building a team” as one of “The 6 Startup Essentials for a Business That Will Succeed” and that team should include professional advisors. The legal member of your team is essential to mitigate potential risks and identify key deficiencies in business structure, management, documentation and strategy.

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Many companies make the same mistake of thinking that if they spend more money on the “best” corporate law firm in town, success is more probable. Nothing can be further from the truth when it comes to choosing legal representation. Hiring that large firm atop the city’s largest skyscraper ends up costing additional precious capital, and you end up expending all your hard-earned seed money on 2-minute phone calls and emails that get billed back to you in ten-minute increments costing hundreds of dollars! Forget about having simple contracts reviewed unless you’re willing to take out a second mortgage. And most of the time, your hard earned money ends up fueling the training program for the firm’s continually churning pool of associates.

A simple alternative would be to hire a general counsel for your growing company – a full-time employee – but experienced attorneys with years of experience costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and want stock options – all you can afford is a young attorney fresh out of law school without the necessary skill set to properly advise you.

Yet you realize that unknown legal issues can trip up a new or growing company. You realize you need sound, legal advice on a consistent and regular basis. That’s the niche filled by Shrum & Associates’ VIP COUNSEL™ program.

Click Here more details about the VIP COUNSEL Program

The VIP Counsel™ program is a special bundle of legal services tailored just for you at an affordable, flat monthly fee. For around the average monthly cost of a multifunction copier lease, you receive the following benefits:

An experienced and dedicated VIP Counselor (your “VipC”) who knows your business, and is familiar with the day-to-day legal needs and objectives of a growing company;
A flat, monthly rate that is customized to your specific needs and budget;
One-on-one sessions with your VipC each month to discuss your ongoing legal matters;
A direct telephone line to your VipC who will consult with you about your specific legal issues as they arise;
A staff of attorneys who work with your VipC behind the scenes to identify and bring important issues to your attention;
Review of simple contracts (restrictions apply);
A preferred rate for more complex legal matters (such as contract drafting or litigation). The preferred rate for each program will vary and your rate and hours will be set at the beginning of the program.
Ongoing maintenance of Corporate Books and Records & Corporate Secretary Functions (Stock Register, bylaws, etc.).

Pain Points from Business Owners:

How can I protect my ideas and concepts?
How can I avoid the common legal pitfalls of managing a small-medium sized business?
Who can I trust to give me solid legal and business consult and advice?
How can I best protect the name of my business?
How can I protect my personal assets from liability created by the business?
Is it better to operate as an LLC or a corporation?
What regulations will affect my business?
What kind of business plan do I need to raise money?
How can I avoid the mistakes I see my competition making?
Does my company’s privacy policy comply with the Europe Union’s GDRP?
Are my website disclaimers and warranties sufficient to protect my company from a lawsuit?
Does my Facebook contest have to comply with state lottery laws?
Do I need an NDA prior to sharing my confidential trade secrets with another company?
What kind of documentation do I need to give my employees?

Advantages of the VIP COUNSEL™ PROGRAM

Controlled Costs.

With Shrum & Associates' VIP COUNSEL™ program, you pay the same amount each month for almost all of your legal needs.

Paying those large center city firms to do your legal work is like burning your money. With the VIP COUNSEL™ program, Shrum & Associates assigns you with a qualified, experienced VIP Counselor who is dedicated to answering your legal questions without charging you an enormous billable rate in 10-minute increments. You can speak with your VIP Counselor at any time, for one low monthly rate, prepared especially for you.

Risk Mitigation.

Reduce the risk of leaving critical legal questions unanswered.

The VIP COUNSEL™ program eliminates the risks of starting and running a small business. With the VIP Counselor who is assigned directly to you, you will have an expert who can help navigate the legal landscape, helping you make informed business decisions that mitigate potential risks and provide peace of mind.

Reliable Representation.

Be proactive, not reactive.

As your VIP Counselor builds an in-depth understanding of your business and organization, their knowledge, insight, and experience will help uncover issues before they actually become problems and help your business become more efficient. Instead of “putting out fires,” you’re installing a fire alarm.

Sage Advice.

Shrum & Associates' attorneys have decades of legal experience.

Shrum & Associates has a broad base of experience in legal issues related to starting a business. The VIP COUNSEL™ program gives you access to legal expertise across a variety of disciplines. This approach allows you to interface with one attorney to handle all your legal matters and streamline the management of lawyers who practice in various disciplines, drawing on their expertise at the right time, helping control overall legal spend.

Join hundreds of satisfied clients!

Direct Sound, a world leader in studio headphones, has been a part of Shrum & Associates’ VIP COUNSEL™ program for over a year and I’ve been extremely pleased. It is like having your very own in-house counsel at a fraction of the cost.

Steve Rois, CEO , Direct Sound, LLC

Call 615.338.5130 or click here to schedule a consultation