ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Do We Need a Lawyer?

Be nice now!
(Not a request for punchlines here )

I've mentioned to a Lawyer associated with our local contractors' association that we sometimes come up with Legal questions or issues now and then that we could use some advice or guidance on.
Anyone remember any past discussions?

His name is Rob. He seems like a pretty dedicated guy (I'm hoping with a sense of humor sometimes needed for this place) and often gives us advice regarding things such as Contracts, Liens, etc. I figure that he would be a asset to our group that might be able to give us some general insight or advice now and then. What do you think? Any Questions or interesting Legal issues?

Bill

Bill,
Boy he better have a sense of humor. You realize his answers will be evasive by nature, bless his oily hide

Great idea, we may not always like his answers, but I'm certain he would be a real asset.

Bill:

I agree, the advice from a Lawyer would be very helpful.

[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 04-20-2002).]

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[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 06-12-2002).]

well....they did not teach me anything about contracting in my apprenticeship, therefor, any 'legalities' of my orgin are totaly off the cuff...

If you need a lawyer, you'd better get one that is familiar with contracting 7 the laws that affect it. This can be a very specialized area.

A couple of the trade magazines have a monthly legal article that most of us gloss over. Read a few of them & you'll find out why you need a specialized attorney
Why is it, when a town has one lawyer what they have is a starving lawyer. Another town has two lawyers & what they have are two prosperous attorneys.

Tom

I think it would be a great addition to the forum. Besides, you already have a Doctor.
On a serious note, we all need to have a better idea of where our responsibilities "begin" and "end". I don't say that for the "cya" factor, but for the simple fact that better understanding (knowledge) is the road to better relationships with customers, employees, employers, subcontractors, etc, etc, etc, and the better those relationships are, the more profit, better service, more efficient business processes, etc.

Best Legalogical Regards,
Doc
Director of Wattology, Electric University

Bill:
I think it would be a great Idea. Every year in my state we need so much business hours and the class I go to they bring in a Lawyer/CPA and he goes over various legal aspects.
One thing that he stresses is not so much contracts and liens but owner-employee relationships and the Liability involved.
One example he gave this past year was about a contractor whose employee while on a lunch-break held up a Bank with the company truck, and you guessed it the Employer was in part liable.
Great Idea,
-Mark-

Having various consultants informally ride herd increases the value of a discussion group. As far as some not liking particular answers, that rarely stops anyone from thrashing an installation description or photo with open critiques here, does it? We just need to remember that the opinions provided may evolve from their experience that pays the bills during the daylight hours. in the same way that folks here generally advise getting {paid!} professional help fast if a poster is in over his head, we should offer the same courtesy to advisors in non-electrical issues.

Mark,

You brought up an interesting thought. I'm wondering how many areas of the country, or how many people here had some sort of requisite training or testing (for License/Certification) that wasn't strictly electrical? Do you have separate Electrical and Contracting exams/Licenses/Certifications?

Bill