Giving the wrong advice costs credibility and clients: how to add value to your professional service and insure against losing goodwill
Do you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of employment law? Unless you are an employment lawyer, the answer will probably be no. To the uninitiated, employment law may seem like common sense. But with legislation changing regularly, and attitudes to employment disputes by the courts ever shifting, employment law is a minefield. Giving the wrong advice to one of your clients could cost them thousands of dollars.
Giving the wrong advice will cost you too
It’s often the off-the-cuff phone call questions that cause the most damage. If you give the wrong advice, the damage to your business could be greater than you think. First, you will lose credibility with your client: she doesn’t care that employment law is not really your thing. You got it wrong and now she is having to pay. What then happens depends on how mad she gets. You may lose the client to a competitor and she may tell her business colleagues. All of a sudden your reputation within the business community is sullied. In a worst case scenario you may even get sued!Introducing the Legal Hotline for Professionals: adding value to your business and avoiding loss of goodwill
If you are a recruiter, HR professional, accountant, business coach, or any other professional to whom clients turn for advice, then read on.The Legal Hotline for Professionals gives you and your clients 24/7 access to a practising employment lawyer to answer those curly questions that clients throw at you now and again. Whether you choose to get the advice yourself to pass onto your clients, or get your clients to ring direct, the cost is covered by the small monthly membership fee.
What the fee covers
Calls made by you to the Hotline are unlimited. For your clients, they are entitled to one free telephone consultation (up to 30 minutes). If after the consultation it appears that they need consultancy advice (i.e. advice lasting for longer than 30 minutes), then they get access to special discounted rates, all courtesy of your membership. It is a way of rewarding your clients for being clients. That way, you get the benefit of the goodwill the service generates. Furthermore, in case you need consultancy advice, you get access to the discounted rates as well.What are the discounted rates
The normal cost for consultancy advice is $300 + GST per hour. If you are a Basic Member of the Legal Hotline you or your clients only get charged at $250+ GST per hour. Sign up to Premium membership and the hourly rate goes down to $200 + GST per hour. You will search long and hard to find a comparable rate for advice backed by the same level of experience.It is not just about discounted rates and free advice
Giving free and discounted access to a specialist employment lawyer is an enormous benefit with which you can reward your clients. It is like having all the benefits of an in-house lawyer, but without the expense of paying a salary. But that’s not the only benefit you and your clients will receive. Here are some more:- Do you struggle to put together content for a newsletter each month? Let’s face it, writing articles is not everyone’s cup of tea. But being a member of the Hotline, you can use any Approachable Lawyer article in your newsletters. All you have to do is acknowledge Approachable Lawyer as the author.
- Struggling to find a relevant gift for your clients? Giving your clients a free gift is a great way to generate goodwill. But with everyone giving away pens and umbrellas, how do you make your gift relevant to your business and stand out from the crowd? The answer is a tailored report giving valuable information relevant to your business. Co-branded with your logo and the Approachable Lawyer logo, this will be put together especially for you. Don’t worry if you can’t think of a topic – topics can be suggested for you or you can use an existing Approachable Lawyer report. Premium Version only.
- Train your staff in employment law. Membership will also entitle you and your staff free training on how to dismiss staff without getting sued, and other aspects of employment law. The training will give you and your staff the basic foundations so that you know when to refer questions to the Hotline and when something can be handled in-house. So when that client does call for advice you sound knowledgable and not lost for a sensible answer. Premium Version only.
What can I say? Having Mike on tap every month is a huge relief. We have often found that we may have just one question we need a legal answer for. This may happen once in a month it may happen 20 times. The bottom-line is we now know that if anything crops up we can get an answer and fast so we don’t end up breaking any employment laws that we haven’t managed to read the latest legislation and updates on. Not only that we don’t have to wait around for the “every six minute billers” to gather every man and his chargeable dog to become involved in a quick “yes you can or no that’s illegal” decision. Unlike you average lawyer Mike has a sense of humour (yes we we’re surprised too!) and his well worded letters are a constant source of delight with their clever use of the English vocabulary and boundaries within the law.
As a business owner that likes to have an answer “NOW” Mike has also demonstrated he has the patience of a saint who can handle the most “challenging and demanding” of clients. Sarah Lee, Creative Director, IT Maniacs
How much does it cost?
Lawyers pay hundreds of dollars per month to access on-line research facilities and they have to do the research themselves. The Hotline costs just $50 (inc. GST) or $55 (inc GST) per month, depending on whether you choose the Basic or Premium version. Here is what is included with each version:
Basic Membership |
Premium Membership |
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| Unlimited calls to the Hotline for you and your staff |  |
Unlimited calls to the Hotline for you and your staff | |
| 1 x 30 minute telephone consultation for each of your clients | |
1 x 30 minute telephone consultation for each of your clients | |
| Consultancy fees charged at $250 + GST per hour for you and your clients | |
Consultancy fees charged at $200 + GST per hour for you and your clients | |
| Use of Approachable Lawyer articles for your newsletter | |
Use of Approachable Lawyer articles for your newsletter | |
| Tailored report for your clients | |
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| Employment Law training for you and your staff | |
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Cost: $50 per month (inc GST) |
Cost: $55 per month (inc GST) |
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Let the Hotline be your insurance (with a difference)
The advice given through the Legal Hotline is covered by professional indemnity insurance. Your insurance may not cover you for advice outside your field of expertise, so think of the Hotline membership fee as an enhanced insurance premium. But rather than being an expense it will add value to the service you give to your clients, thereby giving you enhanced credibility and hopefully more clients.Credibility is important
Your credibility is vitally important to your success. So, you should only recommend other people's services when those services will enhance your own credibility. if you are in any doubt about the credibility of this service simply read the many testimonials on this website and also take a look at some of the articles to decide for yourself. Only then should you apply.How to apply
To ensure that all members receive the quality of service promised, membership is limited. To apply, you must first complete an application form. Once you have done that, email it to me and your application will be assessed alongside whether there are any current vacancies within the Hotline service. If there are, you will be notified and asked to set up an automatic payment. All payments are made on the 20th of the month.To download an application form click here
Alternatively, if you have any questions about the Hotline please fill out the on-line form below.
Regards,
Michael Smyth LLb. (Hons.), Dip, Cert
The Approachable Lawyer
PS Once you are signed up don't forget to incorporate the Hotline in
your marketing material as a point of difference to your competitors.
Are you a Recruiter, HR Professional, Accountant or Business Coach?
I didn't think I'd need a lawyer just because I was hiring an employee. Then things went wrong. Quite wrong, I must add. And boy, was I glad I had a water-tight employment agreement. What also helped was that I was able to let go of the employee at 2 days notice, simply because of the constant advice, and the solid paperwork I had in place. And it was all thanks to the Approachable Lawyer. I did have to spend a few anxious days while dismissing my employee, but I was far less stressed, because of the constant support and the fact that I could get in touch with Mike at a moment's notice and have my worries resolved. I'd say any business owner would be foolish to not have access to a hotline such as this. Sean D'Souza, Psychotactics.com
As one of New Zealand’s fastest growing franchises, the potential for employment disputes is huge. Prior to using Michael and the Hotline we had already been taken to mediation by one employee and advised to pay compensation because of a slip up in process. I learnt my lesson from that case, and two years ago retained Michael to advise us and our franchisees. Since then we have only had one employment dispute which was withdrawn by the employee before reaching trial. The biggest benefit of the Hotline is that our franchisees are able to call Michael to get advice before they have a problem. As a result we rarely have employment issues. For that reason alone the Hotline is invaluable, but it also enables me to offer added value to any person considering buying an Esquires franchise. I would recommend the Hotline to any business owner and particularly to any franchisor wanting to add value to its franchise model. Stuart Deeks, Managing Director, Esquires Coffee Houses, New Zealand.
The whole area of employment law is disconcerting at the best of times for a novice and engaging someone in this area is generally a costly exercise. However, I have found the Legal Hotline to be very cost effective service providing good value for money. The service is confidential and backed up with timely and accurate advice. Refreshingly, Michael uses non jargonistic language which demystifies otherwise difficult to understand legal terms. Most recently we had a redundancy situation and by using Michael I am confident that we followed an informed process and got the right result for all concerned. Overall, we get a speedy service and I would, and frequently do, recommend the Approachable Lawyer to other businesses we deal with. Lynlee Wilson, The People Group
The Hotline seemed like a good plan to me because I figured I couldn’t really lose out. Because I had used Michael previously I knew it was going to be a reputable service and not someone after a quick buck. The great thing about the Hotline is that I can call or email anytime. I don’t feel nervous about getting a massive invoice for a two minute conversation but I still get good legal advice. The response times are quick and the service efficient. I would have no hesitation recommending the service to other business owners who can rely on the approachable nature of Michael and the Hotline. Gary Richards, Jag Design, Auckland
I knew from the outset that you were professional and that I could rely upon you. That's why I signed up for the Legal Hotline. When I started using the Hotline my perception didn’t change. I like the way I can talk to you personally, the fact that you are a specialist in your field, and that your documentation is easy to read. I would definitely recommend you and the Hotline to other businesses because of your expertise and because you are approachable. Bryan Berry, Bryan Berry Panel Beaters
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