Re: Was Scope of Agreement or Letter of Intent-Now unemployed.

[Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"Peter" <> wrote ...

> Bringing the right lawyer or professional advisor to the table, is not
> so much of a fight plan as a self protection plan. I agree that gong to
> court should be a last resort, but letting the other side understand
> that you are a reluctant warrior can rarely hurt a good faith
> negotiation. It is only the bully who takes an attitude that someone
> seeking professional assistance is only doing it to fight. In that case
> you may as well commence early and stop screwing around. Remember, the
> company probably has already received advice, why shouldn't you.

Its my feeling that the minute you bring a lawyer to a dispute, you've raised
the stakes of the game considerably. If you tell the other party that you're
going to speak with a lawyer, there is a good chance they will harden their
position and shut you off. In other words, it says "diplomacy has failed." 

> > If you lose a case, you can be
> > held responsible for the other side's legal fees. 
 
> In what states in the US is there such a rule? I am not aware of any
> state East of the Mississippi that has such a rule. Most Western states
> do not. I am curious.

Its not a rule, its a part of a lot of contracts these days. If you read your
employment contracts carefully, you will probably see a clause that says
something to the effect "the prevailing party in any dispute will have the
right to collect reasonable legal fees." 

Even without suce a clause, if you sue a customer, they can easily countersue
you back. They can say you did the job wrong and violated the "workmanship"
clauses of the contract. Now, you're in a two way fight with a corporation that
probably has a lot more legal resources than you. 

Read Sun Tzu the Art of War - all battles are won before the fighting starts.
Keep that in mind next time you call a lawyer because your employer hurt your
feelings. You're about to fight a battle with a considerably better armed
opponent. And just being right, doesn't mean you'll win.  

This is why I caution anybody - avoid turning a simple dispute or late payment
into a legal war. Use whatever means you have to resolve a dispute without
resorting to lawyers. Most importantly, listen to the other side's grievances.
If they have an honest complaint about your work, time, or whatever, listen to
it and try to negotiate a compromise. Don't be so damn prideful that you can't
accept some criticism. 

Andrew Plato 


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