Our Legal Fees

My annual retainer for a business is $750 for the first year plus a one-time administration fee of $45, and $500 a year thereafter. This covers all of the work that I do for a 12 months period, beginning the month we first discuss your business.

Advice and counseling are of course included, whether business or personal; on the telephone or in meetings.   In addition, the fee covers the review of documents such as leases, deeds, and contracts as well as the preparation of standard documents that may be needed during the year.  These could include, but are not limited to, equipment leases, deeds, promissory notes, employment agreements, buy-sell agreements and the like. I do not handle litigation or real estate closings, but will advise you about these matters and will be happy to make referrals.

If it is advisable for you to form a corporation or a limited liability company, I prepare all of the documents, provide you with the appropriate Federal forms for registering the business and selecting your tax treatment, as well as act as your registered agent as required by the State Corporation Commission. I also send you a book that I have written about how to simplify your business.

There are also separate costs connected with a new business: The State charges $75 for a corporate registration and $100 for a limited liabililty company.

We have monthly meetings for clients only at the office. You will receive a monthly newsletter outlining the subject matter of these meetings as well as some current legal notes of interest. These meetings are very informal and provide a place for the very small business owner to network and share ideas - and to feel a little less alone and alienated.

Because of the uncertainty involved, there are no open-ended billings such as hourly charges.  In my experience, the distance between lawyer and client increases in direct proportion to the uncertainty the client feels about legal fees.  The aim of the annual retainer is to make certain that there is a safe environment in which to conduct a business relationship.

My job, as I see it, is to help my clients plan and run their businesses, to solve problems as inexpensively and as safely as possible and to teach clients how to do much of this themselves.

Billy Ellyson

Make an appointment with Billy Ellyson, or call 804-780-0880 x2