Secrets of Universal Laws in our Daily Lives PART ONE

Cosmic and Universal Laws rule our lives whether we are aware of this fact or not. These are spiritual laws that we live with every day of our lives. As one example is the Law of Cycles. There are shorter cycles and longer cycles. In plants, for example, we plant a seed, which takes its own time to grow. Under certain favorable conditions, it grows to bloom, then to shine in all its glory, giving pleasure for a shorter or longer period of time, depending on the type of plant or flower, to eventually wither and die, only to be recycled again and again.

Everything in nature, humans included, everything in our world, works in the same rhythm, under the Law of Rhythm. Our life, our businesses, our relationships our whole existence, work under the same rhythm, everything constantly renews itself or it dies. Nothing remains constant or stagnant. Nothing in nature is wasted for under the Law of Recycling, absolutely everything is recycled in nature.

Mots of us human creatures resist change. We expect everything to remain the same, we expect things to last forever, we expect the impossible. Because in accordance with the Law of Movement, the Law of Growth, the Law of Vibration and the Law of Change everything is in constant motion and change. The more we are aware and the better we understand this the more we are in harmony with the flow of the energies of these laws of nature.

This ancient knowledge known only to a selected few in the past, is today no longer a secret. This esoteric knowledge is now available to everyone who is interested and who wants to know. But you need to be very careful. You need to decide what to believe and what not to believe. To be able to discriminate and to tell the difference, you need to develop and sharpen both you intuition and your abstract mind, your sixth and seventh spiritual senses, so that you can cope with the onslaught of information, some of which might be total rubbish. You need to be sharp enough and in touch with your own intuition, to know what to believe and what not to believe or else, you are more likely to end up more confused than you were before.

The nature of my life forced me to think about these laws. I was in reality, living through and activating one major law after another, the Law of Change, the Law of Acceptance and the Law of Adaptation again and again in my own life, without knowing it. I moved through countries and cultures so many times in my young life, I intuitively chose to develop a positive attitude towards life and change. After going through each initial shock of the change, I quickly readjusted, accepted, adapted, to my environment and in accordance with each unique situation I attracted to me what I needed to make my life enjoyable. This came gradually to me, somewhere along the line, after suffering pain and going through a lot of confusion and frustration, little by little I began to understand. Circumstances began to make sense to me.

You see, my passion in life is the psychic world, the invisible world and ever since I could think and read, I've been studying ancient eastern wisdom teachings. Esoteric teachings occupy much of my time and attention both in waking and sleeping. I do this every single day of my life. It is as if I have this giant invisible jigsaw puzzle and I try to find one little piece after another to complete this puzzle.

For me the psychic world is more real than the material world I live in. It has been so for me ever since I was born. My mother, God bless her soul, was totally convinced that I was a witch. My inner strength as a child even and total conviction when I stated my opinions scared her. She was in the habit of saying, 'I feel sorry for the man who marries you!' You must keep in mind this was in the Middle East in the 1940s, women in general were supposed to obey and not declare their thoughts or insist on arguing a point. My own daughters, as they grew up, were convinced that centuries ago, I was burnt at the stake many times over. My siblings made fun of me because they did not understand me at all and to date do no take me seriously.

For me it is all very simple and clear. Being psychic is my second nature. I do not see myself as an oddity. On the contrary I see myself as being blessed. I feel protected as I have guardian spirits. I never feel that I am alone. This inner knowledge which is hard to explain, gives me incredible inner strength. No matter what chaos reveals itself in my life, I manage to survive because I rely on this inner knowledge and the inner strength that I feel.

I grew up in the world of Aladdin, Ali Baba and the fairy tales of the one thousand and one nights. Do you know that in those fairy tales all the universal laws are found, if one cares to listen very carefully and to read between the lines? These divine truths are given to us everywhere, but only if we care to hear and only if we care to see. We can see them, if we want to, everywhere around us in life, they are revealed to us in movies, in books, in poetry, in art, in daily lives of ordinary mortals. Sometimes words of wisdom drop like pearls of treasure from ordinary people who happen to pass our way and exchange a few ordinary words with us. Unless we are aware and living in the 'now' moment, we miss them. As things are, we are usually too preoccupied with our mundane life, we're mostly in a great hurry, rushing to do this or that, shopping, work, hairdresser, kids, cooking, fighting, arguing, TV, chasing money or sex, holiday, nagging or complaining and being unhappy about not having what we want. We are usually so exhausted with all the practical and so called important things that we need to give our attention to, that we have no time to really live, to listen or to see the real truths about life. We choose not to have time to understand the real meaning of life itself and we forget why we are here at all.

Cosmic laws rule everything in the cosmos. And universal laws rule everything on earth and these laws manifest themselves through energy. Now what does that mean exactly?

Everything in the universe is scientific and is mathematically perfect down to the last minute detail. There is law and order everywhere and a reason for everything. For example if the sun suddenly went out of orbit our whole universe would simply collapse and we all would be extinguished in a matter of seconds. The universe is a perfectly orderly place in spite of all the chaos we observe all around us. All forms of life and all actions that occur in the universe are governed by universal laws. Minerals, plants and animals live in accordance with the laws of the universe. We, humans, are the only species on this earth who are arrogant enough to think that we are clever and powerful enough to override the laws of nature and for this childish foolishness of ours, we are now experiencing the results all around us on every level.

Universal laws exist in order for the world to function with efficiency and we have been given the privilege of the will and the intelligence, to activate these energies for better or for worse. The same law might be right in one situation and wrong in another situation and we are given the freedom to discriminate and to make our personal choices.

For example right now I am activating the law of communication and I am doing this with awareness, because my intention is to communicate with you, the reader, and to share with you some important knowledge that will be of great benefit to you. Many years ago in my early twenties when I was frustrated and angry, and my hormones were running amok, I would fight with my just as young and naive husband and scream at him. The poor guy would run away as if a thunder bolt had hit him and that infuriated me even more. I was activating the law of communication you see, but in a negative destructive manner. It did not do me any good nor did it do my partner any good. He on the other hand had nothing to say and this made me scream at him even more. Saying nothing is as bad because he did not activate the law of communication at all. He did not share his thoughts or feelings with me. With that he was also violating the Law of Sharing as much as I was. So we were doomed right from the start, life was hell on earth and guess where we ended up after a few years of this? In a divorce court of course!

Living against or violating a universal law simply means that we are going against a natural energy flow of any particular law. It's the same as when we swim against the flow of a river, we would have to struggle much harder in order to move forward. And if the current is really strong then we wouldn't be moving forward at all. So when we have problems in our lives, guess what it means? It means you are doing something that is going against the flow of the energy of that particular law. You see, we are activating the laws all the time, in everything that we do, usually, however, we are unaware of this fact.

I'm sure that you have experienced at least once in your life if not more often, wanting something to happen and it doesn't. You try and you try again and again, and though you seem to be doing everything right, it feels as if you're hitting your head against a brick wall. This is a sure sign that you are going against the flow of energy of that particular law that you are activating. So the wise thing to do is to let go. You need to let it rest. Being aware, you would try another approach, another angle or you might re think the timing. Perhaps the timing is wrong, so you decide to do it at a later date. A stubborn, unaware person would crash through the wall by force and end up getting hurt.

At the same time you mush have experienced at one time in your life or more often, when things went very smoothly, not much effort was required on your part, to make things happen, everything seems to go well without any problems. This means that you were doing something very right in accordance with the law you were activating. You were going with the flow of the energies and so everything happens easily for you. If you can become sensitive to this energy you can make your life much easier and you can avoid many problems and hassles in your life. You begin to feel peace and harmony in your life and the more you experience this inner peace the more joy you will attract to you.

Quite often we are in the habit of sabotaging ourselves by activating negative energies, such as fear, doubt, anger, laziness, envy. These are all negative energies that make us feel bad because they hold us as slaves within our own limitations, our own small tiny dark world, keeping us away from the light, they hold us back from being the free beings that we are meant to be.

The Law of Freedom tells us that we are all meant to be free. There are no exceptions to this law. We are all meant to be free beings, with no race, color, age or gender differences. Your partner, your daughter, your son, your employee, your servant, your parent, your nearest and dearest and every human being, absolutely every one of us is meant to be a free human being, free to think, free to act, free to make choices. For a couple in love, for example, jealousy and possessiveness drives the loved one away, by giving total freedom the loved one is more attracted to you. The moment you possess, to enslave, to control another human being you are violating the Law of Freedom and this will have its consequences according to the Law of Cause and Effect and it will eventually boomerang in your face.

There is no punishment of burning in hell. Forget that! There exists another law that takes care of that. The Law of Justice will see to it that when you do wrong the time will come when you will have to pay for that wrong. And this happens on earth in this life.

You see God, the Architect of the universe, the creator of our world, has really worked out everything perfectly for us to the minutest detail. God is a genius! The Almighty is also a kind and merciful God, because he has also given us the Law of Repentance. This law states that when you do wrong you are given the chance to repent and for this you need to do or to give some sacrifice to show that you repent. In ancient days this law was misunderstood and it was given to general belief that a sacrifice of blood or a life has to be given to appease the Gods. It was superstition, or more likely, the law was purposely misinterpreted by some male specimen/s who wanted to have control over the miserable ignorant folk who were most likely starving and scared to death anyway. To this day in some areas of the world and in some faiths it is customary to kill animals, or to beat oneself until one bleeds in repentance. Unbelievable but true.

The sacrifice that this law requires to show that you repent, is given to you to decide or depending on the situation you are told what it would be. Whatever it is, it is an act that you would need to fulfill. As a good example for this, what comes to my mind, is a scene from the film about Gandhi. When Gandhi carried out a hunger strike and refused to eat until all Moslems and all Hindus stopped fighting. A Moslem man came to him and confessed that he had killed a Hindu child. Gandhi made this man promise to adopt and raise a Hindu child orphan as his own son, and what more to raise him in the Hindu belief system. You can imagine what a challenge this Moslem man had to live with every day of his remaining life with this promise as a sacrifice which he gave to Gandhi. The sacrifice calls for you to suffer a little, emotionally, physically, mentally, by living up to a challenge, of the promise that you make after you have admitted your wrong and your feeling sorry.

Here are other simple examples of sacrifices to repent, depending on the size of the violation. You make a pledge to make friends with a neighbor whom you hate. Or you promise to be kind and friends with your mother in law whom you can't stand. Or you make a pledge to read to someone blind lying in hospital every evening for one month. You make a pledge to fast for one week or not to eat your favorite food for one month. In short the sacrifice requires you to give up a pleasure or to make an extra effort. Very small violations you can quickly correct by saying you are sorry and presenting the person with a box of chocolates flowers or simply ask to be forgiven.

In fact, through all these acts of sacrifice, the individual is forced to exercise self reflection, self control and self discipline, which are all very desirable character traits to develop.

With this act of repentance you are balancing the universal energies by contributing something good to the universe. In this way you activate the Law of Balance. Everything in our world is in perfect balance. Or at least it should be in balance. It is meant to be in perfect balance.

To go back to the negative traits mentioned above. We are given the choice, the freedom and the will power to fight these self destructive traits, and negative traits that we hang on to are generally destructive and most of all self destructive. We are given the choice to activate the Law of Choice and the Law of Freedom, when we make a personal decision. For example, we could say, 'from this moment on I am going to be aware of my thoughts, aware of what I say and aware of my actions.' With this we have also activated the Law of Awareness and the Law of Action in a positive way, and when we carry our pledge through and actually exercise the above, then we will be going in harmony with all the laws mentioned.

The Law of Forgiveness is one of the most beautiful laws, because the energy of forgiveness is a healing energy. And we can forgive ourselves as well as forgive others. Forgiveness is cleansing. Decide right this instance to forgive someone you hate immensely who has done you harm. Let them go, let that feeling of resentment go, practice forgiveness and see how much lighter you feel. How good you will feel. It is that easy. All it needs is your firm decision and declaration. Ask for forgiveness from someone you have harmed and see how good and how healing that feels. It works even if you cannot speak to them personally. Declare it to the universe. The universe will respond.

Destruction of our environment, our materialistic behavior, the poverty, the social injustice, crime, wars, exploitation of natural resources, are all symptoms of the huge imbalance in our human nature and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We humanity have caused our own misery. We usually like to blame God for all our calamities.

The Universal Laws and The Universal Law of Bollocks

These days you can hardly go through any articles, books, DVDs, movies, films, documentaries with regard to self-improvement or self-help without coming across at least one mentioning of some 'Universal Law'. Suddenly, there appears to be a Universal Law for anything. Like we haven't got enough Laws to deal with already!

Listen, there's some truth to these 'Universal Laws', but in most cases, a little nuance is in place. So I ask you, please read along, as I'll clear it all up in the remainder of this article.

There are Universal Laws that guide our lives behind the scenes. These are actually rather 'universal principles of life'. That would be a more appropriate qualification. But these days, people are always looking for 'Universal Laws'. As a consequence, other people who think they know what they're talking about come up with new 'Universal Laws' all the time, in an attempt to set themselves apart from the already giant mass of people talking about 'Universal Laws'. So in the self-improvement or self-help world, every now and then a new 'Universal Law' makes its entrance, in addition to the most widely and most predominantly mentioned Universal Law, which is the Law of Attraction.

The word 'Law' appears to be a magic word... Almost a magic wand that casts a spell on anyone who reads it that puts them in a hypnotized state thinking that what it says must be true. After all, it's a 'Law' isn't it? A 'Law' is always right, no more thinking required.

Today, subjects like the 'Law of Attraction' are at an all-time high of popularity. We've got the movie 'The Secret' and a whole big bunch of people trying to leverage on it by proclaiming themselves as 'experts in the field of the Law of Attraction'. Yes, there's that magic word (wand) again.

Despite so many people having seen the movie 'The Secret' and knowing about the Law of Attraction, there is only a very, very small number of people who are actually living the life of their dreams, or 'attracting their desires', or 'manifesting their dreams'. Yes those are some other 'magic words' from today's common terminology of the self-improvement and self-help industry. 

How come? How come, with all that knowledge, with all those 'Universal Laws' already written and told about, and with all those new 'Universal Laws', 'Spiritual Laws of the Universe', 'Subsidiary Laws' and so on coming about each and every day on the Internet and elsewhere... How come that all the people buying those books, DVDs, movies, films, documentaries, and so on, are still not 'attracting their desires' or 'manifesting their dreams'?

I'll tell you why. Most people have heard something about it, but have no real knowledge about the matter. They are aware of the fact that there are 'Universal Laws, or rather 'universal principles of life' that work behind the scenes and guide the courses of their lives. However, they've lost track, because so many people who think they know what they're talking about (while they don't) come up with new 'Universal Laws' all the time, that may have some truth to them, but do nothing more than making things way too difficult and complex to apply.

And besides that, there's often one big problem when you start reading about the 'Law of Attraction' and the 'Laws of the Universe'. People who speak or write about them tend to so overly symbolic, that few well-thinking people can make any practical sense of it. What they find is nothing but 'enigmas wrapped in riddles'.

There's a strong desire for clarity on this subject. Listen, I can come up with hundreds of 'Universal Laws' if I want. Here's a couple of them...

Introducing the Universal Law of Ping Pong 

It says you have to use ping pong balls if you want to play table tennis.

Introducing the Universal Law of Rain 

It says that when it rains, things get wet.

Disappointing, huh? But they did sound interesting at first, right?! Do you see what's happening here? The mere qualification of 'Universal Law' makes it sound interesting already, while the true deeper meaning of the 'Universal Law' is nothing more than a standard blindingly obvious platitude.

So let me give you another Universal Law right now, to satisfy your probably insatiable need (or so you think) for knowledge of all Universal Laws to improve your life, 'attract your desires', and 'manifest your dreams' once and for all:

Introducing the Universal Law of Bollocks 

It says that it's all bollocks.

That's right, it's all bollocks. Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks. There are universal principles guiding your life. If you want, you can call them 'Universal Laws'. I've done so in my books and articles, because that's what people are looking for these days. If I would apply other terminology, people would never find out about this extremely useful and straightforward knowledge, and would probably never 'attract their desires' or 'manifest their dreams'.

It's all bollocks, because before this whole game we call 'human life' started, we didn't get an instruction manual on how life was supposed to be lived. The purpose of the whole thing was to find out the universal principles and realize that through applying these principles, YOU can have full control over whatever it is you want to create.

Yes, that's right, you 'create', which is much more than 'attracting'. But that's something you'll discover as you get more experienced in the conscious living of your life and engineering your own success by applying the universal principles of life. Yes, that's what you can do with the knowledge of these universal principles, or 'Universal Laws' if you will.

I talk about Universal Laws in my books, that's true. But again, people are looking for 'Universal Laws' these days, not for universal principles. Because you were looking for 'Universal Laws', you were able to find this article. I describe the universal principles of life along 6 main Universal Laws. The names given to these 'Universal Laws' are nice, and are probably what you want to hear. However, the bollocks is often in the names. It's the content discussing the universal principles that makes this knowledge so unique.

Yes, you can do with only 6 main Universal Laws, but that's more than enough to cover all the 'subsidiary universal laws' or 'spiritual laws of the universe' or whatever you want to call them that all those people on the Internet seem to come up with these days. These 6 main 'Universal Laws' just cover the universal principles of life, without falling for the trap of too many detail and complexity of too many 'Universal Laws'. All those additional 'Universal Laws' or 'subsidiary laws' all fall under the Universal Law of Bollocks.

Too keep things simple, you don't want to lose yourself in the detail. You want just enough straightforward knowledge for simple application of the principles, while still having a total view on the big picture that is comprehensive enough to not forget about any universal principle, or 'Universal Law' if you will. 

If you want to make life simple for yourself, to start pulling the right strings to create the life and destiny of your dreams, then don't waste another second on trying to find out every small, detailed, insignificant 'Universal Law' someone came up with today. You'll be like a cat chasing its own tail: a never-ending story that leaves you exhausted and depressed. Just keep it simple, focus on the 6 main Universal Laws that cover all universal principles, and you'll be off living more than your dreams before you can even consciously realize you created such an incredible experience!

Sounds good? I thought so.

Keep it straightforward and easy-to-apply. The game of life wasn't intended to be complex and difficult. The game was supposed to be simple and easy, and most of all FUN!

And so it can be, if you don't make it too hard on yourself.

Nicholas P. Kidd and Henk J.M. Schram are the instigators of the alleged 'Greatest Revolution of All Time', which deals with the true secrets of the Law of Attraction and the other Universal Laws in ways much clearer than the 'enigmas wrapped in riddles' that usually characterize the descriptions of the Law of Attraction and its application.

They are known for their straightforward explanations of complex issues that they manage to make understandable to people from all walks of life.

So Your Business Has a Legal Problem - 8 Useful Tips on What to Expect From Your Lawyer

As a business owner, you are usually run off your feet with the challenges of operating your business. The last thing you need to worry about is a legal problem. Many business people put off dealing with a legal problem because they don't know where to turn, don't have the time, or most often, are afraid of how much it will cost and how much time it will take.

Legal issues come in many forms:

· A customer failed to pay an account despite many promises. · You just received a letter from a government agency. · You just found out that your former manager has set up a competing business and has stolen your best customer and one of your key employees. · You have just been sued for $100,000. · Someone told you that one of your standard form contracts won't stand up in court and you are worried about it. · You have a dispute with your landlord. · You have a problem with a US or European customer. · Your business has been defamed on the internet. · You just found that your warehouse manager has been sexually harassing a female employee. · An employee is damaging your business but threatens to sue if you fire him. You are not sure how to handle it. · You are involved with a Workplace Safety Insurance claim.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg of the kinds of legal issues business people run into frequently.

Tip #1 - Seek out legal help at the first sign of a problem

Suppose a competitor has been passing off its business under your name and it's costing you customers and sales but it's hard to estimate the amount. Unless you act promptly, it may be too late to seek an injunction from the Court. If you think you have a claim against another party under a contract, a limitation period begins to run from the time the contract is breached and usually expires two years later. It's not a good idea to leave the claim to the last minute.

If you have an issue with an employee who is working unacceptably, it's important to develop a legal strategy as early as possible. The longer you wait, the more it may cost your business.

The short point here is that it is important to seek advice as soon you detect a problem and before anything has been done to make it worse. Crisis management is always more expensive and time-consuming than early response.

Tip #2 - Have a team of lawyers to call on when you need them.

Every business should have a team of on-call lawyers. This is less expensive or complicated than it sounds. All you need are the telephone numbers and email addresses of trusted corporate, employment law and litigation lawyers. Depending on the nature of your business, you may also need an intellectual property lawyer, who deals with trademarks, patents and copyright. You may even need a tax lawyer because not all tax issues can be solved by an accountant.

If the amount of your legal dispute is very small, such as a claim or complaint by a customer for $1,000 or less, it will be uneconomic to hire a lawyer. Fortunately, there are other helpful resources. The BBB has a dispute resolution process which permits BBB businesses and their customers to resolve disputes by arbitration or mediation. You don't need a lawyer and the only cost is a small administration fee. More information about this process is available on the BBB website.

If your case is in the Small Claims Court ($10,000 or less), you might need a paralegal who specializes in these kinds of cases. Paralegals are now regulated by the Law Society but they are not lawyers and they are not a substitute for an experienced lawyer.

Tip #3 - Learn what to expect when a dispute arises.

As a business person, you have learned that success is often the result of building relationships. The relationships you build with your lawyers can be just as important to your business success as the ones you have with your customers, suppliers, banker and insurance broker. A relationship with your lawyer built on mutual trust and respect will save you many sleepless nights over the years and probably make or save you a lot of money.

There are several ways to find good lawyers for your business:

Ask business associates or relatives if they have someone to recommend. If you get a recommendation, find out more about the firm and the lawyer by using some of the research methods below. · The internet is a very useful resource for finding a lawyer but you have to be careful. Any lawyer can list with various online legal directories. Anyone can have a flashy website. You have to move past the flash to find the substance.

When looking for a lawyer on the internet, look for someone who has experience in the field you require. The first name on a Google search may not be the best choice. Some lawyers have written extensively about the law. This is a useful indicator of expertise and standing in the legal community.

Some lawyers list cases they have been involved in on their websites. Broad litigation experience in complex business matters over many years is a good indicator of competence.

The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario, Canada) has a lawyers' referral service. The service provides a name but you have to check the details out yourself. · The Law Society certifies specialists in several areas of practice. Certification as a specialist signals that the lawyer has achieved a higher standard of experience in his/her area but certification isn't mandatory. Many competent lawyers have long experience in a field without applying for certification. You have to decide if this is important to you.

· If your problem is outside Ontario, find a local lawyer first. Many firms have networks with lawyers globally and are able to refer to lawyers in the USA or other countries. Refers between colleagues are often more effective.

When you call, don't expect the lawyer to solve your business problem over the telephone. The first discussion is for the lawyer to identify whether s/he can represent you and for you to assess whether the lawyer appears to have the skills to deal with your problem. If you have a legal problem the lawyer believes his/her firm can resolve, an office meeting will be arranged.

In business matters, lawyers customarily charge a consultation fee for the first office meeting. At the meeting, the lawyer will give preliminary or urgent advice and develop a go-forward strategy. The lawyer may be able to give a partial fee estimate and will ask for a retainer to cover some of the work. No lawyer can guarantee the outcome. At this early stage, there are usually a lot of unknown matters. While the lawyer may be able to give you a partial fee estimate in a litigation matter, it's impossible to say with accuracy how much it will cost. It depends on too many unknown factors.

It will be then up to you to decide whether or not to hire the lawyer to represent you further. The decision you make will depend on your sense of confidence in the lawyer. Has the lawyer listened to you? Have your questions been answered? Does the lawyer appear to understand your problem? Has the lawyer presented the risks and downsides of your case? Every case has risks and costs. Beware of a lawyer who tells you only what you want to hear without assessing the strengths of the opposing party's case.

Some lawyers will accept a monthly or annual retainer which entitles the client to telephone advice a few times a month. More complicated issues require separate engagements.

Tip #4 - The least expensive lawyer is unlikely to be the best person to handle your legal problem

Consider this scenario: you are looking for a lawyer for a complicated lawsuit. You call Mr. Jones, who answers on the first ring. You tell your story, which has many facts the opposite party disputes. Mr. Jones says, "You have a great case. I'm sure you're going to win." When you ask how much it will cost, Mr. Jones says "Don't worry, you won't have to pay me anything unless you win. Just come on down to my office and we'll get started."

Beware of any lawyer who tells you this. While Ontario lawyers are permitted to charge their fees based on contingency, i.e. a percentage of the result, this type of fee arrangement is only rarely applicable in business cases. It never occurs when facts are in dispute, recovery is uncertain or if the amount is small.

When you retain a lawyer, you need a trustworthy advisor, who will point out the weaknesses of your case as well as the strengths. A litigation lawyer who is waiting by the phone for your call and tells you exactly what you are hoping to hear may be too hungry or too inexperienced to manage your case. He may be in over his head and will bail out as soon as your case takes a negative turn. By then, your legal situation may have worsened. It will be more expensive and perhaps impossible to repair it.

Even worthwhile cases require careful analysis and risk assessment. An experienced litigation lawyer will typically do his by for fees on an hourly basis plus GST and any out-of-pocket expenses necessary for your case.

Good litigation lawyers are often in court, at mediation or other litigation procedures, at meetings or discovery. However, good litigation lawyers always call or respond by email within 24 hours. In case of urgency or vacation, the lawyer will arrange for someone in the office to contact you.

Tip #5 - Prevention is better and much less expensive than litigation.

Legal problems are like computer crashes --- they are bound to occur, it's just a matter of time. Unlike computer crashes, some lawsuits can be avoided. Often, businesses owners deal with legal matters only when a crisis arises. They look for the least expensive lawyer to draft their leases, contracts, corporate and employment agreements without regard to skill, competence and experience.

Sometimes, business owners avoid legal steps like failing to make a shareholder agreement, failing to file a trademark application or failing to prepare a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement with a key employee. When served with a lawsuit, they ignore or tear the papers up in anger. These business owners will be caught short when the inevitable occurs. While litigation or arbitration may still occur when there are written agreements in place, you will be in a far more secure position if you have taken precautionary steps before the dispute occurs. If you respond to correspondence and legal papers promptly, you will be better protected than if you ignore them.

Competent legal advice is available for matters such as corporate organization, leases, the wording contracts and other documents you use in your business, partnership and shareholder agreements, your relationships with your employees, your company's trade names, logos and website, your regulatory compliance, your risk management and litigation prevention techniques. It's all important to arrange legal affairs to ensure that your personal liability is limited in the case of a claim against your business.

Ensure that the legal issues affecting your business are in good order. This is likely to save you a lot of money and grief in the future. You might even consider having a legal audit or a "business legal checkup". We plan to write about this topic in a future article in this newsletter. Preventative legal advice may be expensive but it is just as important as fire insurance.

Tip #6 -- Don't assume that 'going to court' means 'going to trial'

If you haven't been involved in litigation before, you may not appreciate that more than 90% of cases settle before trial. While a trial (or even an appeal) is not always avoidable, lawyers use techniques to try to resolve cases at earlier stages. Business people are looking for certainty and to limit expense and exposure.

It's never a bad idea to negotiate a settlement with the opposing party but the timing and approach will depend on the case. It is best to negotiate from a position of strength. This may mean holding off negotiations until enough facts and documents have been disclosed to favour your position.

Mediation is another technique lawyers use to achieve settlement before trial. Mediation involves a neutral mediator, who is usually an experienced lawyer, acceptable to all parties. The parties and the lawyers prepare briefs to explain their positions to the mediator. On the mediation date, after an opening session, the parties retire to separate rooms. The mediator will "shuttle" between the parties until an agreement is worked out or an impasse is declared. This process produces a high rate of settlement even in very complicated cases.

Tip #7 - Understand the risks of the litigation process: Why do lawyers emphasize settlement?

Even if you have an airtight case, your lawyer will still recommend settlement. Lawyers assess risk every day. Even the most airtight case could have problems at trial. The judge may prefer the evidence of the opposing party over yours. The other party's expert witness may be more persuasive than yours. These are just two of many possibilities. A trial is always a last resort.

Another good reason to settle is that even if you win at trial, the case may not be over because

The legal costs awarded by the court to a successful party are only a partial recovery of the legal costs payable to your lawyer. · If you lose at trial or if the opposing party does better in court than their settlement offer, you will have to pay a portion of their legal costs. · There may be an appeal which could delay payment for two years or longer.

Until a final judgment is granted, a defendant is rarely prevented from dealing with his property - unless the property is the subject of the lawsuit (or some other exceptional situations).

The judgment may be unenforceable. The opposing party may be insolvent or go bankrupt. You might not collect anything. · The defendant may conceal his assets or transfer them to family members to make the debt difficult to collect. A separate lawsuit may be necessary to find the defendant's assets or to declare the fraudulent transfer void.

The defendant may have assets outside Ontario. A lawyer in the jurisdiction where defendant's assets are located may have to be retained to collect the judgment.

A settlement involves a resolution both parties can live with. If the case involves the payment of money, there won't be a settlement unless payment is made.

Even with these concerns, some cases can't be settled. The positions of the parties may be so far apart that a trial is necessary. As the case progresses, you and your lawyer will have to revise and update your strategy and estimate the legal cost and risk of each stage of the case. Keep in mind that the opposing party is dealing with similar risk assessment and cost issues as you are.

Tip #8 -- Be a good client.

From a lawyer's perspective, a good client is a business person who does the following:

Presents all the facts of the case fairly without exaggeration or deception. Tell your lawyer everything; not just the facts that help you. The rest of the story always comes out and usually with adverse consequences. · Considers the lawyer as a trusted advisor and advocate.

Has a well-organized set of relevant documents.

Provides other documents and information promptly when requested.

Accepts that every case has weaknesses and works with the lawyer to develop a strategy to minimize the weaknesses.

Recognizes that the lawyer cannot guarantee the outcome but can only provide effective advocacy to produce the best result, often as a result of negotiation or mediation.

If an examination for discovery or trial is required, takes the time to prepare to testify.

Asks for clarification on all matters that are unclear.

Understands that in litigation matters, it is impossible to predict the fees accurately but that the lawyer will gladly provide estimates of imminent steps in the case.

Pays retainers when asked and settles interim accounts promptly when rendered.

Considers the lawyer's recommendations carefully and provides reasonable instructions.

One of our firm's clients is a technology business which started as a family operation and has grown to the point that its brand is now accepted and recognized globally. Our client's president knows hows to get the most out of his professional advisors. He is always respectful, trusting of professionalism, intelligence, experience and competence. He is prompt in responding to requests for information, appreciative of good advice and excellent service. He works hard but he usually has a happy and cheerful attitude.

Our client expects is professional advisors to have the same enthusiasm for their work as he does for the operations of his business. And another small matter: our client pays every professional account within 48 hours of receipt. He believes that if he had to challenge his lawyer or accountant's bill, the professional relationship is not a healthy as it should be. Our client expects fair treatment, excellent service, sound advice, creative strategy, experienced advocacy and determined, no-nonsense negotiations. And he gets all of them in spades! A lot of business people who are dissatisfied with their professional advisors could learn a lot from him.

These tips offer no assurance that your legal matter will turn out exactly as you expect. However, by following our suggestions, the resolution of your business dispute is likely to be a less expensive, less time-consuming and less stressful experience and possibly more successful. Keeping your business legal affairs in good order permits you more time to focus on making your business flourish.

Igor Ellyn, QC, CS and Orie Niedzviecki are partners of ELLYN LAW LLP Business Litigation and Arbitration Lawyers, a Toronto law firm, established specializing in dispute resolution for small and medium businesses and their shareholders.