Playing coach or "Legal support for business after COVID-19"

The mass closure or suspension of businesses during the coronavirus pandemic has raised many questions among Russian, including Kuzbass, businesses. The rules of the game changed almost daily, orders and decrees of a different nature were introduced. Enterprises, in turn, & nbsp; idle or closed. When the businesses did open, the “blank spots” did not decrease.

With the question - how to get qualified legal support for business - & nbsp; NIA-Kuzbass correspondent turned to Dmitry Malinin, Chairman of the Yurproekt Bar Association, Kemerovo

—What problems do entrepreneurs most often turn to lawyers with now?

After the lifting of restrictive measures, tenants and landlords are trying to legally consolidate their agreements. They apply for the preparation or verification of real estate lease agreements and additional agreements on deferment, installment plan, rent reduction. The situation in the segment of transactions with commercial real estate has revived: there are requests for legal support for transactions and questions for analysis. For example, whether the law was observed when calculating the tax and how you can legally reduce the tax on sales income, avoid additional charges and fines. 

While restrictive measures were in effect, the courts practically did not consider cases. The business has accumulated a pile of unresolved issues in the negotiations, and we, accordingly, received requests to develop a strategy for litigation with contractors and suppliers. For example, the manager of a manufacturing plant needed to obtain an independent legal assessment of the situation of his contractors who were designing the reconstruction of the plant. We audited the documentation (more than 2,000 pages of text!), made a legal analysis of the rules of law and judicial practice, prepared recommendations on which of the designers what requirements can be presented, how to prepare for such a litigation and what are the prospects for satisfying these requirements in court. & nbsp;

There are many appeals on bankruptcy issues from both sides of the “barricades”. On the one hand, debtors who were forced to close their businesses cannot pay off banks and counterparties, and they need legal support for their bankruptcy proceedings. On the other hand, from creditors who have not been paid by customers and buyers, the only thing left is the “last Chinese warning” - to file an application for bankruptcy of the debtor. 

— Dmitry Alexandrovich, what is the essence of legal business support from Yurproekt and why is it needed?

Our task is to support business in matters of ordinary economic activity in order to securely cover the “legal rear”. In particular, we take on the following tasks:  

• we conduct a legal analysis of the situation for making managerial decisions, & nbsp;

• we develop contracts and other important legal documents, including those regulating business processes and legal procedures at the enterprise, & nbsp;

• we develop and implement a strategy for protecting against claims from government agencies, consumers and counterparties both in courts and at the pre-trial stage (this is a competent response to a claim, negotiations).

- As a rule, the services of a law firm are more expensive than the salary of a full-time lawyer. Do you have something that a full-time lawyer cannot give a business?

Our colleagues - in-house lawyers - certainly do an important and responsible job. Comparison of their salaries and our rates can hardly be done absolutely correctly: in some cases, our rates will be higher, in some cases, the salaries of full-time lawyers. But if we are paid for a specific amount of work performed, a closed question, then colleagues receive payment on a monthly basis and even regardless of the level of workload. Our rates include the costs of professional development, salaries of administrative and technical personnel, taxes and other expenses, without which the existence of a law firm is unthinkable, and the employer pays additional contributions to off-budget funds from the salaries of staff members.

Businesses need an alternative view and recommendations on how to eliminate or minimize risks on controversial issues that can have serious economic and political consequences. Here our participation is really relevant. This is important given the fact that not all Russian laws are written clearly and unambiguously, and judicial practice is very variable and not always consistent. We were approached by the management of one of the coal enterprises, which had problems with registration of rights to land plots. The task was to analyze and find a way to draw up a land lease agreement without bidding (at bidding, the rent can skyrocket!), to prepare a legal justification for the municipal property management committee. We completed this work, and our customer was able to to get a land plot without bidding, thereby saving much more money than the cost of a legal opinion.

— Why is business interested in cooperation with Yurproekt? Are there any features, "chips" that make you stand out?

Probably two things. The first is the desire for a constant “upgrade”: our team does not linger employees who work on the principle “it will do”. The second is the desire to standardize our work to the maximum. Checking the purity of the transaction, developing real estate contracts, preparing for a lawsuit and working with bailiffs are carried out on the basis of approved and constantly improved regulations (there are no templates: each situation is most often unique, and, unfortunately, only contracts with our customers are templates). The development of a standard for preparing legal opinions has almost been completed, based on the rules for creating legal opinions borrowed from foreign colleagues and the methodology for conducting forensic examinations. 

All of the above reduces labor costs, allows you to remember about certain risks and do the most important thing. 

— Who will work with your client? Who are these people and what is their competence?

Our team includes excellent lawyers and lawyers, each of whom has a narrow specialization in a particular area of ​​law - taxes, real estate, bankruptcy, etc., behind them they have successfully completed cases in a particular sector of the economy, for example, in medicine or construction.  our website contains information about the key persons of Yurproekt involved in most significant projects - my partners in the firm and senior lawyers - project managers. Experience in the field of law each of them from 10 to 20 years. My experience as a practicing lawyer is 13 years (in 2020).  

— How is work with a client organized: does one lawyer handle the case or is there a so-called "team work"? 

It depends on the project. For example, when we check the purity of a real estate transaction, at least three lawyers are involved in this process at once: one assesses the risks from the sphere of land and property relations (legitimacy of borders, legality of construction, etc.), the other - bankruptcy risks associated with the seller himself (risks of challenging the transaction and returning the property to the seller), and the third one advises on tax issues, assesses the consequences, gives recommendations to the seller and the buyer on the formulation of the terms of the contract and subsequent declaration.

- And if you don’t have a lawyer in your state for some narrow specialization? & nbsp;

We have long been in the practice of engaging external experts: in-house lawyers from outside organizations and private lawyers and advocates on an issue in which our team members do not have competence, but the client applied with it. It could be electricity, antitrust or criminal law.  For example, we are preparing a legal analysis of the economic activity of an enterprise for tax risks, and it is additionally important for the client to know what the criminal law consequences of the actions of the company's leaders may be. For this part of the analysis, we include a lawyer who specializes in defending tax crimes.

- Now legal support for business is especially necessary. On what conditions does Yurproekt provide it? 

Our main model of legal business support is based on applications with payment for services actually rendered. Now we are developing a “Legal Solutions Base” (legal analytics, recommendations and documents), which will be available free of charge only to our clients simply on the basis that they have concluded a contract with us for work on applications and made any one order. 

- And if additional revision of the document is needed? Or a custom solution for a particular problem?

Such work is carried out by our lawyers and lawyers on the basis of an application: the cost of completing the application is preliminarily estimated taking into account the planned labor costs in hours, after completion the final price is formed  the cost taking into account the actual time spent and it cannot exceed more than 20 percent & nbsp; pre-agreed.

—What is your personal role in this process? 

I am not an entrepreneur or a businessman, in the sense that I cannot earn only on the margin from the sale of the labor of others. But not a craftsman who does everything himself. But rather a playing coach of the team: in addition to organizational and leadership functions in a team of lawyers and lawyers, I do real work with partners and clients of Yurproekt both at the stage of developing a strategy, and at the most important points of almost any project. 

By the way, I first heard about myself as a “playing coach” from my clients. I try to "play" well myself and help perfectly to get a land plot without bidding, thereby saving much more money than the cost of a legal opinion.

— Why is business interested in cooperation with Yurproekt? Are there any features, "chips" that make you stand out?

Probably two things. The first is the desire for a constant “upgrade”: our team does not linger employees who work on the principle “it will do”. The second is the desire to standardize our work to the maximum. Checking the purity of the transaction, developing real estate contracts, preparing for a lawsuit and working with bailiffs are carried out on the basis of approved and constantly improved regulations (there are no templates: each situation is most often unique, and, unfortunately, only contracts with our customers are templates). The development of a standard for preparing legal opinions has almost been completed, based on the rules for creating legal opinions borrowed from foreign colleagues and the methodology for conducting forensic examinations. 

All of the above reduces labor costs, allows you to remember about certain risks and do the most important thing. 

— Who will work with your client? Who are these people and what is their competence?

Our team includes excellent lawyers and lawyers, each of whom has a narrow specialization in a particular area of ​​law - taxes, real estate, bankruptcy, etc., behind them they have successfully completed cases in a particular sector of the economy, for example, in medicine or construction.  our website contains information about the key persons of Yurproekt involved in most significant projects - my partners in the firm and senior lawyers - project managers. Experience in the field of law each of them from 10 to 20 years. My experience as a practicing lawyer is 13 years (in 2020).  

— How is work with a client organized: does one lawyer handle the case or is there a so-called "team work"? 

It depends on the project. For example, when we check the purity of a real estate transaction, at least three lawyers are involved in this process at once: one assesses the risks from the sphere of land and property relations (legitimacy of borders, legality of construction, etc.), the other - bankruptcy risks associated with the seller himself (risks of challenging the transaction and returning the property to the seller), and the third one advises on tax issues, assesses the consequences, gives recommendations to the seller and the buyer on the formulation of the terms of the contract and subsequent declaration.

- And if you don’t have a lawyer in your state for some narrow specialization? & nbsp;

We have long been in the practice of engaging external experts: in-house lawyers from outside organizations and private lawyers and advocates on an issue in which our team members do not have competence, but the client applied with it. It could be electricity, antitrust or criminal law.  For example, we are preparing a legal analysis of the economic activity of an enterprise for tax risks, and it is additionally important for the client to know what the criminal law consequences of the actions of the company's leaders may be. For this part of the analysis, we include a lawyer who specializes in defending tax crimes.

- Now legal support for business is especially necessary. On what conditions does Yurproekt provide it? 

Our main model of legal business support is based on applications with payment for services actually rendered. Now we are developing a “Legal Solutions Base” (legal analytics, recommendations and documents), which will be available free of charge only to our clients simply on the basis that they have concluded a contract with us for work on applications and made any one order. 

- And if additional revision of the document is needed? Or a custom solution for a particular problem?

Such work is carried out by our lawyers and lawyers on the basis of an application: the cost of completing the application is preliminarily estimated taking into account the planned labor costs in hours, after completion the final price is formed  the cost taking into account the actual time spent and it cannot exceed more than 20 percent & nbsp; pre-agreed.

—What is your personal role in this process? 

I am not an entrepreneur or a businessman, in the sense that I cannot earn only on the margin from the sale of the labor of others. But not a craftsman who does everything himself. But rather a playing coach of the team: in addition to organizational and leadership functions in a team of lawyers and lawyers, I do real work with partners and clients of Yurproekt both at the stage of developing a strategy, and at the most important points of almost any project. 

By the way, I first heard about myself as a “playing coach” from my clients. I try to "play" well myself and help perfectly "play" with other team members. 

- That is, when applying for legal assistance to "Yurproekt", the client, as it were, turns directly to the lawyer Dmitry Malinin?

Yes, both legally and from the point of view of a “playing coach”, who is always included when it is necessary for the successful completion of the project. The competence of our team does not raise doubts neither among our customers, nor among the companies with which we jointly resolve the issues that have arisen.

Source: NIA-Kuzbass

Persons

Dmitriy Alexandrovich Malinin