Free legal advice for local businesses
By Contributor
The Kootenay-Boundary region is a hotbed of entrepreneurial spirit, talent and creativity that continues to hatch innovative small businesses. While great ideas and enterprise are here in abundance, the legal steps required to translate ideas into a fully operational and functional businesses can be a major hurdle. In September 2012 , the “Ask An Expert” program kicked off, focussing initially on assisting Kootenay-Boundary entrepreneurs and start-ups with free legal advice sessions. The first two sessions held in Nelson and Trail were a great success. The third session in the series will be held on Monday, March 11th in Castlegar.
When: Monday, March 11 2013
What: Half hour (per client) appointments available between 8:30am-4:30 pm.
Where: Castlegar Chamber of Commerce – 1995 6th Avenue, Castlegar.
[Appointments must be booked in advance. To book an appointment, clients can call the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce at 250.365.6313 or email cdcoced@castlegar.com]
During the first two sessions in Nelson and Trail, Leon Pigott of Pigott & Co provided valuable advice to eighteen businesses from sectors including digital media, IT, manufacturing, finance, construction, professional services, education and tourism/recreation
The program itself is designed to provide a helping hand for small businesses, companies and start-ups that traditionally may not see their issues as being substantial enough to motivate them to pay a lawyer but are critical to their venture. At the previous sessions in September and November 2012, Pigott provided valuable advice on a range of issues including business structure, licensing and franchising agreements, incorporation, IP protection, confidentiality, financing and more.
“It was rewarding,” explained Pigott. “People often don’t know the extent of the resources and assistance for small businesses that are available. Right now, some of these ideas are in the business conception stage, but could turn into a great business and a great thing for the area. I see the Ask An Expert program as a long term investment, to grow the region and build on an existing startup community.”
Ask An Expert: LEGALis a partnership project between the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST), Castlegar Chamber of Commerce, and Leon Pigott of Pigott & Co, designed to ease legal barriers for entrepreneurs and young companies by providing free access to expert advice.
“We deal with a host of immensely talented people who have excellent business ideas and are very good at what they do,” explained KAST’s Executive Director Kelvin Saldern. “One of the common challenges we hear from start-ups is that the legal aspect of the business is not their strength and can be challenging. As an organization with a strong focus on assisting and accelerating entrepreneurial growth in the region, implementing the “Ask An Expert” program, starting with legal services, was a natural fit for KAST to help provide one more small boost to emerging local companies.”
Ask an Expert: Legal will be holding its next event in Castlegar on Monday, March 11th at the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce at 1995 6th Avenue, the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce and Pigott & Co are now putting out the call to small businesses to take advantage of the opportunity for a free half hour with an experienced lawyer to ask the questions that may have been holding them back and get the advice they need to move forward successfully.
“I was motivated to start offering the Business Law Clinics because my experience in my practice is that many start-up and small business owners leave getting legal advice too late in the process,” said Pigott. “Often, some early advice from a lawyer would help to build a strong foundation for growth. I hope that offering a free clinic on business law issues will encourage business owners or anyone with an idea for a business to get some early input on any prospective legal issues and help to demystify the legal process. “
Four Ask An Expert: LEGAL sessions will be held in total in Nelson, Castlegar and Trail, where participants will receive a thirty minute session at no cost to discuss and receive advice on their legal needs.
“This will be a great program for the small business clients we work with,” said Community Futures Central Kootenay’s General Manager, Paul Wiest. “We currently offer free business counselling sessions throughout the region, which is very popular with local entrepreneurs. The “Ask an Expert” program will be a great valued add to this existing service.”
The final session will be held in June 2013 in Nelson.
About the Partners:
Leon Pigott:Leon has been a corporate and commercial lawyer for 15 years. He started his practice at Macleod Dixon, an international law firm based in Calgary. Leon practised in the areas of banking, securities, energy and corporate and commercial transactions. In 2000, Leon left Calgary to pursue a business degree in London, England. In 2002, he obtained an MBA from the London Business School. In 2004, after a brief time spent with Davis & Company, a large Vancouver law firm, Leon joined Powerex Corp., the power marketing arm of BC Hydro. Leon worked at Powerex Corp. for four years and was the head of the company`s commercial law group. Leon moved to Nelson with his family in 2007 and returned to private practice with a focus on corporate and real estate matters. He loves living and working in the Kootenays and is here to stay.
The Castlegar Chamber of Commerce wasfounded in 1946, as a private non-profit organization, “to be the strongest voice for local business, encouraging a climate that enables our communities to prosper”. The Chamber is committed to working to enhance the community’s quality of life by encouraging growth in commerce and supporting sustainable development. Our current membership is 221 members from a cross section of small business, non-profit to large corporate organizations. We offer our members a plethora of benefits, advocacy, networking and professional development opportunities and events to promote their businesses.
KAST is a registered non-profit society advocating for science and technology in the West and Central Kootenay and Boundary regions. KAST whose members live and work in the region, and represent a broad range of interests in local industry, business, education and government. KAST works to foster an educational, business and community culture that values science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship as activities vital to maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the region. www.KAST.com
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