We provide legal services to small businesses in the state of Utah. Dana Ball is a former litigation attorney who used to sue businesses. She has seen too many good business owners end up in bad situations, so today she helps them avoid common legal mistakes that land them in court. Dana’s 20 years of experience brings value and relief to small business owners who want to avoid the headaches and costs of lawsuits. Dana has made the whole process of having access to a lawyer easy and affordable with set pricing, ongoing legal support, and monthly plans to spread out the costs of safeguarding the business.
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
10th Circuit
Since 2002
Professional Experience
2018 - Current
DB Training LLC, dba ZOTERIA
Small Business Trainer
2001 - Current
Dana Ball Legal Services
Small Business Attorney
Contacts
Dana Ball Legal Services1344 S 800 E Ste 200 Orem UT 84097Telephone: (801) 851-5502
My name is Dana Ball, and I've been an attorney for over 17 years. As business owners we tend to put out fires as they happen and that can be stressful. Here, we help small business owners avoid common mistakes that land them in court. We only work with small businesses that have less than 50 employees and we focus specifically on two areas, contracts and employees. We do this because 70 percent of all litigation that involves small businesses has to do with problems with contracts and employees.
Small businesses, they need a trusted business partner like us because they are less likely to have dedicated legal resources. They don't have an HR department; they don't have in-house counsel. In fact, it's usually the business owner who's wearing all the hats.
The horrors of litigation are expensive legal fees, business disruption, and low morale. Think about this. Only 20 percent of small businesses survive the first four years of business. To help you survive, we offer practical advice that our clients can implement directly into their business's day to day operations. No one is immune from lawsuits, so you must, as a business owner, be as careful as possible.
Where most firms charge by the hour, our approach is different. With our affordable pricing. You will know are fee before we begin work. No more hourly billing. We offer monthly subscription plans, flat fee and pre-agreed pricing.
Why choose us? Well, to save money, many people rely on their payroll company for HR advice or they go online for legal services. Part of making sure that clients have the right legal protections in place involves getting to know their businesses. Our years of business ownership and litigation experience -- it sets us apart, because we know what steps are necessary to avoid court. We no longer represent clients in court, because our goal is to avoid having to go to court at all. Your attorney should add value to your business by protecting your business and we aim to do just that.
Avanta Business Law 526 W Center Street, N106 Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 801.851.5502 Avantabizlaw.com
Blog Article: https://danaballlaw.com/what-about-civility-in-our-workplaces/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkAEtaESPlo&t=10s
Workplace conflicts happen. Individuals can generally resolve their own disputes through open and respectful communication. Allowing your employees to work out mild conflicts is a great way to build team morale and save precious management time. In fact, handling conflict issues can take 25 to 40 percent of a manager's time.
Why do conflicts happen at work? Power struggles, inadequate training, management style, trouble dealing with change, poor communication skills, inability to control one's emotions.
In the workplace, even smart and capable people can get caught up in their need for emotional superiority, instead of staying focused on the job at hand and working together as a team. Don't worry. Following these steps will bring the focus back to why we have a job and the importance of teamwork.
Upon notice of a conflict issue, the first step is to begin by speaking privately to each person involved. This way you can develop a clear understanding of the entire situation. When talking to each person, show concern and always remain objective. Do your best to listen without taking sides. Do not agree or disagree. Second, research, each version of events and then make a brief written summary of what happened. Determine what caused the conflict and come up with a possible solution to the problem. Third, meet together with all the employees involved in a private room. In the meeting, be cordial, positive, and optimistic. Ask those involved to do the same. Fourth, summarize the conflict back to the involved employees. Explain the situation from both sides as you have come to understand it. Do so while maintaining an objective tone. Confirm the accuracy of your understanding with each person. Then allow each person to add or correct any details and propose solutions they think will be effective. Fifth, decided on a final solution based on ideas posed by those involved as well as ones you've come up with as the objective party. Finally, log the conflict including both sides of the story and it's resolution into a document. Print out a copy for each person involved and have them sign a master copy to confirm that the information is correct. File the signed document in the personnel files for each individual. This will be important in case the conflict continues or it comes up again.
Remember, do not avoid the conflict hoping it will resolve itself. The key is dealing with conflict issues immediately.
We help clients avoid common legal mistakes with contracts, entity formation, or human resource issues. Legal costs and damages can cost $150,000! The financial hits of litigation can shut down a business. Dana’s 20 years of experience brings value and relief to small business owners who want to avoid court. Dana has made the whole process of “getting a lawyer” not only easy, but affordable with set pricing and monthly plans to spread out the costs of protecting the business.
Avanta Business Law 526 W Center Street, N106 Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 801.851.5502 Avantabizlaw.com
Blog Article: https://danaballlaw.com/what-about-civility-in-our-workplaces/
As a supervisor or manager, you must be able to conduct both positive and negative employee meetings. This includes giving verbal warnings. If you conduct it effectively, the employees should feel that you are giving them a chance to correct the behavior and avoid missing growth opportunities within the company.
To give a verbal warning, follow these steps. First, prepare in advance. Document in the problem, and how the employees behavior conflicts with company expectations. As you do this, make sure the employee is aware of the company's expectations. Is there any written documentation showing that the employee is aware of these expectations? Did the employee sign the employee handbook acknowledgment?
You will also want to consider mitigating circumstances. This may include business conditions as well as conflicting directions. Review the employee file for prior documentation. You want to look for performance appraisals. Records of previous warnings and similar records. Decide on a time and place where the meeting will not be interrupted. Make sure to conduct a meeting privately and away from co-workers.
Third, get right to the point. Ask questions which encourage the employee to provide an explanation or give you more information. Let the employee talk about what is happening and why their performance is not meeting company expectations. Doing so will help you finish the discussion with a clearer view of the problem and the employee will likely feel that their concerns have been considered.
Fourth, come to an agreement about how the employee's performance is going to improve. Let the employee know that they are important to the team and reiterate your expectations so that there's no confusion.
Finally, follow up with the employee by emailing a summary of the discussion. Ask the employee to confirm they received the email and that they understood the conversation in the same way. Print and place a copy of the email and returned acknowledgment and the employee's file.
After discussing the problem, if the employee does not seem serious about improving, you must take a firmer approach. Reiterate the importance of changing their behavior and let them know that if they don't improve, they could lose their job. Tell them that at this point you're giving them a verbal warning that will be placed in their personnel file. If the conversation has been positive, let the employee know that you are glad to have had the discussion and that you are confident in their ability to meet expectations going forward.
We help clients avoid common legal mistakes with contracts, entity formation, or human resource issues. Legal costs and damages can cost $150,000! The financial hits of litigation can shut down a business. Dana’s 20 years of experience brings value and relief to small business owners who want to avoid court. Dana has made the whole process of “getting a lawyer” not only easy, but affordable with set pricing and monthly plans to spread out the costs of protecting the business.
Avanta Business Law 526 W Center Street, N106 Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 801.851.5502 Avantabizlaw.com
Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
