Local small-business owners finding themselves with basic legal and business questions now have an extra resource to tap.
FindLaw Inc. of Mountain View has added a Small Business Center to its law-oriented Web site (http://smallbiz.findlaw.com), which can be accessed for free. The site includes business forms plus articles and other reference material covering business formation, finance, employment, operations and law.
Tim Stanley, FindLaw co-founder and chief technology officer, noted the site may help new business owners who don’t have the resources to immediately hire legal or business consultants.
A person searching for more information on accounting, for example, can turn to the Web site to find articles like “Accounting Doesn’t Have to Be Mind-Numbing,” forms such as daily cash sheets and income statements, and links to other sites offering accounting tutorials, guides to CPA firms and information on the latest accounting technologies.
The small business Web site also includes message boards letting visitors discuss topics like the legal issues facing small business, or discrimination and harassment.
The Small Business Center is just one aspect of FindLaw. Highlights of the site include legal news, articles and links to Web sites of government and legal organizations. A person who wanted to see the court calendars of San Diego’s federal judges, for example, could find them at the site.
Some of the materials at FindLaw come with admonishments to seek a lawyer for advice on a specific situation.
