Cabot and Associates, Wednesday

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Okay, so this island was growing on Alex, lately. It still wasn't New York, it still had no courtroom, and she'd still hop a bus back the same hour if she found out the Feds had given her the all-clear. But meeting new people at the bar on Saturday, that had been a good time. And having actual leisure time had not lost its novelty. And, well, she still liked that her door said

The Law Offices of Cabot and Associates
LEGAL SERVICES • LEGAL AID

(OCD-free. I crash, but I will return. SP is nummy and tastes good with milk. This post has been brought to you by the letter Z.)

Comments

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

As she promised Priestly, she would visit the law office and inquire about contracts.

"Hello?"

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Hi," Alex said, perking up at the sight of a potential client. "Please, come in. How can I help you?"

(OOC: I completely missed this notification. I'm so sorry.)

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

"I require some legal advice," Irulan began, "I recently opened a shop in town and commissioned a student to create a new line of hats and I wanted to give him his fair share of profit but I am not certain what the standard for 'fair' is on Earth."

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

A client. Someone less professional than Alex might have stood up and danced. Alex was just going to smile a little wider and pull out a legal pad.

"Have a seat," she said cheerfully. "Right, so -- you'll need a basic contract. Since he's producing the work, there are a few ways you can handle it. Employees often have clauses in their contracts stating that any designs they create become property of the company, and they waive the right to contest that. If he's not a full-time employee, he could license the rights to you, in a limited capacity for this specific run of hats, for either a lump sum or a back-end agreement for a share of the profits, if not a mixture of both."

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

Irulan considered all of these options.

"Priestly, the student, is not a full-time employee," Irulan explained, "however I would like him to have a share of the profits, possibly the lion's share of it. I don't really need the money."

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Very generous of you," Alex said, giving the other woman an appreciative nod. "So we make it a license, then, especially since that means he'll retain the rights for later usage. We'll assign him the majority of the profit, with the store taking a smaller share, after we've covered expenses and overhead. Are there other details we should address? Promotional use? Whether his payout is based on the retail price, or if it fluctuates with discounts or sales?"

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

"I think it's better if I base his payout on the retail price," she answered. Irulan cocked her head, suddenly thinking of something. "Also, would your firm be amendable to a retainer towards House Atreides?"

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Alex said, making a note of that. It'd hurt the store's back end, if the hats went on sale, but the overhead should be covered before his share, so at least they wouldn't lose money. "It can be a flat fee, then. That should help."

She blinked at the rest, looking up with an expression of mild surprise. "It's a small firm," she said. "Just myself and a few employees. I'm not familiar with House Atreides, but I'm always open to staying on-retainer for establishments."

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

Irulan inclined her head, "Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you."

"House Atreides is the ruling Imperial family in our universe," she explained, "But the heirs of House Atreides are currently residing in this town and I thought it would be prudent to have some form of legal representation in this world should we require it. And your firm maybe small but I think it's since it is open in this town you and your employees would better understand our... alien status."

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Then I'd be delighted," Alex said. "Should you run into any difficulties, in town, I'll do what I can to smooth them over. I don't exactly have jurisdiction where you're from, but I can advise you on legal matters based on current law, here, or help decipher legal-speak in other documents."

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

"That's more than I can ever hope to ask," Irulan said, then extended her hand to shake Alex's, "I'm the Princess Irulan Corrino-Atreides but you may address me as Irulan."

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Alex Cabot," she said said, taking the other woman's hand and shaking it carefully. "Until recently, I was an Assistant District Attorney for the city of New York. I'm on a leave of absence. I'm not at liberty to say more, but I can assure you, I wasn't suspended from my position or anything of that nature."

Witness protection was a bitch.