Lawyers Working Hard

for Hard-Working People

Whether you are an employee or a small business owner,

Dodson & Dodson, LLC is committed to helping you to thrive in your working environment. 

Small Businesses  |  Individuals  |  Areas of Practice  |  Attorney Profiles

Small Business Services

Dodson & Dodson, LLC is rare in its focus on small businesses.  Dodson & Dodson, LLC understands the needs of small businesses and strives to make our legal services both affordable and easy to apply to your business.  Having handled employees' claims, we are extremely qualified to give advice about areas which commonly become problematic in a working environment from an in-the-field perspective rare among attorneys working with companies.

 

Small businesses rarely seek the legal guidance necessary to keep them out of entanglements with litigation. As a result, small businesses too often are dragged through the courts in instances where a consultation with an attorney could have prevented the entire controversy.  Defending against a lawsuit could be a crippling blow, but there is no need to live in fear of such a possibility waiting around every corner.  An effective relationship with an attorney can drastically reduce the chance of litigation, where the business owners heed their attorney’s advice. The cost of maintaining such a relationship pales in comparison to the costs of getting sued just once. 

 

What kinds of services does Dodson & Dodson, LLC offer small business owners?

· Employee handbooks or policy manuals:  Creating or revising employee handbooks or policy manuals by incorporating up-to-date legal guidelines into the needs of your specific workplace environment.

· Contracts:  Assisting with contracts your company may enter into, advising how to comply with existing contracts, or explaining the consequences to expect from getting out of a contract you are in when necessary. 

· Corporate Forms:  Whether your company is just starting out or has been in business for 100 years, it is important to operate under the corporate form which is right for you.  Is it better for you to be a  professional corporation, limited liability partnership, professional association, or something else?  Let us take a look at your business to determine this and then make it happen.

· General  Advising:  Often some of the most important issues a company faces present themselves out of the blue.  Rather than panicking or making a hasty decision, you can simply pick up the phone and ask an attorney what the best course of action might be.

· Defense:  Unfortunately, just as preventative medicine does not ward off all ills, there is no guarantee that your company will never face a situation of having to defend against a lawsuit.  If that situation does arise, however, it would be of great benefit to have already established a relationship with a firm familiar with your operations. 

Employment Law for Individuals

Dodson & Dodson, LLC is committed to helping people who have been treated unfairly by their employers. 

 · Discrimination:  It is illegal for an employer to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, disability, age, or pregnancy.  If you have been fired, passed over for a promotion,  retaliated against, or otherwise treated unfairly based on one of these categories, you may have a claim with which we can help you.

 · Minimum Wage & Overtime:  A close look at your paycheck may show that you are not getting paid everything you are legally entitled to.   Some employers deduct money from your paycheck which they are not legally allowed to deduct.  If you are concerned, let Dodson & Dodson, LLC take a look to determine what you are rightfully owed.

 · Workers’ Compensation:  Have you been injured on the job?  If so, Dodson & Dodson, LLC can help you receive the compensation you deserve. 

· Sexual Harassment:  If you have been the victim of sexual harassment at work, Dodson & Dodson, LLC can help you assert your rights to earn your livelihood without being made to endure this kind of abuse.  In order to address your own feelings of comfort, you may request whether to meet with a male or female attorney to meet with you about your experiences.

 · Other Employment Matters:  Jobs are as unique as the people involved, and many different kinds of problems can arise.  Some other examples of situations may include a family or medical leave of absence, employee benefits,  employment contract issues, being blacklisting after you leave a company.  If you have had problems with any aspect of your employment, contact Dodson & Dodson, LLC today to see if we can help.

Other Areas of Practice

Dodson & Dodson, LLC prides itself on being an active participant in the community and works to ameliorate its various ills.  As such, we embrace the following areas of law:

· Civil Rights Law:  The United States offers great freedoms to people, but unfortunately these freedoms are not always respected.  Dodson & Dodson, LLC  desires to hold those people or entities accountable which take away our freedoms.

· Consumer Rights Law:  Consumers have a right to be treated fairly by the companies offering their products and services.  Often when individuals go up against huge corporations which produce these consumer goods their complaints are dismissed.  By working with an attorney who can help to gather a large pool of wronged consumers together, such companies can be held accountable.     

· Immigrant Rights Law:  Although Dodson & Dodson, LLC does not regularly handle immigration cases, we believe that the rights of immigrants should be protected. 

· Constitutional Law:  The Constitution and its Amendments protect certain freedoms from government interference.  Where the state or federal government has acted in such a way as to constrain these rights, Dodson & Dodson, LLC can challenge such actions.

· Education Law:  Schools and universities have certain obligations to their students.  Where they fall short of these obligations, they should be challenged in order to ensure that our educational institutions continue to improve for the future.

· Aviation Law:  As a pilot and active member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Elton Dodson is intimately familiar with flying from an individual level up through the legislative level.  He is knowledgeable about the mechanics of flying; the dangers involved in aviation accidents, whether it be from mechanical failure, negligent repair, or pilot error; what may or may not be a product or design defect in an aircraft; the complexities of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its myriad regulations; and the interaction between pilots, airlines, FAA inspectors, legislators, and the public.  He has also been published in the area of aviation law.  His familiarity with flight operations from a practical, academic, and legal perspective allows him an in-depth knowledge base from which to pursue legal matters.

· Women's Issues:  Certain issues affecting women do not fall into any other neatly defined category but deserve attention nonetheless.  A few examples of cases which Dodson & Dodson, LLC might handle include harassment for breastfeeding your baby in public, obstacles placed in your path for deciding to change your name (or not) in a nontraditional manner at marriage, and lower pay for women than men for substantially the same work.

Attorney Profiles

Elton U. Dodson, partner, received his undergraduate degree in  Political Science  from the University of Georgia.  He received his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California, where he was an editor for the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly and was published for his law review article entitled ""Access to the Airways After September 11:  Do Aviation Businesses Devastated by the Restrictions Have a Fifth Amendment Remedy?"  He maintains memberships in the Western Circuit Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia (Labor and Employment Law, Workers Comp, Individual Rights, Alternative Dispute, Environmental Law, and Aviation Law Sections), the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), and the National Employment Lawyers Association-Georgia Chapter (NELA-GA).  Elton is an instrument-rated private pilot and enjoys woodworking, flying his airplane, and keeping up-to-date on the latest computer technologies. 

Penn U. Dodson, partner, graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, double majoring in philosophy and psychology.  She received her J.D. from Hastings College of the Law, where she was an editor for the Hastings Women's Law Journal.  She maintains memberships in the Western Circuit Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), and the National Employment Lawyers Association-Georgia Chapter (NELA-GA), and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL).  Penn enjoys wood turning, writing, knitting, and gardening.

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Last modified: 01/16/04