Blog

January 2013

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Jan 5, 2013 10:55 AM
Noel Gerry

Well, after twenty years of practicing law, I have finally joined the web revolution. My primary areas of practice are set out in my website. I generally act for the owners of small businesses. I too run a small business and feel a kindred spirit to my clients.

There is a great deal of responsibility that comes with operating a small business enterprise. Success (or failure) rests with you – the proprietor. Unlike employees of large companies or the government, we are responsible for every aspect of the operation of the business from ensuring that the rent is paid right down to ordering the paper clips. Our goal is to make a profit so that we, along with our families, will prosper. Developing a business is difficult and requires a great deal of hard work, time and attention, but the rewards are worthwhile. The personal independence that comes from being your own boss tops my list of benefits as well as the satisfaction that comes from building something from scratch.

It is a pleasure to see clients (new and old) succeed at building and running their own businesses. Of course, an unfortunate but necessary element of any successful small business is the ability to manoeuvre through government regulation and red tape - and that is where I come in.

My greatest experience and ever developing expertise is in dealing with business licences – both obtaining them and defending them. I have a broad range of experience dealing with many different types of businesses, as you can see from the content on the website. One thing that I know is that your licence equals your livelihood. If you operate a bar, nightclub or hotel or health centre, massage parlour or automobile dealership, you cannot do so without permission from the government – your licence. That permission is granted on condition that you adhere to the regulations that govern the operation of the business. Many times the regulations are onerous or contrary to common sense and normal business practices. Many times there are good regulations that make sense and are there to protect the public but well-meaning business people run afoul of them through inadvertence or just plain old bad luck. In either case, my job is to best protect my clients from the consequences of allegedly breaching these regulations.

If you have a liquor licence and have been charged with a liquor offence – overcrowding, serving minors, permitting drunkenness etc. – I can help. If you have received a Letter of Incident from the AGCO or Notice of Proposal to Refuse to Renew, Suspend or Revoke your liquor licence – I can help.

If you have one of the many businesses that are licensed by the municipality in which you operate and you have been charged with a by-law offence or are facing a hearing into the continuance of your licence – I can help.

My experience in the legal field over the past twenty years has been broad. I act on a variety of other matters besides my specialty of business licensing. If you have a question or require help, I invite you to make a submission on the contact page of my website. Over the coming months I will post entries on this Blog concerning issues facing small businesses and licence holders. I hope that this Blog is informative and I look forward to hearing from you.