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Welcome

From Debora McNichol:

Welcome to McNichol Law Office, PLLC! Whether you need a full-service attorney, or a piece or two of transactional work, MLO would like to be your law firm. Whether you need contracts written or reviewed, a business plan scrutinized, a trademark application filed or defended, a mediation, an appeal filed, or are starting up or winding down a business or nonprofit organization, MLO will do what we can to make the process as successful for you as possible.McNichol LawOffice offers services at reasonable rates and also offers several "set-price" services. These set-price services are aimed to allow the client to know upfront what the costs of service are, and to rid the client of the uncertainty of the "billable hour." Please follow the links above for more information. Disclaimer:The information contained on this website is not intended to be taken as legal advice, but is intended to be used for educating the website’s and blog’s visitors. Nor is the information provided intended to replace a qualified attorney’'s advice to the visitor'’s specific situation. Use of this website does not create a client/attorney relationship between any MLO attorneys and any website visitor. This website is intended to advertise for legal services in the states of Virginia or North Carolina, or any other state where the attorneys of MLO are licensed.

About Us

Debora's Blog:

About Us

Mack's Busy Biz

Debora McNichol is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and Virginia. Her general practice includes “appeals, trademarks, copyright, business, literary agency, non-profit organizations, simple wills, and mediation services. Ms. McNichol also handles traffic tickets in Southside Virginia and Wake County, North Carolina.

Ms. McNichol graduated from Longwood University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science with a mathematics minor, and is proud to have earned her Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Her business experience includes management and business ownership, including a restaurant, an editing business, and a literary agency.

McNichol Law Office is a North Carolina professional limited liability company .

Disclaimer

The information contained on this website is not intended to be legal advice, but is intended to be used for educating the visitor. Nor is the information provided intended to replace a qualified attorney’'s advice to the visitor’s specific situation. Use of this website does not create a client/attorney relationship between any MLO attorney and any website visitor.

This website is intended to advertise for legal services in the states of Virginia or North Carolina, or any other state where the attorneys of MLO are licensed.

Appeals

Don’t Sleep on Your Rights! If you’'ve lost your case and wish to appeal, contact an attorney right away to preserve your right to appeal. For most purposes in Virginia, a losing party has 30 days to file a Notice of Appeal. In North Carolina, “relief” from a lower court decision may come in one of a number of appeal procedures. Each appeal procedure must be acted upon quickly in order to preserve the right to attempt to obtain the relief. Some procedures, in fact, require that the losing party give Notice within only 10 days of the trial. A trial attorney may or may not have given the appropriate notice in open court. Either way, the losing party should know the important deadlines. It becomes much harder to appeal after a statutory deadline has passed, and may not be possible at all. This is why it is so important to contact an attorney early after the case is unsuccessful at trial.Please call or email McNichol Law Office, PLLC if you need a consultation on a possible appeal or an expunction. MLO will examine the record of your case and the relevant case law to determine the viability and the value of an appeal, or the possibility of expunction. If the case warrants an appeal, the attorney will draft, and may orally argue, the appeal. If appropriate and practicable, MLO will handle your expunction.

Copyright IssuesAre you an artist, author, or musician? Did you know that your work does NOT need to be registered with the Copyright Office to be protected under American copyright law? Did you also know that by registering your work with the Copyright Office, you are able to receive legal fees from a copyright infringer if your case is successful?Protecting an author'’s and other artists'’ work is the job of copyright law. Copyrights in a work are usually owned by the creator (or other grantee like a publisher or licensee, or an employer). Copyright law permits the owner to sell, distribute, make copies of, make derivative works from, or to perform or display the work—-- basically, giving the owner the exclusive ability to gain benefit from it.What kinds of works are protected under copyright law? The Copyright Office lists several types of creative works that are protectable:• literary works• musical works, including any accompanying words• dramatic works, including any accompanying music• pantomimes and choreographic works• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works• motion pictures and other audiovisual works• sound recordings• architectural worksAre you the author or artist of a creative work? Contact MLO to help you protect your American and international copyrights, to help you understand copyright exceptions such as fair use, and to address your concerns about infringement.AuthorsWhether you are a published author looking for a better deal, or a new author searching for your best publishing option, MLO can help you through the confusing terms and pitfalls.A first-time author usually cannot find an agent willing to navigate the waters of publishing contracts for him or her. In a furious and frantic attempt to get published, the first-time author might be losing out by taking the first deal a publisher offers. Naturally, the publisher desires profitability and will throw a low-ball offer to the inexperienced author. Sometimes, even, a publisher may desire that the author give up his or her rights to the book altogether for a pittance, —and in the author’'s desire to reach the public and receive exposure, may be willing to accept any such ridiculous offer. This is why an attorney to review a publishing contract is so important. An author who has not been able to land a publishing contract may want to self-publish, which has its own set of challenges. There are several non-traditional publishing alternatives that were not available just a couple years ago. Additionally, publishing with an overseas publisher has more pitfalls and less safeguards fto protect an author. In effort to help you publish and protect your book, McNichol Law Office offers several reasonably priced services, including:• Agent or Publisher contract review,• Representation in ongoing negotiations with a publisher,• Copyright counseling,• Counseling on the legal pitfalls and benefits of non-traditional publishing, • International publishing contract review, and• Infringement counseling and work protection.Contact MLO to schedule an appointment to discuss your concerns about these or any other author issues.
MLO for Business

MLO for Business

Planning a business is exciting and full of possibilities. Developing a business plan requires knowledge of your expertise, but also understanding business principles and some business law. Potential partnerships, silent and traditional, and joint ventures might increase the potential of a business, but also increase the potential for problems.Your business is bound to have ups and downs. The trick, then, is to have more profitable ups and to be able to weather the downs without sinking. And if your business does sink, it is so important that it does not take you down with it. The least expensive way to handle a legal problem is before it happens. This means protecting yourself upon starting your business with, among other things, an appropriate organization, sufficient financing, insurance, good procedures, and legal compliance. Contact Ms. McNichol to discuss your business concerns. She will help you discover issues that will be important to your business and to you. Also, Ms. McNichol can provide some services such as:Conducting “due diligence” reports concerning potential business transactions and persons;Advising on desired trademarks and filing and defending trademark applications;Drafting an employee handbook, sales contracts, forms specific for your business;Working with you to develop a “best practices” procedure in order to minimize legal issues, maximize profits and keep a smooth running business, and;Researching your planned expansion opportunities in-state, out-of-state and internationally, from a legal standpoint.Please email or call McNichol Law Office to schedule an appointment.*Ms. McNichol is NOT a qualified tax professional, and refers you to your accountant, a CPA, or a tax attorney for tax-related issues.

Do you want to maximize the price of your business?

The fact is, your business needs to be in order prior to selling-- the earlier the better. MLO will work with your accountant or an outside CPA to get your books and processes in order so you can demand top dollar for your business as you to prepare to sell.

MLO can also prepare buisness reports for a prospective buyer's due diligence inquiries.

Mediation

Contact Ms. McNichol to discuss whether your case warrants mediation. Ms. McNichol is a trained mediator, and is currently working towards state certification. If you need mediation services, would like to be represented in a mediation, or would like to be coached for your self-represented mediation, please contact McNichol Law Office to schedule a consultation.

Mediation

What is mediation? Mediation is a method of resolving disputes without resorting to a trial or other types of battle. During a mediation, a mediator or mediator team works towards bringing the parties to a negotiated agreement. This may happen as a result of the parties being brought closer to understanding each other's positions. Read more...

Contact Us

Contact McNichol Law Office, PLLC via email or use the contact form to the right. At your choice and as soon as possible, we willl return the communication via email, Skype, or phone.

Please do not send any private information that could affect your rights or jeopardize your case, but a general description of your case, for example, "child custody" or "trademark registration" would be helpful.

Email: DebMcNichol_hotmail.com

McNichol Law Office, PLLC

2821-B O'Kelly St.

Raleigh, NC 27607

Phone: 877-833-3532

Fax: 877-835-2734

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