As much as I don't like to pay lawyers' fees (how come I can't get away with $500 a hour and a $15,000 retainer yet?), I am a big believer in getting the right kind of legal advice early on in the process of starting a business. Saves the big headaches later!

But what if those fees are beyond the typical startup budget?

Happily, all kinds of intriguing resources abound, to help you get legal advice from the experts without blowing a month of income.

Here then are a few that I have come across recently (although I can't vouch for them):

Lawbidding.com

This seems to be the eHarmony of legal services, matching clients and their various legal needs to lawyers who in turn are seeking clients.

From their website:

... a free, easy-to-use website which connects individuals and businesses with attorneys. By connecting those who are seeking legal help with those providing these services, LawBidding.com's mission is to make retaining an attorney more efficient and less expensive for clients and to make it easier for attorneys to find potential clients!

...Because these bids can be based on three fee structures: flat fee, hourly rate or contingent basis, this site will allow for options beyond the expensive and sometimes inefficient hourly rate . More bids make it far more likely clients find what they are looking for; whether that be a good price, experience, or location.  Also, there are more attorneys than ever before who are very well qualified to assist clients.

RocketLawyer

This business goes one step further and provides you with the ability to generate your own legal documents, in addition to locating a lawyer in your area, with the expertise you need.

You can even incorporate for free.

From the press release:

Professionals who use the RocketLawyer.com free incorporation service also receive a free trial of Easy Legal Care. With an Easy Legal Care professional plan, anyone can create essential business legal documents like corporate minutes, employment agreements and business contracts. Additional Easy Legal Care benefits for professionals include:

* Free Registered Agent service - a $200 value
* Unlimited do it yourself business legal documents
* Access to free legal consultation from business lawyers nationwide
* Easy collaboration and sharing of legal documents online with anyone
* RocketSign Electronic Signature Service
* Safe, secure online storage of vital documents in the FileSafekeeper

I'm all for saving money in your business where appropriate, and I feel certain that there are many simple documents that you could benefit from creating without the lofty knowledge and fees of a business attorney, but I will offer this caveat:

You need to be judicious in your use of low-cost services as you don't want your frugality to come back and bite you later.

One valuable use of these tools might be to prepare an initial document for review and comment/amendment by your attorney (hopefully one who knows you well and cares for your business's welfare). That way, you may save time and expense, paying for minimal modification instead of the  creation of a new piece of gorgeous legal work!

Anyone else with any good legal tools or resources to share?