STC Meeting April

April Meeting Covers Consulting Rates
By Jeanette Evans

Our April meeting--The Meter is Running: Setting Consulting Rates for Independence--was presented by Chris Juillet, a technical writer, consultant, and attorney based in southeastern Michigan.

An STC Fellow, Chris has served STC in a wide variety of roles, including Assistant to the President for Special Interest Groups, founding manager of the Consulting and Independent Contracting Special Interest Group, and President of the Southeastern Michigan community. www.cjplc.com shows his impressive background including a summary of the articles he has published in STC and other publications.

Held at the Holiday Inn Cleveland South (in Independence), our April 15 meeting covered issues concerning the setting of consulting rates, how much to charge, and why. Chris noted at the meeting that there are many ways to establish a consulting rate and many of these neglect basic business principles. Christopher showed why those rate schemes often yield rates that are not appropriate and how to establish a consulting rate you and your clients can live with.

Some of the articles and other topics Chris has tackled in the past include:

- International issues in copyright
- Protecting your website from legal land mines
- Errors and omissions insurance: assuming the risk of professional liability
- Cyberlaw and you: what new media communicators must know
- The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Our community was lucky to have Chris present, after several years of trying, and hear his take on the often challenging task of setting consulting rates.