Q:

I wonder if you might be able to help me with a little difficulty? I signed a contract with a 
consulting firm at the beginning of this year and found them to be abusive, and unethical in 
their procedures. Now they are suing me for $10,000.00 for breach of contract. How do I 
fight this?

A:

Thanks for your e-mail. I appreciate your dilemma and I wish I had a great answer for you. 
Since I instruct students at Life University about ready to graduate .. I address consultants 
and seminars. Many of the students are heavily in debt and graduate with little marketing 
and business sense .. so they are ripe for consultants. This is not a negative .. in fact .. 
usually it pays for itself and gets the new DC off the ground. But .. in it may also not work 
out .. as may be in your case.

Years back there was a successful practice manager that had two levels of a 
seminar/consulting program. Level one was a seminar fee only with no hands on or 
telephone feedback consulting. The other was a mild seminar fee but a percentage of the 
profits above a set base. There also was an active legal program this consultant followed 
for those DC's that joined and wished to quit .. or not pay their % fee. This was a business 
like all others.

On one hand this was a legal contract and therefore should be binding .. on the hand this 
poor DC that wished to quit or not pay was either unable to pay or unwilling to pay and a 
settlement or agreement should have been met. As far as your question and request .. I 
wish I had an answer for you. I am unaware of the program you are in and rather not use 
my e-mail forum to ask for pros and cons of various consultants. You may wish to contact 
http://www.chiroweb.com and see if there is a forum for you there. I hope you understand.

I would appreciate .. in confidence .. what exactly is your situation and what you felt was 
unethical or abusive. I will never reveal the consultant .. but would keep in mind your 
remarks when advising and consulting others like yourself that ask for my assistance. 

As far as what you can do now ..I would at all costs keep the communications line open. If 
I knew more about your situtaion I could help you better. But in general .. keep things civil 
and write your thoughts to the consultant or their representatives. Determine if there is an 
exit clause or some payout program. If there was some specific area that you felt 
uncomfortable with in conforming with their advice .. this may allow you an out .. but it 
would be by agreement and by an agreeable exit. This is the best you can do. 

$10,000 is pretty hefty and indicates that either you have held up their payments for a 
number of months or you did quite well with their counsel and the fee is high because of 
this. I always found that once someone begins to sour on a program .. whether an 
instructor in school or a seminar teacher/consultant .. everything is shut out and it gets 
bleak and gray. Remember .. these trials are always roadblocks in your path towards 
success. They are meant to get around .. not stop you.
Again .. with limited knowledge .. this is the best I can do.

Good Luck and keep in touch