How does your membership plan compare to the retainer I pay to my current law firm?
A “general retainer” of, say, $1,000 per year is simply a fee you pay to ensure the firm will be available when you need them. It doesn’t cover any actual legal work – if the firm’s hourly rate is $799, you’ll still need to pay that for every service, consultation, or filing. You’re essentially paying $1,000 just for the right to hire the firm.
A “special retainer” works differently, but isn’t much better for your bottom line. While that $1,000 is applied toward future legal services, it gets billed against the firm’s standard hourly rates of $799 or more. This means your retainer could be depleted after just 1-2 hours of legal work. Once it’s gone, you’ll either need to replenish it or pay those high hourly rates for additional services.
Our $99/month membership takes a completely different approach. Instead of paying for mere availability or a small bank of hours at high rates, you get actual compliance services included in your membership. This covers most routine FCC filings and reports, a monthly consultation, and comprehensive compliance support. There’s no depletion to worry about – your coverage remains consistent month after month. Plus, you get a 50% discount on any work that falls outside the membership scope.
To put this in perspective: Under general retainer arrangements, a station might pay $1,000 just for availability, plus $799-1,000 for each routine filing, plus hourly rates for consultations. The annual cost could easily exceed $5,000-10,000. With our membership, you pay $1,188 for the entire year ($99/month) and most of your routine compliance matters are covered – no surprise bills, no depleted retainers, just predictable, comprehensive legal support.
Our goal is to transform the traditional legal service relationship from one of uncertain, escalating costs to a predictable, comprehensive compliance partnership. We believe broadcasters deserve better than paying large fees just for the privilege of paying more fees later.
Is there an activation or onboarding fee?
No. Members pay only a monthly or annual membership fee.
Why do you require a 12-month commitment?
Our 12-month commitment allows us to deliver maximum value while keeping our services accessible. Broadcast compliance obligations occur throughout the year – from quarterly reports to annual filings. By maintaining a year-long relationship, we can properly plan, track, and manage these requirements. Without this commitment, we would need to charge significantly more to account for shorter-term engagements. At bottom, the annual commitment enables us to offer our services at an affordable rate while delivering comprehensive compliance support and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.
What happens if I need to cancel my membership early?
Members are free to cancel at any time and for any reason or no reason. However, we will bill you for the greater of either (i) actual time we invested into your matter (at our undiscounted hourly rates in effect at the time you cancel) or (ii) for the project-based flat fees we quoted, minus the total you paid for your membership. We will provide an itemized invoice for your review and automatically charge the account you provided us at the time you enrolled.
How does the membership billing work?
Members are billed $99.99 monthly or $1,199.88 annually via credit card or ACH payment. The first payment is due upon enrollment, and subsequent payments are automatically processed on the same day each month or anniversary.
Does the membership plan cover every legal issue for my station?
The short answer, no.
Our membership focuses specifically on routine FCC compliance matters. While this covers many essential regulatory requirements, it doesn’t include services like license renewals, complex transactions, FCC enforcement actions, or non-broadcast legal matters. However, members receive a 50% discount on our standard hourly rate for these out-of-scope services.
What happens if I need legal services not covered by the membership plan?
You should schedule a free consultation to discuss other available plans that may better suit your needs and provide even greater value. Also keep in mind that, as a member, you receive a 50% discount off our standard hourly rate for any services outside the membership scope. Before beginning any out-of-scope work, we’ll clearly identify that it’s not covered and provide you with an estimate based on our discounted rate.
Does the membership plan really include access to “unlimited” STA applications and administrative updates?
Yes, we mean unlimited. Whether you need one STA application or ten, or multiple administrative updates throughout the year, they’re all included in your membership. We don’t put artificial caps on these services because we understand that compliance needs can vary significantly throughout the year.
What’s excluded from the membership plan?
Our membership doesn’t include services such as:
- License renewals
- FCC enforcement actions or forfeitures
- Station transactions (purchases, sales, mergers)
- Non-broadcast legal matters
- Complex technical amendments
- Litigation
But keep in mind that members receive a 50% discount on our standard hourly rate for these services.
Once enrolled, how do I schedule my monthy consultation?
As a member, you will be granted access to our online scheduling system where, with at least 48 hours’ notice, you can book your 15-minute consultation. These focused sessions allow you to discuss any broadcasting legal issue or question with direct access to expert legal advice, without additional billing. While optional, we encourage these consultations to help identify potential issues before they become problems.
Can I still use other law firms while subscribed to your membership plan?
No, that’s a terrible idea. Just kidding. You absolutely can. While we are fully capable of handling all your broadcast compliance needs, you’re free to work with other firms for matters outside our scope or for second opinions.
What makes your firm different from traditional law firms?
Beyond our innovative membership model, we focus exclusively on broadcast compliance matters for Noncommercial Educational (NCE) stations. This specialization allows us to provide more efficient, cost-effective services than general practice firms. We’re also proactive rather than reactive – helping prevent compliance issues rather than just fixing them.
Will you change the membership plans you’re currently offering?
Current members’ terms and conditions remain fixed during their 12-month commitment period. That said, we continuously seek ways to improve and enhance our services by listening to member feedback, adapting to industry changes, and leveraging new technologies. We reserve the right to modify packages at any time, with notice, while honoring existing member agreements.
Can I suggest features?
Absolutely! We actively encourage member feedback to improve our services. Many of our current features were inspired by feedback from noncommercial stations. Your input helps us better understand what broadcasters need and how we can enhance our membership to provide more value.
How do I get started?
You can apply for membership by scheduling a free consultation where we’ll review your station’s compliance needs and ensure that one of the plans in our membership model is a good fit. If it is, we can begin service immediately.