This is LONG overdue and I'm sure will be MOST appreciated...
Salt Lake City, Utah – Today at the AcuSport dealer show in Salt Lake City, UT, the company’s customers were given an exclusive first-look at FFLGuard, a new legal service offered by The Chiafullo Group, LLP (“the Group”), a law firm based in New Jersey, designed to provide legal assistance to independent gun retailers in the event of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (“BATF”) compliance investigation or civil litigation aimed at scrutinizing the dealer’s business practices, without the costly expenses customarily associated with retaining legal counsel.
“Our mission at AcuSport is to enhance our customers business by providing or endorsing products and services that add ‘real value,’” said Kenan Ikels, Director of Marketing for AcuSport. “Our endorsement of FFLGuard supports long-term sustainability of these retailers’ businesses by providing a first-line of legal defense against the one thing that can shut them down faster than anything else –the loss of their Federal Firearms License.”
“Each year, the BATF conducts more than 7,000 FFL inspections for compliance,” said Chris Chiafullo, principal of the Group. “Statistically, that means roughly one-in-ten gun dealers will become the subject of a BATF audit each year, and if you look at the numbers since 2001, the number of FFL revocations due to compliance issues has increased six-fold. Furthermore, politically motivated lawsuits are not uncommon, as best evidenced by (NYC) Mayor Bloomberg’s ongoing strategy to bankrupt FFL dealers by lawsuit. The average defense cost of a civil lawsuit today is astronomical, not to mention the time and lost income associated with the preparation with the dealer’s legal counsel for the actual legal proceedings.”
“While the prospect of losing your FFL can be frightening, legal help is available,” Chiafullo added. “It’s the first and most important step in protecting your business, and it’s offered, administered and spearheaded by my firm, a group of focused, firearms-specific attorneys who coordinate with other like-minded lawyers for the preservation of the firearms industry.”
FFLGuard is a cost-sharing legal defense program designed by firearms-litigation savvy attorneys, and endorsed by AcuSport, to represent independent retailers. The program is available only to firearms dealers with FFLs who retain the Group; when those dealers participate in the Group’s FFLGuard program, they join other firearms retailers who desire the benefits, proven expertise and shared resources to protect their FFL from both BATF audits and civil litigation.
A cornerstone feature of the FFLGuard program is the BATF Audit Response Unit. In the event of a BATF compliance audit, an FFLGuard professional will be assigned to assist with all aspects of the audit on the firearms dealer’s behalf. Working under the direction of the FFLGuard-designated counsel, the FFLGuard professional will interact directly with the BATF inspecting officials, record and chronicle all proceedings, and will keep the legal team apprised on the potential for a warning conference or revocation hearing. The assigned legal counsel will draft an attorney/client report, attend all conferences and hearings and will work directly with the BATF to draft a dealer-specific Memoranda of Understanding in order to avoid an FFL revocation.
FFLGuard participants also have access to the Civil Litigation Defense Unit, which provides up to 100 hours of legal counsel to the participant, upon the filing of a civil complaint where business practices are called into question. The first 100 hours are provided at only the cost of the retention, and any subsequent hours required to defend the case are billed to the dealer at an hourly rate one-third of the normal billable rate. This reduction results in a substantial savings when compared to the cost of paying a lawyer out-of-pocket to defend a lawsuit.
An additional value of the FFLGuard program is the Legal Help Desk, which can help participants better understand the rapidly changing landscape of FFL rules and regulations with telephone and e-mail access to the Group’s professionally-staffed help desk.
The FFLGuard program is also customizable for specific individual needs, with a variety of
à la carte services including mock BATF audits and additional Help Desk time which can be purchased at special member rates.
For more information on the FFLGuard program, visit www.FFLGuard.com
I'll be awaiting news from gentlemen such as Ryan Horsley over at Red's Trading Post in order to determine if this is indeed a Godsend or just another get-rich-quick lawyer scam.
No comments:
Post a Comment