By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

A group of attorneys at Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham and Coppola saw a need and decided to do something about it.

With a growing number of women-owned businesses in Western New York and more women assuming leadership positions in various industries, they saw a void.

Women in business face unique challenges, and the attorneys say they wanted to help by offering some "formally informal" legal advice via a new program.

"Legal Weapons for the Working Woman" is a marketing/networking program recently rolled out  by Rupp Baase. Through monthly newsletters and quarterly seminars, the law firm is building a network of working women in need of practical legal and business advice to navigate the sometimes murky waters of doing business in the region.

Partner Lisa Coppola called the initial response to the program "fantastic" and said it affirms her belief that many were underserved in terms of targeted legal discussions.

"We feel very strongly about creating relationships with our clients, and one of the byproducts of having those relationships is you get to know each other," she said. "And in this case, you see that we have many of the same challenges in our professional lives."

Attorney Johanna Healy, who teamed with Coppola to create Legal Weapons, said the program was a long time coming from conception to the opening newsletter.

Said Healy: "We've talked about doing something for two or three years, but really it was toward the end of 2010 that we decided we needed to stop talking and do it."

The timing was right for the program, given the challenging economic climate.

"We thought we could provide the legal services to arm people with basic legal knowledge so that they don't have to panic and they don't have to resort to calling a lawyer every single time an issue comes across their desk," she added.

According to Healy, sometimes a woman business owner might not feel comfortable picking up the phone to ask a question. Discussing it at an open seminar, however, may be more inviting.

In addition to offering legal guidance and insight, the attorneys at Rupp Baase see the seminars and newsletters as a way to bring together business owners in an informal network of people sharing common goals and challenges.

"What we have heard from time to time is that women in business aren't always taken as seriously as men are in business," Coppola said. "For that reason, they might not always feel comfortable putting themselves out there and asking some of the more difficult questions."

Among the topics covered are:

• How to be recognized as a woman-owned business

• Ever-changing state and federal workplace laws

• Constructing a new building or relocating a company

• Fiduciary responsibilities for business owners

• Social media in the workplace

• Building a strong employee handbook and other HR issues.

According to Coppola, there are so many changes involving HR-related issues - including payroll, employee benefits and family leave - that it has become a hot-button topic for the Legal Weapons program.

Terri Alverson, meanwhile, is director of human resources at Northtown Automotive Cos. in Amherst. She has been with the company for 20 years and as an early participant in Legal Weapons seminars. She said she has already seen the value in her line of work.

"I really liked the idea that the seminars are so succinct," Alverson said. "It was more of a summary of key issues that can lead you to what you don't know."

You might be listening to the speaker and think, 'OK, I know all of this. Then you would hear something and a light would go off. OK, this is something I need to follow up on because we aren't doing it here.' "

Alverson said because HR and other workplace issues are constantly changing, there can never be too much continuing education.

"What I would like to see is some of my management team participate so that they can understand what they don't know. Sometimes people don't know when to call HR with an issue so they go forward and you have to come behind and clean up," she said. "A program like this could help educate managers and get them thinking about issues before there is a problem." 

David Pfalzgraf, partner in Rupp Baase, said the firm is encouraged about the initial response to the program from the business community.

He sees it as opening the door to other needs-driven legal programs in Western New York.

"We always try to be proactive when it comes to developing value-added programs and seminars for our corporate clients," he said. "So I certainly think we can build from this success going forward."

For information about Legal Weapons for the Working Woman, go to www.ruppbaase.com.