Kelly is a bestselling Author, an Inventor, winner of 2020 and 2021 Lawyers of Distinction, winner of 2020 Legal Awards for Best International M&A Law Firm USA and Corporate Attorney of the Year, and winner of many more. She is also the founder and CEO of GoLegalYourself.com an online company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses with the right legal documents.
A multi-degree lawyer, Kelly Bagla, Esq. is an international award-winning corporate attorney who practices in San Diego, California. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and she lives by her own motto: “Grab the world by the pearls, it’s yours for the taking!”
Kelly Bagla, CEO of Bagla Law Firm, is on a mission to empower businesses of all sizes with the best information with the help of the best legal minds in the business. With the mantra “Go Legal Yourself!” and by creating the “4 Legal Lifecycles” of a business, Kelly broke down how to start, grow, establish and exit a business into 4 easy steps that will make any business bulletproof and extremely successful!
Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey?
I graduated from university back in England and made my way to America. The land of the free and the home of the brave! I got here with the hopes to achieve my ‘American Dream’, and I set out to do so. I put myself through Law School in California, and my focus on being the best landed me a career opportunity to work at the largest law firm in the world. I did that for some time and decided that working for someone else wasn’t what the ‘Dream’ I had envisioned. You see… I have ALWAYS wanted to be an Attorney. To use my platform to ‘save the world’ so to speak.
But… I watched the “big business legal industry” just ‘nickel and dime’ every entrepreneur trying to get their start. I began to realize that the system set in place was designed to make it damn near impossible for the “little guy” to get their footing and have a fighting chance at success.
So that’s when I started Bagla Law Firm, APC., an internationally recognized business law firm with its headquarters in beautiful San Diego, California.
Besides my successful Law Firm, I ventured into: Toy invention, Authoring “Go Legal Yourself!” (and a handful more titles in the series), Keynote Public Speaking, Guest Hosting, Pitbull Rescue, Veteran Service, Podcast Hosting…. Sky Diving… LA Fashion Week?! So many things.
I try not to limit myself, and always try to continue growing; Both professionally, and individually.
When was Bagla Law Firm established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company?
I started Bagla Law in 2009. Our business model surrounds the idea of flat-rate fees for services rendered, and a relationship built where you feel comfortable coming back and asking questions should you have any. We offer a customer-service-based Business Law Practice, that puts its top priority on client satisfaction and transparent practices. We are pretty all-encompassing. Starting a business? Of any kind? From anywhere in the world? That’s any size big or small?? Already have a business and want to make sure you are set up in the safest situation available? We take care of all of that. And we do it in a way that is thorough, concise, comprehensive, flat rate fee oriented, and doesn’t require “long billable hours”. The same can be said of the Asset Protection side of the Practice. Do you need: offshore asset protection? Real estate asset protection? Buying or selling a business? We got you.
Please tell us about the services/products your company is offering? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings?
Bagla Law Firm, APC., is a Business Formation and Asset Protection Law Firm. We help individuals who want to start their own businesses and we help businesses, both domestic and international, who want general corporate counsel, including starting, growing, and selling their business. I am the “Queen of Business Law” for a reason. What I do, I do as an expert.
If I don’t feel that I’m at a level of expertise in the current law surrounding the case, I won’t take the client. I have no issues referring out clientele to fellow attorneys that fill the yin to my yang. But I would only send a client to counsel I felt could treat them in the same manner that we treat our clients.
Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years?
Our firm has a deep-rooted core value of construct that also, despite conflicting with the money-making drive purpose of all businesses, has a burning desire to HELP. I run my law firm the same way I run my life: I know what we’re worth, I know our limitations, I know our expertise, and I know what we can and will do to help be a part of the solution. I won’t ever promise you the world if I can’t deliver on it. And on the flip side of that… ‘if I promise you the world.’ You can count on it being delivered.
There are these unfortunately true stereotypes about lawyers “squeezing blood from a turnip”, and just being downright ‘blah’ people. Here at Bagla Law Firm, APC., we do everything within our power to make sure that our FLAT RATE pricing, and CLEAR, CONCISE, communication, keeps every interaction as pleasant, and as productive as possible. It also takes an entrepreneur to understand the business needs of another entrepreneur, as I run several businesses. I think that’s a huge part of the reason why our clients choose us because we understand them, can relate to them, and they appreciate talking to and working with real business owners – us.
What are the unique challenges your company is currently facing? How have they affected your company?
I’d say our current challenge is pretty run-of-the-mill: Having more work to do than there is time in the day. Here at Bagla Law, we stay busy. But that’s a good thing as we love what we do! So, we recently just hired another associate, and if things continue in the manner, they’ve going… We’ll be looking to hire again shortly. The challenge really is hiring the right people who can fit well within your company culture. For anyone who is looking to hire good people, hire slow but fire fast.
What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements?
Cheesy Bagels and Caffeine. Seriously. It’s the little things that matter. My associates love their cheesy Bagels. One is obsessed with NOS energy drinks (we’re happy to take donations), other lives for her protein shakes… it’s just about having those creature comforts encouraging each individual to do what they do best for the good of the overall team. I try to keep a completely open floor and provide space for anyone to speak up with interjections. All of our associates bring their own unique qualities to the team, and it’s important to remember that they were hired for those reasons. The biggest motivator is to allow our associates to grow professionally and personally and help them achieve their goals. All perspectives are encouraged and considered.
What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies?
Our client services staff try to keep EVERY interaction as pleasant, and as productive as possible. Our clients appreciate this and even rave to that effect on our Google reviews.
Please mention some of your achievements.
• Selected Top Woman Entrepreneur by LA Dreams Magazine
• Nominated as one of the Business Women of the Year by San Diego Business Journal
• Selected Top Lawyer by Marquis Who’s Who
• Selected Attorney of the Month by San Diego Attorney Journal
• Winner of 2020 and 2021 Lawyers of Distinction
• Won Best of 2020 Oceanside Business Services award
• Winner of 2020 Legal Awards for Best International M&A Law Firm USA and Corporate Attorney of the Year
• 2021 award winner of Business Legal Professional of the Year USA by Corporate Live Wire
• Podcast host of Go Legal Yourself – top 20 business law podcast
• Judge on Everyday Edisons Emmy award-winning TV show, TV personality, and Speaker.
Are you planning to launch any new products/services or advancements to your existing offerings? If so, we would like to know about it.
We are always excited to provide new offerings to our clients that will help make their lives better. In fact, we are super excited about our new Coaching Company that we will launch January 2023. It will be called Pitbull ‘n Pearls, The Coaching Company for people who love life and mean business. Additionally, I will be releasing my 5th book later this year called Legal Pearls for Entrepreneurs. You can get your own copy and my other books from www.BaglaLaw.com