She further informed me she would not write it on a little piece of paper and cram it into large, overflowing pickle jar sitting atop refrigerator labeled "honey dew". (That was a pretty good idea three years ago but I think concept has run its course.)

I told her I didn't have that kind of money and I thought we would just exchange cards like we did last year.

Then she hit me with www.yourfreelaptop.con (oops, a Freudian slip). This is a vertical referral program with 77 "levels" (they call it a ladder). A person joins for $29 and after 77 more people join, original person rejoins for another $29 and gets a laptop computer.

I told her it was a scam and most of entrants would never see a laptop. (Greased Lightning and I had reviewed program almost a month ago when a friend, now former friend, recommended it.) We argued for a while over value of reentry and it became very clear this was "hook" that was convincing some trustworthy netpreneurs to promote it.

Glad you asked.

First, to answer why, consider this: one out of four small businesses have been sued or threatened with a lawsuit in last 5 years. My former employer, a small business, was sued three times in six months.

You are almost three times more likely to end up in court than in hospital, according to figures from National Center for State Courts and American Hospital Association.

You need a legal protection plan to protect your business from people circling over your neighborhood like buzzards over a dying man. They're looking for someone to sue.

Want proof? A new civil lawsuit is filed every two seconds, according to National Center for State Courts.

A legal protection plan is a way to reduce likelihood of your business being sued, or if sued, to reduce damage to your business.

Part of a legal protection plan is periodically checking to make sure you are not breaking law in your dealings with employees, suppliers and customers.

Does your business form protect you or expose you? Consider form of business ownership you used when setting up your business. That is also part of a legal protection plan.