Free Legal Advice - NYTimes.com Over several years on the Upper East Side, I became friendly with the owner of a tailor shop I patronized. He had emigrated from Eastern Europe, and his English and savvy were somewhat limited. So, being an attorney, I suggested that if he ever needed legal advice, I would provide it free. Eventually, he asked me to review a new lease for his shop that his landlord had asked him to sign. Among other things, I pointed out that the proposed lease named him individually as the lessee, and so he might incur personal liability to his landlord and others in the operation of his business. I suggested that he form a corporation to be named as the tenant under the lease. Sometime later, I brought a jacket to him for alteration. Before I had a chance to pick it up, the store had a serious fire and was closed for several weeks. When it reopened, I learned that my jacket had not survived the fire. When I suggested to the owner that he might consider compensating me for the loss, he responded that the old business was gone and that he had no personal responsibility. After a long silence, he added, "Remember the corporation?"