Category: Business Law

Many employers require their employees to sign agreements which contain covenants not to compete with the company.  The enforceability of these restrictive provisions varies from state-to-state and depends on a variety of factors. A former employee who violates an enforceable non-compete agreement may be ordered to cease competitive activity and pay damages to the...

Your family-owned business is not just one of your most significant assets, it is also your legacy. Both must be protected by implementing a transition plan to arrange for transfer to your children or other loved ones upon your retirement or death. More than 70 percent of family businesses do not survive the transition...

Should you incorporate your business in your home state? What about Delaware or Nevada, long known as havens for corporate entities? This decision should not be taken lightly because incorporating your business in a particular state will determine, to a significant extent, the laws that will apply to your business. Often times, the best choice...

Like most relationships, business partnerships frequently experience highs and lows, with periods of both prosperity and turmoil. When ongoing disagreements cannot be resolved, or one partner decides to leave the business, the remaining partner(s) often seeks to buy out the shares of the departing party. If there is no shareholders’ agreement in place, and...

Since the 1930s, businesses wishing to secure investment dollars have faced regulations banning them from appealing directly to the public via advertising. Instead, businesses have only been allowed to pursue investment funds via prescribed channels and from wealthy individuals. The reasoning behind the ban was that if the general public were subjected to direct...

Email, intra-office messaging and digital image transference are hardly new concepts, however few business owners realize the long-term implications of this style of free-flowing communication, particularly in light of litigation and e-discovery requests. If you are a business owner either engaged in litigation or preparing for possible conflict in the future, one of the...

A registered agent is someone that you as a business owner designate to accept legal papers if your company is sued or named in any type of administrative agency case. If your business is legally established within a state in which you don’t maintain a physical presence, you are often required to appoint a...

Most Legal Issues Can Be Resolved Before They Even Arise. Here’s How. Most people are familiar with the idea of “preventative” legal action. The term refers to anticipating legal issues and conflicts and working to prevent them, rather than solving them or “winning” them once they occur. Companies can benefit from implementing preventative legal...

If you have a family business or are thinking about starting one, kudos to you! There are few better ways to create tradition, meaning and bonds within a family, and a family business can be a gratifying way by which to build wealth. Family enterprises, however, can bring conflict, legal challenges and financial distress when...

SEC Registration Exemptions Under Regulation S Following the stock market collapse of 1929, Congress tightened restrictions on businesses’ activities related to the sale of securities. A key provision of the Securities Act of 1933 is the requirement that, with few exceptions, securities issuers must register securities transfers with the SEC. Now, seven decades later, the...

Buying a franchise can be a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to start a business using a successful operational structure of a proven model. Despite all the resources that a franchise provides, not all are successful. Unfortunately, with most franchises, you can’t just shut your doors and cut your losses; getting out of a...

Starting a business is the dream of a lifetime for many Americans. While most entrepreneurs prefer to focus on the aspects of the business that will result in profit, it’s equally important to consider what will happen in the event of an emergency, injury or even sudden death. In preparing for the “worst case...