One of the listserves I belong to recently posted a very interesting question, and it is a question that comes up quite frequently in the small business world: How do partners resolve disputes? And, most importantly, how do partners resolve disputes when they are fifty-fifty...
As a small business owner, making the change to general counsel legal services is a big jump. There is no doubt about that. There is an element of fear that comes along with this investment. Businesses often think: Will it cost too much? Will it...
A couple of times a year I give a talk to small business owners and prospective owners about legal risk management. We say “legal risk management,” and we do talk about specific kinds of legal risk that are present, but what we really do is...
One of the most important functions of any contract is identifying and managing risk. Most people prefer to avoid confrontation. With conflict avoidance comes a reluctance to address what could go wrong that could possibly ruin a relationship. But, identifying and managing the risk is...
One of the frequent talks that I give to small business owners who are just starting out is the concept of legal risk management. Part of that discussion with new business owners is really what should happen when something goes wrong with the business. I advise...
On a daily basis, any small business owner has to think about finances, legality, relationships, insurance, customers, vendors, suppliers. It is almost impossible for one person to be able to manage all of those aspects all of the time. But a business doesn’t have to...
Often when I’m advising small business owners I tell them that they need to assemble a Management Team. After telling me they can’t afford a management team, many of my clients ask: What does a management team look like? Who would be involved in that...
An interesting copyright case came across my desk recently that I need to stress is probably quite wrong and likely to get overturned on appeal. But nonetheless, the case presented the issue related to copyright and Fair Use. As background, whenever a claim of copyright...
A couple of days ago I met with a client who is dealing with some changes to her employee manual. This is a creative firm and one the questions she had was: what are the intersections between non-compete agreements and freelance work by her creative...
Recently, a U.S. Appellate Court in Pennsylvania issued what is likely the most important employment law case this year. The case, which had some pretty heinous harassment by a supervisor, is probably the first case of significance to directly address some of the issues brought...