Blog
December 30, 2017
Launching a start up is exciting, but there are some legal issues that you should to be aware of beforehand. Here are some of the most common legal issues that start ups face. 1) Business Licensing For the most part, licensing your business is a relatively straightforward affair. The federal, state, and sometimes local governments want to know who you are and what you’re doing so they can ensure all of their paperwork is in order. This is particularly true for taxes – Georgia generally does tax tangible things (toys, furniture, etc., with some exceptions), but does not tax many […]
December 22, 2017
With constant changes in the business environment, your board of directors must be able to respond to crises and changes within and outside of the organization. Unfortunately, many boards are unsure of what their position is, don’t understand the duties of the board or are unmotivated to make changes. This can cause loss of public confidence, a drop in sales, and at times, fines. To avoid additional crises, your board should contain a diverse governing body. Those individuals must be able to perform conflict management and be willing to purge programs which are outdated or in need of overhauling. These […]
November 17, 2017
Protecting your Intellectual Property (IP) is a complicated task – and if you don’t do it correctly, you run the very real risk of your secrets getting out and being used by competitors or others interested in benefiting from it. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do. 1) Register A Copyright, Patent, and/or Trademark These three things are often confused by the public. A copyright primarily applies to works of authorship, including (but not limited to) computer software that your company may be using. A patent mainly applies to processes, machines, and chemicals. A trademark involves the Designs, […]
November 6, 2017
There are many facets to being a CFO. From running multi-billion-dollar tech companies to launching a start-up in the hopes of becoming an industry leader, navigating the path to financial success is not always easy. No matter your experience level, it never hurts to brush up with smart tips for savvy CFO’s. Taking Investor Communications Beyond the PowerPoint Presentation The PPT is a wonderful tool for organizing and sharing information. Investors have become well educated in scrolling through slides, looking for key messages. However, with everyone utilizing PowerPoint, things get boring. Spreadsheet numbers, even positive ones, can easily make investors […]
October 4, 2017
For business leaders and new business owners, succession planning is an important part of creating and preserving the legacy of your company. Your plan should be enforceable and binding, and it should protect you from any potential lawsuits. A strong succession plan will prevent others from attempting to disenfranchise your intended successors. There are several complications that can potentially alter the integrity of your business upon transfer including: The unintentional revealing of confidential information Liabilities involving the communication of your departure, or lack thereof Restructuring of the entity’s organization Sudden death that enacts state inheritance laws (which may not match […]
April 18, 2017
The Defend Trade Secrets Act was passed in 2016. It provides businesses with additional trade secrets protection in the form of the power to file a civil lawsuit in a federal court so long as their confidential information was stolen through either interstate or foreign commerce. The law provides businesses with more “teeth” to their confidentiality agreements. After all, they now have one more avenue to pursue protection, and federal courts have a number of advantages compared to their state-level counterparts. For example, federal courts have broader discovery tools, meaning that businesses might be able to secure more information that […]
March 29, 2017
Of all the agreements your company signs, few carry more potential, or more risk, than a merger or acquisition purchase agreement. Fusing your company with another gives you access to new resources, clientele, and skills, but it also connects you to the other firm’s scandals and liabilities. You should thus never sign a purchase contract without a satisfactory answer to the following questions: What is the state of this company’s finances? After you merge with or acquire another company, its financial health will be linked to your own, so make sure it is solvent, or at least salvageable. Obtain financial statements for […]
December 6, 2016
While contract management may seem like a clear and logical task for business leaders entering the tech startup world, it’s easy to overlook the complex contractual details in this specialized area of law. Here are a few contract negotiation and management tips to help you prioritize your needs and meet your business goals. Know what you own. As a developer, copyright laws grant you ownership of your product from the moment you hit the ‘save’ button. Any design and creative content that went into the work also falls into this category. When you allow someone else (whether a client, an […]
