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Although often limited liability companies omit "LLC" at the end of their business names for marketing purposes, it is advisable to keep the word "LLC" in, so that it is clear that members are acting on behalf of the company that provides limited...
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Radical steps need to be taken to ensure that our children's privacy rights are not being compromised when they play games on mobile devices. A recent FTC Report discusses the current practices.
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The SEC and FINRA take small steps towards implementing the crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act. When will this process be complete?
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This article analyzes some of the negative results stemming from Facebook's much-publicized IPO and constructs an argument about why many companies might be better off not going public. The article points to two main reasons why companies had...
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This article points out that small businesses and startups can raise capital both inside and outside the United States. The article focuses on non-domestic fundraising and reviews the applicability of the federal securities laws to these...
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This article comments on the results of a recent survey which inquired about the friendliness of the various states' legal regimes to small business owners. The article highlights the regions of the country where states tended to do well,...
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One group of applications which have risen in popularity on the backs of smartphones and social media has been "free" games which allow/encourage users to make purchases (with real money) to enhance their game experience. This article reviews...
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This article enumerates the various changes to the federal securities laws contained in the grab-bag of initiatives called the JOBS Act, and discusses what these new rules might mean for startups' access to capital. Ultimately, the article...
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This article reviews a recent opinion in a trademark infringement action brought by Research in Motion (maker and trademark registration holder of Blackberry) against the maker of Crackberry-branded products. The USPTO board's opinion in the...
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This article reviews a survey released by a prominent law firm which specializes in emerging growth companies' transactions; the survey which is the subject of this article focused on the terms of seed financing transactions. The article pulls...
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This article notes the Senate's approval of their version of the Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act and highlights both the Act's stated purposes and changes to important facets of the crowdfunding exemption created by the JOBS Act. The...
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Many law schools have clinics and provide students with the opportunity to extern at various businesses, firms and judicial chambers to gain real world experience. As this article relates, however, these are not at all exhaustive of the...
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This article concerns New York's take on benefit corporation legislation. Benefit corporations, as the article explains, generally allow their directors and officers to consider some socially desirable goal while overseeing or conducting...
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This article provides a comprehensive, high-level overview of legal considerations for Mobile App Developers. The author herself, in addition to practicing business law, co-founded a mobile app development company, and many of these points...
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Residents of New York City (especially those of us living or running a business in Manhattan) pay some of the highest (if not the highest) tax rates in the country. This article details some marginal relief to New York residents (statewide), in...
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The accredited investor definition in Regulation D, promulgated by the SEC, plays a significant role in the startup financing ecosystem; the definition basically (as a practical matter) delineates the universe of people who invest in offerings made...
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This article reviews the recent litigation surrounding the fate of an ex-employee's Twitter account. As the article relates, an employee of Phonedog tweeted under an account containing the company's name. When the employee left, his...
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This article comments on legal fees paid by Silicon Valley startups. As the article observes, startups are paying hefty fees for formation and Series A seed capital financing rounds; however, these startups are also too often opting for large...
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This article relates the news that the annual H-1B immigration visa cap for 2012 was reached on November 23, 2011. The article also highlights an important implication of this news--the speed of reaching the H-1B cap has traditionally been...
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This article is the second part of a series comparing the advantages and disadvantages of structuring the acquisition of a business as an asset purchase and a stock purchase. This part of the series analyzes why you might (and might not) want...
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There are many ways to structure the purchase of a business; helping you select the best is part of the reason why skilled business lawyers are so essential to helping your company realize its strategy. This article reviews the pros...
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Because banks are still somewhat hesitant to lend to all but the most creditworthy borrowers, many small business owners and entrepreneurs are having to turn to private parties (such as friends and family) for much-needed loans for their...
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When you are registering to obtain a copyright on a given work, one of the items you must submit to the Copyright Office is a copy of the work being copyrighted. However, sending "works" such as source code to a third party (even the Copyright...
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This article highlights some of the perils which can befall you and your business if you fail to consult with appropriate legal counsel. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) places limitations on the types of information you can...
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Any software which your company writes will automatically be protected by copyright, but registering a copyright with the United States Copyright Office confers many benefits which make it well worth the cost. This article highlights five of...
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An employee sends an e-mail to their attorney from their work computer. Is this e-mail protected by the attorney-client privilege? The answer, as Arina Shulga details in this blog post, is "it depends on other facts." Read this...
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This blog post by Arina Shulga examines one of the ways which the internet is changing how businesses fulfill their legal needs--low-cost, do-it-yourself companies which are set up as businesses (not law firms), and owned by businesspeople (and not...
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I think the issue is not reducing legal costs of small businesses, but rather communicating with the client about the fees, giving clients accurate estimates (not fixed fees) and offering payment plans or options. Pressure to reduce legal fees...
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New York requires any business forming in New York, or which begins doing business in New York, to publish a notice of formation in two newspapers. Given New York City's heightened costs of everything, including advertising space, this can be a...
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A trade name is distinct and separate from a trademark, as Arina Shulga explains in this article. A trade name is the legal name of your business. A trademark is used commercially. Trademarks have different protections and different...
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Under a New York law, the top ten shareholders of privately held corporations (incorporated in New York) can be held personally liable for unpaid employee compensation. In this blog post, Arina Shulga explains the nuance and most relevant...
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New York City has set a goal for its agencies to assign varying percentages of their contracts to M/WBE certified businesses. M/WBE is available to a business, in short, if they are either minority- or woman-owned. In this blog post,...
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In spite of greater informality, when a startup company raises money from the founder's family and friends, that company is still making a securities offering, and so must either comply with federal and state securities laws or structure their...
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Federal and state securities laws can make it prohibitively expensive and/or burdensome for a startup company to raise money from its founder's friends and family. In this blog post, Arina Shulga describes an alternative way to...
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Arina Shulga has done a lot of work with small businesses, and in this article, she shares eleven lessons and steps which she thinks everybody thinking of starting their own business should take to heart. These lessons come from the point of...
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Distinguishing an independent contractor from an employee matters to a small business owner; business owners need to (for example) pay unemployment insurance and withhold taxes from employees, but do not need to do so for independent...