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Small Business Legal Mistakes to Avoid - dated: August 8, 2005 - author: Nyall Bakk - If you~re a small business owner who knows little about the legalities involved with running a small business you~re not alone. The Small Business Association recommends that small business owners take one if not several legal classes in order to familiarize themselves with potential legal issues. Not knowing where you stand click here for full text.

Building Protection into Representative Agreements - entered: August 26, 2005 - author: Glen Balzer - Relationships between manufacturers' representatives and suppliers are similar in many ways to a marriage. Before a contractual commitment, there is a courtship, a time during which both parties are able to examine their prospective partner during a variety of circumstances. If the attraction continues, both parties perform due diligence in order to ensure the absence of any nefarious dealings, both past click here for full text.

Using Electronic Signatures When Doing Business Over the Internet - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - If you have been entering into contracts online or are considering doing so—you may have wondered (as have most businesses) which types of transactions can be handled electronically and what can be done to make it more likely that the agreements will be enforceable. Handling business transactions online can be very efficient and powerful, but it is also territory that is still being defined. Recently passed legislation has started to provide some guidelines. click here for full text.

Strategic Issues for High Tech Entrepreneurs - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Dodd S. Griffith, Esq. - It has always been important for entrepreneurs to plan well for growth. Now that businesses are subject to "Internet time", the window of opportunity to achieve first mover status in a particular market is likely to be very narrow. In order for the founders of a high tech company to achieve exponential growth and have the opportunity to take the company public, the founders must be prepared to deal with the strategic issues that will make this growth possible. The following is a brief overview click here for full text.

Choosing A Form For Your Business - entered: August 26, 2005 - author: Aaron Larson - As you start a new business or expand an existing enterprise, you will benefit from considering your options for the legal structure of your business. It will usually be beneficial to seek advice from legal and financial professionals, in determining the form which will best serve your business and tax planning needs. A sole proprietorship is the simplest form of business to start. Ordinarily, all you need to do is start operating as a business under your own name (or a fictitious name - a d/b/a) and Social Security number, obtain any required licenses or permits, and you're in business. But click here for full text.

Top Ten Mistakes Made By Employers - entered: August 26, 2005 - author: Franklin, Gringer & Cohen, P.C. - Failure to establish a sexual harassment policy and a procedure for investigating complaints. In light of the most recent Supreme Court decisions holding companies liable for the actions of their supervisors unless they have adopted complaint procedures which the complaining employee has failed to take advantage of, there can no longer be any acceptable excuse for a company failing to have a policy and procedure in place. click here for full text.

Is Setting up an Out-of-state Entity a Good Idea If You Are Based in California? - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - People in California often ask if it is advantageous to set up an out-of-state entity to avoid taxes. Nevada is most often mentioned, because it has no corporate income tax and no personal income tax. Despite this, often there is no tax advantage to doing so – and it often is more expensive. A California resident pays California tax on all of his/her income, even if that income comes from outside California. It is very difficult to establish residency click here for full text.

What Are The Requirements In Establishing a Corporation - entered: September 4, 2005 - author: Jinky C. Mesias - A corporation is the biggest type of business entity. So how does one creates one of these giants? But first it is important to define the term CORPORATION- a corporation is an artificial legal entity which is chartered by a state and formed to conduct business. A corporation is completely a distinct and separate entity from its owners, it has its own life and can be held liable for any debts that it may incur. A corporation is also required by law to pay its own taxes. click here for full text.

Strategies Regarding Privacy and Use of Multiple Entities - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - This article does not address the requirements and tax considerations regarding various business entities; that is discussed elsewhere. Instead, this article discusses issues regarding privacy, use of multiple entities, asset protection and related issues. Many people with substantial assets prefer to keep their ownership of those assets private because they are concerned that they are much more likely to be sued if others can identify their holdings. This is click here for full text.

New Posting Requirement In Effect On March 10, 2005 - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Andrea K. Johnstone, Esq. - As of March 10, 2005, employers must provide all employees with notice of the rights, benefits and obligations of employees entering military service covered by the Uniformed Services And Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and employer obligations under USERRA. The US DOL has issued a poster for this purpose. This poster should be displayed where your company posts other notices to its employees. Download a copy of the USERRA notice click here for full text.

Forming California Limited Liability Companies - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - The organizers have great freedom in creating a limited-liability company ("LLC"): rights and interests can be arranged in ways that are not permitted with corporations or limited partnerships. For example, voting rights, management rights and profit/loss rights need not be related. The organizers therefore have to consider many issues regarding how they want the LLC organized. In addition, there are legal restrictions and relatively complicated tax issues that must be considered as click here for full text.

Shareholders Agreements - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - There are a number of reasons to have a shareholders agreement, particularly if your corporation has relatively few shareholders and most or all of them work for the company. For example, you may want to Keep stock issued by the corporation or sold by a shareholder with remaining shareholders as much as possible. Preserve the same percentages of ownership as much as possible. Require departing employees to sell their stock so that the stock remains with those who have the greater incentive. click here for full text.

Advertising Tells the Tale - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Susan M. Richey - The much-ballyhooed file sharing case, MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., has been decided by the U. S. Supreme Court, not, as most commentators expected, on the question of whether or not the act of distributing file sharing technology itself is sufficient to incur liability for contributory infringement. Instead, the Court pointed to advertisements by the defendant software distributors, encouraging users of their technology to copy and exchange copyrighted works freely without permission of the copyrighted click here for full text.

Employee E-Mail Policies - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - Employers should institute an express policy regarding employee use of e-mail. While e-mail can generate a number of legal issues, perhaps the most pressing is an employer's liability for examining employee e-mail. In general, the courts are taking an approach where they balance an employee's reasonable expectation of privacy against the employer's business justification for reviewing employee e-mail. An e-mail policy that reminds employees that the e-mail system belongs to the employer and click here for full text.

Avoiding Legal Problems with Employees In California - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - Employee or Independent Contractor? The primary problem with misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is that the employer may wind up paying all the back employment taxes–including the employee’s share–plus interest and penalties. Different government agencies use different tests. Perhaps the one most used is the “common law” test, where “the most important factor is the right of the principal to control the manner and means of accomplishing click here for full text.

The Merrill Lynch Lesson: Broker-Dealer Incurs $500,000; Agrees to Arbitration and Compliance Review - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Denis J. Maloney - Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. recently entered into a Consent Order with the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation in settlement of allegations that a registered representative of Merrill recommended and solicited customers to purchase highly speculative and risky equity securities that were not registered and/or legal for purchase in the State of New Hampshire. Merrill has agreed to pay an administrative click here for full text.

Corporate Governance: Codes of Ethics to Guide Corporate Conduct - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Susan B. Hollinger - Every day, no matter where we turn, the news is not pleasant for corporate America. The names "WorldCom" and "ENRON" are now part of our everyday vernacular. We see and feel the fallout from a sluggish stock market, layoffs, and general distrust of anything corporate. Significant amounts of invested capital have been lost due to allegations of corporate malfeasance and "insider abuse". Recent allegations of new scandals and a general perception of click here for full text.

TIPS AND PITFALLS REGARDING STOCK OPTION PLANS - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - With stock options the goal is to allow the employees to benefit from increases in the value of the company’s stock. Specifically, the idea is that the employee will receive the difference between: i. the exercise price for the options and ii. the price received from the employee’s later sale of the stock. The board of directors establishes the amount of stock that will be set aside for the options, determines from time to time which employees will receive options and the click here for full text.

Equity Compensation Plans for LLCs - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: Dodd S. Griffith, Esq. - Businesses often associate regulatory guidance with additional red tape — particularly when it comes from the IRS. Consequently, it may surprise many entrepreneurs to learn that the IRS has been very helpful in making it easier for limited liability companies ("LLCs") to offer service providers equity stakes that do not come encumbered by negative tax consequences. LLCs offer many potential advantages to business owners. Typically, LLCs are organized to operate as a hybrid entity click here for full text.

Business Law - entered: March 17, 2006 - author: Stuart H. Grozbean, Esq. - You must decide on what you want to do and see what competition is in you business area. Sit down with a lawyer and/or an accountant to determine how much money you will need to get your new business of the ground and running. Most likely they will work with you on a business plan that maps out the different aspects of your business and financial needs. There are numerous type of business entities, from an LLC, Close Corporation, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship to name a few. click here for full text.

IRS Leaves Narrow Window for Responding to New Deferred Compensation Rules - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: David H. Phillips - Legislation imposing new restrictions on a wide range of compensation arrangements was signed into law last year, effective January 1, 2005. This legislation, the American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA), added a new Section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code governing all "nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements." It is extremely important to understand that the definition of "nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements" is quite broad. click here for full text.

Understanding ERISA: Does Your Participant-directed Retirement Plan Put You at Risk for Fiduciary Liability? - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: David H. Phillips - Today, most employers sponsoring 401(k) and profit sharing plans allow plan participants to direct the investment of some or all of their plan accounts. This control can be as broad as giving participants a self-directed brokerage option, through which virtually any publicly traded security or mutual fund might be purchased, or as narrow as providing a selection of three to four employer-managed investment vehicles. click here for full text.

2004 Cobra Changes Compliance Checklist - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: David H. Phillips and Dana R. Scott - On May 26, 2004 the US Department of Labor announced the final rules regarding notice requirements under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for employees, employers and plan administrators. The following checklist has been developed to assist businesses with implementing these changes. Determine and adopt a uniform effective date for your health plans. The effective date must be no later than the first day of the first plan year that begins click here for full text.

Delaware Series LLC’s - entered: March 21, 2006 - author: From Methven & Associates - Series Are Similar to Subsidiaries. A Delaware Series LLC is (so far) unlike anything else in the country. There is a single LLC with one or more “series”. Each “series” is treated much like a separate subsidiary – except there are not the same formation and administration expenses. Each series operates as its own profit/loss center. Each series may have different owners. Each series may have different management. Voting may be different for each series. There may be tax-free transfers within click here for full text.

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