Business Law Blog

Gresham’s Law: “Bad Money Drives Out Good”

We recently assisted a client in mediation hoping to resolve a difficult business dispute among two owners. We engaged an experienced mediator and committed an entire day to the effort.…

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No Friends or Family

A common misnomer for early stage companies is that they are raising funds through a “friends and family” round. What they typically mean is that they are seeking funds from…

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Convertible Notes or Not

Many early stage companies use a financial instrument, called convertible notes, to raise early funding.  The basic terms are: immediate investor funding, unsecured debt, conversion to equity whenever equity financing…

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Crowdfunding is Here! Part 4

WEEK 4 OVERVIEW & ANALYSIS Equity crowdfunding represents unchartered waters for the SEC, and it’s still not clear whether it provides a comprehensive solution to capital access.  As such, the SEC has agreed to…

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Crowdfunding is Here! Part 3

WEEK 3 PLATFORMS The SEC has made it clear: it is very concerned with investor protection.  We see that in the crowdfunding regulations when we examine the new “online intermediary platform”…

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Crowdfunding is Here! Part 2

WEEK 2 ISSUERS Under the crowdfunded exemption, a company issuing securities is required to disclose certain information.  This disclosure, which is included in the offering documents, consists of information about…

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Crowdfunding is here! Part 1

WEEK 1 INVESTORS Finally, it has arrived! After three long years the wait is over, and equity crowdfunding is just around the corner.  The new crowdfunding regulations have been released…

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DTSA Changes Employers’ Contract Language

Defend Trade Secret Act Changes Employers’ Contract Language If you are an employer, hopefully you already knew that the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) became effective on May 11th, 2016.…

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Heidelberg Castle: An Eleventh Century Model

For a brief period in the winter of 1962 – 1963, my family lived in the small village of Ziegelhausen, Germany, in the hills across the Neckar River from the…

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REAL CHAMPION-PROFESSIONAL

Nearly everyone knows the story of cyclist Lance Armstrong—multiple times Tour de France champion, cancer survivor, founder of the Livestrong Foundation.  Doper & cheater & liar & all-around-bully. But there…

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