2020 Essentials of Business Law

This article is intended to provide a very high level summary introduction to several bankruptcy concepts that you may encounter in your general corporate or business legal practice. You may already be familiar with some or all of these concepts. This article is not intended to go in-depth on any of the various topics. Indeed, there are countless detailed and lengthy scholarly articles and seminar papers that cover each of the various topics. Providing any comparable level of analysis is simply beyond the scope of this article. Rather, the author hopes that you gain a general introductory-level understanding of these topics from this article and the conference discussion.

Lawyers wear many hats – we are legal advisors, we are sales people, we are risk managers, we are people managers, we are counselors generally, among other roles. Law school doesn’t teach us how to listen to clients, how to build a reputation, how to create a business development system, how to market a law practice or how to delegate work or manage teams, among other things. But, law school did teach us how to learn all of these skills and in your journey to master the first building block (e.g. be a great lawyer), you will be well on your way to attaining all of the necessary skills to build a successful business law practice. Business lawyers who have mastered all four building blocks are highly valued in the business community due to their breadth of experiences and knowledge and their critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.Building Blocks for a New Business Law Practice

Insurance strategies with respect to mergers & acquisitions and contracts (specifically for additional insureds and indemnity provisions). PowerPoint slides.

This article provides a basic understanding of marijuana use and its workplace implications. It is hoped that the article did not make you “dazed and confused.” But the subject is complicated, especially when you consider the broad array of state laws, federal law, and other regulations related to state and federal law statutes. Given the complexity of the legal maze involving marijuana medical and recreational use, you should consult with legal counsel before developing and implementing a marijuana use policy. Moreover, you should also review and analyze your existing policies to ensure that they comply with your state’s law. If your company conducts business in multiple states, then it is vital that you work through the application of the statutes, whether by applying differing policies in certain states or by drafting one policy with built in exceptions for certain states. This approach should leave you confident about your policy compliance and not too dazed or confused.

This article addresses, through a comparison of three neighboring states, an essential enforceability issue employers should consider when drafting restrictive covenant agreements to help maximize their enforceability – ensuring the restrictions comply with the applicable state law.

It is important to evaluate the nature and role of shareholder agreements as mechanisms to protect against shareholder oppression.

Social Media advertising is a billion-dollar industry. Make that $19.3 billion in the United States alone, in 2018. It’s no wonder everyone wants to be an influencer, work with influencers, or be the brand every influencer wants to work with. Advertisers are more than aware that consumers rely heavily on social media and product reviews to make most purchasing decisions. Therefore, if you are an individual that happens to have gained a following on any social media platform there is a high chance advertising money is thrown your way. And that is just the beginning for today’s social media influencer.

This paper will discuss the nature of ambiguous provisions in contracts, how the courts perceive and dispose of them, and, most importantly, some tips on how to avoid common ambiguities in contract drafting. There are many stylistic imperatives to avoiding ambiguities, from the use of simple language in contracts to the reorganization of sentence structure. This article will focus on specific legal issues that arise in contracts that are particularly susceptible to ambiguities and the attention and adjustments lawyers can make to resolve them.

For Texas lawyers who draft non-competes for employers, there are two essential things to remember. First, putting the non-compete in the form of a forfeiture clause won’t necessarily avoid the requirements of the non-compete statute. Second, regardless of what you call it, it is unlikely that a Texas court will enforce a forfeiture clause that functions as an unreasonably broad non-compete. So you might as well make the scope of the discouraged competition reasonable.

The legal industry is always evolving. The changes in technology the past 40 years has drastically changed how attorneys work. When I started practicing, I was told to dictate my memos and briefs because it was a more efficient use of my time. Similarly, recent changes in technology allow us to collaborate with colleagues all over the world in real-time. Not only can we communicate with people all over the world, but we can work closely together too. In addition to technology, there has been a growth of alternative legal service providers that have changed some aspects of the traditional law firm and corporate legal department relationship.

This is the PowerPoint slide deck for the presentation.

This paper and presentation are intended to address the statutory authority for a “Series LLC” (hereinafter referred to as a “Series”), selected statutory provisions relating Limited Liability Companies (“LLCs”), a limited examination of how Series LLCs are taxed, how they are treated under the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”), under the United States Bankruptcy Code, and various practical considerations related to Series LLCs. Limited Liability Companies will be referred to as LLC, Company or Mothership in this paper.

Contract attorneys also known as flexible legal talent, are utilized as legal experts for a short- or long-term engagement. Legility, a legal operations company that provides solutions to legal departments has a flexible legal talent division that provides access to top attorneys with years of experience across diverse practice areas. You get talent when you need it and where you need it.

This is the official brochure for the conference.