Business Law

In my practice as a business law attorney, I have helped many clients realize their dreams of owning their own businesses—a large number of which are small businesses with just a few employees. While I certainly take a great deal of pride in assisting small business owners, I am troubled by what I see as a trend of business owners who have minimal or no plans for the future of their companies. By “future,” I mean the time after the business’s founder and first owner is no longer able or […]

I realize that it seems like I have been discussing quite a few trademark disputes over the last few months, and to be fair, I have done just that. First, it was the Tom Brady filing, then I mentioned trademarks when talking about choosing a good name for your business, and finally, I covered the lawsuit filed against Netflix by the company behind the Choose Your Own Adventure books. However, as a business law attorney, it is hard to ignore important items such as these when they come up, even […]

Depending upon the industry in which your company operates, you might need to be very careful to avoid violating existing trademarks and copyright protections. If you own a printing or publishing business, for example, you cannot sell or distribute any works without having the proper licensing rights in advance. In my practice as a business law attorney, I have helped many clients obtain the appropriate licenses for the products they wish to sell. I have also worked with others in securing trademark and copyright protections for their intellectual property. It […]

Whether you run a small, one-person business or you are on the board of a huge, multi-national commercial entity, it is important for you to be constantly thinking of ways to market your business. If your customer base begins to lose interest, your bottom line will inevitably suffer. This is even true for organizations that dominate their industry—including professional sports leagues with anti-trust exemptions. As a business law attorney, I am always interested to see how sports leagues such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and […]

As a business owner myself, I understand that owning a business takes a tremendous amount of dedication and work. You probably put your blood, sweat, and tears into helping your business grow. It is understandable that you may be hesitant to sell the business. It can be hard to know exactly when the right time is to sell a small business and move on to the next chapter in life. To figure out whether or not selling may be your best choice, you will need to take stock of your […]

As a business lawyer, I have helped many entrepreneurs launch their own startup businesses. Opening your own business can be a thrilling undertaking. Being your own boss and controlling exactly how your business is managed can bring you a great deal of satisfaction. Before you open a new business, you will need to choose a business name. The name you choose for your business in many ways becomes it identity. A good name will help grow your business while a poor name could be a major detriment. As you decide […]

If you are a small business owner, you know how important public relations and marketing is. Even if you offer the best products or services around, a major PR mistake can absolutely ruin your business’s reputation. In my experience as a business law attorney, I have seen companies make creative PR decisions that increased their brand awareness, brought in more customers, and significantly increased their profits. However, I have also seen businesses make hasty choices which seriously damaged the relationship between their company and the public. If you are a […]

In previous posts on this blog, I have talked about a number of marketing strategies and niche products from a wide variety of different companies throughout the country. I will be the first to admit that many of these efforts have been little more than publicity stunts. At the same time, if a publicity stunt garners enough attention and helps the business in question increase its incoming revenue, one could certainly argue that the stunt is a success. As a business lawyer with more than 40 years of experience, I […]

Every week, there seems to be a new, politically charged controversy that makes national headlines. Not all that long ago, for example, news outlets were abuzz with stories about bakeries that did not want to make cakes for same-sex weddings. This week, another cake-related story has started making the rounds on news sites and social media networks—but this one is much more light-hearted and quite amusing. As a business law attorney, I am always interested to see how businesses and customers alike respond to honest mistakes or mix-ups. With that […]

Being a business owner is unlike any other type of job. When you buy a business or start a business, you become your own boss and gain the ability to control exactly how your company is run. Oftentimes, buying an existing business presents fewer risks than starting your own business from scratch, but an entrepreneur looking to purchase a business must still be diligent in choosing the right business venture. There are certain “red flags” which may be warnings that a business opportunity is not as great as it appears […]