Lately, I’ve found myself starting the morning off at the kitchen table, pouring over the Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle. For a beginner such as myself, I find them just challenging enough to be enjoyable, but still doable, in time. Just last week I took pause on number 39 across (9 letters)—the clue being: “what entrepreneurs seek to do.” Well wow! Where to even begin, I thought to myself, as I began mentally scrolling through the many aspects of running a business.
Then it hit me. There are tasks entrepreneurs are required to do, by nature of owning and growing a business, and then there is what they seek to do. Their why…The point of it all. To make society better? To contribute? To F-I-L-L—A—V-O-I-D. And there it was. To see a blank space, an opportunity, and to fill it, with a product, an idea, an invention. It’s the simple framework that America is rooted in, and what still makes us great… the ability to create something tangible from a simple idea, and with hard work and ingenuity, to scale that idea into success.
We recognize that businesses are so varied that there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to getting them off the ground and laying the groundwork for prosperity. Our talented team of attorneys has experience in helping small business owners across multiple industries navigate the many issues that arise when starting a business. Beyond our experience, we also have a passion for providing comprehensive legal solutions for small businesses and individuals. Our lawyers can help develop a business strategy that avoids adverse legal consequences, while focusing on the end goals. We handle the details and all the things you “have to do,” so you can focus on what it is you seek to do.
Read on for some of the matters we handle in helping entrepreneurs protect and scale an idea:
Startups
- Formation/bylaws/operating agreements/partnership agreements/succession planning
- Board of directors/trustee agreements
- Conflicts of interest and self-dealing
- Board succession planning
- Strategic advisor agreements
- Employee handbook and EEO compliance
- Special purpose entities
- Joint ventures
- Subsidiaries and holding companies
- Protecting Intellectual property
- Securing IP rights in foreign countries
- Securing the American IP rights of foreign-domiciled entities (esp. Trademarks)
- Licensing IP rights in the US or globally
- Sale of IP rights, company divisions, or entire company (exit)
- Secured and unsecured loans
- Convertible debt
- Crowdfunding
- Reg D exempt investment vehicles
- Angel investors
- Venture capital (pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding)
- Revenue-stream financing
- Employee and advisor incentive compensation (stocks, stock options, bonuses)
- Tax-exempt status, for example 501(c)(3)
- Supplier/vendor contracts
- Government procurement contracts
Patents
- Establishing businesses and non-profit organizations including choosing and forming LLC, L3C, B-corp, S-corp, C-corp, partnerships, and D/B/As
- Bylaws and operating agreements—adding or removing members, partners, and shareholders
- Term sheets negotiations and closing on private equity and non-dilutive funding including venture capital, angel investors, “friends and family” rounds, convertible debt, secured debt, grants and loans, and applications for women-owned business, veteran-owned business, other preferred contracting statuses;
- Employee incentive compensation, advisor compensations; review contracts with independent contractors, subcontractors, board members, and employees
- Review service contracts including government contracts, scopes of work, 1099 independent contractors
- Federal tax-exempt applications for non-profit organizations including 501(c)(3); creating and reviewing governance documents such as Board of Directors or Trustee obligations, bylaws, operating agreements, procedural review
- Patent drafting, applications, and prosecution of pending applications before the USPTO
- Patent interference
Trademarks
- Trademark applications, oppositions, and litigation including cease & desist and licensing negotiations
- Trademark applications as US counsel for foreign-domiciled entities
- Copyright registrations
- Acquisitions, novations, assignments, mergers
- Licensing and royalties for sales and production
- contractors
- Federal tax-exempt applications for non-profit organizations including 501(c)(3); creating and reviewing governance documents such as Board of Directors or Trustee obligations, bylaws, operating agreements, procedural review
- Patent drafting, applications, and prosecution of pending applications before the USPTO
- Patent interference