Archive for February 2016
Trying to Keep Legal Costs Low? When Should you Consider Breaking the Bank on a Lean Budget?
In my experience, most entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses want to limit their legal budget to the extent possible. But at what point will not finding the money to spend on legal fees do more harm than good and end up costing you more money? In my practice, virtually all of the expensive legal problems…
Read MoreChallenging the Silicon Valley Belief in the Necessity of Venture Capital
I would argue that there is a widely held belief among entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that you can’t build a successful company without venture capital money. However, the average company in Silicon Valley or the rest of the United States never receives an investment of venture capital. Are the companies launched without an investment of…
Read MoreIt Pays to be Cautious When Asked to Sign a Contract with an Employer
As a Silicon Valley tech transactions attorney, I regularly receive calls from engineers, developers, and other employees in the technology industry who have concerns about something that an employer has asked them to sign in the past or is asking them to sign at the time of the call. Inevitably the person calling is torn…
Read MoreBuilding a Successful Business based on the Commercialization of an Open Source Product
It’s not every day that I get a call from an entrepreneur or start-up looking for representation in conjunction with an open source-based business, but the question of how to develop a profitable company when your business is built around an open source product interests me as a software attorney, since if you know anything…
Read MoreCould a Strategic Alliance With the Right Business Partner Accelerate the Growth of Your Business?
If you are an entrepreneur or you work at a start-up or small business, you have likely spent many hours contemplating how to grow the business to the next level. If you are honest, it is probably the one thing that is almost always on your mind, even in your so-called leisure time, assuming you…
Read MoreContemplating a Response to a Patent Troll? You May Want to Consider this Company’s Example
If you are in the technology industry, then you are likely familiar with the concept of the “patent troll” and realize that it is almost inevitable your business will at some point be approached by one. Patent troll demand letters have unfortunately become one of those business realities that every technology business just has to…
Read MoreLatest Data Breach Involving Taxpayer Data Stored in Tax Preparation Software Suggests Need for Greater Government Regulation
With all the recent calls for greater FTC regulation of consumer data generally, it’s interesting that there has been very little commentary about the need for greater regulation of taxpayer data. However, the disclosure of a second data breach since the first of the year affecting a major tax preparation software company suggests that consumers…
Read MoreNegotiating Your First Big Deal as a Start-Up or Entrepreneur? How to Pick the Right Lawyer to Get it Closed
If you are a start-up or entrepreneur and are on the verge of landing your first big business deal, you may be wrestling with the idea of hiring a lawyer for the first time to assist you on negotiating and reviewing your important business contract. It may be tempting to call the firm you are…
Read MoreCongress Introduces Bill to Include Women in Draft: What Should be Next Steps?
A bill was introduced in Congress today requiring women to register for the draft. If you have been following the issue of including women in the draft, the debate over the issue really began when the decision was made to officially allow women to serve in combat. The media publicized over the last few days…
Read MoreTo Cut Legal Costs, Start With Taking a Hard Look at Your Business Partners
If your business is like most, you currently work with one or more really difficult customers or clients, whether because you currently generate significant revenue from that customer or client or because you anticipate generating significant revenue from that customer or client in the future. But is this really the right strategy for your business? …
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