I recently got an inquiry for someone with an unusual entity selection question. Here it is: “I am in the process of creating a non-profit. Can you please tell me whether you think a non-profit should be an LLC or Corp… and why?” Now, this person didn’t just pull my name out of a hat;…
This WSJ article describes some of the problems that small businesses have faced with names. The most significant one, from my perspective, is the trademark lawsuit that cause the cookie company to change its name after being featured on the “Rachael Ray Show.” What a waste of potential marketing value! Over the years, I’ve serviced…
Several years ago, I switched my law practice from mass torts (plane crashes and shipwrecks) in New York City to corporate law at a large Silicon Valley law firm. As a result of that experience and clients I worked with in the years following the dotcom bust, I developed a number of simplifying rules about…
“Joint venture” is a sloppy term used to describe a number of different business operations. The important thing to remember is that it is too vague to be meaningful legally. A project that is called a joint venture might legitimately be structured like any of these: a brand new entity with shared ownership a subsidiary…