I have seen a number of articles recently talking about splitting the CEO and chairman roles. Here’s one about JPMorgan. Everyone still seems so up in arms about this issue. I would have thought someone would have done a little digging. Here’s my take: All directors have equal power and equal responsibilities. There is no…
Read MoreSeveral 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…
Read More“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…
Read MoreFred Wilson of Union Square Ventures wrote about his board meeting and ugly travel schedule some time ago. It’s refreshing to hear him talk about being excited to go to board meetings. I’ve sat in too many where a VC (even a monster big-name guy) ended up talking about the format of financials being presented…
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