California’s SB 113 May Offer Valuable Tax Planning Opportunities for Family Businesses

by

On February 9, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 113 into law.  SB 113 changes several provisions of California’s tax laws that affect family businesses and offer valuable tax planning opportunities that business owners may wish to take advantage of.  Specifically, SB 113 reinstates the business tax credits and net operating loss (“NOL”) …Read more

Productive Uses of ADR to Resolve Disputes in Family Business

by

Family businesses enjoy dynamics that don’t exist in other businesses. While there are numerous benefits to a family business, close familial ties can sometimes mean disagreements feel more personal. Familial issues may also arise outside the business that can lead to internal disagreements within the business that can adversely affect the company. Think Yoko Ono. …Read more

Protecting and Enforcing Your Trade Secrets in California and Beyond

by

An Award of Injunctive Relief Does Not Preclude Continuing Rights to Monetary Damages The primary objective in filing a lawsuit involving misappropriation of a trade secret is to stop the use and disclosure of your critical business information.  But even if your company succeeds in blocking the use of your trade secrets by obtaining an …Read more

Technology Startups:  Picking the Right Business Entity

by

Many technology startups fail, often for commercial or business reasons.  Some startups, however, fail because their founders don’t properly address certain important legal issues that confront their company from the outset.  If you err when confronting legal issues that are critical to your company’s success, it will likely haunt you and your co-founders for the …Read more

10 Tips to Protect Confidential Information When Considering Selling Your Company

by

So you’re thinking about selling your company because you’ve finally received an offer you think is reflective of all the hard work you and your partners and employees invested over all those years. It’s inevitable that you will have to share some confidential information about your company with the potential buyers during the course of …Read more

7 Questions to Answer Before You Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement

by

Before your company considers sharing its technology or other proprietary information with a potential strategic or commercial partner, you will want to ensure that the information is kept secret and cannot be used for any unauthorized purpose. This is where a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) may be useful to you. An NDA is a legally binding …Read more

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid Managing Your Company’s Trade Secrets

by

Whether you’re running a newly minted start-up or leading an established corporation, genuine trade secrets will almost always provide your company with a competitive edge in the marketplace under both federal and state law. But you must handle them properly. Unfortunately, that edge can deteriorate, or vanish entirely, if your company makes one or more …Read more