The jargon of the trade calls them “inventions assignment” or even more technically “employee proprietary information and inventions agreements”. In layman’s terms, it means if you “invent” something using your employer’s tools or facilities, information provided to you, contacts, proprietary information, or related to its […]
I might do a few of these posts about share terminology in the corporate structure. Today I’m talking about authorized, issued, and outstanding shares. There’s three states a share can be in within the corporate structure: authorized (sometimes called “available”), “issued”, and “outstanding”. First Up […]
Corporations: What Are Bylaws and Why Does Your Business Need Them? Bylaws are the structure of how your business operates. Who gets to make what decisions, who doesn’t get to make decisions, how to resolve disputes among owners, how to bring in new owners and […]
Business succession plan: I’ve been hearing a lot about business succession planning since I’ve moved to Asheville. Let’s talk about what it means to make a succession plan for your exit from your business, whether through retirement, death or disability. First of all, succession planning […]
In this unfortunate day of the “consultant” and the independent contractor, many businesses see an opportunity to add to their work force or cut expenses with “temp” workers or independent contractors. However, there is a mish-mash of employment laws that need to be considered by […]
Liability protection. It’s something all business owners worry about, but in my experience the worry is often misplaced. Good insurance will cover most injury-type claims (slip and falls, car accidents). This article will outline when you should call your business lawyer to set up liability […]
Wage Regulations in North Carolina. North Carolina is a bit of a gem in its business regulations in that it leaves the pay relationship between the employer and employee for the most part. The NC Legislature has enacted some common sense regulations, however, to keep the employer […]
Regulated professions. It’s a geeky hobby of mine, browsing through the statutes to see what interesting topics the legislature was thinking about. Like in Illinois where one needs to be licensed to engage in the business of removing eggs from their shells. Seriously. Here’s just […]
Embrace Your Business Lawyer and the Legal Structure He Provides A well run business will embrace an organized legal structure, not ignore it, because it gives a foundation and structure for the legal operation of the business, can get all owners and managers on the […]
Limited Liability Companies. One of the things I find fascinating about limited liability companies – called LLC – is that the traditional concept of “ownership” of a business is split into three separate parts. Traditionally, especially in smaller or closely held corporations, “ownership” comes with […]