An employee handbook is a critical document. It not only advises employees of the company’s rules, policies, and expectations, but also protects the business against the risk of employee lawsuits and other, similar, complaints and claims. Just as companies change, so do federal, state, and local laws, so all employee handbooks should be regularly reviewed and revised to ensure that they are in keeping with the Read More

Every time a business owner hires or fires an employee, they face the possibility of a lawsuit. The newly hired employee may one day decide that the company owes them additional pay and benefits, or that discrimination played a role in a disciplinary proceeding. The employee who was let go may initiate a wrongful termination lawsuit. While there are no absolute guarantees that a business owner won’t spend time and Read More

In today’s business climate, confidentiality agreements (otherwise known as nondisclosure agreements or NDA’s) are essential to remaining competitive. They are contracts whereby the signing parties agree to not reveal confidential, secret, or proprietary information. Should one of the parties to the agreement misappropriate the information defined as confidential, the owner of the information usually can request a Read More

There are a variety of legal structures available when you’re forming a business, but a corporation is one of the best for many businesses. A corporation gives your business flexibility while limiting your liability and providing protection for your personal assets. In this blog entry, we’re going to evaluate several key benefits of organizing your business as a corporation. Protection for personal assets. A Read More

Solid contracts are critical for every business. Unfortunately, this is an area that business owners often neglect…with disastrous results. Below we identify five especially common mistakes. Is your business making any of these mistakes? Reliance on oral contracts. Oral contracts are often legally valid, but they can be almost impossible to enforce. In a disagreement, it’s easy for one party to state that Read More

Star Wars. The iPhone. Google. These California-built icons are a shining example of creativity and business success - and they also illustrate the importance of intellectual property protection. Each of these entities would be nothing without their intellectual property - their logos, their trademarks, their patented designs, their top-secret algorithms. You may not own a film series like Star Wars, a product as Read More

Are you an entrepreneur looking for a California Business Attorney?  Do you know what to look for in a California Business Attorney?  I know, usually you are looking for an attorney when a problem creeps up that you cannot solve.  That problem will continue to haunt you until you can find someone that can help you, be it a business attorney or someone else.  Well, how would you feel if you could have avoided that Read More

  In California, workplace violence is not as uncommon you might think.  Here, in California, an employer may be able to convince a judge to issue a restraining order, which is a court order, that may be used to curtail threats of violence against its employees. Under the right circumstances and allegations of actual or potential workplace violence, a judge may order a specific person not to: Threaten or harass Read More