“Piercing the corporate veil” is a legal colloquialism used to describe the removal of corporate entity protection to hold shareholders or directors personally liable for corporate debts and liabilities. Limited corporate liability in California, whether through a limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, is the foundation of the…
It is often said that real estate, especially in California, is a strong and smart investment. Investing in commercial real estate in California can have both long and short-term financial benefits. One may receive passive income from renting commercial real estate, which often includes operating costs for items such as…
Acquisition is the goal of many Silicon Valley startups. Whether you’re selling to another owner, dispersing your assets, or merging with an industry leader, there are three main types of private acquisition structures: merger, asset acquisition, and stock acquisition. There are benefits and fallbacks to each type of acquisition, and…
Employee benefits can be goods, services, or deferred compensation provided to employees in addition to wages. Federal law governs certain mandatory employee benefits, such as sick leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), while other benefits are voluntary perks of employment. In addition to the minimum requirements required…
The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which is mirrored by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”) adopted by most states, provides employers with legal recourse after the misappropriation of their trade secrets. Whether employer trade secrets, defined as information that derives economic value by not being generally known, are…
The future is here, and it’s blockchain technology. Originally developed as a means of trading cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, blockchain technology is a digital system that allows digital information to be shared without being copied or altered. It does this by acting as a transaction ledger for digital dealings, registering…
California stock corporations are owned by their shareholders who then elect directors. Directors, in turn, elect officers who handle a corporation’s day-to-day management. Accordingly, shareholders hold influential positions in a corporation through their voting power. California requires corporations issuing more than one class of shares to designate the classes and/or…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reports that many companies are using stock options as a way to attract and retain employees in the booming California business market. Employees granted stock options can profit by purchasing shares at a set exercise price and trading them at a higher price. Stock…
You’ve probably heard your grandfather complain that he did not patent the “mobile phone” he invented in 1942. If he had, he’d be a billionaire! Ideas come and go, but those who take the leap and protect those ideas often reap the benefits. “Intellectual property” (“IP”) is defined as a…
A market standoff agreement – also known as a lock-up agreement – is a legal contract which prevents company insiders from selling their shares in the company on the stock market for a certain period of time following an initial public offering (IPO). In most cases, the specified period of…