Business Law for Business People

By: William J. O’Sullivan   Members of a limited liability company are sometimes dismayed to learn, when they are ready to retire, that the law does not require the LLC to buy them out.  Under the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, which has applied in...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   When businesses place an order for goods or equipment, they often trigger a “battle of the dueling Terms and Conditions.”  The would-be buyer attaches its T&C to the purchase order, and the would-be seller replies with its own...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   A new and growing risk for businesspeople is a phenomenon called "BEC" – business email compromise. Here is how it works. A bad actor, usually overseas, hacks into the email account for Ashley at AAA Accounting. The hacker sits...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   Here’s a to-do list for your last day at work. (1) Pack up your family photos. (2) Brag to your co-workers about the great benefits you’ll be getting at your new job. (3) Steal and destroy company property, without even getting up from...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   How often have you seen this letter in an advice column? “Dear Columnist: When I got divorced, I got the house and the judge ordered my husband to make the mortgage payments. Now my husband has stopped paying and the bank is...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   Here’s a good way to create work for your favorite lawyer: sign legal documents without reading them first. One of our partners was reminded of this when he went to the hospital for some minor surgery on his knee. At the check-in desk,...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   There are very few things that gall a business owner more than being stiffed for the price of goods sold or services rendered. One of them is paying a lawyer to chase down the missing money. As a result, when a client contacts a lawyer...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   It happens more often than you think: employees stealing the owner’s company. Not stealing from the company. Stealing the company. Could it happen to you? Picture this real-world scenario. An entrepreneur starts a new business. Early...

By: William J. O’Sullivan   A recent court decision shows how important it is for Connecticut businesses to include a provision in their contracts, whenever possible, designating Connecticut as the forum to litigate disputes arising out of the contract. In a case...

By: Amy E. Markim   A new federal law requires certain employers to provide paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave to their employees for specified reasons related to COVID-19. This will likely be the first time “small” employers (those who have...