Business Law for Business People
THE BATTLING TERMS AND CONDITIONS: WHOSE PREVAIL, THE BUYER’S OR THE SELLER’S?
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 version, attached to its order...
Hacked E-mails and Fake Wiring Instructions: A Growing Business Risk
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 quietly, watching and waiting as Ashley...
Warning to Ex-Employees: Copy, Delete, Get Sued
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 your chair. Well, maybe that...
CO-SIGNING OR GUARANTEEING A LOAN: EASY TO GET IN, HARDER TO GET OUT
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 threatening foreclosure. How can this be?”...
Read Before you Sign
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, a helpful young lady asked him...
CAN I GET LEGAL FEES? CAN I GET INTEREST?
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 about pursuing this type of...
How to Discourage Your Employees From Stealing Your Company
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 on, she hires a talented go-getter...
Court Decision Illustrates Importance of Choice-of-Forum Clauses in Contracts
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 called North Sails Group, LLC v....
NEW LAW PROVIDES PAID SICK LEAVE AND EXPANDED FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE RELATED TO COVID-19
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 less than 50 employees)...