I’m a business and commercial litigation attorney, which basically means I deal with agreements. Agreements (or disagreements) between people or businesses, for products or services. I’ve been practicing for six years, and I have both jury and non-jury trial experience. I have handled cases ranging from individuals and startups in state court to defending large multinational corporations in federal court. During this time, I’ve saved a company over $250,000.00 by uncovering a fraudulent scheme being perpetrated by a husband and wife team. I’ve prevented an owner from losing his business when the owner failed to protect his business with the proper corporate documents and contracts. I obtained a judgment against an employee that was running up corporate debts for personal expenses without proper authority, and I have mitigated damages in the millions of dollars for businesses and owners alike. Through all these cases, I have seen what steps could have been taken early on to prevent costly litigation, or at least severely decrease the risk of exposure. Here are my Top 5 Tips that you can start implementing to decrease or prevent costly litigation:

Once you form an LLC, often you will choose to hire independent contractors rather than full-time employees for cost-saving, tax, and regulatory reasons. However, there is sizeable risk that you might be misclassifying that independent contractor if he/she is acting and being treated more like an employee. This risk is especially apparent for those people you hire who perform contracting work, are paid commission-only, or get paid through their own company (like an LLC). 

I’m a business transactional and commercial litigation attorney, and a large portion of my practice is consulting with business owners and entrepreneurs about the differences between the business entities available and which one is right for them. The answer (usually) is it depends! 

Every company has a different vision for the lifecycle of the company, and the right business entity fit depends on many factors that we discuss, including the size, business area, location, structure, and goals of the company.

Welcome to the special edition of Maverick Monthly and the Legal Learning Corner. Today we are going to discuss the almighty signature and what it really means for contracts.

It's now generally accepted that the Declaration of Independence was not actually signed on the Fourth of July—that's just the day the document was formally dated, finalized, and adopted by the Continental Congress, which had officially voted for independence on July 2nd (the day John Adams thought we should celebrate). Early printed copies of the Declaration were signed by John Hancock and secretary Charles Thomson to be given to military officers and various political committees, but the bulk of the other 54 men signed an official finalized (and in larger print) copy on August 2, with others to follow at a later date. Hancock (the bold man of his day) signed his name again on the updated version.

Florida, like many states, does not require a Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) to have an Operating Agreement; however, it is always recommended to create one for several important reasons discussed below.

As an initial step for anyone wishing to form a company in Florida, it is always recommended that you seek legal advice in Florida from a Florida business lawyer who will be able to provide guidance regarding which Florida business entity is right for your situation and to assist you in the proper formation of such corporate entity, including an LLC.

Social media has and continues to impact the legislative process, or at least how the public perceives and consumes it. Hours after Mueller testified that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that Russia and other foreign governments were already at work on 2020 interference, Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell blocked a bill to strengthen election security. The aftermath on social media and the Twittersphere led to some less-than-gracious trending hashtags, including #MoscowMitch. In an effort to quell the haters and belay hashtags, the senator made a rare response on the senate floor calling such social media pressures “modern day McCarthyism.”  But #MoscowMitch wasn’t the only senator taking heat on social. The cold war era hashtags continued with #LeningradLindsey trending after Senator Lindsay Graham advanced a bill on asylum to the Senate waiving procedural rules. Social media has become more and more a political sword in the arsenal of most politicians these days, and some might argue that the rise in the use of social media in this way was popularized by our current President. 

Welcome to a community of women entrepreneurs who are real, soulful, passionate and creative. Comadres trust each other with the most important pieces of their lives. Let’s be guardians of each others’; dreams and successes.