The Top Ten Legal Mistakes of Startup and Early-stage Companies
I am pleased to make the article “The Top Ten Legal Mistakes of Startup and Early-stage Companies” available as a Free Download on the Downloads page.
Here are the ten mistakes that are discussed:
- Failing to comply with corporate formalities
- Pretending that employees are independent contractors
- Neglecting to provide and update an employee handbook
- Failing to establish or adhere to discipline or termination procedures
- Failing to ensure that the company owns its intellectual property
- Believing that “open source” means “no restrictions”
- Thinking that all NDAs have the same terms
- Believing that websites can unilaterally change their terms of use
- Using another company’s standard-form agreement
- Giving “family jewels” to an overseas supplier
Related post: Top Ten Intellectual Property Mistakes of Startup Entrepreneurs
Dana H. Shultz, Attorney at Law +1 510 547-0545 dana [at] danashultz [dot] com
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer directly.
Alice Doesn’t Work Here Any More
A software company (“Client”) had to dismiss one of its developers (let’s call her “Alice”). The problem was Alice’s incompetence.
But there was a complication: Alice was pregnant. Adding to Client’s frustration, Alice, without permission or advance notice, was taking more time off than she was entitled to. Client wanted to be rid of Alice but did not want to be charged with discrimination based on sex or pregnancy.
Focusing on the Issue
I worked with Client’s CEO and Alice’s manager. We agreed right away to ignore the unauthorized time off. The amount of money at stake was relatively small, and we were concerned that raising time off as an issue could entangle us in Alice’s pregnancy-related medical needs.
