Let’s say you are a startup business and you are in the process of working with your attorney to develop a contract for your future clients. Should you include an arbitration clause to resolve dispute with your clients? Nine times out of ten, my answer to you would be no.

I just returned from the American Bar Association Technology Show in Chicago (ABA Tech Show).  What a rush, absorbing the newest technology for law firms and learning from presentations by the Nation’s leading tech consultants. As I reflect on what I learned, I’m happy to know that our office is up to date and secure in our practices.  In fact, it seems we are quite a bit ahead of the curve because we have adopted paperless policies and have a leading document management utility in place.  Of course, there is always room for improvement and I was able to get inspired to improve some of our practices.

Entrepreneurs create formal business entities (most often limited liability companies and corporations) for many reasons.  Founders commonly cite the limited liability protection and the professional impression it can have on vendors, customers and would-be investors.  While these are two major benefits of forming an LLC or corporation, this only touches on the predominant purpose that forming an entity can serve - building and protecting value. 

Business trends are pushing owners to look into faster and more efficient processes in the work place.  Electronic files, bigger servers and faster transmissions are quickly becoming a necessity for anyone hoping to keep up with their clients and outrun their competition.  But why have a paperless office?  Are there really benefits for your customer and your business?

Business Combinations - mergers, strategic partnerships or joint ventures typically have big impacts on companies.  Some transactions propel companies ahead while other similar transactions cripple them – they stagnate, leadership becomes unclear and both parties start reviewing the exit provisions of the transaction documents.  After watching deals succeed and fail over the years, I began to ask myself, what are the common threads?