Convertible Notes

This one is pretty law geeky, so stay with me. When you go to raise money for your company, you have to decide what you are going to give your investors in exchange for their cash. Your choices are usually a promissory note (if you call the cash a…

I’ve Read the Government’s Arguments to Screw Amazon Workers and I’m Furious

There’s a monumental case at the Supreme Court that has got me obsessed, bewitched, enraged and mildly despondent. Technically, it’s called Integrity Staffing v. Busk. It actually is Amazon v. Amazon’s warehouse workers. (Integrity Staffing is the subcontractor stooge hired by Amazon to employ its warehouse workers). After Amazon…

LegalSifter Demystifies Legal Contracts

A disruptor has developed software that scans a contract to tell you what’s wrong with it. It’s billed as a solution for non-lawyers. Lawyers will freak, but that’s not why I like it. I like it because it could be a quality control tool for lawyers – like me…

Lessons Learned from the Casey Kasem Fiasco

Casey Kasem did a terrible job of planning his estate. Here, a bunch of my brilliant Bryan Cave colleagues give some sage advice about what you can do to avoid the storm. I have a different, less technical piece of advice: try and raise kids and pick partners who…

The Periodic Table (of Lawyers)

I’ve spent my adult life in Big Law, but I’m not on this earth to help the rich get richer. I’m here for the wanna-be’s.  I want to help the climbers, the strivers, the innovators, the world changers. That’s why I wrote Birth to Buyout and that’s why I’ve got…

Amazing Government Websites with Startling, Fascinating and Odd Info – Pt 3

We are always looking for good things the government does to help business. Here is a terrific example. Challenge.gov runs contests for everyone. These contests follow the examples set by sites like 99 designs.  But, the government contests ask participants to solve some problem. The winners get prizes. http://challenge.gov/….

Amazing Government Websites With Startling, Fascinating and Odd Info – Pt 2

The federal government collects information about business and products so that everyone can see the impact of business and products on people. We thought we’d fill you in. Here, in Part 2, is our second favorite government database. Name:  Recalls and product safety news URL:  http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/reg1.html. What it collects:…

Amazing Government Websites With Startling, Fascinating and Odd Info – Pt 1

The federal government collects information about business and products so that everyone can see the impact of business and products on people. We thought we’d fill you in. Here, in Part 1, is our favorite government database by far. Name:  The NATIONAL ELECTRONIC INJURY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM URL:  https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/NEISSQuery/Home.aspx What…