In this post, we address “dispute resolution” provisions in contracts, an often neglected but crucial part of the boilerplate at the end of contracts. (You know, that legal mumbo-jumbo you have always ignored.) No one wants to think too much about dispute resolution, because no one wants to think there will be disputes. And, anyway, […]
Five years ago, we wrote a blog post about how Illinois was a pioneer in passing a comprehensive statute protecting biometric information, and how other states were following suit. Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), enacted in 2008, protects these biometric identifiers: fingerprints, retina scans, iris scans, hand geometry scans, voiceprints, and face geometry scans. Illinois […]
Following the trend of many states that have severely limited or prohibited employee noncompetes, the FTC announced in April a final rule prohibiting noncompete provisions in agreements with workers. The FTC rule, which will become effective on September 4, 2024 (assuming it withstands legal challenges) will, if nothing else, bring uniformity and clarity to the […]
See update #1 below You may have already heard of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). It is a new federal law requiring most businesses to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Congress designed the CTA to combat money laundering and enhance corporate accountability. This post will provide an overview of how to comply […]
Illinois employers take note: Illinois recently joined two other trailblazing states (Maine and Nevada) in requiring employers to provide a minimum amount of paid leave for employees. Thanks to the new Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”), effective on January 1, 2024, employees working in Illinois (but not Cook County) will earn and […]
Some clarification on confusing equity-related terminology Founders often ask us about the meaning of certain equity-related terminology. We thought it would be useful to explain some commonly used (but frequently misunderstood and misused) terms.
Are your terms of use enforceable? In the olden days, customers signed agreements using quill and ink; for many, a handshake sufficed. These days, customers purchase many services and goods online. How do customers give their consent to the terms of their purchases in cyberspace [cue eerie music]? Most of our startup clients require their […]
Fundraising is essential for many startups, but the types of fundraising methods are limited. The traditional methods are bootstrapping, convertible notes, simple agreements for future-equity (SAFEs), and priced equity rounds. We have guided many founders through fundraising. Equity crowdfunding is a newer option. Crowdfunding is meant to allow founders to accept small investments from a […]
One of my legal newsletters today included the following blurb, crediting TechRadar: TikTok enabled its Android app version to collect millions of users’ unique identifiers for at least 15 months that could be used for ad tracking, which violates Google’s privacy rules, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation. A TikTok spokesperson said, “The current […]
Most companies are aware of issues concerning how they use and handle “personally identifiable information” (PII) of their customers. In general, web-based businesses (which is to say, nearly all businesses) disclose their uses of PII with some specificity in their privacy policies and terms of use (goodcounsel is often called up to draft these for […]