As many people scramble to finish their last-minute holiday shopping and make sure everyone on their gift list is covered, business owners have another list to pay attention to.  This list is called the business compliance checklist.  Businesses must fulfill their legal obligations to stay in good standing with the state.  Failure to do so may result in fines, fees, penalties, and even suspension or dissolution of their companies. An end of year legal checklist typically includes reviewing and filing annual reports, checking and renewing business licenses, assessing any business changes throughout the year, verifying tax compliance, reviewing corporate governance policies, considering dissolutions or withdrawals for inactive entities, and filing final payroll taxes.

Disruption is common in the business world with unforeseen events or difficulties meaning that contracts sometimes cease to be beneficial or even possible.  If you have entered into a contract that you later wish to terminate, it is important to follow the correct procedure.  Failure to do this could constitute a breach of contract which could result in liability for damages.

The world has been turned on its axis over the last 17 or so months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses have been hit particularly hard and will continue to be harmed with the new surges in infections caused by the delta variant as employers face pressing questions about worker vaccination requirements. I discuss some of these questions below addressing vaccination policies, vaccine exemptions, and vaccine verifications.

Registered trademarks can also be cancelled by the USPTO for various reasons.  A cancelled trademark is a trademark that for one reason or another has been deemed invalid.  When a trademark’s registration has been terminated that means it can be registered by another person or business.  Once a trademark has been cancelled, it is considered dead.  The owner of this trademark is no longer protected by any of the benefits of a registered trademark.

Our dogs are extremely important parts of our daily lives. They follow our commands, work with us in various capacities, and act as faithful companions. Service dogs have these abilities, combined with training to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities. Many people with disabilities use a service animal in order to fully participate in everyday life. Dogs can be trained to perform many important tasks to assist people with disabilities, such as providing stability for a person who has difficulty walking, picking up items, preventing a child with autism from wandering away, or altering a person who has hearing loss when someone is approaching from behind.

CELEBRATING AMERICAN CORPORATIONS By Kelly Bagla, Esq. As the American Revolution came to an end, America was born on July 4th, 1776. The nation was...

Selling your business is a very complex process and most business owners have never been through a sale process before. But business owners have more options than they realize. Lacking a team of professional advisors, including a strong M&A Advisor, corporate/transaction attorney and a CPA/tax advisor could have serious financial and tax consequences for both the business owner and the company so seek professional help from the beginning of the process. It pays to understand the various methods to sell or partially cash out of your business for a successful exit.

REAL ESTATE ASSET PROTECTION By Kelly Bagla, Esq. Real estate asset protection is a strategy investors can use to protect their finances from unexpected blows,...

Buying a business is a huge decision but when you pull the trigger on buying an existing business, you get the opportunity to become an entrepreneur without starting a small business completely from scratch.  Every year more than 500,000 businesses change hands, and that number is expected to skyrocket in the next several years as millions of baby boomers begin retiring and selling their businesses.

Two new California laws directly affecting business owners went into effect on January 1, 2024. California has strengthened the prohibition against noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, which also posse potential liability for employers who require their employees to sign noncompete agreements or attempt to enforce existing noncompete agreements against former employees.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, which is part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and includes the Corporate Transparency Act, became law on January 1, 2021. The Corporate Transparency Act requires certain business entities to file, in the absence of an exemption, information on their “beneficial owners” with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) of the U.S. Department of Treasury.

By Kelly Bagla, Esq. The world of business leadership is a high stakes game, and top executives bear the heavy responsibility of protecting their companies and their shareholder interests. Yet, amidst the whirlwind of corporate success, many CEOs and business owners often overlook a critical aspect: safeguarding their personal wealth.