Business Legal Guides

Practical, US-focused legal guides for the decisions every business eventually has to make — from picking an entity to closing one down. Each page covers what the law requires, what's negotiable, what it costs, and what trips people up. Not legal advice; meant to make a productive conversation with a lawyer cheaper and shorter.

Formation & governance

• Business entity formation

  Choosing among LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, partnership, and sole proprietorship; state of formation; filing mechanics; EIN; registered agent.

• Operating agreements & bylaws

  Governance documents for LLCs and corporations: voting, distributions, transfer restrictions, indemnification, dissolution.

• Business licenses & permits

  Federal, state, and local licensing; industry-specific permits; sales tax registration; foreign qualification.

Contracts

• Business contracts

  MSA, SOW, sales agreements, vendor contracts, terms of service — what each does and which clauses actually carry risk.

• NDAs & confidentiality

  Mutual vs one-way NDAs, term length, scope, residuals, remedies, when an NDA helps and when it doesn't.

Employment

• Employment law basics

  At-will employment, FLSA wage & hour, anti-discrimination (Title VII, ADA, ADEA), termination, leave laws, I-9 verification.

• Independent contractor classification

  IRS three-factor test, DOL economic-reality test, state ABC tests, 1099 vs W-2, the cost of misclassification.

Intellectual property

• Trademark registration

  Search, classes, specimens, filing bases, prosecution, opposition, maintenance, enforcement. The full USPTO process.

• Copyright & patents

  Copyright registration, work-for-hire, fair use; utility vs design patents; provisional applications; the PCT route.

Privacy & data

• Privacy & data protection

  CCPA/CPRA, GDPR (where it reaches US businesses), HIPAA, COPPA, state breach laws, privacy policies, processor agreements.

Fundraising, M&A, and exit

• Fundraising legal

  SAFE, convertible notes, priced rounds, Reg D 506(b)/506(c), accredited investor verification, Blue Sky filings, side letters.

• Mergers & acquisitions

  LOI, asset vs stock sale, reps & warranties, indemnification baskets and caps, escrow, R&W insurance, earn-outs.

• Dissolution & bankruptcy

  Voluntary wind-down, ABC (assignment for benefit of creditors), Chapter 7/11 differences, personal guaranty exposure.

Disputes & tax

• Disputes & litigation

  Demand letters, mediation, arbitration vs litigation, small claims, statute of limitations, when to settle.

• Business taxes (legal angle)

  Entity tax classification, S-Corp election, sales tax nexus post-Wayfair, payroll tax, 1099 reporting, IRS audits.

How these pages are organized

Each guide opens with a plain-English overview, then walks through what the law actually requires, the standard documents involved, the costs and timelines, the most-negotiated points, the pitfalls that produce the largest losses, and a short FAQ. Where a topic has a corresponding glossary entry on this site, the guide links to it for definitions and to relevant calculators where math is involved.

Nothing on these pages is legal advice for your specific situation. Statutes change, courts disagree, and facts matter; the value of a lawyer is mostly in handling the facts. The value of these pages is making the conversation with that lawyer faster, cheaper, and more useful — or, where the stakes are low and the path is standard, giving you enough context to act on your own.