For over twenty years I have been representing various early-stage startups in Silicon Valley.  Startups require significant capital, and banks are hesitant to lend funds to small businesses without collateral or personal guarantees.  Therefore, most startups look for early-stage high-risk…

When buying for growth, to best capture the value that drove the deal and to optimize having your M&A transaction succeed, you, the buyer, must clearly understand and decisively act upon the following: IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ENGAGE IN…

Commercial agreements often provide for contingencies, or options, pursuant to which one party may sell off or convert its interest in a company, parcel of real property, intellectual property or another asset.  Unless the company, property or asset in question…

When one company wants to acquire another company, there are a number of different legal forms that the acquisition can take. Two of the common methods of acquisition are asset acquisition and a merger. In an asset acquisition, an acquirer…

The European Union was first to take the initiative to protect consumer’s privacy rights following the Facebook privacy scandal, by enacting the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). California followed suit and recently announced The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), a…

In representing start-up companies and founders in private equity financings for 20 plus years, two of the most frequent questions that I am asked are “What are pre-money and post-money valuations?" and "How is the price per share calculated in…

Preparing your company for a future successful sale to best capture optimal value and to keep your transactional costs modest requires pro-active preparation, coupled with a broad general understanding of: (i)            the pre-sale, sale, and post-sale transaction process; and…

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued over 10 million utility patents to this date under its current numbering system, which dates back to 1836.  That’s 10 million patents and counting! Let's step back and get a perspective on…

A patent provides rights related to an invention for a certain period of time, typically twenty years from the priority filing date of a patent application on which the patent is based.  Although many people believe that having a patent…

As a business seller, you want a customized front-loaded letter of intent or LOI.  By having a customized front-loaded LOI, containing your ideal deal structure and terms and conditions, you substantially increase your ability to get your ideal sale transaction…

As a business litigator, I have seen many disputes arbitrated where arbitration was not the best forum for the dispute, even though my client agreed to arbitrate in its contract. Many times, arbitration is the best choice for one of…

With the launches of Disney+ and Apple TV+ this month, along with the expected introduction in 2020 of HBO Max, the subscription video-on-demand service from WarnerMedia, and the to-be-named ad-supported service from Comcast/NBC Universal, the programming playing field of Netflix,…