By the stroke of a pen (and probably the use of a cell phone), the Executive Branch changed a rule that will affect hundreds of thousands of employer-employee relationships. Effective December 1, 2016, salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional workers to be classified as “exempt” goes up to...

Subsidiary or Separate LLC?

June 13, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

Question I have a company in another state with my business partner, but I am relocating to Virginia and we wish to form a company here in a completely different industry. How should we do that? Can I just use a DBA to do what I want? If I have to set...

Federal Trade Secret Protection

May 12, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

Trade Secret is one of the four forms of intellectual property, and until today it was the only one of the four that did not have a federal law to help it’s owners with national protection. Patent and Copyright have always been protected by federal law because the US Constitution mandates that...

Get The Contract Signed!

March 21, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

A common complaint from CEOs: “Lawyers slow down contract negotiations by quibbling over minutia.” It’s true. Many business lawyers lose sight of the goal: Get the deal done! On one client’s recent contract negotiations I did one back and forth with opposing counsel. It was clear we had already landed in a world of...

When Should You Apply For Trademark

February 22, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

When Should You Apply For Trademark? I get this question about trademarks a lot from entrepreneurs who are just starting up. The answer, as is often true, involves partly legal requirements and partly business decision making. The Legal Part Think of the name of your company as if it were any...

What You Should Be Working On–Patents

February 16, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

What You Should Be Working On: Patents Build Value in Your Company Through Inventions This post is the fifth in a five-part series on what you—the entrepreneur—should be working on right now. In-case you have missed the previous articles, please check them out: Part I- The Introduction Part II- Trade...

What You Should Be Working On–Copyright

February 16, 2016

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

Build value in your company by creating a marketable library of content that is copyrighted. This post is the fourth in a five-part series on what you—the entrepreneur—should be working on right now. (Read Part I, Part II, and Part III). The premise of the series is straightforward: You should...

Breach Of Contract By Anticipatory Repudiation

December 9, 2015

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

There are many ways parties try to get out of contracts. Most of those are a breach of the contract. Here’s an example of a question I have gotten from a tenant to a lease. I have a 5 year contract (actually a lease) with 4 years to go, but...

Converting Sole Proprietorship To LLC

December 1, 2015

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

I see this question asked often: I’ve been operating as a sole proprietor. What business entity should I choose as a sole owner in Virginia doing [your type of business]? Almost all lawyers will tell you the answer is an LLC. But here are the answers to the questions that those...

Are Unsigned Contracts Binding?

November 30, 2015

Dr. Michael Mort, Esq

“I purchased a room addition to my house for $40,000. Now I’m having second thoughts. I noticed that I signed the contract but the construction company did not. Am I stuck?” Signatures are one way to prove that both parties agreed to a deal. Performance is another way. Your signature says you agreed....

New Rule On Exempt Employee Status

Subsidiary or Separate LLC?

Federal Trade Secret Protection

Get The Contract Signed!

When Should You Apply For Trademark

What You Should Be Working On–Patents

What You Should Be Working On–Copyright

Breach Of Contract By Anticipatory Repudiation

Converting Sole Proprietorship To LLC

Are Unsigned Contracts Binding?

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