In Business Disputes, Don’t Let Emotions Blind You to the Real Costs of Litigation

In “The Godfather,” when hot-headed Sonny wanted to take an emotional and vindictive approach towards a conflict with the family’s rivals, consigliore Tom Hagen famously admonishes him to remember that: “It’s not personal. It’s business.” (more…)

Business owners know there are consequences to every decision they make. Good strategic, operational, and financial choices can spur profits and growth. Conversely, poor business decisions can send a company on a downward spiral from which it may never recover. (more…)

If you own a California business and want to prevent your employees from competing against you or soliciting your customers after they leave your employ, you will find that your options are extremely limited. Any “non-competition agreement” that you may be considering or which you had your employees sign, separately or as part of an employment agreement, will almost certainly do you absolutely no good and will not be enforced, except under very limited circumstances not usually present between an employer and employee. (more…)

In May 2014, the California Supreme Court adopted a new rule that modifies the oath new attorneys must take upon admission to the California bar. In addition to pledging to support the U.S. and California constitutions and to faithfully discharge the duties of an attorney and counselor at law, newly minted California attorneys must now solemnly swear that, “As an officer of the court, I will strive to conduct myself at all times with dignity, courtesy, and integrity.” (more…)

If you own a small business and have customers and clients, there is a good chance that someone, somewhere has published an online review of your company and its goods or services. From Yelp to Angie’s List to TripAdvisor to any number of websites tailored to particular interests or industries, online reviews have proliferated in the past 5-10 years and can have a profound impact on your business. Even one negative review can be devastating because it may be seen by anyone doing even cursory research about your company.A 2011 Harvard study quantified just how big an effect negative Yelp postings can have: A one-star increase among reviews of Seattle restaurants led to a 5 to 9 percent growth in revenue.