Legal Topics

Legal GPS Covers:

How to set up an LLC and all the agreements you need to think about when doing so
How to prepare an operating agreement and why you need one--even if you’re the only owner
How to prepare Articles of Organization and why people typically get one issue wrong
How to set up a corporation and what to look out for
Why you need a shareholder’s agreement and what to consider when preparing
How to prepare Articles of Incorporation and why you need to think about issues like par value, classes, and how many shares you authorized
How to figure out if being a nonprofit makes sense, or if LLC, Corporation, or one of the new hybrid organizations (like L3C & B Corp) are right for you
And much more included...

Legal GPS Covers:

All the tasks required after you form your business and how to finish them in less than a day
If you need to register your business in other states besides your home state, and if so, how to do it
How to keep your finances separate and why it’s important
How to file for an EIN
To know if you’re complying with federal, state, and local licenses, and public safety requirements--and why there’s probably at least one you’re missing
Why delaying these tasks--along with completing certain contracts--is one of the biggest legal reasons companies fail
Why it’s important to pick a reliable registered agent
How to file for a d/b/a in your state and why it’s important
How to figure out what taxes you might need to pay
How to prepare an NDA and why it’s necessary anytime you’re sharing confidential info with third parties
And much more included...

Legal GPS Covers:

All the tasks you need to complete when setting up your business to make sure you don’t lose your company later because of a lawsuit
Why you need to set an official “state entity” (LLC, Corporation) usually, but it doesn’t make sense for some businesses
What’s the right entity for your business, why LLC is great for many, why Corporations make sense for startups, and why the “double tax” fear is usually overblown
Why picking your entity doesn’t stop at “LLC” or “Corp” and that you need to pick the right tax entity as well--and learn how to do it
Why you might not own the IP you created prior to starting your company (and how to write a contract to do that)
How to ensure you set up your business in the right state (hint: Delaware is usually not the right choice)
And much more included...

Legal GPS Covers:

Why registering for a trademark is important and why failure to do it could prevent any future growth of your business
How to protect your trademark against infringement and the reason why it’s important
How to create a strong trademark to ensure you get the protection you need from people stealing your branding
How to do a free trademark search and why it’s #1 trademark mistake people that cost their business thousands of dollars in the future and their entire goodwill
How to make sure you’re not infringing on someone else’s copyright and get burned by a lawsuit
Why protecting your copyrighted work from others is important and how to do it
How to make sure you actually own the copyright you paid for and why many entrepreneurs don’t own their logo or other design work because they failed to do these steps

Legal GPS Covers:

How and why you need to protect your confidential information--if you don’t, your company could be worth nothing!
Step-by-step guidance on ensuring your trade secrets will be recognized as legitimate by the courts
Why Trade Secrets are often the full value of a company and why failure to protect them is a huge mistake many companies make
How to prepare an NDA to ensure your confidential information is protected
The difference between trade secrets and patents and why trade secrets make more sense for many companies
How to do a free patent search and how it could save you thousands doing this early in your business

Why it’s so important to not mix your confidential information with your non-confidential information

Legal GPS Covers:

Why it’s important to indicate voting powers, why certain decisions should require, and why a “unanimous” voting requirement can paralyze your company
How to make sure a minority member can’t destroy your company
Why you need to have a provision that allows you to kick out members and why
How to make sure every partner pulls their weight and that everything everyone is expected to do is unambiguous
Why you need to have provisions that restrict transfer of interests so your partner doesn’t give his ownership interest to your mortal enemy
How to make sure your partner can’t leave on Day 2 of the company and still own half
Why you need to have terms on who can and can’t bind your company so someone owning 1% can’t take out a $100,000 loan on behalf of the company

Legal GPS Covers:

Why Terms of Use could be the most important contract you have and how to make sure you cover all the right terms
How to make sure your Terms of Use will actually be recognized by courts
Why you need a Privacy Policy even if you only use Google Analytics
Why it’s important to follow your Privacy Policy and how you could get in trouble with the government if you don’t