Entrepreneurs take on a lot of risk to pursue their dreams. Financial risk, product risk and market risk are always at top of mind. But another important concern is legal risk. What if a business owner learns that his or her idea has been pirated or a big conglomerate shirks on a contract? Taking on a large corporate opponent is formidable enough — when you add in the potential cost,…

Nearly 10 million American women own businesses. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, these entrepreneurs pay more than $264 billion in wages to more than 8 million employees, and their companies contribute more than $1.4 trillion in sales to the  U.S. economy. Such staggering numbers would have been hard for some to imagine a generation ago, when women often couldn’t get a  business loan without a male…

During its recent session, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that many businesses applaud. The case Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis dealt with the enforceability of certain arbitration agreements in federal court. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that under the Federal Arbitration Act, agreements providing for individualized arbitration proceedings are enforceable. The decision has been heralded as a win for employers throughout the United States. Businesses have…

Plan early to keep best-case options available….