InnovaCounsel Blog

Author Archives: Stuart Blake

5 Common Employment Law Mistakes

Employment laws cover a wide range of topics and employers often find it difficult to keep track of all the new laws and changes. Frequently, employers discover they have been breaking employment laws without even realizing it. Five laws unknowingly … Continue reading

Posted in Contracts, Employment, Employment Contracts, In-house Counsel, Risk Management | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Protected Social Media Posts

Most people think of social media as personal, and feel they can use it however they want. That includes venting about work situations or their place of employment. For the most part this is correct. People can vent about certain … Continue reading

Posted in Compliance, Contracts, Employment | Tagged , , | 159 Comments

Anticipating the Defend Trade Secrets Act

Currently, trade secrets are only protected at state level, but with the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), they could also gain protection on a federal level. This act has passed both houses of Congress and the House of Representatives and … Continue reading

Posted in Compliance, Contracts, Employment Contracts, Intellectual Property, Risk Management | Tagged , , , , , | 154 Comments

Joint Development Agreements

Joint developments can be good business and accounting decisions. Joint developments, or ventures, are strategic alliances between two or more individuals or entities to engage in a specific project or undertaking. Usually the individuals or entities enter the venture to … Continue reading

Posted in Contracts, Fundamentals, General, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , | 132 Comments

Advising Tech Start-Ups

It seems like everyone is in the tech start-up industry at the moment. With technology such a big part of today’s society, it’s not a bad place to be. However, creating a start-up isn’t always as easy as some people … Continue reading

Posted in Attorney - Client Relationship, Contracts, Fundamentals, In-house Counsel, Intellectual Property, Risk Management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Retaliation Claims

Sometimes employees believe their boss is punishing them unfairly for an action in the workplace. If true, this punishment could be considered retaliation, which is prohibited in the workplace. Retaliation is described as occurring when an employer punishes an employee … Continue reading

Posted in Employment, General, In-house Counsel, Litigation, Risk Management | Tagged , , , | 143 Comments

What to Know About Franchise Agreements

Owning a franchise gives people the opportunity to work for themselves and build a business. When considering becoming a franchisee, the contract should be carefully reviewed. It is also wise to have a corporate business attorney review the contract and … Continue reading

Posted in Employment, Employment Contracts, General | Tagged , , | 161 Comments

Legal Employment Discrimination

There’s always a lot of talk about employment discrimination, but there are some situations in which employers can legally discriminate during the hiring process. Depending on the state, these 8 types of discrimination could be legal: Bankruptcy In the Bankruptcy … Continue reading

Posted in Employment, Employment Contracts, In-house Counsel, Litigation, Risk Management | Tagged , , , | 163 Comments

Trade Secret Misappropriation

Most are familiar with patents, trademarks, and copyrights. However, there is a fourth type of intellectual property called trade secrets. Trade secrets consist of information that can be a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process. To be … Continue reading

Posted in In-house Counsel, Intellectual Property, Litigation | Tagged , , , | 141 Comments

Office Talk: Politics

With the election season in full force, opinions are flying around the office space. Coworkers are talking and arguing about the candidates, but they might want to cool it with the political talks around the water cooler during work hours. … Continue reading

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