Evening Legal

10/09/2024

We are thrilled to announce that one of our small business clients achieved a significant victory in small claims court. Evening Legal prepared a comprehensive small claims court prep guide for the client. Today, we learned the judge ruled in our client's favor. This outcome exemplifies Evening Legal's mission to empower small and micro businesses to overcome challenges and thrive in all aspects of their operations, all while maintaining affordability.

12/05/2023

03/28/2023

WE'RE GOING LIVE! 7:30pm tonight. Bring your questions on entities, IP and contracts.

**This is an informational, educational session only based on California and federal law. Discussions will not constitute legal advice or any attorney-client relationship with Evening Legal. Please DO NOT disclose any confidential information during this live session. All discussions will be public, so everyone can hear and see what you say and write. No profanity, spam, disruptive or negative comments allowed.**

03/21/2023

Evening Legal. The law firm for sole proprietors, "micro" enterprises and small businesses. In-person and virtual meetings. Weekday and "after hours" appointments available.

03/15/2023

E-Commerce Business Owners: Prepare to Verify Your Business Identity under the Inform Consumers Act

E-Commerce businesses should prepare to be contacted by Amazon, Etsy, Shopify and other marketplace platforms to verify the identity of the business. The verification requirement is a result of two new laws: the federal Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (the “INFORM Consumers Act”), and California's S.B. 301. The purpose of these laws is to combat the online sales of counterfeit/dangerous/stolen goods and money laundering.

Web marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify (and small businesses providing similar marketplaces) will be required to start collecting information, verifying, and providing to buyers under certain circumstances, the identity of “high-volume third-party sellers”-those sellers during the last 24 months with 200 or more sales/transactions of new or used tangible consumer goods and an aggregate of $5,000 or more in revenue over a continuous 12-month period. Platforms must suspend accounts if the info is not provided within 10 days of the platform’s request. Information to be collected includes the seller’s name, address, telephone number, tax id, bank account information (with alternative for sellers without bank accounts), and if an entity seller, a valid government-issued ID for an individual acting on a seller’s behalf, or a copy of a government-issued record or tax document that includes the name and physical address of the seller.

For high-volume third-party sellers with $20,000 or more in annual gross revenue, marketplaces must provide buyers with clear and conspicuous information about the seller (certain seller contact info) on the seller’s product listing pages, or order confirmations/buyer’s transaction history.

E-commerce businesses should be aware of these new laws due to the 10-day compliance requirement, as their account could be suspended for noncompliance. The marketplaces will probably be sending out alerts over the next few months concerning the new requirements and when information must be provided. Under the federal law, online marketplaces must comply by June 27, 2023, and under California law by July 1, 2023. Other states such as Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, and Ohio have similar laws. Expect other states to follow suit.

Small business marketplaces that must comply should update their privacy policies to add this new information being collected, and how it will be used and secured. Expect nationwide marketplaces to do the same.

Obviously, there are concerns about the privacy and security of seller information, and suspension of e-commerce business accounts for failure to comply. Businesses can ask about how the marketplace is securing personal information if they don't disclose that up front.

Have questions or need help with compliance? Please contact Evening Legal for a consultation.

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Evening Legal

12/01/2022

Put it in writing!

If your business has a transaction with another company, the details should be in a written contract. Oral agreements are ok sometimes if you have a longstanding relationship of trust with another company. Some agreements don't use contracts signed by both parties; simple purchase orders might be used. But there should be some written evidence of what the parties agreed on.

Remember that employees leave, and the person you negotiated with before may no longer be there. New people may not remember the terms, or feel the same way about the deal as the former people you were negotiating with.

As a general practice, you should have a written contract signed by both parties. Failing to have a written contract could lead to disputes over the terms. Memories fade over time, and documents get lost. Put it in writing.

10/27/2022

A "trade name" is the name of the business entity (sole proprietor, LLC, corporation, etc.) that is offering goods or services. A "trademark" is the name of the goods or services being offered by that entity ("Nike" for athletic gear, "Bounce" for fabric softener, etc.). A company's trade name can be the same as the company's trademark (Nike, Inc., the corporation, offers "Nike" brand of athletic gear).

Trade names and trademarks are very similar and they have similar legal rights, but they differ in some ways. Before you adopt an entity name or trademark, do a trade name and trademark "search" to make sure you're not stepping on another company's legal rights. Protect your company's trade name and trademarks; they are valuable assets.

Need a trade name or trademark search, or help with trademark registration? Contact Evening Legal.

10/23/2022

California domestic/foreign corporations:

Have your shareholders decided on the 2023 board of directors; has the board decided on the 2023 officers? Vote by formal meeting or written consent before the end of the year, so they are ready to go on January 1 (depending on your fiscal year and if there are staggered terms).

09/24/2022

Have you finished your 2023 business plan? If not, start now and have a goal of finishing it by the end of November.

Take a look back at 2022, and use that info to create goals for next year. Keep it simple.

Here are some things to consider:

Revenue goals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as needed)

Expenses (weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as needed)

New goods/services to consider

Marketing activities

Old/new competition

Market changes

Your vacation/down time (it's important)

Contracts- when was the last time you had them reviewed? Laws and business environments change; your contracts may need to be freshened up...

New IP you need to create/protect (trademarks? copyright protected work?)

New/change in entity? (LLC, corp, etc.)

Get it done early, for once. It will feel GREAT! 😉

Need help with contract reviews or trademarks/copyrights? Want to set up a new sole proprietorship, LLC or corporation? Contact Evening Legal.