VW Blog General Business

We are back with our Understanding Basic Contracts series with a post about the often seen, but little understood, “Liability” or “Liability Limitation” Section. The liability limitation section, much like the indemnification clause, is all about allocating risk and monetary […]

This is a brief primer regarding the typical names and usages of different types of product and service agreements, particularly in the technology space, so you have a better understanding of what types of agreements you might need for your startup’s services and products; and what to expect from someone else.

A client reached out yesterday to ask what the difference was between an independent contractor agreement and a master services agreement. He had two sitting in his inbox – different titles, though they were for the same project. At their […]

I know, it seems like a simple contractual provision. It can be, but a lack of detail in the payment section of a contract can be disastrous. Take the following provision for example: Payment: “Contractor shall be paid $40,000 for […]

One of the most confusing, yet critical, sections of a contract is the indemnification section. Hard word, hard section. Hopefully this blog will help. “To indemnify” means to compensate someone for his/her harm or loss. In most contracts, an indemnification […]

All contracts will have a term (length of the agreement) and termination (how you terminate the agreement) clause. Well, they should have a termination clause. As I wrote last time, it’s important to take great care in reviewing your contracts […]

A client of mine called me last week to express her frustration with a vendor. The vendor wasn’t turning around the work in a timely fashion, and this was severely impacting her business. She wanted out of the contract. My […]

A common misconception in any startup is thinking ownership percentage equates directly with control. While it’s true that the majority equity holder(s) usually controls the business, this isn’t necessarily always the case. Let’s break it down. Day-to-Day Operations Day-to-day operations […]

As I’ve discussed before, the four external pillars of any small business are a lawyer, a CPA, a banker, and an insurance broker. Each of these professionals will be critical to the growth and health of your business. The first […]

A question I often hear from startups when discussing initial legal work is, “How much will this cost?” This is the wrong question – most startups are looking at their legal expense the wrong way. They should be asking, “How […]