By Naveed Cheraghchi & Brian J. Reilly With the start of the New Year comes the enforcement of one of the country’s most anticipated pieces of legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In many ways, the CCPA is similar to its European counterpart, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This edition of Three Things provides a...
By Brian Reilly and Colin Coleman When starting a company, founders are immediately faced with a series of decisions, many of which will have long-lasting impacts that may not become apparent for months or years. Founders need to decide in which state to form their business entity, the type of business entity, and the specific...
By Alicia J. Samolis On July 15, 2019, Rhode Island’s Governor signed into law the Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act (the “Act”), limiting the enforceability of restrictive covenants with certain employees. Its limited applicability largely makes the law irrelevant, with a handful of critical exceptions. Unlike the Massachusetts law, there is no grandfathering provision – meaning agreements...
By Colin Coleman and Jeff Sarasohn During Fall 2018, the Boston City Council approved, and Mayor Marty Walsh signed into law, a new City of Boston ordinance regarding Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements (the “Lobbyist Ordinance”). The first periodic disclosure statement under the Lobbyist Ordinance must be submitted no later than July 20, 2019. This...
By Colin Coleman and Brian Reilly Too many closely-held businesses suffer from poorly drafted operating or shareholder agreements, or have no written agreements in place at all. Without good documentation, there is no road map to guide the partners when the going gets tough. And, when the going gets tough, the tough often hire lawyers....
By Russell J. Stein The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (the “DOR”) has recently issued two Technical Information Releases of importance to taxpayers. In TIR 19-7, the DOR provides guidance on the applicability of the Federal Opportunity Zone tax benefits under Massachusetts tax law, clarifying that while the benefits are available to corporate taxpayers they are...
By Colin Coleman, John Ottaviani, and Brian Reilly Does your business provide company or customer data to any of its vendors? If so, do you know what contractual provisions are in place to protect your business in the event of a data breach by your vendor? Vendors typically try to limit their liability under their contracts...
New to the angel or seed investing world? If the answer is yes, then looking at potential investment opportunities can be a daunting task – especially if you are in a market like Boston, Silicon Valley, or New York City, where there are large, well developed startup ecosystems and lots of investment opportunities. PSH Partner,...
By Brian Reilly Thirty-three states, including Rhode Island, allow a for-profit entity to form as a benefit corporation in lieu of a traditional corporation. The downside is officers and directors of benefit corporations face burdens and costs that leaders of traditional corporations do not. Because benefit corporations are for-profit entities, officers and directors must consider...
For Decades corporations have incorporated mandatory arbitration provisions into contracts in an effort to control litigation expense and uncertainty and to secure the adjudication of disputes in the forum of their choosing. Reliance on contractual arbitration provisions to obtain these outcomes in cases which involve claims directly against employees may be unwise as a result...
