Providing Legal Protection for your Business

Entering into any business venture always has some sort of risk. There are no guarantees that the business will become successful. More often than not, start up companies fall flat before they even get out of the starting gate.

To protect ones personal and professional assets when entering Into such a venture, one of the easiest and smartest things to do is to form some form of corporate shield, namely an LLC.

An LLC is a Limited Liability Company that affords legal protection to a business as allows said business to be viewed as an entity and not as a living breathing person. With said legal entity status comes legal protection and allows the business to stand out on it's own without holding the members of the entity personally liable for any financial issues and concerns. In other words, if the company goes "belly up," under an LLC the members will not have to sell their homes and put their prized baseball collection on eBay.

To form a Limited Liability Company, one needs to first file Articles of Organization with the Department of State. Once approved, the LLC needs to be published in 2 local newspapers for a set period of time. After the required publication period ends, a Certificate of Publication is filed with the Department of State and that is that. The procedure is relatively painless and well worth it.

For more information on this topic and similar legal matters, such as forming a PLLC, LLP, or PC, please visit www.carbonelawyer.com.

Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Carbone & Carbone LLP, Attorneys at Law

Social Media is No Legal Lame Duck

I have touched upon this topic in the past but after some recent experience I feel it is worth going over again. In this new decade of overwhelming social media, with forums such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, people now open themselves up to more liability in what they say. No more does testimony in court boil down to "he said, she said."

Now with Facebook, practically taking the world by storm overnight, said communication is permanently embedded and one must live with the consequences once they make their proclamations. Judges and attorneys now refer to social media communications without much scrutiny to its authenticity and validity. Most jurisdictions are taking the communication at face value and things progress from there. No more is Facebook and similar technology considered to be "kids stuff." Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook said he wanted to change the world and he did. What is impressive to me is that he went so far as to infiltrate and change the legal system to an extent which has always been historically conservative with regard to change.

In recent news, comedian Gilbert Gottfried made some remarks on his Twitter page that made light of the latest tsunami in Japan. Gilbert was subsequently fired from his job as spokesperson for insurance giant Aflac. For those who are unaware, Gottfried provided the voice of the duck which appeared on virtually all of Aflac's commercials. It is up for debate as to whether Gilbert should of been fired for his Twitter comments alone, but what is not up for debate is the fact that communication on Social Media outlets do not go unnoticed.

So if you are a frequent user of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and the like, make sure what you say is something you are comfortable with the world knowing. If not, comments made in haste can come back to legally haunt you. Just ask Gilbert "Got-fired."

For more on technology within litigation and other similar legal topics, feel free to visit www.carbonelawyer.com.

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

Trials and Tribulations

In the legal world, the trial portion of procedure is looked upon as the final frontier. It is the culmination of pleadings, negotiations, conferences, etc. If a case goes to trial, it basically means that the parties could not reach a settlement and therefore they are putting all of their faith and trust in the presiding judge.

Going to trial, whether it be a civil or criminal matter always carries some risks. Unlike a settlement, the parties face an unknown outcome and are essentially rolling the dice, so to speak. A trial is often look at as an all or nothing type of thing. A person can walk out of the court room as happy as a clam or they can be dragged out kicking and screaming.

For this very reason it is extremely important for litigants to enter into negotiations with an open mind and decent attitude. When it comes to reaching a settlement, the parties have, at the very least, some sort of control over their own destiny. This in part will help guarantee them with an outcome they can live with. One or more parties may not get exactly what they were looking for but with a reasonable settlement, they at least have the opportunity to come to some sort of acceptable compromise.

More often than not, however, emotions get the better of us and we as a whole are not quick to compromise when it comes to issues we believe in and feel strongly about. When this occurs, settlement negotiations typically are thrown out the window and it's off to trial, full steam ahead. This is all well and good, but again, going to trial can be risky business and should only be conducted on legal merit and not on haste and raw emotion.

So the next time you or someone you care about is faced with a legal dilemma, make sure heads remain as cool as possible. In doing so, you will have a greater chance to prevail and prosper.

For more on trial procedure and other similar legal topics, feel free to visit www.carbonelawyer.com

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

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