What do you think?

(Hat Tip: Michael Mason Norman, ED.D. — Thanks!)

Bottom line:  make sure you take appropriate precautions to erase the hard drive when you get rid of your digital copier.

If you do not timely file annual registrations, you run the risk that the Secretary of State may administratively dissolve your entity.  More importantly, if you do not follow proper corporate formalities, such as holding annual meetings, keeping accurate minutes and updating other corporate records, you subject your personal assets to potential liability through corporate veil piercing.  The veil of a company’s separate existence is pierced and the owners exposed to personal liability when a court determines a debt is not really a debt of the company, but ought, in fairness, to be viewed as a debt of the owner.  While there are many factors for piercing the corporate veil, failure to follow corporate formalities is a typical factor.

Annual corporate maintenance is certainly something you can do on your own, if you like.  Alternatively, you can engage your corporate attorney to assist.  It should not cost a fortune — in fact, I typically offer a flat fee annual maintenance package.  Whether you do it yourself or engage an attorney, I suggest you spend a few minutes thinking about annual corporate maintenance before the year ends.  It is also a good opportunity to do a general check-in with your corporate counsel on other business and legal matters.  You will then be ready to ring in the new year!

Recent research conducted with Russell Herder confirms that confidence exists in social networking as viable communication outreach, but so do worries about the potential liabilities involved. Concerns regarding social media use were acknowledged by some eight in 10 businesses participating in the national study, which was conducted over the month of July.  Fifty-one percent fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity, while almost half (49%) assert that using social media could damage company reputation.

Despite these apprehensions, social networking is being viewed as a key strategy. According to survey results, eight in 10 senior management, human resource and marketing executives believe social media can enhance relationships with customers/clients and build brand reputation. Almost 70 percent feel such networking can be valuable in recruitment, as a customer service tool (64%) and used to enhance employee morale (46%). The most popular vehicles being used include:

Much of senior management’s direct experience with social media appears to be reactive versus proactive, an interesting fact given the confidence they express in these new mediums. The majority (74%) of executives surveyed said that they, personally, visit social media sites at least weekly to read what customers may be saying about their company, and routinely monitor competitors’ use of social networking. One in three search social media sites to see what their employees are sharing; or check the background of a prospective employee (25%).

Social media has delivered incredible potential to build relationships, increase organizational effectiveness and grow brands, but its use is clearly raising questions in the board room. Should employees be encouraged to use social networking to enhance marketing outreach? Or will such activity impede productivity in an already tight economy? And what about reputational risk?

Rather than bypass the social media opportunity, organizations should embrace it while taking steps to educate their team about internal guidelines and best practices.

Yet, remarkably few efforts are being made to mitigate the risks. Only one in three businesses surveyed by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law have a policy in place to govern social media use, and only 10 percent said they have conducted relevant employee training. Why? One of the main reasons, according to respondents, is uncertainty about what to include in such policies.

So what should be included in a good social media policy? Be sure to read about the key elements in our upcoming blog post.

How does your organization handle social media? What do you do to mitigate the risks? We’d love to hear about your experience, so be sure to leave your comments.

The articles generally discuss how a law degree does not provide attorneys with much, if any, business education.  “Basically you spend three years [in law school] reading appellate court opinions and you don’t learn anything about building a clientele,” said an Illinois business development consultant.  In law school, attorneys never get the chance to learn about important business topics, such finance, accounting, marketing, risk analysis, organizational behavior, strategic management and leadership.  Without training in these areas, attorneys speak a different language than their business clients, which can present barriers and impede the best representation.

A director of professional development at a large East Coast firm was quoted as saying “[w]e realized our associates don’t have an inside view of how our clients work.”  Another partner at a major East Coast firm noted that “[w]hen you have the kind of challenges we have right now, (you need) really well-trained, smart managers talking the same language.”  Finally, the head of client development at a large international firm said “[l]awyers are business solutions and to be able to be that, you must have an understanding of business dynamics.”

It seems clear that for attorneys who represent businesses, especially on transactional matters, finding an attorney who really understands your business is vital.  This understanding may come from an MBA, other training or just experience — but it must be there or you are not hiring the best resource.  Next time you call your attorney, ask yourself, “does he or she really understand my business?”  If not, look for an attorney that does.

There has been a proliferation of legal self-help websites that offer all types of legal documentation, from wills to divorces and from incorporations to bankruptcy. These sites offer “solutions” to your legal problems at rock-bottom prices. But just what do they really do and are they an acceptable replacement to an attorney?

The disclaimers read something like this: The information provided on this site is not legal advice. This service is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This service cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. And they go on for pages from there. So, it is clear, these companies are not offering legal advice, but instead are offering documents that attempt to solve general legal problems, based on your direction. The important decision of whether the documents work in your circumstance (and what documents you need) is left solely up to you. The problem is that most times, you are not sure what the issues are and don’t know if the provided documents really satisfy your issues – or worse, raise more issues. This is the central problem with legal self-help.

I am not suggesting that self-help legal sites are evil or should be avoided. On the contrary, if you know exactly what you need, know the surrounding issues and know how to use the appropriate documentation, these sites offer a very convenient and inexpensive solution. However, for the majority of situations, I believe the insight of a skilled attorney can help flush out what the real issues are and how to solve them. Moreover, if something is done incorrectly in the beginning, it is typically far more expensive and complicated to fix later.

So, go to the legal self-help sites when you know exactly what you want and how to do it. However, if you have any uncertainty or question make sure you seek advice from a competent attorney. The time and money spent will be a good investment in your future.