BLOG: Impact of California Consumer Privacy Act on Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) will go into effect on January 1, 2020.  Similar to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), CCPA creates significant compliance challenges for government contractors and commercial businesses doing business in California, with several states following suit.  Under CCPA, fines from the Attorney General for businesses that do not comply could be as high as $7,500 per violation, with CCPA also granting consumers the right to bring private action, exposing companies to actual and . . . Read More

BLOG: Corporate Transactions and Affiliation Pitfalls

As a small business grows and expands, it may have opportunities to bring on new investors, provide equity incentives to obtain, incentivize and retain key employees and directors, and enter into acquisitions and other transactions with other entities. These investments and transactions can support the business’s stability and future growth but may also raise unintended affiliation issues. Because the Small Business Administration (SBA) includes the business’s affiliates when determining its size, pursuing these transactions may affiliate the business with other . . . Read More

BLOG: The Relationship Between Privacy and Trust

Recently, there has been an advertisement running during March Madness from Apple that is all about privacy. If your household has been watching as much college basketball as mine has, then you’ve likely seen it. It’s a minute full of real-world examples of how people value their personal privacy. None of those examples are particularly significant but, in the aggregate, it shows that this remains an issue that people are deeply concerned about. That concern, of course, is then applied . . . Read More

BLOG: New IRS Requirements for EIN Applications Go Into Effect May 13, 2019

As we have all been scrambling to get our taxes completed this month, a new IRS requirement may have been overlooked that goes into effect on May 13, 2019. This new requirement impacts the process by which any new entity (including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, and corporations) can apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), the 9-digit identification number assigned to entities for tax filing and reporting purposes. The new requirements will impact all of our clients engaged . . . Read More

Avoiding Flat Tires When Acquiring IDIQ Contract Vehicles

With proposals costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and many IDIQs having 50 or more awardees, it can easily happen that some contractors who win a spot on a contract are unable to capitalize on it and simply stop trying to capture task orders. Whether it was because the initial win was based on sheer luck or perhaps because of a tragic, unforeseeable change in circumstances, making it impossible to bid or even keep the company doors open, a contractor . . . Read More

Growing Pains: Growth Capital Sources and Considerations Part 2: Private Equity Financing

At a certain point in a company’s life cycle, founders are likely to be faced with the financial pinch of requiring outside sources of funding to finance further growth and expansion of the business. Previously, I posted  an article  that focused on one of the two most common paths that companies turn to for growth capital financing: traditional bank debt. In this post, I will focus on the second of the most common sources of financing—private equity investment. Private equity investments can . . . Read More

You’ve Decided to Sell Your Business— How to Be Prepared to Execute the Deal

After years of building, growing, and investing in your business, there comes a point at which you start to think about an exit strategy. Perhaps your exit will be transitioning the ownership of your business to a family member or selling the majority of your ownership interest to an investor and taking a back seat going forward, or maybe it’s selling the whole business enterprise. Regardless of the type of exit you contemplate, selling a business is not for the . . . Read More

Growing Pains: Growth Capital Sources and Considerations Part 1: Debt Financing

At a certain point in a company’s life cycle, founders are likely to be faced with the financial pinch of requiring outside sources of funding to finance further growth and expansion of the business. Once bootstrapping ceases to be an option, there are two main avenues to pursue for growth capital: traditional bank debt or private equity investment. Both options present pros and cons, and they are not mutually exclusive. Ultimately, the route founders decide upon will depend on the . . . Read More

SBA Eliminates “Direct” Ownership Rules for HUBZone Program

On March 26, 2018, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a direct final rule that changed the wording of 13 C.F.R. § 126.200(b)(1) to allow indirect ownership by U.S. citizens of companies in the HUBZone program. The stated purpose of the rule change is to align more accurately the rule with the underlying statutory authority. Prior to this change the HUBZone rules required that a HUBZone company be “unconditionally and directly owned” by U.S. citizens. The rule took effect . . . Read More

Corporate Record-Keeping and Compliance, or “Do I Really Need to Hold a Shareholders’ Meeting If I Am the Only Shareholder?”

When we are asked to review client corporate record-keeping, it is far too often the case that such record-keeping has fallen by the wayside and been overlooked. We understand that, for small businesses and/or entities with only a handful of equity owners, corporate record-keeping can seem a tedious or expensive chore. Some clients have asked “Do I really need to hold a shareholders meeting if I am the only shareholder?” The short answer is, “Yes, you do.” Both corporations and . . . Read More