Understanding the basics of a lease agreement

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Before a tenant agrees to lease a property, they should first take a good look at the lease agreement. Conversely, landlords or owners also need to comprehensively review the contract. This way, disputes can be minimized, if not eliminated altogether. Having just a handshake agreement is no longer a viable option.


The lease agreement should contain the following elements:

Parties

The agreement must clearly identify and define the lessor and lessee. Make sure all the details are correct, such as the rental property address and the full mailing address of both parties.


Term of lease

This defines the length of the lease. Stating the exact dates when the lease will start and end is more helpful than ambiguously putting the expected length of the agreement. Instead of writing, “This lease is for one year,” it is better to write the day, month, and year.

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Amount of rent due

To serve as reference for both parties, the specifics of the rent due should be included in the agreement. The full amount over the established length of the agreement needs to be stated, as well as how much would be charged every month or period. The due date should also be specifically listed.


David Baer has served in a leadership role drafting and negotiating complex agreements, such as lease agreements, license and technology agreements, distributor agreements, and many more. For more discussion about these matters, follow this Twitter page.

Key major trends in international business

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In today’s increasingly global and interconnected world, international business plays a defined role in the rise of economies, as seen in emerging ones like India and Brazil. It’s the duty of managers to keep in touch with emerging trends and relevant disruptions if their respective businesses are to remain relevant and succeed. Let’s look at some major trends to watch in the coming years.


One development to pay attention to is the arrival of new models for supply chain management. While the focus in the past was to maintain tight inventories and limited production, most businesses now prefer to spread assembly in a widespread number of facilities in various parts of the world. This is proving to be the safer route, especially when considering natural disasters that can severely cripple the operations of companies whose facilities are located in just one area.


With the global deployment of fast internet connections come an improved virtual workforce. This

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is not to be mistaken with robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. While these are as crucial in international business, we are referring to the individuals who make use of such technologies as video conferencing, emails, chats, and instant messaging. Productivity is largely benefiting from the newfound synchronicity, as companies connect instantly, prioritize workloads, and develop 24/7 schedules with teams in other nations or time zones.


The rise of social media and rapid communication has led to more informed buyers who take advantage of web search engines and study tons of available reviews online before deciding on a product or service. In turn, image- and reputation-building become an integral part of international business models, with the premium being put on customer relations and support.


Attorney and entrepreneur David Baeris the COO and General Counsel for O’Shaughnessy Holding Company. The company excels in investing in and managing big companies, mainly those focused on the consumer goods industry. For more business musings and insights, click this link.

The Best Legal Structure For Startups – And Legal Pitfalls To Avoid

It’s easy to fall into legal pitfalls when a startup isn’t properly established, and its owner is treading dangerous grounds in the industry, as well as with regulations. Here’s a quick guide to navigating some different potential legal structures for the small business, and a few things to avoid on the legal front.

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Among the initial crucial decisions that need to be made is the legal structure for the business, which will be partly dictated by the tax structure and consequences. Sole proprietorship is the simplest of them, where solo business owners include their expenses and income from the business in their personal income tax return. It’s very simple, but lacks any legal protection for your personal assets.

A partnership can be general or limited. In the former, a creditor may go after any of the partners or all of them, while in the latter a general partner has unlimited personal liability and limited partners have limited liability. Again, it can only offer limited protections against your personal assets, so it may only be a good structure under specific conditions, commonly in real estate.

A corporation is an independent legal entity that stays separate from its owners, so there’s increased protection against personal liability in case the company faces bankruptcy or a lawsuit. It’s ideal for ventures requiring liability protection and looking ahead to grow. Depending on the type of corporation (C or S), owners could face double taxation – tax on the company’s profits and then a second tax on distributions taken by owners. A limited liability company (LLC) also provides liability protection enjoyed by corporations but without double taxation. In LLCs, earnings and losses go through owners and are incorporated in their personal tax returns.

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Startups have to be particularly careful around several issues, such as not making the deal and legal details clear with every co-founder, not complying with securities laws when issuing stock, neglecting intellectual property protection, and not taking important tax issues into account. A skilled, experienced commercial or business attorney can assist in dealing with these legal issues.

Attorney David Baer has core competencies in strategic business planning, execution, direction, business and culture transformation, business law, corporate governance, and tactical negotiations. More articles like this on this page.

Success Tips For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Success in entrepreneurship is often a result of vision, passion, and perseverance. These are not just big, abstract words; they equate to key tips and perspectives as you aspire for those milestones of business success.

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It helps when one has a mentor or coach to guide him or her forward, of course, but choosing to “go it alone” is fine as long as one is committed to the entrepreneurial journey. So, take that risk. You don’t want that what-if to haunt you nor fear of failure to dictate whether to go through a business venture or not. Assuming that you have thoroughly weighed the idea and done your requisite research, then take that first step. You’d never know until you try.

Work with what you are passionate about. Trends and statistics may show otherwise, but if you take up an endeavor that you truly believe in, then finding enjoyment and purpose despite challenges will keep you pushing on.

When beginning the venture, look for people who share your passion and values. Hire people for character, not skills; the latter can be taught and developed. Make the business vision clear to your staff from the get-go and aspire to be a team-oriented leader. Having a solid and motivated team will bolster your chances of success.

Know your goals and measure milestones in increments, not in ideals. A practical piece of advice is to plan for raising capital at the beginning stage. Celebrate little moments of success when you reach them while learning from mistakes when they occur.

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Finally, get to know your target market by heart. Customer service and support is crucial in any entrepreneurial venture, especially in the time of the internet and social media. If customers have complaints, do your best to address them quickly.

Attorney David Baer is passionate about using his expertise in business and legal affairs to strategize and solve complex organizational issues. As a leader, he has a strong business perspective and continues to focus on working harder, longer, and stronger. More on David’s work here.

When Worse Comes To Worst: How To File For Bankruptcy

While no business leader wants to think of filing for bankruptcy, there are situations when it becomes inevitable. Truthfully, filing for bankruptcy is a long process, one that can take months. However, if the professionals handling the filing know what they’re doing, then filing for bankruptcy should not be all that difficult. Experienced business lawyers are adept at helping businesses obtain bankruptcy protection if the company needs it.

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Bankruptcy is in place to help people start over when they experience a financial collapse. Through it, the court will check assets and liabilities of businesses or individuals who are unable to pay their bills or settle their debts and will determine whether or not the obligations should be paid.

The first step in filing for bankruptcy is to organize a list of debts, income, assets, and expenses – in short, a broad picture of the company’s financial situation.

Next, the company should hire a business lawyer (if it hasn’t yet) with experience in handling bankruptcy filings. An experienced attorney will be able to further explain the type of bankruptcy best suited for the company. Generally, there are two types of bankruptcy available for businesses: Chapter 7, where the company’s assets are liquidated to pay its creditors, and Chapter 11, where debt is reorganized and more time is given to the company to pay its creditors.

Once a type of bankruptcy is selected, the company should provide its attorney with the proper financial documents that include a list of creditors. The following steps depend on the type of bankruptcy the company has opted for.

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When the bankruptcy discharge arrives, the company will either cease its operations (if a Chapter 7 petition was chosen) or start paying its creditors via the reorganization plan brought about by Chapter 11.

David Baer is the COO and General Counsel for O’Shaughnessy Holding Company. Learn more about him and business law by checking out this blog.

What Are Common Business Litigation Issues?

Business law, sometimes referred to as corporate law, deals with the rights, relations, and conduct of companies, organizations, and the people that run them. Business litigation deals with the disputes and law suits on these matters. For those who are not well-versed with legal matters, business litigation can seem vague. And for those who want to start their own business, having some basic knowledge of this could be worth the read. Here are some common business litigation issues.

Business litigation can involve situations between business partners, vendors, suppliers, competitors, employees, or other parties that cannot be resolve on their own. One common example is breach of contract. This occurs when either side of a contract fails to meet the terms of their agreement. Often, a major cause of disputes that lead to breach of contract claims are contracts with ambiguous terms. Not having a clear agreement can cause disputes with major consequences.

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Deceptive trade practices, often referred to as fraud, is litigated when an individual or a company is deceived as part of a transaction or deal. This can often result from the misrepresentation by a party in whatever product or service they are trying to sell. Fraud, which often used in a very general sense, has a very specific legal meaning. Not all misrepresentation claims rise to the level of fraud.

Employment disputes are also common cases. These claims can occur when an employee is terminated, believes they are being treated unfairly, alleges discrimination or harassment, or in other circumstances.

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When individuals or businesses join together as partners, each partner generally has certain obligations and responsibilities they must execute with prudence and care. Disputes may arise from partners failing to uphold their end of the deal or acting out of self-interest. These disputes are often convoluted and expensive.

For business litigation, the best cure is always an ounce of prevention – having detailed agreements at the beginning of a relationship is a great way to prevent business litigation..

A passionate practitioner of business law, Attorney David Baer is also the COO and General Counsel for O’Shaughnessy Holding Company. To read more topics on business law, check out this blog.

What Business Leaders Need To Know Before Agreeing To a Merger (Or An Acquisition)

Mergers and acquisitions are part of the reality of business.  These events are both common and complex, and require a huge amount of preparation for smooth transitions.  However, there are some factors involved in mergers and acquisitions that cannot be controlled.  Be that as it may, these still have to be foreseen, taken into account, and carefully scrutinized.

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Take for instance the impact the merger or acquisition will have on the companies involved.  While seeing the future is impossible, there are certain aspects that can be predicted via research and due diligence, such as the financial strain for the first few quarters, and the potential reaction of the market to the merger.

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Other factors such as merging the company cultures and operational methods need extensive planning and consideration.  Companies are made of people – failure to properly address and plan for the people side of the transaction can lead to disastrous results.

There is no doubt that research, due diligence and planning can set and temper the expectations of company stakeholders. The ideal scenario is that after the transaction closes, and after the companies have stabilized post-merger, there is a synergistic affect and the sum of both companies far exceeds the individual companies as well as the effort put into the merger itself.

As the COO and General Counsel for O’Shaughnessy Holding Company, David Baer has all the passion and expertise for both business and law. Check out this page for more about him and his insights.