Last week the Seattle Times reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil fraud suit against local developer Lobsang Dargey, alleging that he stole nearly $18 million for his own use from immigrant investors under the EB-5 program. The program allows wealthy foreigners to invest money ($500,000 at a minimum) in a... View Article
The headlines associated with audits of independent contractor vs employee relationships have died down, but the revenue agencies are still aggressively pursuing these areas. It’s essential that you have clear documentation that each contractor relationship you’ve entered into meets the legal requirements so that you can present these in the event of an audit and... View Article
As we’ve been discussing business deals – whether it’s a purchase and sale transaction or a services contract – each “deal” involves some aspect of negotiation. Sometimes the negotiation happens early in the process when the parties are getting to know one another. However, we most often think of negotiation occurring when the parties are... View Article
When looking at best practices in hiring and firing, we consider how to get those right people on board and how to end the relationship when things aren’t going well. Both facets of this process are difficult but some key practices can make things much simpler. Plan ahead. Anticipate your hiring needs a year in advance. ... View Article
Our guest blog comes from Andrew Crowder, International Trade Specialist, Washington Department of Commerce 95% of the population of the world lives outside US borders. If your business is not exporting, you are not playing the business game at its true size. Exporting can be a potent source of growth for your business. By exporting, you... View Article
Over the past 18 months, many great ideas and inventions have come to the surface. Maybe creativity and innovation is correlated with high levels of unemployment… I haven’t looked into this but it makes sense. Whatever the reason, we’ve seen more new products and concepts coming to market and our patent lawyer colleagues had a... View Article