Connecticut Insurance Deparment Requires Notification of Privacy Security Breaches

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Here is one of those convergence points where business law and privacy law intersect and effectuate additional administrative duties on the business holder.  In a rather interesting bulletin, the Connecticut Department of Insurance issued a directive on August 18, 2010, requiring "that all licensees and registrants of the Department notify the Department of any information security incident which affects any Connecticut residents as soon as the incident is identified, but no later than five (5)...Read More »

INDIANA PROBATE LITIGATION—ANSWERS IN A WILL CONTEST

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 by Scott Kreider

Your friendly Indianapolis attorney at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP here, this time with a probate law update. The Court of Appeals of Indiana decided an issue of first impression yesterday in an Indiana probate litigation matter.  The case was Avery v. Avery, --- N.E.2d ---, cause no. 49A05-1004-PL-320 (Ind. Ct. App. Sept. 7, 2010).  In short, the Court concluded that an answer is required in a will contest.  A copy of that published opinion may be found here.

The facts relevant to the issue on...

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Funding Law - Guidelines For Business Plans

Saturday, September 4, 2010 by David Castor
Today I am preparing for a guest lecture at Purdue University's Discovery Park this week on developing business plans and my experience as an entrepreneur.  I read a lot of business plans - about 100 per year, and I also help draft business plans and pro formas for business law clients and my own companies. 

Here are some general guidelines to consider when developing a business plan:

1.    Write to the intended audience.  Is the reader the leadership team or potential investors?  If to...Read More »

Memo from Uncle Sam: Die Hard 4 wasn't all that impossible; let us help you

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Another post that doesn't quite fit neatly into Indiana Internet litigation or privacy law, but that intrigues me.  BusinessWeek, passing along a Tim Greene article from NetworkWorld (found here: www.networkworld.com/nwlookup.jsp), is reporting that the U.S. military has issued an essay in which it urges its expertise in defense be put to use in protecting civilian networked infrastructure, such as power grids, financial institutions, etc.  The essay from Foreign Affairs sets out the concept...Read More »

Repost: Internet Rewards Program Class Action Survives Initial Motion to Dismiss -- In re Easysaver Rewards

Sunday, August 29, 2010 by Chris Stephen
I don't often blanket repost other blogs that I see, however, in this instance, I think it is appropriate.  Venkat, writing for Professor Goldman's blog, writes an excellent analysis of the recent ruling in the In re: Easysaver Rewards Litigation(S.D. Cal. August 13, 2010).  This is a very interesting case in that it covers several different, more traditional causes of action and analysis.  I'm interested to see what ramification this case is going to have on SaaS law and privacy litigation....Read More »

FTC settles case with paid reviewer

Sunday, August 29, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Back in October, 2009, I posted about the new endorsement / testimonial rules set out by the Federal Trad Commission (blog.alerdingcastor.com/blog/alerding-castor/0/0/ftc-makes-changes-to-blog-law).  There has been some development since that time, but mostly everyone is still watching and waiting.  The FTC did threaten to pursue Ann Taylor back in April, but otherwise, it has been relatively silent.

That is, however, until now.  On August 26, 2010, the FTC reached a settlement with Reverb...Read More »

Business Law - Being A Deal Maker

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by David Castor
One of my favorite aspects of building a business law / private equity firm is seeing clients set and reach business goals.  Many clients face complicated issues that need careful legal analysis and creative planning.  Unfortuantely, most attorneys focus on the problems with the complicated deals and have trouble finding creative ways to navigate the legal minefield.  Alerding Castor Hewitt takes a unique approach on business law in that we consider ourselves "deal makers" rather than what...Read More »

Discoverability of social networking profiles in Federal court

Friday, August 6, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Gather 'round kids, this one is interesting.  The decision actually came out in May, 2010, and I regret that I haven't had a chance to blog on it until now, but it is still a very interesting order that should have implications to privacy litigation, and litigation in general.  In EEOC v. Simply Storage Management, LLC, Docket No. 09-CV-01223, the Southern District of Indiana was faced with the issue of discovery of social networking profiles of two individuals that claimed sexual harrassment by...Read More »

INDIANAPOLIS LITIGATION—COMMISSIONS AND WAGES

Thursday, August 5, 2010 by Scott Kreider

It’s not often that we at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP run into issues regarding the payment of commissions for our business law, SaaS law, and Indiana technology clients.  When the subject does arise, however, it usually occurs when an employee separates from employment and makes a wage claim for unpaid commissions.  The debate about whether the commissions are wages centers on whether the employee was entitled to the commission at the time of sale OR when the client pays for the product,...

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Indianapolis Litigation—Collections And That Pesky Memo Line On Checks

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 by Scott Kreider

Your friendly Indianapolis attorney at Alerding Castor Hewitt LLP here with an issue for those of you who, from time to time, might find yourselves embroiled in collections litigation over business law, SaaS law, or technology law matters.  How often have you seen a debtor issue a check for payment and include on the memo line words to the effect of “as full satisfaction of claim,” “final payment in full of debt,” or some similar words despite the fact that the debtor owes you more than the...

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ALERDING CASTOR HEWITT, LLP CLIENT NAMED 10TH FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANY IN INDIANA FOR THIRD TIME

Friday, July 23, 2010 by Lainey Scheetz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2010
Contact: Lainey Scheetz
317.403.9012
lscheetz@alerdingcastor.com

ALERDING CASTOR HEWITT, LLP CLIENT NAMED 10TH FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANY IN INDIANA FOR THIRD TIME

Indianapolis, IN – Iasta, the leading provider of eSourcing software and solutions, was titled as the 10th Fastest Growing Private Company in Indiana for 2010 by the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ).  A third time honoree, Iasta boosted its three-year growth rate at 134 percent.

The report...

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Entrepreneurial Law - Don't Raise Too Much Capital

Thursday, July 22, 2010 by David Castor
I read a Guy Kawasaki blog post this week where he walked through six reasons why an abundance of capital can hurt an early stage business.  In my entreprenurial law / funding law practice I work with a lot of business owners through capital strategies and the private equity processes.  Honestly, the drafting of a private placement memorandum is the easy part of my practice.  The hard part is creating the proper capital structure for the long term growth and success and reaching investors who...Read More »

Facebook ownership lawsuit results in asset-freezing TRO

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 by Chris Stephen
This one is a fun little piece of pseudo-software litigation.  The basic facts are that Facebook and its majority stockholder Mark Zuckerberg have been sued by Paul D. Ceglia, who claims 84% ownership in the website juggernaut.  The part of this story that has been clogging the Net is that a state court judge in New York actually issued a temporary restraining order ("TRO") prohibiting Zuckerberg and Facebook, Inc. from disposing or selling any of its assets.  This has produced the...Read More »

Imposing the long-arm of the law over the Internet

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Your friendly neighborhood technology counsel here:  A couple of recent state court decisions are going to start personal injury attorneys frothing at the mouth, and might render some sleepless nights for defense attorneys.  Both Ohio and Florida recently issued opinions in which they applied their state's respective long-arm statutes to garner personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state resident for tortious conduct that transpired over the Internet. 

First, you need to know what a long-arm...Read More »

PURE Eatery Delivers Fresh Honest Food

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 by Janet Monroe
Pure Eatery Fresh Honest FoodToday is an exciting day for Indianapolis with the establishment of a brand new local eatery called "Pure" located in Fountain Square at 1043 Virginia Avenue. 

Working with the business owners through Indiana entrepreneurial law, I checked in to see what the place had to offer this afternoon.  I couldn't be more excited about the fresh flavors and the funky atmosphere.  With original artwork and high ceilings, it has a Chicago vibe with a menu focused on fresh honest food.  Perfect.

Today I chose... Read More »

Funding Law – Investor Impatience

Friday, June 18, 2010 by David Castor
I read around 2 new business plans per week – about 100 per year.  Some private equity investors I know read upwards of 10 per week – or about 500 per year.  When you are reviewing that many of anything, you get impatient.  That is why I encourage business owners writing plans for private equity investors or angel investor groups to be succinct. 

Get to the point.  What does your company do?  What pain are you solving in the market?  How will you do that at a profit?

Business summaries should...Read More »

Random Thoughts On Private Equity

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 by David Castor
2010 continues to prove successful for many of our clients.  In the area of business law and private equity we continue to see many of our clients receive funding and meet their capital goals.  That is exciting.  We are up to 9 clients that have done so this calendar year.

We have several other clients who are still pursuing capital under a Red D exemption / private placement offering.  We are very cautious about who we take on as clients, and I am hopeful that each will be funded in full soon.

I...Read More »

SaaS Law – Considerations When Developing B2B Business Models

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 by David Castor
Some B2B business models do well in targeting early stage customers (e.g., less than $5MM revenue) but have trouble scaling with customers as they grow.  Other B2B models cannot hit a price point for early stage customers and must target customers at later business stages. 

I recently saw a business model that concerned me on this point.  The SaaS application in the model was not cost effective for early stage customers – there are market alternatives that are offered for free that do just about...Read More »

Entrepreneurial Law - Talk to Investors

Friday, May 28, 2010 by David Castor
If you are a founder of an emerging company looking to do your first capital raise, consider talking to angel investors BEFORE having your private equity attorney draft the organizational and exempt securities documents for your private placement offering.  I meet a lot of business owners at this stage who make guesses as to what investors are looking for and what the market will bear.  What pre-money valuation should we use?  What preferences (if any) should we include in the private placement...Read More »

Changes in the Get Hope. Get Help provisions

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 by Chris Stephen
Your friendly neighborhood technology counsel here:  As you likely know, my goal is to become THE Indiana technology lawyer; however, technology is not my only area of interest.  Like many of the  folks at Alerding Castor Hewitt, technology law is a passion, but we all strive to be a full service law firm for all businesses.  Thus, in addition to tech stuff, I also litigate matters for several banking and business clients.  And, as any good lawyer does, when I see changes in the law that may...Read More »