The Danger From Within: Texas Appellate Court Sets Higher Bar For Companies...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)It is no longer news to report that Texas has become a hostile forum for corporate (and other) plaintiffs who recover large jury awards. For more than a decade, the press has...
View ArticleToo Much Money: Can a Minority Shareholder Succeed on a Breach of Fiduciary...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)TOO MUCH FUNBy Daryle SingletaryToo much fun, what’s that mean? It’s like too much money, there’s no such thingIt’s like a girl too pretty with too much classBeing too lucky,...
View ArticleRisks Posed By “Do It Yourself” Legal Contracts: Just Don’t Do It
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)Private company business owners often feel pressured to hold the line on costs, and the pressure only increases as market conditions become more challenging. At the same time,...
View ArticleMaking Your Business Prosper, Not Just Survive: Hiring All-Stars and Avoiding...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)Hiring the wrong people can quickly push a company off course, especially a growing private company. This seems obvious, yet statistics show that companies do a remarkably...
View ArticleSuccessful Private Company Investing: Paying Attention to Danger Signs
Buy low and sell high. Sounds simple – and attractive. The buy low/sell high mantra is particularly enticing when applied to purchasing a minority stake in a private company, which has enormous...
View ArticlePutting on the Ritz on the Company Dime: The Problem of Excessive Executive...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)“Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This well-known quote from Lord John Acton in the late 1800’s is perhaps most often applied to dictators who managed...
View ArticleWhen Sweeteners Turn Sour: Recent Texas Supreme Court Case Highlights...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)Earn-out provisions in purchase contracts are “sweeteners” than can add significant value to the purchase price in the sale of private companies and these terms are...
View ArticleDisastrous Partners: The Problem of Highly Dysfunctional Business Partners...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas) It feels like a sharp punch to the stomach – a physical reaction to the sudden realization that a longtime business partner’s actions have put the business at risk. This is not...
View ArticleDisastrous Business Partners Part 2: Confronting the Highly Dysfunctional...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)In the National Football League, quarterbacks may receive too much credit when their team wins and too much blame when they lose. It is easier celebrate or criticize the person...
View ArticleFAMILY LAW POST: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, But You Can (Likely) Get...
By: Frances Ellenbogen (Houston) and Ladd Hirsch (Dallas) During a marital divorce, a couple can work cooperatively to divide the assets in their marital estate, including the interests they own in...
View ArticleSwimming with the Sharks (Part 1): Attracting Private Equity Investment in...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)For years, use of the term shark in a business context referred to unsavory characters such as shady lenders, sketchy lawyers and unscrupulous business people. More recently,...
View ArticleSwimming with the Sharks (Part 2): Don’t Become Chum in the Water After...
By: Ladd HirschPart 1 of this series focused on how private company owners can make their businesses attractive to private equity (PE) investors like those on the hit TV show “Shark Tank.” The...
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court’s Recent Decision Helps Business Owners Keep the Wraps on...
By Ladd HirschEnsuring that Trade Secrets Stay Secret One of the NFL’s most legendary football coaches, Vince Lombardi, is known for fiery speeches extolling his players that “Winning isn’t...
View ArticleFAMILY LAW POST: Co-Owning a Business After Divorce? Your Ex-Spouse May Still...
By Frances Ellenbogen (Houston) and Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)Conventional wisdom is not always so wise. In the case of divorce, conventional wisdom holds that the divorcing couple must divide all of their...
View ArticleThe Eye of the Beholder: Valuing a Private Company Ownership Interest
By: Charles Rubio and Ladd HirschUnlike public company stock, which actively trades electronically on national exchanges at published prices, ownership interests in private companies, and minority...
View ArticleBusiness Succession Planning Part 1: Don’t Wait for An Emergency to Put a...
The health-minded business owner who diets, exercises and receives good medical care, may receive a robust physical report suggesting he or she will live forever. Counting on immortality as a...
View ArticleBusiness Succession Planning Part 2 – Putting Your All-Stars in Play
The successful business owner needs to be able to multi-task, including in the area of succession planning. As noted in the previous post, business owners need to develop and then implement two...
View ArticleSuccession Planning Part 3: Ownership Transition – Passing on the Keys to the...
“If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there.” -The Cheshire Cat As the wily feline wisely suggested to Alice, knowing where you are going is the key to knowing how to get...
View ArticlePartnership Disputes: He is Heavy and Is Not My Brother; Paths for Partners...
Most relationships involve conflict at some point, and business partnerships are not immune. In fact, the intense pressure on businesses makes it more likely that business partners will have...
View ArticleBusiness Partner Exits (Part 2): Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Especially When...
By: Ladd Hirsch (Dallas)The flight attendants on commercial flights notify passengers where the exits on the plane are located. Fortunately, the vast majority of air travelers never have to put this...
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