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Understanding SPACs’ Hidden Capital Costs

Over the past year, we have witnessed a boom in special purpose acquisition companies, with the SPAC method of going public seeing a meteoric rise in popularity as an alternative to the traditional initial public offering. Read more

Wind In The Sails For Climate Tech And Cleantech Startups

This publication is designed to provide authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought Read more

SEC Inquiry Into Blank-Check Boom Could Be Just The Start

Law360 (March 25, 2021, 8:58 PM EDT) — Reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is inquiring deeper into the explosion in blank-check offerings could be a prelude to further investigation to assure that investor protection concerns are being met, attorneys said Thursday. The SEC’s focus reportedly centers on the practices of investment banks …

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Quantum Computing Advantage: Today And Tomorrow

To date, the power of computing has enabled a remote economy, remote healthcare, remote collaboration, remote education, secure and contactless transactions, and intelligence that surpasses the human mind. New quantum computing power will usher in a brand new era — providing massive rewards to the companies and countries leading in the space, leaving laggards in …

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Incentivizing With Stock Options: What Your Startup Needs To Know About ISOs, NSOs And Other Parts Of The Alphabet Soup

By Louis Lehot, business lawyer and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley, and formerly the founder of L2 Counsel, P.C. At formation stage, a startup should adopt an equity incentive plan to pay service providers with equity and position itself to be able to recruit and retain talent. The most ubiquitous form of equity …

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The State Of The Acqui-Hire In 2021: The Good, The Bad, The Why And What’s Next

In the technology industry, whether in Cupertino or elsewhere in the Global Silicon Valley, the competition for the top talent required to grow to scale can be fierce. For decades, there have not been nearly enough STEM graduates to fill open spots. The road from #garage2global is tortuous, and a key ingredient to becoming #bigtech …

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6 Things You Need to Know About Early Exercisable Stock Options

For companies fighting for the best talent, or those that are well-advised, offering the early exercise of unvested stock options, also known as “early exercise stock options,” can be a key tool in the toolbox.  Allowing early exercise of stock options offers a key tax advantage by enabling holders to begin the holding period for …

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A Silicon Valley Take on AI Adoption

Although AI won’t replace the knowledge and experience of lawyers any time soon, great tools are becoming available to make our work more efficient and effective. In this webinar we will talk about how we use AI in our law practice and how you can apply it to make your knowledge work more efficient.

Tales From The Trenches – Venture Capital Term Sheets 101 (Part2)

Seed-Stage Financing Instruments Following are attributes of the key financing instruments used in the various stages of venture capital: Convertible Note – A form of short-term debt that converts into equity, typically in conjunction with a future financing round. Convertible notes used to “bridge” a startup that has previously raised equity capital to the next equity round …

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Tales From The Trenches – Venture Capital Term Sheets 101 (Part1)

By Louis Lehot, business lawyer and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley, and formerly the founder of L2 Counsel, P.C. Whether you are an entrepreneur looking for your next round of venture capital, or a venture capital investor swinging for the fences, the pandemic has changed how we play the startup game, …

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Venture capital inside-out: who they are, what types of deals they do?

By Louis Lehot, business lawyer and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley, and formerly the founder of L2 Counsel, P.C. As you embark on your first fundraise or a full venture capital round, it’s important to know who are the key players in venture capital, what types of deals they fund and what …

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Startups: Nine Steps to Instituting A Policy For Social Media, Data Collection, And Other Online And Mobile Activities

By Louis Lehot, business lawyer and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley, and formerly the founder of L2 Counsel, P.C. In today’s interconnected world, where opinions are formed in nano-seconds, companies vastly underestimate the damage that social media and other applications can have on their daily business. To protect and manage their …

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Contracts, COVID-19, and “Material Adverse Change” Clauses: Protecting your business agreements during a global pandemic

By Louis Lehot, business lawyer and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Silicon Valley, and formerly the founder of L2 Counsel, P.C. As someone with extensive experience advising public and emerging growth companies and their investors, along with parties in M&A transactions, I am often asked to advise companies on how they can prevent …

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7 Reasons Talented and Hard-working Employees Leave

Choosing the right lawyer that fits your business is one of the most important steps you can take in today’s litigious world. Whether you are launching a new venture, pivoting to reposition your current business or have a “bet the company” challenge or opportunity, finding the lawyer that fits your unique situation is critical. Read …

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Looking for A Lawyer? Choose wisely, your business is at stake, says Louis Lehot from L2 Counsel

Choosing the right lawyer that fits your business is one of the most important steps you can take in today’s litigious world. Whether you are launching a new venture, pivoting to reposition your current business or have a “bet the company” challenge or opportunity, finding the lawyer that fits your unique situation is critical. Read …

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Running an effective board of directors By Louis Lehot

Companies usually run informally at the pre-seed and seed-stage, without formal meetings of the board of directors. However, once your business closes its first round of formal venture capital financing from a professional investment firm, and one or more venture capital partners have joined your board of directors, the meeting process becomes more formalized. Read …

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