Business Law Seminar Group, LLC

06/08/2024

The Financial Times of London published an article today about startup lawyers featuring Paul Swegle.

More varied work and faster pace are tempting some corporate general counsel to make the switch

29/05/2024

Here's our new blog post on negotiating stock options and other equity grants with startups!

Joining a startup? Get your stock options right! Here's what to know about grant sizes, vesting, cliffs, exercise price, and the ISO v. NSO dichotomy, plus advanced asks around accelerated vesting, cashless exercise, future retention grants, extended post-termination exercise rights, and the possibl...

31/05/2023

If you ever review non-disclosure agreements or other confidentiality agreements, take a minute to read our latest post at www.StartupGC.us, "Don't Lose IP to NDA Mistakes!"
https://www.startupgc.us/post/nine-tips-for-avoiding-non-disclosure-agreement-nda-disasters

Few things are more risky in business than amateurs loosely signing NDAs. NDAs, or non-disclosure agreements, allow parties to share sensitive information while discussing a potential transaction or commercial relationship – often defined in the NDA as the “Business Purpose.” In a proper NDA, ...

02/04/2023

As Executive in Residence at Gonzaga University School of Law, Paul Swegle had the honor of leading important discussions recently on exploring career opportunities and succeeding as a summer or first year associate. Paul has distilled the distinguished panelists' invaluable career advice for law students and new lawyers in this post, Tips for Success as a Summer or First Year Associate.

Few things are more intimidating than the transition from law school to law firm. But a little insider knowledge can make things smoother and less stressful. In my role as Executive in Residence at Gonzaga School of Law, I recently led a discussion on "How to Succeed as a First Year or Summer Associ...

18/01/2023

Nice to see that Paul Swegle's article "Seven Legal Pitfalls Your Startup Should Avoid" is trending toward 35,000 views. Lots of valuable advice for entrepreneurs!

Picking the wrong founder or legal entity, unintended partners, intellectual property snafus...so many things can derail your budding business.

13/06/2022

Five top reads for startup founders, by author Paul Swegle.
https://shepherd.com/best-books/startup-success-from-someone-with-startup-wins

Discover the best books on startup success from someone with startup wins. Paul A. Swegle and other experts share the best books on every topic you can imagine.

04/05/2022

Paul Swegle at the NYSE discussing S**Cs and entrepreneurship.
https://fintech.tv/sec-proposed-rules-for-spacs-with-paul-swegle-of-carexm/

10/04/2022

Author Paul Swegle formally submitted comments to the SEC's proposed rules on special purpose acquisition companies (S**Cs) yesterday. You can read them here, at StartupGC.us.
https://www.startupgc.us/post/comments-of-paul-swegle-on-sec-proposed-spac-rules

April 9, 2022 The Honorable Gary Gensler, Chairman U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F. Street NE Washington, DC 20549-1090. RE: Comments on Proposed Rules regarding “Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, Shell Companies, and Projections,” Release Nos. 33-11048; 34-94546; IC-34549; Fi...

05/04/2022

BLSG author Paul Swegle gave an interview on S**Cs to FintechTV at the New York Stock Exchange today.

28/03/2022

Our newest post on StartupGC, Selecting and Managing Startup Counsel, includes great tips for picking the right attorneys and keeping legal costs in check.
https://www.startupgc.us/post/selecting-and-managing-startup-counsel

Most entrepreneurs and startups have limited financial resources and wisely allocate most of what they have to product design and development. Without a product or service, there is nothing to sell, and no business model. But when startups allocate insufficient resources for competent legal assistan...

15/03/2022

Author, professor, and business lawyer Paul Swegle sports his Gonzaga U mask en route to give a talk on S**Cs and traditional IPOs at Gonzaga Law School. Here's a post on S**C regulation that he wrote for the occasion.
https://www.startupgc.us/post/won-t-spac-down

14/03/2022

Here's the latest from our Startup GC blog. Everything you need to know about S**Cs!
https://www.startupgc.us/post/won-t-spac-down

The Role of S**Cs in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Wow - how quickly we went from “Rise of the S**Cs!" to “S**Cs on their Backs!” In 2021, there were 613 S**C IPOs. In 2022, we might see 100. In 2020, there were 143 S**C mergers, or “de-S**C” transactions. De-S**Cs dropped to 53 in 2021....

10/03/2022

BLSG just launched its global Startup Counsel Registry. Hoping to see excellent, affordable startup counsel from the world's top 50 startup cities signed up in the weeks ahead.
https://www.startupgc.us/about-7

The following attorneys work with startups and entrepreneurs at discounted rates. They are believed to be competent and professional, but are listed solely for your information, not as legal advice, nor as a guarantee or endorsement. Do your own research. Ask questions about rates, services, experie...

26/01/2022

BLSG's author Paul Swegle recently provided a two-hour training session to a startup-focused law firm in Ramallah, Palestine. Next month he speaks to a group of entrepreneurs in Instanbul, Turkey. Paul's clear, concise, and colorful writing style has made his books very popular in many countries where English is not the dominant or official language, including Turkey, Israel, India, Spain, Germany, Japan, and several African countries, as well as in all English-speaking countries, including the U.K., Australia, Canada, and throughout the EU.

09/12/2021

Check out author Paul Swegle's recent appearance on Law Insider's Contract Teardown show with host Mike Whelan. Paul tears down Coinme's very one-sided Terms of Service with humor and words of wisdom for others writing or accepting consumer-facing contracts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnLAZ5TmS7o&t=9s

Experienced startup general counsel and author Paul Swegle tears down the Coinme terms of service. Coinme is a company that allows consumers to buy bitcoin f...

02/12/2021

What your entrepreneur or startup professional wants this holiday!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578236702
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692138307

Startup Law and Fundraising for Entrepreneurs and Startup Advisors

13/08/2021

Paul Swegle is Looking forward to participating in this innovative CLE, "The Mini MBA for Attorneys," sponsored by myLawCLE. The program will remain available on-demand via the myLawCLE platform, but the initial, chat-enabled, live video broadcast is Sept 8, from 9 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. Pacific.

We have a few of you complementary access, first come, first served - email us at [email protected]!

https://mylawcle.com/products/the-mini-mba-for-attorneys/

Session I – Introduction to Managing Your Matters Effectively Using Legal Project Management – Carla Landry & Susan Lambreth Lawyers are expected to manage their matters efficiently, either to meet client’s expectations for modest legal spend or to reduce write-downs and write-offs. In this pr...

23/07/2021

Author, attorney, and law professor Paul Swegle is looking forward to co-chairing this continuing legal education program Aug 4 on Building Better Contracts, in conjunction with the Washington State Bar Association.
https://www.mywsba.org/PersonifyEbusiness/Default.aspx?TabID=1356&productId=19906940

27/06/2021

Professor Paul Swegle just finished teaching his 2021 summer law course "Counseling Startups: Law, Regulation, and Fundraising" simultaneously at both Seattle University School of Law and Gonzaga University School of Law. The courses wrapped yesterday with a day of talks by some of the biggest names in Seattle's venture capital, angel investing, and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

01/06/2021

BLSG is honored to have this article by Paul Swegle (2nd of 2 parts) published today on the Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange ("EIX"), a fantastic social media learning platform affiliated with Minnesota's Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas. EIX is devoted to dramatically improving the success rate of new business ventures, also one of BLSG's primary goals.
https://eiexchange.com/content/more-Legal-pitfalls-that-startups-should-avoid

This article continues the discussion of common legal, regulatory, and fundraising mistakes that derail even the most promising startups.

29/04/2021

Tweet of the Week!

26/04/2021

Read Paul Swegle's latest article here - a deep dive into advanced patent strategies for entrepreneurs and their advisors.
https://www.startupgc.us/post/advanced-patent-strategies-for-startups

Provisional, Omnibus, and Continuation Patent Applications This post highlights patent strategies that support these objectives: cheaply and timely protecting inventions, buying time during the patenting process to slow cash burn, raise funds, assess commercial viability, adapt to competitive develo...

22/04/2021

Paul Swegle visits Notre Dame next week as a featured speaker at Notre Dame's annual entrepreneurship festival, IDEA Week.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ndideacenter_idea-week-session-drifting-in-for-the-win-activity-6791028328636657666-Wwql

IDEA Week Session: Drifting in for the Win--Powering your Startup through the Checkered Flag Panel includes: • Matt Ehrlichman, CEO, Chairman and Founder...

21/04/2021

Check out Paul's latest article on contract drafting and negotiation published today by the fantastic "Contract Nerds" blog - "Seven Contract Annoyances and Tips for Dealing with Then."
https://contractnerds.com/seven-common-contract-annoyances-and-tips-for-dealing-with-them/

Paul Swegle - law professor, book author, and General Counsel - shares his top 7 contract peeves and tips on how to deal with them. For those who are newer to commercial negotiations, it may be useful to realize that these annoying issues are out there and headed your way. As with most endeavors, kn...

08/04/2021

Paul speaks at Notre Dame's IDEA Week April 29 at 9 am with two of his favorite entrepreneurs, Matt Ehrlichman and T.A. McCann.
https://web.cvent.com/event/eb5feb46-fd44-4f6b-ba98-81362ed991f0/summary

A whole new kind of innovation festival in the South Bend - Elkhart region!

26/03/2021

07/03/2021

BLSG is honored to have this article by Paul Swegle (1st of 2 parts) published today on the Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange ("EIX"), a fantastic social media learning platform affiliated with Minnesota's Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas. EIX is devoted to dramatically improving the success rate of new business ventures, also one of BLSG's primary goals.
https://eiexchange.com/content/seven-legal-pitfalls-your-startup-should-avoid

Picking the wrong founder or legal entity, unintended partners, intellectual property snafus...so many things can derail your budding business.

06/03/2021

#1 in Securities Law!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578236702

06/03/2021

#1 in Commercial Business Law, #4 in Contracts....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692138307

Here's a condensed version of a recent conversation on LinkedIn:

Attorney: I'm reading your Contract Drafting and Negotiation book. It's spot on. All I do is negotiate contracts. It's great because you answered some questions on various provisions that I've had over the years.

Swegle: Nice to hear from you and I am happy to hear you are benefitting from the book!

Attorney: I've been asked to teach contracts at a business school. I'm thinking about making your book required reading. Wish my law school had included your book as part of our curriculum. Would have helped.

Swegle: Interestingly, most contracts professors do not like books focused on practical education, they prefer to focus on legal theory and case law development.

Attorney: I understand, but your book should be included. It's important to understand theory in context of real-world application.

02/03/2021

Most of Paul Swegle's almost weekly talks at law schools, MBA schools, and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs are not open to the public, but this one at the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Memphis, on March 25 is open and free. Join us!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-a-company-on-a-solid-foundation-with-paul-swegle-tickets-143788879409

Join us for a presentation by Paul Swegle followed by speed networking!