With fragile M&A markets still recovering, smaller deals will be more prevalent than the mega-deals of recent years, given recent market turmoil.
Who to hire for social media
As the world of Social Media continues to grow, many businesses are starting to utilize this platform in a daily basis. Many use social media to build brand awareness, promote marketing campaigns and more importantly connect with current and future customers. A firm that needs presence online should be especially careful about who they hire to do their social media campaigns. This is not only because of social media’s mass effect, but because it also takes a lot from a marketing professional to do the job properly.
The Bard Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado - Denver held its annual business plan competition awards luncheon yesterday. Revolve was proud to be an in-kind sponsor for the event, awarding prizes to each of the six finalists.
As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, some business plan competitors inevitably come away from these kinds of competitions a bit disappointed. However, there is almost unanimous agreement among those that enter that the process of having to refine the business plan, think hard about weaknesses or areas for improvement, and then present to a group of critical experts sharpens the competitors’ business models and positions them for a greater likelihood of success.
That is, competition, and all that goes with it, makes companies better. Indeed, competition begets excellence.
The Exemplar Companies, Inc. represented by Christopher Marston, and its client So Bueno Films LLC represented by Daniel Cayarga, have reached an amicable settlement with Solar Wind Productions LLC as represented by Michael and Ruby Jacobs, regarding the financing of So Bueno’s feature film “Love Stupid”. The terms of the settlement are to the satisfaction of all parties and they have further agreed to maintain those terms in confidence. June 7, 2010
Exemplar CEO Christopher Marston Honored as 2010 Rainmaker by ABA Rebels
Exemplar CEO Christopher Marston Honored as “Up and Coming Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
Your inviting an expensive headache if your don’t take the Due Diligence process seriously when a Buyer for your business comes calling. The Buyer’s demands for information may seem onerous and distracting, but the consequence of a halfhearted response can be significantly more painful.
Today I am writing a small piece on the latest technological craze in film and asking your opinions on whether 3D is a good thing or not.
In his ground-breaking book, “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell identifies three types of people that make ideas, epidemics, or trends “tip” – that is, make the transition from a backwoods curiosity to the mainstream. “Mavens” are enthusiasts who know certain things very, very well, whether it’s supermarket deals or techno-gadgetry. “Salesmen” are translators who can take complex ideas and make them understandable to the average joe. And finally, “Connectors” are the people who have such a broad network of people across different spheres of life that they can introduce people to each other who never would have crossed paths otherwise.
In the area of Film Financing, Pre-sales are the act of selling specific territorial rights prior to the completion of the film.
By Benjamin Doherty
The backlash Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced in response to the social-networking behemoth’s recent personal privacy changes has been well-documented. The company, which has more than 450 million users worldwide, implemented changes that placed more personal information in the public realm. For many users decrying these changes, concern stemmed from, amongst other things, identity theft and infringement on personal privacy rights.
The lessons learned by the Manufacturing Community through the application of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles readily translate to the Service Industry. Businesses including banks, hospitals, municipalities, school systems, accounting and law firms are now employing these tools to identify and eliminate inefficiencies, increasing customer satisfaction and profitability.
We are pleased to introduce WAAV, one of our many valued customers. WAAV manufactures mobile Wi-Fi routers and offers solutions designed for high-quality signal delivery and reliable performance. WAAV is advancing the boundaries and potential of the mobile broadband industry by using the most advanced networks. Thanks WAAV and we are happy to work with you!
By Mitchell A. Bragg
As a business becomes better known for the products it produces or the services it renders, competitors will no doubt try to capitalize on the success. However, many companies may not recognize the importance of utilizing federal trademark laws to protect more than just the name on the front of the building.
The single hardest task in producing films is financing them and, when it comes to financing them, you always need an element of private equity. There are many ways to raise private equity, some involve friends and family, and others involve private placement offerings and even crowd funding—- with each method, the costs associated versus the rewards, also vary wildly.
Change orders are a routine part of construction. No matter how much you try to plan ahead, you can never foresee every possible event. When work is altered, there is always additional cost and the additional costs can run as high as 10% of a construction budget. Unfortunately, change orders are usually the most contentious issue amongst all parties: the designer, the builder, and the owner. The general rule is that changes must be in writing.
Your sales agent in Sao Paulo just called with good news: You’ve won that government contract. You just need to wire $15,000 this afternoon for a “license fee” in order to close the deal. Sounds simple enough, but be careful: You might just be walking into a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
M&A transactions require a great deal of energy and focus by all parties and their counsel. However, ineffective Business Integration can spoil even the best of negotiated deals. Don’t let poor Integration planning or weak execution ruin your profit expectations for an acquired business.
Mergers and acquisitions are expected to be a busy area of corporate finance in 2010. This optimism can be attributed to the following 4 recent developments.
1. The loosening of credit markets.
2. Significant amounts of cash on corporate balance sheets.
3. The desire for private equity and venture capital firms to exit investments.
4. Opportunities to acquire bankrupt companies.
When I read this ABA Journal article regarding the demands of In-House Counsel, I was struck once again by how outdated the traditional law firm is. In describing the effort by some firms’ general counsel (or “GC”) to reduce the amount of money they spend on outside counsel, the author points out that, “[t]oday’s GCs are key strategists.” The clear implication here is that outside counsel are not strategists. Further, one GC is quoted as stating what to us here at Exemplar is patently obvious: “The hourly rate may be an outdated approach for us and not sustainable.” Indeed.
