Detroit & Chicago Business Organizations Legal Blog

Businesses in certain industries often ask employees to sign non-compete agreements as a part of the hiring process. These agreements restrict employees from working in similar industries or for companies that are in direct competition with the business once workers have terminated their employment with the company. If an employee should quit and go to work for an opposing company, they may share information that could hurt their current employer. Non-compete clauses are implemented as a way to keep trade secrets and other company information private.

Some employees argue that by signing a non-compete agreement, they are essentially giving away their right to work in the industry should they get fired or lose their job. Although their work experience and skill set may be focused in one industry, they are not able to pursue employment in that industry and are forced to look elsewhere, even though the jobs may pay less or cause them to relocate. In some cases, that may be the only job they know how to do. Once a non-compete agreement is signed, they are not able to perform at that job anymore if they are terminated.

Businesses of varying sizes and across any industry in Chicago or Detroit may at some point entertain the idea of merging with another company. They may also eye the possibility of an outright purchase of another company in an acquisition. These transactions may be very beneficial to an organization and even allow it to compete better in a changing marketplace. Certainly, there are many financial issues to contend with when navigating a merger or acquisition but this is not the only element that contributes to the ultimate success of these deals.

As explained by Forbes, strong leadership support and alignment across all groups is essential. It is also not wise to assume that functional leaders know how to work through the varying steps of organizational change at this level. Therefore it might be important for a company to provide training and workshops to guide leaders so they may effectively guide their employees through the transitions.

Business owners in and around Chicago or Detroit know that they have to watch their bottom line and many things go into this. Taxes are one of the factors that can make a big difference to a company's profitability and vice versa. In light of the new tax law that went into effect this year, some companies might be looking at making some changes to take maximum advantage of the law or to avoid paying even more tax.

As explained by Inc. Magazine, until this year, many people found it advantageous from a tax perspective to create limited liability companies or S corporations instead of C corporations. Today, however, many may be re-evaluating this decision and might even be considering converting their LLCs or S corporations to C corporations. Doing so would give them the ability to enjoy the dramatically reduced corporate tax rate.

Entrepreneurs and company executives in Michigan and Illinois know that negotiation is part and parcel of getting business done. Hammering out the details of contracts such as lease agreement, purchase deals, vendor or distributor agreements and more can be intimidating to some but there are ways to make it work effectively. 

As explained by Entrepreneur magazine, one of the most important things for people to do is to prepare for the contract negotiation process to take some time. It should be remembered that a contract is a legally binding document and rushing into a contract may have many negative consequences down the road.