Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | October 8, 2026 Signing vs. Closing: Why Deals Don’t Always Happen in One Day In the movies, a business deal ends with everyone signing a contract, shaking hands, and celebrating, all in…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | October 5, 2026 The Paper Trail That Protects You When a Deal Goes Sideways When a business relationship is going well, documentation feels like a chore, an annoying formality that slows things…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | September 30, 2026 How to Read a Quality of Earnings Report (and Why Buyers Order One) When someone gets serious about buying a business, they often order something called a “quality of…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | September 28, 2026 Subordination Agreements: Why Your Lender Cares Who Gets Paid First When a business borrows money from more than one source (i.e., a bank, an equipment financier, the seller in…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. September 18, 2026 The “Work Made for Hire” Myth: Why You Might Not Own the Logo You Paid For You hired a freelance designer to create your company’s logo. You paid the invoice, you’re…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. September 9, 2026 Percentage Rent in Retail Leases: When You Pay the Landlord a Cut of Sales Most commercial tenants pay a predictable monthly rent and that’s the end of it. But in…
If you’ve been researching an SBA 7(a) loan to finance a business purchase, be aware that the rulebook is about to change again. On October 1, 2026, a new version of the SBA’s Standard Operating Procedure, SOP 50 10 8.1,…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. September 7, 2026 Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Clauses in a Business Sale: How Far Is Too Far? When someone buys a business, they’re buying its customers, its goodwill, and its momentum—and the last thing…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. September 4, 2026 Liquidated Damages vs. Penalties: Why One Is Enforceable and the Other Isn’t Many contracts include a clause that says something like, “If you breach this agreement, you’ll pay a set amount.”…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | August 31, 2026 The Independent Contractor vs. Employee Question: The Test That Trips Up Employers Calling a worker an “independent contractor” is convenient. You skip payroll taxes, benefits, and a stack of employment-law…