Preserving Customer Lists in the Linked In Era

It is now common for people to maintain their professional contacts through Linked In and other social media.  So what happens when a sales person uses Linked In rather than his or her employer’s marketing database to store customer contact information?  Typically, a company will require key employees – such as those with responsibility for […]

Alternative Dispute Resolution Part 2: Arbitration

Part 1 of this series discussed mediation.  This second part discusses arbitration, another dispute resolution method that provides an alternative to the traditional path of going to court to resolve a dispute. The chief difference between mediation and arbitration is that in mediation the parties work to reach a resolution of their differences on which […]

Alternative Dispute Resolution Part 1: Mediation

News reports and television dramas often make reference to mediation, but rarely explain what mediation means.  And when there is an attempt to explain mediation, the explanation may not be accurate.  So what is mediation?  And why is it useful? Mediation is an effort to negotiate a settlement among two or more parties that have […]

Employment Basics for Small Businesses

Over the years, many start-up businesses have asked what they need to do to begin setting up their human relations policies.  While small businesses often don’t have the wherewithal to develop detailed human relations policies – and almost certainly don’t have a full-time human relations director – some steps should be taken early on to […]

What Is An Injunction And When Can One Be Obtained?

Television news programs often make reference to companies or the government obtaining injunctions against various types of conduct.  This article explains what an injunction is and when/how one might be obtained from a court. Businesses sometimes have a need to stop – enjoin – a person or another business from doing something harmful to the […]

What is a Temporary Restraining Order?

WHAT IS A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER? Businesses sometimes have a need to stop – enjoin – a person or another business from doing something harmful to the business.  Often this occurs in the context of an employee leaving and taking confidential information with him/her, or a former employee attempting to divert business away from the […]