Entrepreneurial Services
Stites & Harbison's lawyers help emerging technology companies get great ideas to the marketplace. The firm's team provides help on everything the start-up needs, from finding capital to protecting intellectual property and much more.
What we provide. The firm's lawyers handle corporate and commercial matters for businesses of all kinds, from Fortune 500 giants to the newest Internet start-up. The firm advises its clients on business structure, labor, employment and employee benefit matters. Stites & Harbison's lawyers have dealt with venture capital, private placements, initial public offerings, recapitalization and various forms of debt and equity issues. Working closely with accountants and other professional advisors, the firm offers its clients the benefits of its experience with business entities of varying sizes, market segments and stages of growth.
The firm's lawyers are especially proud of their considerable work with private entrepreneurs and growth-oriented companies during their transition from small, closely-held enterprises to large, publicly-held ones. As a result, Stites & Harbison understands how to assist clients in raising any additional capital required for growth and acquisition strategies.
Retirement Plans: How to Guard Against Fiduciary Liability
In recent years, we have seen more and more ERISA class action claims against retirement plan sponsors and committees for breach of fiduciary duty. In the past, such claims were generally only made against very large plans but we are starting to see claims against smaller plans. The primary allegation is often that the fiduciaries failed to seek the lowest fees available or put another way the fiduciaries were “asleep at the wheel.” By one report, 463 lawsuits have been filed over the last eight years claiming fiduciaries failed to obtain the lowest available fees. Lexington office attorney Andy Jacobs takes a look at the issues in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Navigating Artificial Intelligence in PR and Communications
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Flash Cube Building, 9300 Shelbyville Road, 2nd Floor Community Room, Louisville, KY
The March PRSA Program entitled "Navigating Artificial Intelligence in PR and Communications," is a panel discussion surrounding the utilization of AI in communications and will feature Stites & Harbison IP attorney, Nick Stewart, who is a Registered Patent Attorney.
Easy Come, Easy Go: Delaware Court Upends Elon Musk’s $56 Billion Equity Incentive Plan
An extraordinary performance-based stock option plan (the “Grant”) awarded by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) to Elon Musk (“Musk”) was invalidated by the Delaware Court of Chancery last week, despite the fact that over 70% of Tesla’s disinterested stockholders approved it at a 2018 special meeting. Attorney Brian Cromer takes a look at the decision in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
2024 INTA North America Roundtable; Annual Case Law Review (Nashville, TN)
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
401 Commerce Street, Suite 800, Nashville, TN 37219
IP attorney Alex MacKay will co-host this roundtable in the firm's Nashville office on January 31, 2024.
Monetizing Intellectual Property: The Basics and Benefits of Licensing
Owners of intellectual property (“IP”) rights associated with inventions and creative works have discovered that “licensing” is an effective way to monetize their IP. IP attorney Scot Duval takes a look at the ways to do that in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Kentucky Chamber Elects Brian A. Cromer to Executive Committee
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Brian Cromer to its Executive Committee. Cromer will serve a two-year term on the 14-member Executive Committee, which represents a cross-section of key business and industry leaders from across Kentucky. He continues to serve as a member of the Kentucky Chamber’s Board of Directors.
The Corporate Transparency Act: Is Your Business Prepared For Sweeping New Federal Reporting Requirements?
On January 1, 2021, with bipartisan support, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (“NDAA”) when it overrode former President Trump’s veto of the NDAA. As part of an effort to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and other illicit activities, the CTA requires business entities formed or registered in the United States that fall within the definition of a “reporting company” to disclose beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) of the Department of Treasury. While the purpose of the legislation may be commendable, it casts an extremely wide net and imposes new compliance burdens on businesses beginning in 2024.
Beware of Part-Time Employee 401(k) Plan Eligibility in 2024
Andy Jacobs takes a look at 401(k) plan eligibility by part-time employees in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Mandy Wilson Decker Elected Chair-Elect of New KBA Intellectual Property Law Section
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Mandy Wilson Decker was elected as 2023-24 Chair-Elect of the newly-formed Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) Intellectual Property (IP) Law Section.
KYIPA Elects Mandy Wilson Decker Chair of Board of Advisors
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Kentucky Intellectual Property Alliance (KYIPA) elects Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Mandy Wilson Decker as inaugural Chair of its Board of Advisors. She has served on the group’s Executive Advisory Committee since 2021.
Managing IP Selects Mandy Wilson Decker to 2023 “Top 250 Women in IP” List for Ninth Time
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Managing Intellectual Property (Managing IP) magazine recently selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Mandy Wilson Decker to the 2023 edition of Managing IP’s “Top 250 Women in IP.” This is the ninth time Decker has been honored on this list, and she is the only attorney honored from Kentucky.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Registering to Do Business in a State May Constitute Consent to Jurisdiction
Rachel Owsley and Daniel Boswell take a look at what registering to do business in a state may mean in regards to jurisdiction in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Expansion of Retirement Plan Self-Correction Program
Attorney Andy Jacobs explains the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 and the expanded ability of plan sponsors to self-correct retirement plan errors without IRS approval in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
The Enablement Challenge for Genus Claims Under U.S. Patent Law: How Much Disclosure Is Enough After Amgen v. Sanofi?
Patent attorney Nick Stewart takes a look at the enablement challenge for genus claims under U.S. Patent Law in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.