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Energy & Sustainability Connections Newsletter – July 2020
By Tom Burton and Sahir Surmeli
This issue of Energy & Sustainability Connections covers The Clean Fight NY’s Buildings Edition program, the future of offshore energy in New England, energy policy news from Washington, recent M&A activity & more.
MintzTech Connect Industry News — June 2020
By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron
In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, the protagonist Atticus Finch tells his son: “One never really understands a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. Unless you take the time to stand in another person’s shoes and see the world from that person’s perspective, we really don’t process very well what others may be saying or feeling. In this challenging time of a global pandemic and national outrage for systemic social injustices, we urge all of our readers to listen (truly listen) to your colleagues and try to understand better what it is like to be in another person’s shoes. Black Lives Matter and it is up to all of us to listen, support each other, and to see how we can make this world better. We have assembled a list of books that may help deepen that understanding and encourage us all to work diligently to build the equitable world we all want for ourselves and our fellow citizens.
MintzEdge Entrepreneur Perspective: Jake Shapiro On The State Of The Podcasting Market
In this podcast, Jake Shapiro, the founder of RadioPublic and Podfund, explores the current state of the podcasting market and industry trends.
Energy & Sustainability Connections Newsletter – June 2020
By Tom Burton and Sahir Surmeli
The June issue of Energy & Sustainability Connections covers news about renewable energy development company East Light Partners, energy policy news from Washington, recent M&A activity & more.
Part Ten of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Workplace Communications and Trainings
By Tyrone P. Thomas & Danielle M. Bereznay
In the final part of our Roadmap Series, as employers prepare to transition to on-site operations for segments of their staff, we discuss considerations for COVID-19 related communications to the workforce. We also address the importance of conducting workplace trainings for managers and staff that address new regulatory considerations for workplace safety, telecommuting arrangements, health screenings, and leave and accommodation requests to prepare for the “new normal.”
Part Nine of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring Compliance – Leave Management
By Corbin Carter, Natalie C. Young, Michael S. Arnold & H. Andrew Matzkin
As management and human resources professionals are well aware, COVID-19 has drastically and rapidly impacted the workplace. Among other things, employees require more flexibility, employers are increasingly reliant upon remote work arrangements, and legislative and administrative responses to the pandemic from various levels of government have created new requirements for businesses, including new leave entitlements for employees. In Part Nine of our Roadmap Series, we explore key considerations surrounding leave management and compliance as employees and businesses navigate this new terrain.
Part Eight of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Avoiding COVID-19 Wage & Hour and Labor Law Pitfalls
By Jennifer R. Budoff, Delaney M. Busch, Brendan J. Lowd
In Part Eight of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at wage and hour compliance concerns that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what employers can do to minimize these pitfalls.
Part Seven of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Employee Physical and Mental Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By David Barmak & Jennifer R. Budoff
In Part Seven of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 on employee mental and physical well-being, and what employers can do to assist their workforce.
COVID-19 and Down-Round Financings
By Jeremy Glaser, Sebastian Lucier, and Sebastian A. Bacon
Although no one can predict the long-term economic impact of COVID-19, early indications show similarities to the last significant economic downturn that started in 2008. During that period, venture capital investment decreased significantly both domestically and abroad — in the first quarter of 2009, alone, there were double-digit declines in venture financings. The decrease in available capital during that time period led to a significant uptick in financing rounds at lower valuations than in previous rounds, or so-called “down-round financings.” Companies should be prepared for a similar occurrence, and be ready to take precautionary steps in order to minimize risks relating to a down-round financing.
Part Six of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Reporting to Work
By Andrew J. Bernstein & Brie Kluytenaar
As we continue to plan and prepare for the reopening of businesses, Part Six of our Roadmap series examines the when, what, where, and how of returning to work. Given the many considerations this process entails, we encourage employers to begin engaging with these issues now and to consult with counsel so that plans are in place and the groundwork is laid for the eventual reopening of the workplace, whenever that may be.
Part Five of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace - COVID-19 Screening and Testing
By Nicole M. Rivers, Michael S. Arnold, Karen S. Lovitch, Hope S. Foster & Cynthia J. Larose
In Part Five of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at COVID-19 screening and testing, including best practices and legal implications, as potential tools to maintain a safe workplace.
Part Four of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace – Reimagining the Physical Workspace and Business Travel
By Delaney M. Busch, Morgan G. Tanafon & Angel Feng
Given the challenges presented by COVID-19, many businesses must consider large-scale, transformational changes to their operations. As social distancing continues and safety concerns pervade the public consciousness, adjustments to the physical workspace and business travel practices will be necessary to reflect these new considerations. In Part 4 of our COVID-19 Roadmap Series, we outline important planning steps and concerns employers need to consider relating to physical workspaces and business travel.
Part Three of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace - Key Guidance for a Healthy Workspace
By Delaney M. Busch & Morgan G. Tanafon
As economies begin restarting and the doors to traditional workplaces are opening, employers face challenges in reorganizing and protecting their places of business. However, the exact measures appropriate and effective for each workspace will largely depend on a worksite risk assessment (see our prior blog posts regarding OSHA and COVID-19 infrastructure). In Part 3 of our Roadmap Series, we outline important guidance, procedures, and concerns employers need to consider to successfully and safely bring back employees to their worksite.
Part Two of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Creating a COVID-19 Operations Infrastructure
By Katharine O. Beattie & Emma Follansbee
With the reopening of the economy on the horizon, employers are looking ahead to welcoming employees back to the traditional workplace. Business operations will look vastly different during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In Part 2 of our Roadmap Series, we outline important operational planning steps and actions employers can take now to successfully and safely bring employees back to the workplace. Future posts in this series will address many of these issues more in-depth, so be sure to stay tuned.
Formation 101: Choosing an Entity Jurisdiction
In the first installment of Mintz’s multi-part series addressing common questions relating to establishing a new enterprise, Jeremy Glaser and Sebastian Lucier discuss the timing of forming an entity, the differences between the two most common choices (corporation and LLC) and the best jurisdiction to position a company for outside investment.
Energy & Sustainability Connections Newsletter – May 2020
By Tom Burton and Sahir Surmeli
The May issue of Energy & Sustainability Connections covers news about enVerid Systems and its CO2-reducing technology, states’ clean energy legislation, recent M&A activity, and industry webinars.
Part One of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Introduction
By Jennifer B. Rubin
The rapid onset of the coronavirus crisis stripped many employers of the opportunity to prepare an orderly retreat from the physical workplace. Following the government-imposed stay-in-place orders, employers shifted their attention to managing a remote workforce, coping with the financial impacts of the economy’s precipitous closure, and digesting the rapid legislative developments that ensued. While we do not know what the “normal” American workplace will look like exactly during and after the pandemic, employers should plan now for this transformation. Mintz is pleased to provide this Roadmap for Employers in the Time of COVID-19 series that will provide guidance on critical issues employers should focus on as they prepare for what promises to be a very different workplace.
MintzTech Connect Industry News — April 2020
By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron
This edition of MintzTech Connect features articles on the Federal Reserve Main Street Lending Program and the pros and forms of different forms of business entities.
Choice of Business Entity: Pros and Cons of Corporations and LLCs
Choosing the form of your business entity is one of the first and most important steps toward running a successful business. Three of the most common entity types are C-Corporations, S-Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). Each entity type has its own advantages and disadvantages, including with respect to taxation, attractiveness to investors and simplicity. For most companies intending to raise money from venture capital funds, a C-Corporation is the most common choice. However, S-Corporations and LLCs provide tax advantages that may make them more suitable for certain businesses. This article addresses the pros and cons of C-Corporations, S-Corporations and LLCs, and how you can determine which one may be right for your business.
Stock Vesting in Startup Companies
By Alex Civetta and Garrett Galvin
Why “Vesting?”
Building a company from the ground up is a risky (but hopefully rewarding) endeavor for founders. In exchange for the founders’ efforts and devotion to the success of the company, the founders take a significant equity stake in the company, with the expectation that the value of these shares will grow substantially as the company grows. However, where there are multiple founders involved, each founder will want to ensure that their co-founder(s) are incentivized to stay with the business and work hard to make it successful, rather than holding on to a large equity stake and relying on the other founders to put in the lion’s share of the work needed to grow the business. To address this concern, the initial grant of shares to each founder is often made subject to “vesting,” which links a founder’s right to keep such shares (or some portion thereof) to their continued service with the company.
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