Recent Blog Posts
What’s Next for Commercial Landlords in the Washington DC Area?
As most school districts in the Washington DC area brace themselves for an all-online beginning to the coming school year, workers and employers are adjusting to a new normal. Perhaps the pandemic is making us appreciate in person socializing; you may have even perfected some new recipes that will taste even better when you… Read More »
Pre-Pandemic Tax Deduction May Offer Big Savings for Some Small Businesses
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many small business owners have turned to the Internet, as well as to their small business lawyers, to help them find creative solutions to the challenges the ongoing pandemic presents to economic recovery. Better days will eventually come, but what should small businesses do to stay solvent until those days… Read More »
Negotiation, Not Eviction, Is the Best Solution to Disputes Between Commercial Tenants and Their Landlords During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Washington DC area is doing a lot better than most places in the United States at this stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, but even here, every small business owner’s plans are in disarray. Paying rent on a store or other commercial property that is only open at limited capacity, if at all, is… Read More »
Dupont Circle Restaurant Owner Settles Non-Compete Dispute with Chef
Many employers ask the employees they hire for highly specialized and skilled positions to sign non-compete agreements when they begin their employment. The non-compete agreements, or even non-compete clauses in employment contracts, often restrict the employee from working for a competitor or the employer, or establishing a new business in direct competition with the… Read More »
When Your Business Model Adapts to the Changing Times, but Your Landlord Doesn’t
Customers and business owners are eager to participate in the economy in whatever ways they can. Washingtonians enthusiastically buy food from the curbside versions of their favorite restaurants during their breaks from working at home. Adapting to the economic climate of the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to the survival of small businesses, and entrepreneurs… Read More »
Should You Return Your Paycheck Protection Program Loan Money?
The Paycheck Protection Program, a provision of the CARES Act designed to grant relief to small businesses, has turned out to be anything but pennies from heaven. No one was surprised that the first round of funding disappeared so quickly, since the restrictions on commercial activities were so severe that virtually every small business… Read More »
The Paycheck Protection Program: Not Just for Payroll Anymore?
To say the least, the Paycheck Protection Program, a provision of the CARES Act designed specifically to help small business owners keep workers employed, did not grant small business owners’ every wish or solve all their problems. The fact that the loan money enables business owners to keep paying their employees has protected many… Read More »
What Should You Do If People and Businesses That Owe You Money Declare Bankruptcy Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
When unemployment claims rise dramatically, bankruptcy filings soon follow. You probably do not want to think about the possibility of your business filing for bankruptcy, and there is a chance that you will not have to. Most likely, though, the new wave of bankruptcy filings will be big enough that you will notice it… Read More »
Good Enough Quick Fixes to Keep Your Business Financially Solvent Until Next Month
The DC area has yet to see the downward trend in new COVID-19 cases that the governments of Maryland and DC need to see before they can lift the stay-at-home orders, but the live updates from the Washington Post make it clear that reopening the DMV region is on everyone’s minds. LaQuandra Nesbitt of… Read More »
The Paycheck Protection Program Is a Lifeline, but Not a Panacea
Right now in America, almost everyone is glued to a screen. Toddlers click on candy-colored YouTube videos while their telecommuting parents attempt to get some work done. College students watch their professors drone on in a small corner of the computer screen, which is mostly taken up by PowerPoint slides. In the evening, almost… Read More »
