ICE has stated that they intend to conduct 3,000 Form I-9 audits. Unsuspecting Arizona employers will receive a Notice of Inspection, giving them “at least three days” to produce the requested I-9 documents. Since 2008, I-9 audits have increased by more than 375%. Employers should not be fooled into thinking that the I-9 auditor is harmless.

A depressed commercial marketplace has resulted in a tenant’s market. Frequently, the lease terms for "Mom and Pop" shops are spelled out in the lease’s boilerplate provisions. Consider various scenarios and determine who – the landlord or tenant – is in the best position. By: Valerie Marciano, Esq.

Determining the valuation in divorce proceedings can often be contentious and difficult. There are three approaches to value any asset, business or business interest: 1) the asset approach, 2) the income approach and 3) the market approach. By: Mitchell Reichman

Here are the facts on SOPA and PIPA and why Wikipedia went black on January 18th, 2012. The arguments for and against SOPA/PIPA are discussed as well as what the effect could be on you, your website and your ultimately your business. By: Maria Crimi Speth and Ashley A. Marton

Anti-deficiency protection in Arizona has been extended to unfinished residences in which debtors intend to reside and applies to debtors who purchase vacant land with the intent to reside on the property upon completion of construction of a home even if they do not complete construction or actually occupy the property. This seemingly is a change in Arizona law.

The appearance of your pest control technician matters. How something or someone looks impacts customers and their experience with your company. Study after study shows that consumers purchase with their eyes. Presentation matters. There is no doubt that how something or someone looks impacts customers and their experience with your company. Study after study shows that consumers purchase with their eyes.

January 1, 2012, the minimum wage in Arizona became $7.65 per hour. Arizona’s rate is .40 cents per hour higher than the federal minimum wage and you are required to pay the higher of the two. Arizona's minimum wage law ("AMWA") has some important variations from the federal minimum wage law. By: Gary J. Jaburg, Esq.

Business owners and individuals know they need insurance. But often they buy insurance products without a full understanding of what they are getting – or much worse, not getting! Many times a business owners claims to have "great insurance" and doesn't have any idea of what is covered and what is excluded.

“ABLE,” has been proposed again in both houses of Congress. The purpose is to encourage and assist individuals and families in saving private funds and to provide secure funding for disability-related expenses. At the urging of a number of national disability advocacy groups, federal legislation to "Achieve a Better Life Experience", more commonly known as "ABLE," has been proposed once again in both houses of Congress (HR 3423 and SB 1872) in November 2011.

A client may believe that they only want to do a license instead of a franchise due to the the heavily-regulated nature of franchising, but they are most likely drawing a conclusion that disregards the facts and/or the law. What is a franchise? What must franchisors disclose? By Susan E. Wells, Esq., Jaburg & Wilk, P.C.

Arizona homeowners, for the most part, are protected from their home mortgage lenders attaching other assets such as the cash in the bank, vehicles and jewelry following a foreclosure or trustee sale of their home. By: Valerie Marciano

Social media and social networking sites are everywhere. But what can employees post regarding their employer on these sites? Before your take disciplinary action know that depending on the nature of the posting, the employee may be engaging in what the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) considers “protected activity.”

Generic top level domains known as “gTLDs” are about to change. If you are thinking that this may be interesting but has no effect on you or your business, think again. Brand owners have several options for protecting their trademarks in this new unlimited gTLD system. By: Maria Crimi Speth

Brainstorming and collaborating frequently produces superior work. Unfortunately it is common for disputes to arise over co-created materials. It is essential that the collaborators agree upon the terms of the arrangement. It is suggested that they enter into a written assignment of the copyright to avoid joint ownership of the copyright.

Our reputations are dear to us. As long as humans have walked the earth, we have cared deeply about what others say and think about us. Whether a hunter in ancient times or the CEO of a major company, everyone cares about their reputation.

A recent case from the United States Supreme Court stands as a warning: know why the employee is being fired. If the company fires an employee based on a supervisor's recommendation, and the supervisor was motivated by an illegal reason, the company may be liable for illegal discrimination.

Website copying is common because of the popular myth that if something is on the Internet; it is in the "public domain" and therefore can be used by anyone.

If you're in the restaurant business, you may have considered franchising your business. There may be visions of your brand name spread across the world, dollar signs and piña coladas on the beach gently floating through your mind.

Is My Domain Name a Trademark? This is not only a common legal question but also a great question as the answer is - it depends! A domain name simply is an address on the Internet.

Whether your business has always been Internet based or your traditional brick and mortar business has evolved to a click and mortar business, you have a website. It's likely that you know that you need the fine print - "terms of use" and a "privacy policy."

Stating that you have a 'green' product or service may bring you business, but be careful that you can back them up with verifiable data.

In today's global market place, virtually every business has a website, and many of those sites are content-rich. Websites are often filled with original writings and pictures. Much of that original content is marketing, while other content consists of informative articles, tips and guides to grab and keep the attention of visitors to the site. A great deal of time and effort is spent creating a content-rich website that will position your business as a leader in the market place.

Let's face it, some marketing ploys are pretty clever and some spam is brilliantly disguised as valid e-mail.

As a business owner who is not only concerned with managing your costs, but also concerned with protecting your brand identity, you may have contemplated whether or not trademark monitoring is worth the fees charged by monitoring companies.

Suppose you discover that someone has anonymously posted a statement about you online that's not just harshly critical opinion, it's blatantly false. You are considering filing a defamation lawsuit against the author, but there's a problem-the statement was made anonymously and you have no idea who could have posted it. How can you discover the author's true identity? Is that even possible?

People either find your business on the Internet or they find your competition. Your business likely has some presence on the web. Usually it is a website that uses your business name as its "domain name" such as ABCcompany.com. The term domain name simply describes the characters that identify your website.

The first step toward success for most businesses is customer recognition. As business people, we work toward creating an image for our company which our customers and potential customers identify with our products or services. We strive to provide quality products or services and gain name recognition at the same time. The long-term goal is that our business name or logo is not only recognized but also equated with quality.

Your business keeps track of all of its assets, inventorying what it owns and the value of what it owns. Or does it? It is not unusual for businesses to focus only on their tangible assets in considering that issue. Business owners sometimes forget that every company owns intellectual property, property that is not tangible but is sometimes more valuable than its tangible assets.

This article will arm you with the knowledge you need to protect your artwork or photographs, and put to rest some common myths.