I. General Standard - With some exceptions, the general legal standard of care for business actors and agents is “prudence.” In this context “prudence” means to act as an ordinary prudent person would act under the circumstances. But, this standard can be misleading because, at law, prudent people arguably do not make common mistakes, like combing their hair or changing the radio dial while driving, let alone sending texts. So, the prudent standard.

Over the years in my legal practice I have noticed that, much as I would wish, advise, and preach to the contrary, most of my business law clients come to the firm, not because they have recognized a need and seek to avoid or prevent some problem or event from happening, but in response to that problem or event after it has occurred. In other words, the demand for our legal services is reactive, not preventative.

Unfortunately, about two out of three new clients come to our firm because they have a problem with their signed contract or legal documentation. Too late, they have received the previously unconsidered information that their contract does not have a jurisdictional provision (so they are being sued in Idaho); or their contract doesn’t allow for....

An understandable, but false, assumption of some potential law firm clients is that a small case will cost less than a big one. After all, if I buy a small coffee I expect to pay less than I would pay for a larger size, so why do legal fees not adjust to the size of the case? Well, first of all, they do in some cases. Legal fees can track the size of the deal in transactional matters; that is, where the parties are negotiating a deal and entering into contracts re same.

Here is a list of reasons why you may want to start your own small business.

If you purchased real estate as part of a business purchase, if you inherited real estate, if you are retired and own properties you want to turn into rental properties, the organizational engineering you do is not just to save on taxes. The cheapest form of insurance you can buy may be the limited liability you gain when you keep your property in a limited liability company (“LLC”) or limited partnership designed to protect you from the liability associated with property.

As a business owner, proactive personal asset protection may be essential to protecting your hard-earned assets against situations and events beyond your control.

Increasingly, businesses are including alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clauses in standard business-to-business and consumer contracts, and even businesses without ADR clauses opt for ADR procedures to resolve disputes while keeping court and legal costs to a minimum.

Before you take steps to dissolve your partnership—general, limited, or limited liability—get state and federal income tax advice, and make sure you fully understand the financial ramifications of shutting down your business.

A general partnership forms whenever you associate with at least one other person to run a for-profit business.

S-corporations and C-corporations share many of the same advantages and disadvantages. Probably the single biggest drawback to both forms of corporation in Arizona is the difficulty of proper incorporation. The process is much more complex—and requires much more accountant and attorney involvement—than forming a limited liability company, sole proprietorship, or partnership.

1. Character as Destiny: Sometimes That’s Not Good. - Ralph Waldo Emerson -- who wrote the essays Self Reliance and Compensation, among others -- might have loved my law firm Clients, who tend to be hard-working, self-reliant, persevering and intelligent, just to name a few of their good personality traits. In short, they have “Character.”

In 1969 the Arizona Court of Appeals decided Thompson v Harris.1 Thompson the famous (or infamous) welding shop case, dramatically illustrates the traditional rule that a landlord has no duty to one tenant to correct the nuisance activities of another.