A Comprehensive Legal Guide to Web Scraping in the US

Date of Last Update: July 20, 2023 When I first published this guide, in the summer of 2020, I wrote that the recent trend had been toward greater permissiveness with web scraping.  That sentence isn’t as true today as the day when I first wrote it. Recent policy trends have wavered. The few jurisdictions where … Read More

Remote Legal Practice, Eight Years Ahead of the Trend

In the past month, much of the world has shifted to remote work practices and so much has been disrupted. Here, at McCarthy Law Group, we have continued to provide our legal services, uninterrupted, in the midst of this disruption to the outside world. And we’ll continue to do so. We’re able to do so, … Read More

No, You Don’t Need a Holding Company for Your Startup

One question I seem to be hearing more often from prospective clients lately: “How do I set up a holding company for my startup?” The answer is you don’t. Or, perhaps more precisely, you shouldn’t. A holding company is a company that owns other companies. The classic and most successful example is Berkshire Hathaway, the … Read More

5 Ways to Beat a Non-Compete in Colorado

Once rare, non-compete agreements are now everywhere. For the companies that use them, they’re a great way to ensure employee loyalty and to protect against theft of trade secrets. For the employees who are subject to them, they can be a horrible restriction on the ability to freely pursue one’s trade. So if you you’ve … Read More

How to Know if You’ve Found the Right Lawyer

How do you know if you’ve found the right lawyer? It should be obvious. As in, you should know within the first few minutes of talking to them. If, after a 15-minute conversation with a prospective lawyer, you don’t immediately see the potential benefits from that relationship, you should probably seek out a different professional … Read More

The Single Worst Reason for Choosing a Startup Lawyer

If you were getting a divorce, would you ask your soon-to-be-ex-spouse for a divorce lawyer referral? No, you wouldn’t, because that would be so obviously stupid that no rational person would ever consider such an idea. Your soon-to-be-ex-spouse would be the last person you would want to help you in that scenario. Then why would … Read More

Limits on Limited Liability: When You Become Liable For Your Business’s Debts

Many people form LLCs or corporations to protect their personal assets. You don’t want to lose your car, your house, or your personal savings because a business venture didn’t work out. Forming an LLC or corporation gives you access to limited liability. But LLCs and corporations must be property run to maintain that limited liability. … Read More

gdpr ready privacy policy

What Startups and Small Businesses in the US Need to Do to Comply with the GDPR

The first question is: does your startup collect data from, store information of, sell products to, or monitor the behavior of anyone in the European Union? If the answer is no, which means you’re certain your users aren’t using your services while traveling in the EU, you can stop reading. If the answer is yes, … Read More