I love being a business and technology lawyer. In my 13 years in practice (12 of them spent here in Philadelphia), my greatest source of professional satisfaction has been spending time with many terrific business clients, getting to know them and learning to appreciate their ideas, hopes and worries. I consider myself particularly lucky to have started my practice in the era of the Internet, which opened new vistas for business lawyers and confronted us with all the possibilities, as well as the legal challenges, of emerging technologies. I am also thrilled to live and work in Philadelphia, with its rich arts scene, growing technology sector and vibrant nightlife, and its new focus on walkable urbanism and sustainable quality of living.
Baer Business Law is a new type of law firm focused on providing affordable high-quality contracting, transactional and business counseling services to small and medium-sized businesses, non-profits and others concerned with managing legal costs. Baer Business Law is the brainchild of its founder, Andrew M. Baer, who, after spending 13 years working at large law firms and as in-house corporate counsel, understands that business clients want a lawyer who thinks like them, is oriented toward results, and can deliver large-firm expertise at low cost.
Andrew is a highly skilled transactional lawyer with more than a decade of…
Business Formation. Whether to form an entity, what type of entity (LLC, LLP, S corp., or C. corp.), and in which state to organize are critical decisions for a startup business, impacting its tax treatment, governance structure and ability to attract investors, as well as the liability of its principals. Getting solid legal advice and assistance from before birth will help you chart a course for future growth.
Read Andrew Baer’s blog for useful tips and updates about legal issues facing businesses, information on cutting-edge developments in e-commerce, technology and intellectual property law, ruminations on the Philadelphia legal market, rhapsodic musings on Center City restaurants and bars, and many other morsels.
V-J (Jailbreaking) Day
On Monday July 26, the Register of Copyrights handed digital rights advocates a huge victory by announcing new rules legalizing iPhone jailbreaking.
F[......]
Law & Order: Special Website Terms Enforcement Unit
Kudos to the digital rights crusaders at the Electronic Frontier Foundation for combating a disturbing new trend: criminal prosecutions of persons wh[......]
The Bilski Ruling: Software and Internet Patents Still Up in the Air
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. The U.S. Supreme Court’s long-awaiting ruling in Bilski v. Kappos was supposed to bring clarity t[......]
No Patent for Bilski, Business Methods Survive
The Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Bilski v. Kappos today. I will provide a detailed analysis of the ruling and its implications f[......]
FTC Data Breach Action Against Twitter Settled
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on June 24 that Twitter is settling an action brought by the agency after hackers exploited lax informati[......]
National Online Privacy and Data Security Bill Coming?
From a business standpoint, the state of privacy and security law in America today is a real mess, because there is no one-stop shopping. Businesses [......]
LinkedIn to LawSuit
In this depressed economy, social media is one of the primary tools used for job-related networking. At the risk of blaspheming, I greatly prefer Lin[......]
Startup Tip: Get Your Developer to Sign a Contract
Startups like to move fast and don’t have the time and resources for a lot of legal boilerplate and negotiation, much less legal fees. I get th[......]
SCOTUS Still Silent on Bilski
No word yet from the U.S. Supreme Court on Bilski v. Kappos, the eagerly awaited decision which is likely to limit the scope (if not drive the final n[......]
Angels Get a Reprieve
Innovation in America has been granted at least a four-year reprieve, thanks to the far-sighted efforts of a bipartisan group on the Senate Banking Co[......]
