Business Series: Know Before You Sign On the Dotted Line: Reading & Negotiating Business Contracts

Due to public health concerns, this class will be offered online only. Registrants will be emailed a link to access a recording of the session.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020:  12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

New and growing businesses must enter into a variety of contracts, with landlords, suppliers, and clients, to name a few. Learn how to read common “boilerplate” contractual language and negotiate contractual terms to your advantage.

Class covers:

  • Contract law basics 
  • Essential terms of a commercial lease: what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable
  • Essential terms of a contract for goods or services 
  • “Typical” contracts negotiated by business people
  • Caveat emptor: how to avoid problematic contracts

Presented by Gina Pak:
Gina Pak is the COO and Co-founder of Lawgood, a legal tech company that is helping business owners with their everyday legal contracts through a combination of real lawyers and artificial intelligence. Prior to Lawgood, Gina was as a corporate lawyer at large firms in New York and Los Angeles working with Fortune 500 companies. She was also a law professor at Peking University. Gina graduated from Columbia Law School.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

On Demand: Make It Official: Licenses, Permits & Reopening

Class recorded September 12, 2023

In this class, government officials from the state of California and the City and County of Los Angeles will give business owners and entrepreneurs important, practical information on how to “make it official,” obtain business licenses, comply with local tax requirements, and follow COVID-19 reopening requirements.


Class covers:

  • How to comply with state and local COVID-19 reopening requirements
  • Determining which licenses and permits you need
  • How to apply for business licenses and permits
  • City, county & state tax requirements
  • How to avoid common license, permit & tax compliance issues

Course Materials: If you would like to receive a copy of the course materials for any of the classes, including any PowerPoint used, please register at the Register Now! button for the class, provided below.

Video Recordings: We recognize that not everyone can attend in person classes, so even if you can't make it in, please watch any of these recordings and remember that we are still here to help! Call us at (213) 785-2513, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or chat with us online to get help finding information and resources on any legal (or not-quite-legal) question. Access to the video recordings is free.

Dated Material: Please note that the law changes. The original recording date for each class is provided on the display page. To be certain that you receive up-to-date information, please attend the in-person class, or contact us for help researching or updating your specific legal issue.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

 

Business Series: On Solid Ground: Financial Planning for Business Owners

For the time being, due to public health concerns, this class has been cancelled.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020: 12:00p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - CANCELLED

In the day-to-day of managing a business, it can be easy to lose sight of the big financial picture. In this class, learn to set realistic goals, budget effectively, save and invest properly, and manage financial risks and returns for you and your business.

Class covers:

  • Setting realistic financial and personal goals
  • Developing a plan to reach your goals
  • Learning to adjust your spending and maximize your income
  • Planning for risk with insurance
  • Minimizing tax liability

Presented by Kimberly Kelly-Rolfe:

Kimberly Kelly-Rolfe is founder and CEO of Kelly Rolfe Financial Services, a Los Angeles based accounting firm, established in 2005, that provides small businesses a one stop solution for financial services integrating accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation and payroll functions in a single space utilizing a team of experts. Kimberly has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, recently earned her Master of Science degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from USC’s Marshall School of Business and was awarded this year, USC’s prestigious Marcia Israel Award. She is best known for teaching workshops on business and finance throughout Southern California and in 2017, launched Accelerate Business Training designed to help entrepreneurs launch, run and grow in business. Her notable work includes a trip to the White House to advocate on behalf of small businesses and recognition by the SBA and City of Los Angeles as an Emerging Leader in business. Kimberly’s focus, as well as company mission is to improve the financial position of the people they serve. Through her work with Kelly Rolfe Financial Services and Accelerate, she works to fulfill a greater goal of developing small business owners into employers to create total employment in the U.S. Currently, Kimberly resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband of 23 years and two children.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

Business Series: Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Trademarks & Patents

Tuesday, April 14, 2020:  12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Many successful businesses develop important assets that are "intangible," including trademarks identifying your products (or services) in the flow of commerce, and patents to protect scientific inventions. Learn how to protect such assets and ensure your company's continued success.

Class covers:

  • Protecting an original invention through the patent process
  • What patent protection can provide your business, and what it can't
  • How to develop and protect a valuable trademark

Presented by: Steve Smyrski and Jason Zedeck with the support of Bixel Exchange.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

Business Series: Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Trade Secrets

Tuesday, April 21, 2020:  12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

As a business owner, you try to do things that set you apart from the competition. Usually, you do not want the competition to know your important business information, and you don't want them to profit from your creative expressions and original works. In this class, learn how to protect the information and work that gives your business an edge.

Class covers:

  • Copyright: what is protected, and how to make sure no one profits from your original works and expressions
  • Free for the taking: what you can take from others, what others can take from you
  • Clearance required: what you do need permission to use
  • Pitching, idea theft, and implied-in-fact-contracts
  • Trade secrets: how to obtain, protect, and enforce
  • Non-disclosure agreements and non-competition agreements
  • Methods for protecting sensitive information

Presented by: Dan M. Forman and John L. Geiger with the support of Bixel Exchange:

Dan M. Forman is the managing partner at the Los Angeles office of employment law firm Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP. His knowledge expands beyond traditional employment law to the expanding field of trade secret litigation where he has successfully prosecuted and defended complicated cases.

Forman's vast litigation experience, including bench and jury trials, also allows him to adeptly utilize alternative dispute resolution techniques to achieve efficient and expedited results in cases with high financial exposure. His experience extends throughout state and federal courts, as well as alternative dispute resolution venues. Forman represents clients before a wide range of regulatory agencies, including California's Labor Commissioner, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Employment Development Department, Equal Employment Opportunity and similar agencies.

In addition to achieving favorable results in litigation, Forman advises California clients on the full gamut of employment topics in an effort to avoid claims. Forman counsels service providers, high tech companies, insurance agencies, security businesses, manufacturers, financial institutions, health and medical industry clients. He drafts wage and hour policies, employment and severance agreements, covenants-not-to-compete and trade secret confidentiality agreements, and advises on collective bargaining and WARN Act compliance.

To help employers and business executives stay ahead of emerging legal issues, such as social media, employee retention and non-compete and confidentiality agreements, Forman frequently provides employers and clients updates by his participation in various industry webinars and presentations.

John L. Geiger is the General Manager of Standards & Practices for Los Angeles County's Internal Services Department, where he advises on complex information technology, telecommunications, and intellectual property procurements and projects. With over thirty years of legal experience, Mr. Geiger is a former Principal Deputy County Counsel, and is admitted to practice law before all Courts of the State of California, as well as the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Supreme Court. In 2001, he was Board certified as an appellate specialist by the California Board of Legal Specialization.

Prior to joining the public sector, Mr. Geiger was an entertainment attorney in Century City, representing entertainment celebrities, including feature film talent (producers, writers, and directors) and headline music artists. As a writer and screenwriter, Mr. Geiger is a member of the Authors Guild and the Writers Guild of America/West (Independent Film Caucus). He is co-author of the book Creativity & Copyright, to be published by the University of California Press in 2019.

Mr. Geiger is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor of Arts - English), the University of California, Los Angeles (Master of Fine Arts - Film), and the University of Southern California (Juris Doctor).

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

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Saturday:
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