Venn Law Group

10/16/2026

Some of the most valuable work happens when different perspectives come together around the same table.

At Venn Law Group, collaboration is part of how we approach the legal challenges our clients bring to us. Discussing ideas, evaluating options, and drawing on the experience of our colleagues helps us develop practical strategies that account for the legal issues and the business considerations behind them.

We believe clients benefit when their attorneys understand the bigger picture, ask thoughtful questions, and work together to find a path forward.

A little behind-the-scenes look at the Venn team doing what we do. https://ow.ly/jAFj50ZXH4f

10/15/2026

Do noncompete agreements actually protect a company's confidential information, or do they primarily limit where employees can work next?

New research published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics raises some interesting questions about the effectiveness of noncompete agreements and their impact on employee mobility.

Researchers examined more than 14,000 job offers across two financial firms and found no evidence that noncompete agreements reduced the disclosure of sensitive business information beyond the protections already provided by standard nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).

The findings also revealed significant effects on employees. Removing noncompete provisions increased movement between competing employers by 36% to 52% and raised total employee wages by 12% to 17%.

Another interesting finding involved recruitment. When employers were transparent about noncompete requirements during hiring, attracting candidates became more difficult. Researchers also found that employees who accepted those restrictions were more likely to violate them.

For employers, the research raises important considerations about how restrictive employment agreements are structured and what they are intended to accomplish.

Protecting trade secrets, confidential information, and valuable business relationships remains a legitimate concern. However, businesses should periodically evaluate whether their existing agreements provide meaningful protection, whether the restrictions are appropriate for particular positions, and how applicable state laws affect enforceability.

The presence of a noncompete provision can influence employee behavior even when the restriction may ultimately be unenforceable. That makes clarity, careful drafting, and an understanding of the agreement's practical effects particularly important.

As employers reconsider their approaches to protecting business information, how much protection are their restrictive agreements actually providing? https://ow.ly/hW4250ZXH3S

A recent study found that including this restriction in a contract not only makes it difficult to hire workers, it also does not prevent information leaks.

10/14/2026

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and for business owners, cybersecurity deserves attention well beyond the IT department.

A cyber incident can quickly become a governance, contractual, employment, and litigation issue. Leadership may need to determine who has authority to make critical decisions, which customers or business partners must be notified, what contractual obligations apply, whether sensitive employee or customer information was compromised, and how the company will preserve information if litigation becomes a possibility.

Many of those questions are easier to answer before an incident occurs.

Businesses should know who has access to sensitive systems and information, how that access is removed when employees leave, what cybersecurity obligations appear in customer and supplier agreements, and what responsibilities technology providers have if something goes wrong. Policies governing employee technology use, remote access, AI tools, confidential information, and incident reporting should also reflect how the company actually operates.

Good governance plays an important role here. Clear responsibilities, documented policies, appropriate oversight, and an established response process can help leadership act quickly while reducing the confusion and inconsistent decision-making that can make an already difficult situation worse.

Cybersecurity may begin with technology, but managing the legal and business risks surrounding it requires preparation across the organization.

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, consider a different question: If your company experienced a cyber incident tomorrow, would everyone who needs to make a decision know their role?

10/13/2026

FAQ: Who should be allowed to approve new AI tools for employees?

An employee finds an AI tool that could save hours of work each week. They create an account, click “I agree,” upload some company information, and start using it.

The problem? Nobody else at the company knows.

Businesses increasingly need a process for deciding which AI tools employees can use and what information those tools can access. Approval should generally involve more than the employee or department that wants the technology. Depending on the tool and how it will be used, leadership may need input from IT or cybersecurity, legal counsel, HR, compliance, or other appropriate decision-makers.

Before approving an AI platform, businesses should understand its terms of use, privacy and data-retention practices, security protections, and what happens to information entered into the system. Existing customer and supplier agreements may also restrict how confidential information or other data can be shared with third-party technology providers.

There is a governance issue here as well. Someone within the organization should have clearly defined authority to approve new technology, establish permitted uses, and determine what types of information employees may enter. Otherwise, a company can quickly accumulate AI tools across different departments without having a complete picture of where its information is going or what contractual obligations employees have accepted.

An AI policy can help establish those boundaries, but it should reflect how employees actually work and evolve as the technology changes.

Are employees already experimenting with AI tools your leadership team has never reviewed? Venn Law Group can help businesses evaluate the legal considerations surrounding AI use, develop appropriate policies, and incorporate technology oversight into broader corporate governance and risk-management practices. Contact us to discuss your company’s approach. https://vennlaw.group/3TftnTv

What Can We Help You With Today? Business Litigation, Commercial Real Estate Buying and Selling, Merger & Acquisitions? Request a Consultation.

10/12/2026

Employment issues rarely stay neatly inside the HR department. A hiring decision, accommodation request, employee complaint, performance problem, leave question, or termination can quickly create legal and operational concerns for a business.

Venn Law Group’s Employment Law practice helps employers navigate those situations with practical guidance grounded in the realities of managing a workforce. Our attorneys work with businesses on employment policies and agreements, wage-and-hour matters, reasonable accommodations, workplace investigations, disciplinary decisions, terminations, discrimination and harassment concerns, and other issues that arise throughout the employment relationship.

Preventive counsel is an important part of that work. Reviewing policies, training managers, documenting decisions appropriately, and involving legal counsel before a difficult situation escalates can help businesses address employee matters consistently and reduce the risk of disputes.

When a claim or conflict does arise, Venn can also help employers evaluate the situation, understand their legal obligations, and determine the appropriate path forward.

Employment decisions affect people and businesses. Having experienced counsel available when those decisions become complicated can make a meaningful difference.

Contact Venn Law Group to learn more about our Employment Law practice and how our attorneys help employers manage workplace issues and legal risk. https://vennlaw.group/4vUX4qw

10/09/2026

Selling a business can put an owner in an unusual position. After spending decades becoming an expert at running the company, they may suddenly find themselves negotiating the largest financial transaction of their career with buyers who acquire businesses for a living.

That experience gap can matter.

Experienced buyers know how to evaluate risk, manage due diligence, control timelines, and negotiate deal terms. A seller who receives an unsolicited offer may be tempted by an attractive initial valuation or the prospect of a quick transaction, but the economics of the deal can change considerably as due diligence progresses and potential weaknesses are identified.

Preparation can help business owners enter the process from a stronger position. That includes looking at the company through a buyer’s eyes. Customer concentration, gaps in the management team, inconsistent financials, limited growth opportunities, and heavy dependence on the owner can all affect how a prospective buyer evaluates risk and, ultimately, value.

Owner dependency deserves particular attention. A company that relies on its founder for key relationships, decisions, knowledge, and daily operations may be harder to transfer successfully. Building leadership depth, documenting processes, and allowing the company to operate more independently can make the business more attractive to a buyer while strengthening it long before a sale occurs.

Owners should prepare themselves for the transaction, too. Experienced financial, legal, and M&A advisors can help sellers understand the process, evaluate proposed terms, identify risks, and negotiate with parties who may have completed dozens or even hundreds of similar transactions.

For many entrepreneurs, selling a company is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Preparing years rather than weeks in advance can change the position from which they eventually negotiate. https://ow.ly/13UQ50ZW2l9

Why it's tilted against entrepreneurs and what to do about it.

10/08/2026

Selling commercial real estate may look straightforward from the outside: find a buyer, agree on a price, sign the paperwork, and close the deal. As our old friend Joe Fitnessbuff discovers in Venn Law Group’s latest blog, there can be quite a bit more happening behind the scenes.

A seller’s attorney can play an important role well before closing day. That may include reviewing the listing agreement, helping negotiate a letter of intent, addressing due diligence questions, and drafting or negotiating the purchase and sale agreement. Issues involving representations and warranties, termination rights, earnest money, the property description, deed requirements, and other deal-specific provisions can all affect the seller’s interests.

Legal representation can be particularly important as the transaction approaches closing. The buyer’s attorney represents the buyer. Having separate counsel gives the seller someone focused on reviewing the deed, affidavits, assignments, bills of sale, and other closing documents from the seller’s perspective, including whether those documents create obligations or liabilities beyond what was negotiated.

Joe wants to sell his gym, move to the beach, and enjoy retirement. He would probably rather not spend it arguing about a commercial real estate transaction that went sideways.

Read Venn Law Group’s latest blog to learn how an attorney can help commercial real estate sellers protect their interests throughout the sales process, from the initial listing agreement through closing. https://vennlaw.group/4gMwc8b

Form PSAs can make it feel easy to sell commercial real estate, but smart sellers will still get an attorney to represent them.

10/06/2026

A workplace harassment complaint can arrive without warning. How an employer responds in the hours and days that follow can have consequences long after the investigation ends.

A strong investigation process starts with consistency. That means interviewing people in a deliberate order, asking open and neutral questions, documenting what witnesses actually say, and avoiding conclusions before the evidence has been evaluated. Employees involved in the investigation should also be reminded about confidentiality and the prohibition against retaliation.

What happens before a complaint is made matters, too. Employees need clear ways to report concerns, including alternatives when a supervisor is involved. Employers also need a reliable way to document and track reports so recurring complaints, patterns, or problems within a particular department do not go unnoticed.

Ultimately, an investigation may be scrutinized just as closely as the underlying complaint. A documented, repeatable process can help employers respond fairly, evaluate the available evidence, and make more consistent decisions.

If a harassment complaint landed on your desk tomorrow morning, would your managers and HR team know exactly what to do next? https://ow.ly/HTb450ZTjcS

Run a harassment investigation that holds up. 5 steps for interviews, documentation and remedial action, plus the incident management basics behind them.

10/05/2026

A merger or acquisition may be negotiated behind closed doors, but once the news becomes public, the conversation expands quickly. Employees, customers, investors, business partners, and competitors will all be trying to understand what the transaction means.

That makes communication an important part of M&A planning. The article points to several considerations, including identifying key stakeholders, tailoring messages to different audiences, aligning leadership before an announcement, and preparing for questions about why the transaction is happening and what comes next.

Companies should also prepare for the possibility that a deal changes, is delayed, or does not close. Communication plans should account for those scenarios, including what can be disclosed and which confidentiality obligations remain in place.

And communication should not stop at closing. The first 90 days can be particularly important as employees, customers, and other stakeholders look for evidence that the transition is progressing as expected.

For business leaders considering a merger, acquisition, or sale, communication deserves a place in the transaction strategy well before anyone drafts the announcement.

If your company announced a major transaction tomorrow, would your leadership team know what to say, who needs to hear it, and when? https://ow.ly/hUqs50ZTjcz

When companies are going through a merger or an acquisition, they can use these five strategies to ensure key stakeholders receive the right messaging.

10/02/2026

That’s in the Contract? Automatic Renewal

You signed the contract a year ago, put it in a folder, and moved on.

Then an invoice arrives for another year of service.

Automatic renewal provisions can extend a business agreement for another term unless one party provides notice within the timeframe and in the manner required by the contract. That means deciding not to renew may not be enough. The contract may require written notice 30, 60, or 90 days before expiration, specify where that notice must be sent, or establish other requirements for ending the relationship.

Miss the deadline, and the business may find itself committed for another term.

This is one reason contract management should continue after the agreement is signed. Businesses should know which agreements renew automatically, when notice periods begin, who is responsible for monitoring those dates, and what the contract requires if the company wants to get out.

And while you are checking the renewal provision, look at the termination section, too. They do not always give you the same options.

That’s in the contract? Sometimes the provision that seemed insignificant when everyone signed is the one that matters most later. https://vennlaw.group/4fZV23r

Business owners have to manage many decisions to grow their businesses. Venn Law Group has the legal experience to guide you in your corporate needs.