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Guarantee Alternatives to Improve Your Close Rate
If you are providing financing or bonding to small and mid-sized businesses, your firm will likely require personal guarantees from the principals of the client company. For several years prior to the recent recession, credit was easy and it was possible to get deals done without having personal signatures or pledges to back-stop the risk of default ' not today. With rare exception for those businesses with extraordinary financial strength, obtaining credit of almost any type for emerging growth or middle-market businesses, i.e., those from startup through $100 million in sales, will require guarantees by the owners with 20% or more of the equity in a company. At the same time, financing companies are seeing more competitive pressure and a drive to get transactions closed when they find a good client. This logic applies to lease companies, commercial lenders, asset-based lenders, bonding firms and the like.
Developing an Effective Strategy
A competitive strategy to soften the perceived impact to those making the guarantees and to allow your company to mitigate its risk may be one of the keys to winning new business. Developing an effective strategy for structuring and managing the personal guarantee begins with understanding your firm's objectives and perspective. Start by assessing why your firm really needs the guarantee (other than policy dictates). Is it to assure that you lock-in the significant owner of the client company, so he is tied to the business to increase your likelihood of being repaid (especially if things do not go as planned). Or is it a financially weak business, and you are seeking additional collateral or assets; maybe both ' or to eliminate a conflict of interest between multiple businesses with the same owner. There are a number of reasons. The key is to be clear about why.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.