On May 25, Harris Bricken will co-sponsor an event with CECOT, one of Spain’s leading multi-sector business confederations, on doing business in and with the United States. If you are considering doing business with the United States or investing in the United States, this event is for you. The conference, entitled “The New Era of Doing Business in the … read more

On Friday, April 6, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had received a sufficient number of petitions between April 2-5, 2018 for the Fiscal Year (“FY”) to meet its 2019 H-1B Cap. The announcement confirms the overwhelming demand from U.S. employers for qualified professionals to fill specialty occupation positions. Assuming … read more

You’ve taken the first steps in expanding your business into Spain, perhaps by forming distributorship relations. Now, you’re ready to put down deeper roots by renting office space and hiring staff. With these pieces in place you will be considered a “permanent establishment,” and it’s time to go beyond simply registering your foreign business. Foreign … read more

By: Gisella Zuñiga Galván* Though there are similarities in the European Union and the United States trademark systems (for example, registered trademarks under both systems are valid for ten years), there also are major differences. This post highlights some of the major differences in the trademark laws between the U.S. and the EU because it is these differences that … read more

In my previous post, I explained the H-1B Cap lottery process and described the general steps employers must take to file their petitions during the H-1B Cap window in April. In this post, I will specify the H-1B requirements, define some key terms, and describe the evidence that must accompany the H-1B petition. An H-1B … read more

In his first State of the Union address on January 30, 2018, President Trump articulated his four-pillar plan for immigration reform: path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children; securing America’s southern border with a wall; ending the diversity visa lottery and instituting a merit-based immigration system; and, limiting family immigration … read more

Late last year, the United States Congress passed the most comprehensive revision of the US tax system in more than three decades, and President Trump signed that reform into law. The new tax law significantly changes the US tax system and foreign companies looking to do business in the United States are going to benefit. … read more

Successful litigation turns not just on winning a judgment, but also on enforcing it. This often requires assistance from a court, and sometimes law enforcement within the court’s jurisdiction, to ensure compliance with the court’s decision. Before a US court will enforce a judgment issued by a foreign court, the US court must first recognize … read more

You just learned you have an inheritance in Germany. Perhaps a German Court has notified you that you are an heir under a will or you have received notice that you may be an heir under Germany’s intestate succession laws. What should you do? Under Germany’s inheritance laws a decedent’s property passes directly to his … read more

大多数的大麻业客户在聘请我们时，都至少对他们的律师的要求有点儿头绪。他们对商标注册、企业文件起草和法律合规性审查等方面的法律要求都有一定的了解，并知道自身需要什么样的帮助。向我们咨询筹资交易的企业和个人，则通常都对证券法缺乏了解。这是很正常的，因为证券法是一个极具挑战性、复杂且经常被人（甚至部分律师）误解的法律领域。 本文的目的是让您对交易过程中何时可能出现证券法的问题有一个基本的了解，好让您更清楚地知道何时需要证券法相关的帮助。 联邦和州的证券法旨在保护投资者。1929年的股市崩盘导致许多投资者血本无归后，对保护投资者的法律的需求变得显而易见。联邦证券法于1933年和1934年通过，以确保投资者在投资前获得企业所披露的完整与公正信息。投资者如果拥有足够的信息，我们作为社会大众不介意他们承担投资的风险。但是被欺骗或无法充分了解投资所涉及风险的投资者，可以通过几种法律途径针对出售证券给他们的公司或个人采取法律行动。除了联邦证券法，大多数的州也通过了本州的证券法，或称“蓝天法”，以保护投资者免于“如投资几尺‘蓝天’一样无稽之谈的投机性计划”。 在处理任何与投资相关的课题时，第一个问题通常是该投资是否涉及证券。何为证券？您可以在这里找到联邦政府对其的定义和法规，也可以在这里找到州法律定义的例子。简单来说，证券可以是公司股票、有限责任公司会员制单位、公司债券等。它们作为一种利润分享付款或保证债务偿还的无形权利，被企业用来换取投资者的金钱以增长或扩张业务。这是对一个非常复杂的概念的简单和概略的描述性解释，具体问题需要依照法律的规定并咨询律师来操作。 证券法一般来说要求企业在发行证券时进行大量且实质性的注册和信息申报，特别情形除外。大多数的证券产品，尤其是小型企业的证券产品，可以免于这些冗长的正式申报，但是即使是豁免的企业，通常也会被要求向州和联邦做通知性申报。另外，即使企业涉及的交易无须向政府注册或通知政府，一般来说还是需要在筹资前向投资者披露某些与企业相关的具体信息。 每个寻求通过发行债务或股权融资筹集资金的企业（无论是大麻或其它业务）都必须通知投资者其基本商业计划、处理所筹集的资本的计划、其财务预测（包括投资者的预期回报窗口），以及列明可能导致企业无法偿还投资者的风险因素。这些风险因素是关键，必须由证券投资顾问起草。每个企业都有自己的风险，因此它们不能照搬全用。这些声明可能看起来让人恐惧，并可能会使得倾向于规避风险的投资者望而却步。然而这可以说是重点所在，因为要规避风险的人不应该将他们的资金投入私人公司，这在本质上是有风险的。 大麻业务的风险因素看起来会更加吓人。他们会说：“联邦政府可能会突击搜查我们、查封所有的设备和库存、逮捕所有的员工、官员和投资者，包括你在内”等之类的话。公司不应该淡化投资的风险。这似乎有悖常理，但是在一开始就让投资者充分了解他们所面对的风险是在为公司提供法律保障。如果一家公司注销而无法偿还投资者，必须证明投资者已经了解所有的风险并知道其投资的安全性是没有保证的。 投资者之间的股票销售也受到证券法的影响，尤其是非注册发行的公司股票。请参阅美国证券交易委员会对此课题的说明。 大麻公司目前是小型企业投资市场的热门商品。许多大麻公司迫切需要资本，许多投资者则把大麻产业视为“明日之星”。但请警惕任何在寻求投资者时不愿意完全披露该投资风险、或是不遵守相关证券法的公司。 如果您需要向律师咨询，请联系： Robert McVay 律师，电话(1) 206-224-5657，邮箱robert@harrisbricken.com。 Grace Yang律师（讲中文），电话(1) 206-224-5657，中国手机号15210321328，邮箱grace@harrisbricken.com。