This section addresses some of the legal issues that you may run into in the process of getting your company going. It is recommended that you use the services of an attorney rather than try to handle all your legal issues yourself. There are several firms in the North Texas area that have lots of experience with start up technology companies. Their guidance usually proves to be of great value.

Follow the links to obtain some general information on the individual subjects, suggested reading, education references, example law firms, etc.

General Legal Assistance can be found at the following links:

1. American Bar Association
2. American Arbitration Association
3. American Association of Law Libraries
4. American Law Institute
5. Association of Federal Defense Attorneys
6. Association of Trial Lawyers of America
7. Christian Legal Society
8. Federal Bar Association
9. Inter-American Bar Association
10. National Center for State Courts
11. National Health Lawyers Association
12. National Organization of Bar Counsel
13. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
14. Native American Bar Association
15. Practising Law Institute

The following is a partial list of law firms in the North Texas area that have specialties in areas that are relevant to early stage technology companies. This is not an endorsement of these firms and the user is urged to do independent research to determine a firm that suits a particular need.

• Baker & Botts - www.bakerbotts.com
• Vinson & Elkins - www.vinson-elkins.com
• Hughes & Luce - www.hughesluce.com
• Jackson Walker - www.jw.com
• Thompson & Knight - www.tklaw.com/website.nsf/index.htm

A general locator for law firms is provided by  UNT.

If you are operating your business as a sole proprietorship or under a name other than the legal name of the entity (a Doing Business As), you will need to file an assumed name certificate in each of the Texas counties in which you operate your business.

Registering as a DBA (Doing Business As) is, of course, much simpler than incorporating, but it is still important to do it right.

Information on registering and using assumed names is available for Dallas County  and  Collin County.

This section provides some guidance on when you should consider incorporating and how to do it when you decide to. General information on incorporating can be found on  Yahoo Small Business.

A great overview of the benefits of incorporating, why Delaware is a good place to incorporate, and even an online incorporation submission is provided by American Incorporators Limited  and  Registered Agents Ltd. . Of course, you can also do it all yourself, or use a law firm. The advantage of using a law firm is that they can council you on other aspects of your business which may result in a more complete structure.

There are many ways for your company to exist. Some of these are:

• Private Ownership Corporations
• S-Corporations
• Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• Non-Profit Corporation

A brief description of each is provided by  AIL Corp..

If your exit strategy includes going public there are some things you will want to do early on to make the initial public offering (IPO) go more smoothly. Most of these issues revolve around company stock of course but it is wise to consider any SEC related implication in all your important business decisions. A good early stage oriented law firm (see North Texas Law Firms) can advise you in these matters.