Business guides, webinars, and newsletters from Surge Business Law.
You made the decision. The employee is not working out, and you are ready to move forward. You have thought about it, maybe for months. The termination feels straightforward. So w…
Some of the most valuable technology companies in the world give their core product away for free. Anyone can download it, use it, modify it, and redistribute it. And yet these co…
In May 2026, a federal jury in Oakland dismissed all of Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI and Sam Altman. The trial lasted three weeks. The verdict took less than two hours. But w…
Aurélien Picard thought he had a clever name. His Brittany brewery, L’Imprimerie, made a lemon-ginger beer he called John Lemon. The label featured a caricature of John Lennon spo…
In 2000, Ben & Jerry's sold to Unilever for roughly $326 million. On the surface, it looked like a clean exit. The founders got their price. The brand would live on. The deal…
You formed an LLC to protect yourself. That is one of the main reasons people choose the LLC structure. And the good news is: it works. Most business owners who get sued through t…
Hiring your first employee in Texas creates a sequence of legal and tax obligations that need to happen in a specific order. Most employers miss one or more, and the missed obliga…
Starting an LLC with your spouse in Texas creates a question that often gets glossed over in national guides: how will the IRS tax the business, and how do you make sure your tax…
If you have ever wondered why running your small business feels harder than starting it, you are not alone. The internet is full of advice about launching a company, quitting your…
Three employees challenged their firings. All three lost. The difference between their employers winning and losing was not the severity of what the employees did. It was the pape…
Filing a trademark looks simple on the surface. You pick a name, fill out some forms, pay a fee, and wait. That is the version you see in ads for online filing services. And to be…
You have spent months picking the perfect name. You bought the domain. You designed the logo. You started building a customer base. Then one morning, an attorney's letter lands in…
You and your business partner are excited. You have a great idea, complementary skills, and big plans. The last thing on your mind is what happens if one of you stops showing up.…
You started a business with someone you trusted. You split the work, pooled your money, and filed the LLC paperwork together. Then, somewhere along the way, your partner stopped s…
AI tools are showing up in every part of the hiring and management process. Resume screeners, scheduling algorithms, performance scoring systems, and attendance trackers all promi…
If your business has 15 or more employees, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) applies to you. It took effect in June 2023, and the EEOC finalized its regulations in 2024. Th…
You just found out that your business data has been compromised. Customer records, employee information, financial data. Something got out. Your stomach drops. Now what? The next…
If you run a small business that handles customer data, credit card numbers, or health records, you have legal obligations around cybersecurity. The size of your company does not…
Your employees are probably using AI tools right now. They are pasting customer data into ChatGPT, running financial projections through free AI apps, and summarizing client commu…
If your business collects customer names, Social Security numbers, credit card data, or even login credentials, you are holding information that state law requires you to protect.…
Here is the most important thing to understand about starting a business in Texas: forming your LLC or corporation with the Secretary of State does not mean you are fully licensed…