Chris McIvor
Chris has authored 98 articles.
Join Cooperathon and you could change the world!So, you have a million - nay - a billion-dollar idea you’re trying to get to market, but you don’t know where to begin. For starters, building a strong foundation might begin by defining the business idea and setting out a plan for the future in writing through a Founders’ Agreement.This article discusses the ins and outs of a Founders' Agreement.This article discusses the core elements of a Simple Agreement for Future EquityWhat to do if you disagree with your Co-Founder? This article highlights several solutions to establish a fair relationship betwen Founders and to solve the problems.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq details the essential elements of a shareholders' agreement, which will ultimately be the final product of the term sheet.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq illustrates the importance of ensuring that vesting provisions do not create a conflict of interest.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the practice of including 'drag-along' rights in term sheets.This article discusses the legal risks associated with letters of intent or term sheets, namely, that they can be found to be a binding agreement between the parties.This article discusses a case in which the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta found that a cover letter and term sheet between the two parties constituted a bindind agreement.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com reminds readers that third parties (in this case, affiliates or representatives of the receiving party) are not bound by the contract signed by the by the disclosing and receiving parties.This article highlights the importance of correctly defining 'confidential information,' as well as following that definition as the organization does business moving forward.This article highlights the main sections of a typical NDA and what parties should think about when reading an NDA.This article discusses some ways in which parties can handle confidential information once an NDA is no longer valid.The article explains the use of Confidentiality Agreements to protect a business from the theft of their trade secrets, as well as their patents.This article details the way in which rewards are generally given by judges in a breach of NDA.This article deals with the clash between confidentiality versus the common law settlement privilege.This article warns of the dangers that come with each word in a contract.This article provides a great foundation as to the basics of an NDA.This article lists the three element test used to examine if confidential information is protected under the common interest doctrine.This article reveals the functions of an NDA agreement.This article is all about the NDA and covers all the general information about NDAs; including what it is, why use it, when to use it, and how you use it.This article discusses in detail why you should use a confidentiality agreement.This article discusses in detail the utility and usage of NDA agreements.This article discusses how, within the context of whistleblowing, an employer's confidentiality agreement with an employee might be unenforceable.This article discusses the Scott & Associates Engineering Ltd. v. Finavera Renewables Inc.This article discusses how to effectively use a confidentiality agreement when selling your company in order to protect sensitive information about your company from leaking to competitors.This article tells us that a confidentiality agreement can not impair an individual’s ability to communicate with the commission staff about a violation (whistleblowing).This article discusses how a confidentiality agreement may continue to carry over beyond the initial agreement into subsequent agreements.This article cautions against reflexively signing a confidentiality agreement - there are many potential downsides to blindly signing any agreement.This article discusses the American civil case of Martin v Vulcan and how standstill provisions should be incorporated into confidentiality agreements to prevent one company pursuing a hostile takeover.This article provides a comprehensive introduction to NDAs and answers common questions that businesses may be interested in.This article suggests how employers could protect confidential information that may be disclosed by employees who join their competitors.This article provides insight on the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the fact that employers are not allowed to notify employees or prepare them in any way for inspections and checks as this would impede the Commissions investigations.This article provides a section-by-section checklist on what should be contemplated within a confidentiality agreement.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a case where an employment agreement superseded a confidentiality agreement.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the aftermath of a breach of confidentiality in an NDA and how to allocate liability for both the immediate counterparty and their representatives.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com deals with a tragic instance where a confidentiality agreement by a pharmaceutical company was unenforceable on the grounds of being too broad.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com points out key confidentiality changes that will affect US companies that trade with the EU caused by the GDPR.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses reasons to avoid using "attorney's eyes only" provisions in confidentiality agreements.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a case wherein a product designer's confidentiality agreement with a manufacturer was deemed to be unenforceable when they sued the manufacturer for releasing an almost identical product.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com deals with an ex-employee breaching confidentiality by informing his daughter of the outcome of a settlement agreement (prohibited by the NDA).This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com highlights that language matters - variance in the way provisions are termed can significantly impact your ability to execute the agreement.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com explains that weak confidentiality agreements may cause risk to companies that could be avoided, but it must be drafted properly to be enforceable by court.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com explains that confidentiality agreements are important in the context of business disputes to protect the privacy of the parties involved.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com explains that sometimes the contract alone is not always sufficient; the information must be truly confidential and the parties must demonstrate efforts.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com expands on confidentiality agreements, standstill agreements and letters of intent as they are used during mergers and acquisitions.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com highlights the importance of a strong confidentiality agreement to manage reporting obligations that a consultant entrusted with confidential information may have to third parties.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the basic functions of confidentiality agreements (and letters of intent) as they are used in the course of acquiring a business.For businesses to operate efficiently, money needs to be able to change hands easily, like cash. However, businesses also need to be sure that they will have a legal claim to be repaid the money if things don’t go smoothly, something that contracts typically provide.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the Wisconsin case RMS Residential Properties, LLC v Anna M. Miller in which the court decided that possession of a promissory note raises a rebuttable presumption that the holder of the note is the owner of the debt.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com deals with foreclosure actions in Maine and the apparent limitation of the ability of MERS (Mortgage Electronic Research System) to assign more than the right to record the mortgage as nominee.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the trap of violating New York States criminal usury lawsThis article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the common features of convertible promissory notes, including discounts and caps.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses how promissory notes can be used in the purchase or selling of a business.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses an Ontario court decision that promissory notes are securities under the Ontario Securities Act, unless they are more akin to the types of notes considered to not be securities, using the 'family resemblance test'.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a US bankruptcy court decision which determine that promissory notes can be re-characterized as equity.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses an Illinois court decision which determined that providing the interest rate and maturity date of a mortgage by reference to a promissory note was valid.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a court decision from the 9th circuit (U.S.) dealing with the question of whether the stated higher rate of post-default interest would be enforceable.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the use of e-signatures used in documents. Specific documents still require written signatures such as promissory notes, which are governed by the Bills of Exchange Act (BEA).This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the potential dangers of accepting offers of promissory notes that expire within a certain (short term) period.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the classification of promissory notes as securities in Ontario law. The court considered the U.S. Supreme Court test of 'family resemblance' in distinguishing which promissory notes are securities or other instruments.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses an Ontario Court of Justice decision which dealt with the definition and interpretation of 'security' under the Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses an Alabama Supreme Court decision that held that the assignee of a lost promissory note was entitled to rely on a lost note affidavit to enforce its claim against the maker of the note.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the risk in promissory notes. To manage the risk of a demand for payment by a third party on your financial promise, seek legal advice in drafting the note, and understand the implications if the note is negotiable.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a decision by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal in Hutton v ARC Business Solutions Inc, a case which addressed whether an employee can still pursue a human rights claim arising from her termination despite signing a full and final release.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com briefly details the case of Trillium Motor World Ltd. v. General Motors of Canada Limited which concerns the interaction of section 11 of the Arthur Wishart Act (AWA) with release agreements between a franchisor and franchisee.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com provides a general overview of full and final releases, distinguishing between two types: subrogated and direct releases.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com situates the use of the mutual release agreement within the context of insurance and risk.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Biancaniello v. DMCT LLP.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com examines the Ontario case of Dodd v. Prime Restaurants of Canada, in which one issue was whether a signed release between a franchisor and franchisee was unconscionable and violated section 11 of the Arthur Wishart Act.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com describes two Nova Scotia cases in which parties who thought they had agreed on a settlement and release (in principle), ended up in court to fight over the actual terms of the release.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com discusses a BC Supreme Court decision that a Mutual Cancellation and Release Agreement signed by a Dairy Queen franchisee was effective to bar coun terclaims against Dairy Queen.This article posted to our partner site Mondaq.com deals with the question of whether a release that covered ‘all claims arising out of the services provided’, but which did not expressly refer to unknown or unforeseeable claims, nevertheless covered unknown or unforeseeable claims arising out of the services provided.Use of escrow levels the playing field between the parties, encourage the completion of the transaction by taking out the elements of mistrust and risk of non-performance between parties.Suppose your business has had a long-standing contractual agreement with another party and both of you would like to continue to conduct business as per your agreement, but without either party’s know...Entire Agreement clauses are used to limit your liabaility by stating that the areement between the parties is completely contained in the written agreement. However, this article explains that courts have been known to look past this clause.A Mutual Release is an agreement between two parties in a dispute whereby both parties give up all known and unknown claims against the other party.Every start-up founder should have a basic grasp of some of the ways they can secure financing for their company, so to that end let's take a crash course on some familiar and some not-so-familiar ways to raise money.What is this document?
An Advisor Agreement (also known as a Contractor Agreement) is used to establish the terms and conditions of the service relationship between a company and an individual or another company.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses how the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is soon to take effect, meaning Canadian businesses who handle the personal information of EU residents will need to review their privacy policies.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses how, on July 1, 1983, Canada’s Privacy Act was introduced to regulate how federal government institutions managed personal information.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses how companies collect and create mass amounts of data – a lot of it being of confidential nature.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses the implentation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the coming months.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com discusses how the Canadian privacy law underwent many changes in 2017.In Ontario, charging HST for consulting services is an immediate, required practice. The rest of Canada also shares this practice but conforms with respective provincial regulation.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq is a must-read for foreign employers operating their businesses in Canada.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq deals with employment law in Quebec and it succinctly recaps the different types of employment relationships.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq provides advice on the top twelve /“must haves/” for written employment contracts.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq discusses the enforceability of the Notice of Resignation provision in the case Balckerry Limited v. Marineau - MesThis article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com outlines the circumstances that give rise to just cause for termination.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq.com provides a concise overview of what costs are involved in terminating an employee in Ontario.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq explains the decision of Nagribianko v. Select Wine Merchants Ltd. where an employer terminated an employee during the probationary period on the grounds he was "unsuitable" and provided the appropriate notice.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq discusses whather an employee terminated during a probationary period can sue for wrongful dismissal.This article posted on our partner site Mondaq examines what “probation” means to both an employer and an employee in respect of obligations and rights on termination.Artists and graphic designers either desire to - for their own personal reasons or are frequently asked to create images/t-shirt designs/memes or even complete replicas of existing images for commercial purposes.This article discusses the four allowable circumstances in which an employer and employee may enter into an agreement to vary from the Ontario Employment Standards Act standards.Among other equally important aspects of the workplace such as minimum wage and matters relating to termination, the Ontario Standards Act lays out standards with respect to an employee’s hours of work, breaks, and overtime.