Securities Law - Making Up the Truth

By Jim Verdonik

I'm an attorney with Ward and Smith PA.  I also write a column about business and law for American Business Journals, have authored multiple books and teach an eLearning course for entrepreneurs.  You can reach me at JFV@WardandSmith.com or JimV@eLearnSuccess.com.  Or you can check out my eLearning course at www.eLearnSuccess.com or www.YouTube.com/eLearnSuccess or purchase my books at  http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Verdonik/e/B0040GUBRW

 I started my career as a securities lawyer in a big New York law firm.

Counseling clients about securities law has always been a big part of what I do.

What is securities law?

Basically, it’s a search for truth.

But it's not like a hunt for pirate treasure.

You don't find a map and then dig up a big treasure chest of truth.

The truth is usually more complicated than that.

It usually comes in small bits and pieces.

Sometimes pieces of truth are hidden inside of half-truths or even inside of lies.

You have to break the pieces apart and separate the truth from everything else.

But just accumulating a big pile of pieces of truth is usually fairly worthless.

You have to reassemble the pieces to tell a story people can understand.

Telling the truth story is the interesting part.

Of course, people often have different opinions about which part of the truth is more important.

That's why a dozen people telling the same story will tell it differently even though they are all telling the truth.

And, of course, people sometimes bend the truth for their own purposes.  Even good people are tempted to do that.  People easily convince themselves something is true because they want it to be true.  My job as a securities lawyer is to bring clients back to reality – to separate desire from fact. 

Let's see how we do that in this video, which recreates a counseling session I had with the CEO of a publicly traded company in which we explored the dark caves of untruth before returning to the bright light of the truth.

"http://player.vimeo.com/video/53102268?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0"

So, what is the truth?

Technology Law: A Wild Fun Ride

                                                                                                      
By Jim Verdonik

I'm an attorney with Ward and Smith PA.  I also write a column about business and law for American Business Journals, have authored multiple books and teach an eLearning course for entrepreneurs.  You can reach me at JFV@WardandSmith.com or JimV@ElearnSuccess.com.  Or you can check out my eLearning course at www.elearnSuccess.com or www.YouTube.com/eLearnSuccess or purchase my books http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Verdonik/e/B0040GUBRW

I've been a technology lawyer for a long time.

But I still get a thrill when a client tells me about a new technology they are working on.

It's like having a window into the future.

What's a dream today, becomes cutting edge technology tomorrow and becomes a part of our everyday lives the following week.  Then the next month its obsolete and something new replaces it.

OK, it really doesn't happen that fast. 

Those "overnight successes" you read about in business publications often take years or even a decade to turn a dream into a commercial product.  The media may like stories about overnight successes, but there's a lot of pain and suffering in the process.  Some dreams never become reality.  But that's what makes it really interesting to be part of the process. 

Most tech companies are like a murder mystery.  We don't know the outcome of the story until it's over.  Sometimes the hero dies on the last page.  It makes the successes that much more exciting.  That's why I never really got into James Bond movies despite all the special effects.  You know that whatever happens, James Bond doesn't die.  They need him in the sequel.

Let's start exploring why technology clients are so great to work with by looking at this video that explains the connection between tech clients and Swiss Cheese:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNJpq5nSX1g&list=PLEyL-gjb9p8yqMcjg4lsrt8r69XYcSU7Q&index=7

One of the benefits of working with young businesses is that I've had many opportunities to learn and expand my experience.  When problems need to be solved, are there any boundaries between law and business?  What good is legal advice, if it doesn't make business sense?  This video explains how my clients taught me how to help them and how I share that experience with others:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLgDU1nu-w&list=PLEyL-gjb9p8yqMcjg4lsrt8r69XYcSU7Q&index=6

I've been lucky to be able to work in a wide range of science and technology based businesses.  Industries I have experience in include:

-           Information technology, including telecommunications and semiconductors, software, internet, social media and computer games.

·        Health related, including biotech and drug development and medical devices.

·        Crossover industries that combine information technology and health services, including clinical trials and electronic medical records.

·        Energy related industries including natural gas technology, biomass and solar

Let's explore some of my deals in these industries.

But first a question: What do Harrison Ford and I have in common?