FAQs

Undoubtedly the greatest impediment is fear of the unknown. In actuality, both the business and legal cultures of America and the UK have more in common than you might suspect. The substantive issues in our commercial laws are much the same as is the prevailing sense of fair play and good faith. However, the two systems address various important legal issues differently and not being aware of those differences can be hazardous. Getting you past these differences and hazards is just one of the vital services Truecourse offers.

It is the use of legal services and advice aimed at preventing problems before they arise. It seeks to anticipate and diffuse potential issues, rather than suffer the expense of reacting to them after-the-fact, as is often the traditional approach. It is most effectively and efficiently employed as part of an overall approach to a small business’ operations and procedures, making sure as far as reasonably possible to provide the business with seamless protection. Large corporations often have this advantage through their in-house lawyers. Through its Preventative Law Review, Truecourse can review with you the various facets of your operations, helping to protect your business from expensive litigation and other hazards of doing business in America.

No. There are both subtle and obvious differences in the commercial laws of the US and UK. Specific words have different legal implications in both countries, some commercial international laws apply differently, warranty and damages disclaimers must be addressed differently in order to be effective … even the over-arching duty of good faith is applied differently in each country. These and many other differences make it imperative that your Terms and Conditions be tailored not only for American law, but for how you’d like your business to operate in the American market. By gaining a clear understanding of your operations and objectives, Truecourse can tailor Terms and Conditions to suit your business objectives.

In the absence of a guaranty or other assurance by yourself personally or the UK parent, then so long as you chose the correct business structure and treat your US subsidiary as an entity in its own right and not as an “alter ego” of yourself or the UK parent, the limitation of liability provisions of America corporations are quite reliable. It is important that you and the UK parent deal with the US subsidiary at arms-length and in a business-like manner. Truecourse can help you both choose an appropriate business structure and provide you with guidance in keeping potential liabilities of your US interests limited.

Franchising in the United States is more complex and detailed than in the UK. In many respects, it bears similarity to the disclosure laws that govern share issues in the UK. For that reason a US expert is highly advisable for franchising. Truecourse can recommend and work with both American franchise and IP lawyers to conveniently smooth the process for you while lessening your overall fees.

That depends on what you’ve heard. Generally, it’s not as bad as some scare-mongers would have you believe, but certainly worse than it should be. For the most part, Plaintiffs’ lawyers in America prefer low-hanging fruit. That is, from a business perspective, they’d generally far prefer the easy case where rewards are likely than the difficult one where their efforts may yield no reward. Truecourse can review with you your business model, practices and procedures to help both make you a less attractive target for litigation and strengthen your negotiating position in the event of a dispute.