Everybody is an Employee…Maybe…Possibly

August 6, 2015June 3, 2016 Mike Burke Employment, Jurisdiction Choice of Jurisdiction, Consultants, contractors, distribution agreements, doing business in the united states, employment, Forming an Affiliate, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland us affiliate, risk mitigation, sales agents, US affiliate

Businesses operating in or expanding to the US, including those from Ireland and Northern Ireland, use independent contractors to avoid some of the baggage associated with the employer/employee relationship under US law. The use of independent contractors recently has gotten more complicated due to the US Department of Labor’s publication of Administrator’s Interpretation 2015-1. The Interpretation is part of the Department’s closer monitoring of the ‘independent contractor’ designation. Businesses from Ireland or Northern Ireland operating in or expanding to the US, and using the services of an independent contractor (such as a sales agent) should take another look at how they designate a person as an ‘independent contractor,’ as soon as possible. Continue reading →

Effectively Using a Lightning Rod

March 3, 2015May 25, 2016 Mike Burke Jurisdiction, Smart Exporting Choice of Jurisdiction, doing business in the united states, Forming an Affiliate, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland exporter, northern ireland us affiliate, risk mitigation, US affiliate, us ireland tax treaty, us llc, us uk tax treaty

It’s been a while…my apologies! Waiting at an airport on a winter weather delay has me thinking of all the times I’ve been delayed because of summer weather like…lightning storms. It also gave me a chance to talk to a non-US company client about doing business here, and their structuring options; which also relates to my earlier post about when a company is deemed to be doing business here, for jurisdictional purposes.

Continue reading →

Delaware is Right, Unless It’s Not

February 1, 2015May 25, 2016 Mike Burke Formation Issues, Jurisdiction Choice of Jurisdiction, Delaware, doing business in the united states, Forming an Affiliate, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland exporter, northern ireland us affiliate, US affiliate, us ireland tax treaty, us llc, us uk tax treaty

In the context of forming a U.S. affiliate, I’m often asked by non-U.S. companies whether Delaware is the always the best jurisdiction to form an entity. My answer: not always.

Irish and Northern Irish businesses should realize that the formation of business entities in the U.S. is done at the state level, not the Federal level. While Delaware is an attractive jurisdiction for corporate law, it’s not a huge business center—at least not the size of New York, California, Illinois, Texas, etc. That leaves the Irish/NI parent with a choice: (i) form the legal entity in the state where it will do most of its business; (ii) form the legal entity in Delaware and register it as a ‘foreign’ corporation in the state where it will do most of its business. Continue reading →

Irish Export Insights

Practical Guidance for Irish and Northern Irish Companies on Doing Business in the U.S.

Choice of Jurisdiction

Everybody is an Employee…Maybe…Possibly

Effectively Using a Lightning Rod

Delaware is Right, Unless It’s Not

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