Careers - Cara Stone, LLP

Get a Team and Boost Resources for Growth

Invest in my Own Future and Get Investment from the Firm

Focus on Personal Growth and Get out of Firm Grind

The things I want to gain at Cara Stone:

More stable workflow–supplement income in slow times by picking up extra work
Lower overhead and economies of scale in purchasing decisions
Better compete with large firms for business and stop losing good clients to larger firms
Additional support on projects, without the hassle of co-counsel agreements, etc.
More income from cross-selling opportunities with lawyers who have different focus (for example, patent, litigation, trademark, tax, real estate)
Expanded investor network for clients
Sell larger clients on capabilities in local market by being part of a larger group
Business coaching to boost business development
Firm investment in marketing plans specific to my practice
Better, big firm quality resources for lower cost
Institutional level malpractice insurance

Get investment in my own business development, not just in the firm’s general advertising
Earn more and have more certainty
Gain active business development training and direct support for my practice areas
Advance more quickly, without artificial limitations based on seniority
Gain a lot more freedom—make your own hours, focus on outside activities or family
Collaborative team members, not competitive team members
Ability to work from multiple offices or move around locations
More time for business development
Modern practice and client collaboration tools
Work with people who like what they do and their practice
Fun with the practice of law

Enjoy life more
Focus on all aspects of life, not just practice
Focus more on family, hobbies, investments, friends
Pass on skills to other lawyers and share work
Leave clients in good hands, with qualified people and a solid firm culture and value system
Continue to earn income as retirement or transition to other fields is phased in
Focus on practicing law, not administrative nonsense
Leave a legacy in law with others

The Problems I Want to Solve:

Unstable workflow, unable to supplement income during slow times
Losing clients to larger firms Lack of support on large projects
Don’t have people that they can cross-sells with at their firm
Lack of investor network
Living in a small market with limited capabilities
High overhead costs
Limited resources—no marketing team to help

Significant portion of income is tied to uncertain or unclear “discretionary” factors determined by comp committee;
Too many politics
Lockstep compensation is no good—no upside or reward for efforts or risk
Committee meetings controlling future
The firm teaches no business skills to grow practice
Stress of competing with other areas of the firm for resources
Can’t do business development at firm without losing time on billables and getting in trouble
The firm is not interested in what it believes are “new” practice areas or emerging areas of law

Hate going into office to work
Billable hour requirements will never truly end
No legacy without attorneys to take over practice s
No business skills to grow practice
No way to continue to earn money without continuing to work
Sick of practice administrative burdens and costs
Low confidence in other lawyers of the current firm in handling business
Go back to focusing on cases that I truly enjoy

About our Process

Transition can be difficult. It can be even be hard to simply think about moving. Let’s make this easy on both of us. Here is what to expect if you click the link above:

We will keep your information confidential.
We will send you an email with some more information about your particular goals and our firm. We will request a time and date to speak by phone or web conference (again, we understand discretion here).
If you are still interested (and we are still interested), we ask you to complete an online questionnaire (this is confidential).
We collaborate on a transition plan (this is tailored to your specific situation). We give you the opportunity to ask our partners about the firm and get to know what it is truly like working together as part of the team. We believe in transparency and that this needs to be a fit, so we want you to get a good feel for things.
Management presents interested candidates to other partners to for review.
We make an offer and send the transition plan.

Cara Stone is actively recruiting attorneys from complementary practice areas.

Cara Stone is a highly selective entrepreneurial firm that provides the dynamic client service, teamwork, and expertise of a high-end boutique law firm.

As a Cara Stone attorney, you control your earnings and growth potential. You’re encouraged to collaborate and discuss ideas with other attorneys, expand earnings potential through cross-selling and to enjoy the benefits of the firm’s business development, marketing, operational, and administrative support. We discourage in-house politics with transparent and measurable compensation that defines earnings up front when any new matter is opened – not at the end of the year behind closed doors.

The firm is looking for excellence, and welcomes applications from highly qualified candidates looking for a change. In making lateral hiring decisions, academic performance, previous work experience, and a prospect’s ability to provide clients with the best possible work product are all considered. All applications from lateral candidates will be reviewed on a confidential basis.

To practice law at Cara Stone, we require the following from partners

Exceptional legal ability and academic credentials
Book of business or executable plan to acquire significant business quickly
Entrepreneurial experience or other professional experience in organizations
Excellent attitude which fits our core values and culture

Blog

The Board of Directors: Role In Fundraising

August 30, 2023September 12, 2023 No Comments

Disclaimer: This video discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. This post is not a substitute for legal advice and is intended to generate discussion of various issues. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel. Cara Stone, LLP and the author expressly disclaims all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. The views expressed herein are personal opinion.

In prior posts, we’ve discussed the role of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and the Board’s duty to disclose information to shareholders. This post discusses the Board’s obligation to disclose information to investors and the role the Board plays in a company’s financing.

In general, the U.S. Federal Securities laws provide that a company needs to provide all material information that a reasonable investor would find relevant to an investment decision. The company can’t omit a fact that an investor acting in good faith would find substantially likely to alter their investment decision.

The concept of a “materially reasonable” investment decision is vital for the company and the Board to understand. The company must provide the investor with all material information that a reasonable person or investor would find necessary to decide whether to invest. The company can’t fail to give investors information that would change the total mix of information relevant to their investment decision. In other words, the company must include everything that would change the conclusion an investor might draw based on the information presented by the company.

For example, investors may want to see website traffic for the company. The company can’t only show a limited selection of website data. If the website data increased for 12 consecutive months and then started to decline, the company must include the declining month.

The general rule is that the company must consider anything material to the investment decision if a reasonable investor might want to know it before they decide to invest. If a fact about the company might change the investor’s mind about the deal, then that’s a material fact, and the company needs to disclose it. Different types of financings and investors require different disclosure levels. We’ll get into that in a separate post, but the key takeaway is that a company cannot withhold information from someone making an investment decision.

Similar to the duty to disclose to shareholders, companies must also be transparent and present a complete picture of the company’s metrics. In other words, the company may want to disclose information even if an investor does not ask for that information. This is especially true if the information could impact the investor’s investment decision.

In the prior example where the investor asks for website data, the company must share the website data and any materially essential factors relating to that data. For instance, if the company just lost a relationship with a critical influencer driving traffic to the website, the loss is a material factor in the website traffic.

The Board’s role in this process is to advise company executives on how the company presents information and who the company looks at as investors. The Board may review the company’s pitch deck, inspect due diligence rooms, weigh in on negotiations with investors, and much more. The Board and anyone talking to investors on behalf of the company must understand the nuance of the company’s duty to disclose information.

As always, we advise companies to talk to a lawyer if questions about the duty to disclose arise.

Disclaimer: This video discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. This post is not a substitute for legal

insights

Louisiana Private Companies Raise Over $215 Million in Venture Capital in 2022, the Highest Level Recorded by Cara Stone’s Louisiana Venture and Angel Capital Report

August 15, 2023August 14, 2023 No Comments

August 14, 2022 (New Orleans, LA) – Cara Stone, LLP (“Cara Stone”) the nation’s fastest growing capital markets law firm released the Louisiana Venture and Angel Capital Report (“Report”) which shows that Louisiana companies raised a record level of venture capital in 2022.

Louisiana companies raised a total of over $215,000,000 across 34 venture capital deals in 2022. This followed a historically low year for venture capital raised in Louisiana in 2021. The Report shows venture capital decreasing during the Covid 19 pandemic. 2022’s numbers show a strong recovery with deal volume climbing dramatically to the highest number the state has seen in the reporting period.

“The last few years have been really exciting for Louisiana companies,” said Mark Graffagnini, Managing Partner at Cara Stone. “We saw two highly publicized tech related exits, several large private exits, and a huge recovery from the Covid-19 slow down.”

The report, released August 15, 2022, also examines the state’s Angel Investor Tax Credit Program (“AITC”), which businesses can obtain if designated as a Louisiana Entrepreneurial Business by Louisiana Economic Development.

The number of angel investment deals under the AITC Program declined for the last three consecutive years. In each of the last three years, the total number of companies applying to receive tax credits for deals under the program was less than in 2011, the partial year in which the AITC Program was renewed.

“The AITC program has put new incentives in place to incentivize investment and help tailor the program to early-stage companies,” said Graffagnini. “These changes are something we are going to be watching for next year. We hope to see a significant increase in the program with the new incentives.”

Cara Stone has been active in the venture and angel capital space sense 2016 and continues to be a leader in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This year, the report is available as an interactive map, allowing this community to explore the impact of venture capital in Louisiana across cities and industries. Sign up to get the Louisiana Venture and Angel Capital Report at carastone.com/louisiana-data

About Cara Stone: Cara Stone, LLP (“Cara Stone”) is widely considered to be a top law firm in the realm of angel and venture capital and private equity. The firm is a leading capital markets law firms in the U.S. Cara Stone has lead approximately $1 billion worth of private equity transactions including one of the largest going public deals for a non-Silicon Valley tech company in 2018. The firm is seeking to expand to emerging capital markets to help those ecosystems develop stronger entrepreneurial systems and to continue to help the best companies in the small and mid-sized markets find capital, grow, and exit. Follow Cara Stone on Instagram (@CaraStone,LLP) or visit us at carastone.com to learn more.

August 14, 2022 (New Orleans, LA) – Cara Stone, LLP (“Cara Stone”) the nation’s fastest growing capital markets law firm released the Louisiana Venture and…

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Blog

The Board Of Directors: Duty To Disclose

August 28, 2023August 30, 2023 No Comments

https://youtu.be/f449gMr7-lE

Disclaimer: This video discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. This post is not a substitute for legal advice and is intended to generate discussion of various issues. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel. Cara Stone, LLP and the author expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. The views expressed herein are personal opinions.

In prior posts, we’ve discussed the general makeup and duties of the Board of Directors. The Board has the ultimate supervisory authority over the company and must consider what is in the best interest of the shareholders when making decisions. The Board also must make certain recommendations to the shareholders. When the Board makes recommendations or provides updates to shareholders, it must be fully truthful and transparent. “Fully transparent” means that the Board (and the executive suite) must provide a broad spectrum of information and opinions relevant to shareholders when making a decision related to the company.

The Board’s duty to disclose extends beyond simply providing shareholders with the requested documents. The Board and executive team are responsible for giving shareholders a complete picture of the company’s standings. They cannot disregard adverse facts or possibilities. The Board must accurately assess the company’s situation and potential outcomes. The partial disclosure of information or the absence of material information that would make a difference between a yes or no vote on a matter is something that the Board must provide. What constitutes “material information” can differ in different circumstances. A company should speak with counsel if a concern around this comes into question. However, a duty to disclose goes beyond just providing documents. It also includes providing an accurate assessment of opportunities and risks.

Some situations where the duty to disclose may arise include:

when a company is asking for changes to the corporate charter, bylaws, or other key governing documents,
when a company is asking to raise money,
when a company is requesting to incur debt,
when a company is evaluating an exit or acquisition.

Generally, shareholder documents will govern whether the Board must seek the shareholders’ approval on certain company decisions. If shareholder approval is required, the company must make a full disclosure related to the decision. It may be tempting to provide some facts that highlight the company’s positives or that weigh in favor of where the executives think the company should go. However, this is not permitted under Delaware law. When a director presents information in an ambiguous, incomplete, or misleading manner, it breaches its duty to the corporation and the shareholders, and there’s potential liability.

When it comes to the duty to disclose, each fact pattern and case is different. An attorney can help the company sort through what it must provide to shareholders. An attorney can also weigh in on whether the company’s presentation displays information fairly, accurately, and compliantly. Check out our other posts on board-related issues. We’re happy to answer any questions you have.

Disclaimer: This video discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. This post is not a substitute for legal