The Arborlaw firm serves the planning and legal business needs unique to the creative and entrepreneurial sectors that drive innovation and excellence in the new American economy. The firm provides expertise to individuals and businesses from the start-up venture to the established company — hard-working and creative entrepreneurs and professionals, corporations and collaboratives — by providing practical and effective legal work coupled with years of industry and market knowledge.

Carol Ruth Shepherd, Attorney
business, technology, entertainment and media law
Contact me by email or call me: (734) 668-4646

Carol has over 10 years of experience as a business attorney in private practice representing a diversity of clients both locally and nationally. Her most frequently requested services include drafting and negotiating contracts, analyzing rights ownership and chain-of-title scenarios, registering and and enforcing trademarks and copyrights, advising startup ventures, forming corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs), structuring buy-sells, shareholder buyouts, and stock transactions, and handling employment agreements, employment law and independent contractor issues.

Experience with your industry, your market, and your customers
Arborlaw clients are predominantly from the following industries and market segments:

• software development
• systems integration
• business process outsourcing
• independent and franchise retail
• management consulting
• research and technology
• architecture and real estate
• internet businesses and e-commerce
• online service and access providers
• photography studios and digital imaging
• licensing and sublicensing
• venture capital
• talent leasing and management
• merchandising, marketing and distribution
• advertising and design
• personal and professional services
• content and information creation and distribution — music, film and video, fine arts, print and online publishing, data collection, data mining and analysis

Arborlaw knows that your transactions are different
Carol Shepherd has several years of experience handling the special commercial transactions and cases typical to creative and technology-oriented 21st century American businesses. If you are already working with an attorney or law firm on your general business or corporate work, Arborlaw can be your expert contract counsel working with your existing lawyers to bring intellectual property and information technology law experience to your team. Here are some key examples of the hundreds of commercial transactions Carol Shepherd has handled for clients in a a wide variety of different industries and market segments:

• starting up companies and moving business onto the Internet
• buying and selling companies, real estate, technology, and other critical business assets
• noncompetition and noncompete agreements
• protecting copyrights in software, graphic design, websites, books, music, films and video
• protecting trademarks, domain names, branding and identity properties like packaging and trade dress
• advising clients on the protection and management of trade secrets, confidential information, and other proprietary rights
• commercializing products, services, technology, and assets — by structuring deals using tools and techniques such as contracts, joint ventures, leasing, business process outsourcing, marketing and distribution, and exclusive arrangements
• managing employment issues, independent contractors and other key HR and personnel resources — with an emphasis on the special needs of workforce relationships with creative and knowledge workers

Location and contact information
Arborlaw is located in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan and serves clients both locally and nationwide. Most of the firm’s work comes from referrals from clients and from other lawyers. Direct inquiries from potential clients and referring attorneys are always welcome. The firm welcomes co-counsel relationships and can provide outside expert legal consultation in IT and IP transactions to in-house legal departments.

Arborlaw PLC, PO Box 8403, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48107-8403 USA.