Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Former Employee Name on Bsn Marque

Ooh, good question. Your answer is ... wait for it ... IT DEPENDS (don't you hate lawyers?).

If the window clearly presents the employer as the employer and the employee as an employee, then there's probably not much to worry about.

If, though, the window can be construed to give the general public any inkling at all that the employee is in partnership with the former employer, there is indeed a pretty severe legal ramification. General partnership is a very nasty business entity that can be construed simply from appearances, and woe betide an individual who is deemed to be a general partner, for each general partner becomes liable for every debt owed by the other partners (general and limited). That means that if one partner goes belly-up and files for protection under the bankruptcy code, the creditors can -- and do -- go after the other partners for payment of the debts. That's why no law firm these days is a simple partnership: we all have PLLP or PLLC or PC after the name of the law firm to protect against that very occurrence.

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