Carolina Aricu is a senior associate in the Business Group of the San Francisco firm of Niesar & Vestal LLP. She has extensive experience in general business matters and in the drafting and negotiation of complex commercial contracts and business agreements. She is co-author of the four-volume California Limited Liability Company Forms and Practice Manual, Data Trace Publishing Company, first edition 1994 and supplemented annually through 2023.

Ms. Aricu graduated with an LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and holds two Certificates of Specialization from the same law school: a Certificate in Business Law and another Certificate in Law and Technology. She also graduated magna cum laude with a Licence en Droit from the University of Strasbourg, cum laude with a Maîtrise en Droit from the University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and cum laude with a Master of Laws in International Business Law from the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Mike Halloran is an experienced corporate securities lawyer with Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLP in Jackson, Wyoming. He represents start-up and developing stage companies in legal matters, including capital raising efforts through venture funds and individuals. He was formerly the second in command of the Securities and Exchange Commission under the G.W. Bush Administration, former head of the Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro in San Francisco and Washington DC and was General Counsel of Bank of America in the 1990s. He is the chief editor of Venture Capital & Public Offering Negotiation on formation of venture funds, private placements, and initial public offerings. He has been chair of several securities, corporate and banking law committees of the ABA and Section Council of the Business Law Section of the Wyoming State Bar. He received his Mechanical Engineering Degree and later his law degree from University of California at Berkeley.

Mark Hobson is the partner in charge of theMiami office of Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLPand works with other members of HFK, including Linda Lerner in the New York office and Mike Halloran in the San Francisco and Jackson Hole offices. His practice includes Mergers and Acquisitions, investment funds, private placements, asset-based lending, cross-border deals, and other business transactions. Mr. Hobson received a B.S., Summa Cum Laude, in marketing and management from a private business college in Tampa, Florida, his J.D., with Honors, from The Florida State College of Law and a Master of Laws Cum Laude, in International, European & Comparative law, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.

Crystal J. McDonough is an attorney and founder of McDonough Law Group, a full-service law firm with licensed attorneys in seven states (CA, CO, IL, NY, WA, WY, TX). Crystal runs a creative and modern business law practice that aims to find workable solutions to even the most complex legal problems.

Prior to attending law school, Crystal was a business owner and was in the professional world for 15 years. Licensed in both Colorado and Wyoming, her business law services include basic corporate formation, legal document preparation, contract drafting and review, as well as negotiation and litigation. Crystal is one of the top legal advisors in the Rocky Mountain region on energy, natural resources, policy, federal and state administrative matters, land use, renewable energy, and environmental issues.

Gerald Niesar is a partner in Niesar & Vestal LLP, San Francisco, with over 50 years’ experience as a business and transaction attorney. He is the lead author of the four-volume California Limited Liability Company Forms and Practice Manual, Data Trace Publishing Company, first edition 1994 and supplemented annually through 2023. He is a past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships and Unincorporated Business Entities. In addition to advising businesses and business owners, he is called upon as an expert to assist litigation attorneys, often as an expert witness, in cases involving fiduciary duty and other issues in partnership, LLC and corporate disputes.

Mr. Niesar graduated cum laude from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1969 and is a member of the California Bar.

Ted Sutton is an attorney licensed in Wyoming and Nevada. Ted attended the University of Utah, where he graduated with a B.S. in Mining Engineering in 2018. The following year, Ted attended the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he served as the Student Director of the Business & Entrepreneurship Practicum. He graduated from law school in May 2022.

His firms, Corporate Direct and Sutton Law Center, have offices in Casper, WY, Reno, NV and Minden, NV. Corporate Direct provides Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) compliance and registered agent services. CorporateDirect.com and Corporate Direct’s YouTube channel also offer additional articles and videos on the CTA.