Flower Sponsor of the Month - Palm Beach County Bar Association

May 18-19, 2012 - Palm Beach County Justice Association 13th Annual Fishing Tournament, Lake Park Harbor & Marina

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"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."

~   M. Scott Peck      

Credit Line  

In these challenging financial times, we've received a lot of requests to "find the money." Investments were made in promising enterprises that failed. Now the lawyers are called in to survey the damages and recover what they can. Often, there is nothing to find. Invested money has been lost due to a combination of overhead, bad timing, loss of credit lines, shrinking market share, mismanagement, or just plain foolishness.

There's no way around it, business is a risk. However, risk can be mitigated by excellent market research, sound management, a well prepared (and flexible) business plan, and access to both capital and credit. Risk cannot be mitigated merely by believing in a great proposal, a hunch, personal experience, or a smooth presentation. This is the arena of speculation, not investment, and a place of pitfalls, broken promises, and probable litigation.

Black's Law Dictionary defines due diligence as, "Such a measure of prudence, activity, or assiduity, as is properly to be expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent man under the particular circumstances; not measured by any absolute standard, but depending on the relative facts of the special case."