Hello everyone, and welcome to SMB Trendwire, the audio conversation for the small business marketplace. My name is Steve Rucinski, your co-host for today's conversation. Our conversation today we have a great guest. He's a business attorney with special expertise in technology, a hands-on kind of attorney who works closely with business owners and managers. He spent some time in-house with PPG Industries and is now affiliated with the Pittsburgh law firm, Petsky and Lehman, PC. His areas of expertise include technology commercialization, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and financial transactions and international business. Please join me in welcoming Anthony Ceminaro. Welcome, Anthony.

Thanks, Steve. It's great to be here with you and Anita today. I'm looking forward to having an opportunity to talk with you and our listeners about the legal aspects of doing business, particularly small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Ok, good. We're speaking to you today from Cleveland, Ohio in the Midwest of USA. Our guest Anthony is speaking from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is not far away from where we're at. And It's another nice spring approaching day, I think a little bit of snow on the ground, but it won't be long and spring will be here in full bloom. Ok, let's get started. Let me welcome my co-host, a well-known expert in the area of small business trends, Anita Campbell. Welcome Anita, why don't you get us started.

Hey, thanks, Steve. And welcome Anthony, and good afternoon everyone. We are so glad you could join us today, Anthony, and I'm really excited about this conversation because some people know, but others don't, that I used to be a lawyer in my checkered past. I have a law degree, although I no longer practice law, and my husband is a lawyer still, and of course I like to talk with lawyers. I like to talk with lawyers because I find most of them offer a high intellectual plane. And I like that. And I especially like business lawyers. Which is what you are, Anthony, right?

That's correct, Anita. I'm not sure if I'm going to be operating on a high intellectual plane, but I will do my best. I am a business lawyer who practices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but I represent small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly those involved in technology oriented businesses, technology products or services, and we have clients that are in various parts of the country.

Ok. Good. Well, that's great. Now, since you brought the subject up, I should note for our listeners, some of whom are not from the United States at all, so we actually get listeners from around the world, that this discussion today will talk about the American legal system, but a lot of the ideas generally about using attorneys well, and how to work with attorneys will apply universally. Isn't that right, Anthony?

Yes, I would certainly agree with that. In particular, we are talking about a United States business thinking about expanding globally, all the items that we're going to talk about today are practical...
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