Nik Sallie Of Tastemakers Legal On The Top 5 Mistakes Businesses Make Without Legal Counsel
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Investing in unclear or incomplete branding. More than just visuals, your brand is the overall impression made on a viewer- it’s an experience. It’s an opportunity to convert someone from window shopper to buyer. The less dedicated a business is to presenting a cohesive, consistent brand, the less likely people are to trust the business or patronize it.
In today’s fast-paced business world, the complexity of legal matters can often be overlooked, leading to significant repercussions for businesses of all sizes. From startup ventures to established corporations, the absence of legal guidance can result in critical errors that affect growth, operations, and sustainability. These mistakes range from issues with contracts and intellectual property to compliance and employment law, each carrying the potential for financial loss and reputational damage. I had the pleasure of interviewing Nik Sallie.
Nik Sallie is an award-winning Intellectual Property attorney based in Austin, Texas. During her decade-long tenure at Facebook/Meta Platforms, Inc., she served as a founding member of the Intellectual Property Operations Team where she helped design and implement the global reporting system for alleged IP infringement and personally processed over 4,000 cases. Nik established her boutique trademark law firm, Tastemakers Legal, PLLC, to help visionary founders, including women, Black Indigenous and other People of Color and queer professionals, register trademarks so they can own, protect and profit from their brands, including cannabusinesses.
Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your career? What challenges did you face in the early days? How did you overcome them?
I started my career in entertainment at EMI Music Marketing (Virgin/Capitol Records) after graduating college, and supported bands and artists such as Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz and Coldplay. The experiences I gained there solidified for me that I could drive more impact in the careers of creatives by serving as their attorney. So I went to law school and earned my J.D. with a Certification in Intellectual Property. At the time of graduation, there was a recession and competition among new attorneys was incredibly steep, especially for the more traditional, coveted “Big Law” firm positions. I interviewed for Facebook instead, relocated to Austin, Texas and continued my career in corporate.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
In addition to music, I also love fashion and saw a reality TV show starring public relations legend Kelly Cutrone. I discovered her book “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside,” and the stories of hard work and determination resonated with me at the time. What also stood out to me was Kelly’s spiritual practices, which focused on the Divine Feminine and how it helped ease some of the strain inherent in working in media and entertainment. It helped me understand that you could be both a professional and spiritual person, and that both aspects were valid.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
Not all money is good money. Seriously! When you start a business, the focus is on revenue 24/7. But I quickly learned that how people treat you before they pay you is an indication of how they’ll treat you after payment- and it’s likely worse! Strangely, I’ve had people pay me for legal services and then become unresponsive. My goal is to help businesses move forward, but if I can’t reach them or communication is nonexistent, then I cannot do my job. I also cannot hold cases indefinitely. I’ve refunded people and wished them well. In summary, I learned to set boundaries early and in writing, which helped me attract ideal paying clients who respected my expertise and were responsive.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Too often founders, creatives and other professionals don’t know what they don’t know, including Intellectual Property. Practicing law allows me to bridge the gap and ensure business owners can make informed decisions about protecting their brand. Doing so opens so many other opportunities around funding, franchising and licensing and exiting a business. Additionally, I conduct online workshops teaching new business owners how to successfully file their own trademark applications. This serves as an immediate solution until they have the legal budget to hire an attorney to take on this work for them.
Ok, let’s now turn to the central part of our interview. What is the most common legal mistake you see businesses make due to the lack of proper legal counsel, and what are its potential consequences?
One of the most common legal mistakes I see businesses make is waiting too long to address protecting their Intellectual Property. I’ve seen some pretty heart-breaking issues arise, including significant time and investment lost because someone else previously secured a federal trademark registration for the mark that my client was already using. If the client had legal representation from the start of their branding and trademark process, this issue could have been avoided.
Can you share an example where early legal intervention could have significantly altered the outcome of a business dispute or challenge?
One client came to me because a junior person on their team misrepresented that they had the expertise to file a federal trademark application. Unfortunately, this person either didn’t conduct a thorough clearance search to surface potentially conflicting marks or didn’t understand the scope of what constitutes a conflicting trademark. The client had already invested in a website, marketing, design, production and tech to support their startup, all with a specific trademark. Unfortunately, we needed to start completely over and choose a different trademark to avoid a possible litigation risk. We were able to register the new trademark we created for the client, as well as other trademarks.
How do changes in digital technology and online business practices complicate legal issues for businesses without dedicated legal advice?
A specific example involves artificial intelligence (AI) and content creation. An audio book voiceover artist shared on her TikTok account that she’d interviewed with a company and completed a sample reading. The company didn’t hire her but later an avid fan of hers discovered a children’s book narrated by the artist. The fan contacted the artist and the artist stated that she had not narrated a children’s book with that title. Unfortunately, the company that declined to hire her used AI and her interview sample to reproduce her voice for the entirety book without compensating her. Her lawyer sent a cease and desist letter, as well as a demand for payment, which she received. We should recognize that technology introduces new use cases making legal guidance more complex.
In your experience, how does the absence of legal counsel impact a business’s approach to contracts and negotiations, and what advice would you give to mitigate these risks?
Most often, I see businesses unnecessarily delay important discussions with potential partners because of fear that their ideas and other trade secrets will be stolen and exploited without repercussions. A unilateral or mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) template could be readily used to mitigate these risks and move discussions forward in a way that benefits all parties involved.
What legal pitfalls do new businesses often overlook during their initial setup and growth phases, and how can they proactively address these issues?
Initial set up tends to be disjointed with a lack of organization. Often new businesses choose the wrong structure because they’ve failed to consult a tax professional and legal professional simultaneously. Another pitfall involves failing to outline how employees, contractors and owners can exit the business. Clear procedures should be established in hiring and equity contracts so if someone needs to leave the business (which can be for positive reasons), there’s a clear outline of expectations which must be completed by a certain timeline.
Could you list and briefly explain “Top 5 Mistakes Businesses Make Without Legal Counsel” based on your experiences and insights?
1 . Choosing the wrong business structure- each structure has different tax and liability implications. It’s important to choose the best structure at the outset.
2 . Investing in unclear or incomplete branding. More than just visuals, your brand is the overall impression made on a viewer- it’s an experience. It’s an opportunity to convert someone from window shopper to buyer. The less dedicated a business is to presenting a cohesive, consistent brand, the less likely people are to trust the business or patronize it.
3 . Delaying important discussions due to the absence of an NDA. Discernment is key when seeking mentors, investors and/or strategic partners. However, business is both an art and science- your gut is only going to get you so far. When it’s time to have candid conversations, an NDA opens the floor for meaningful discussion with appropriate legal boundaries so that each party can feel confident and protected.
4 . Not including thorough terms of service and privacy policies for their website. Similar to the NDA, this is another contract issue. Many start ups fail to have these types of policies in place, and those that do often don’t tailor them to their specific business model. The result- at the very least, customer confusion, and at the worst, customer abuse (e.g. refund policies, cancelation policies, etc.)
5 . Waiting too late or failing to file a federal trademark application. This is a big one- time is of the essence when it comes to trademarks because both domestic and foreign entities file applications everyday with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Delaying by a year or even just six months can cost some businesses the right to use their chosen trademark. The trademark process can take over a year to secure a registration and federal protection in all 50 states. Generally, the sooner you file a unique trademark, the better the chance you’ll secure a registration. We created a free Trademark Readiness Quiz on our website to help business owners know if they’re prepared to file a trademark application.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I created a safe space through www.malachiteandmoon.com for spiritual professional women and femmes to be in community, sharpen their expertise and manifest anything they want in their life and business. When women lead, literal magic happens.
As we wrap up, how can our readers follow your work?
Instagram @tastemakerslegal
TikTok @tastemakerslegal and @revengejoy
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
