Selling online comes with rules that brick-and-mortar retail never had to think about, from how a contract forms at checkout to who is liable when a third-party seller ships a defective product. We advise online businesses, platforms, and marketplaces on the legal mechanics behind the storefront, building operations that are enforceable and compliant while still hitting your commercial targets. Our engineering background helps when the legal answer depends on how the system actually works.
Contracts That Form at Checkout
Your terms only bind customers if the contract is properly formed, and courts treat browse-wrap, click-wrap, and sign-in-wrap very differently. We design checkout and sign-up flows that create enforceable agreements while keeping friction low, and we make sure load-bearing provisions like arbitration clauses and class action waivers are presented and accepted in a way that holds up if a customer later challenges them.
Consumer Protection and Advertising
Online sellers face heavy scrutiny on how they price, promote, and deliver. We advise on pricing and fee disclosures, advertising claims and the substantiation behind them, return policies, and fulfillment commitments, keeping you aligned with FTC guidance and state consumer protection laws. The goal is straightforward: avoid deceptive-practice exposure without dulling the marketing that drives the business.
Payments and Marketplace Liability
Money and middlemen both add risk. We negotiate payment processing agreements, advise on PCI DSS obligations, and help you manage chargebacks and fraud. For marketplaces, we work through liability theories for third-party sellers, seller agreement terms, product safety duties, and intellectual property compliance, so you can grow the platform while keeping a clear-eyed handle on what you are on the hook for.
Cross-Border, Privacy, and Data
Going global and collecting customer data each bring their own compliance load. We advise on customs, export controls, and VAT and sales tax as you expand into new markets, and on the privacy side we handle privacy policy requirements, data collection practices, and compliance with CCPA, GDPR, and similar frameworks, so you can put customer data to work without tripping the rules that govern it.