Legal Terms You May Need to Know

Terms About Fin-Tech Law:

Acceleration Clause: A clause in contracts of debt which makes the entire amount due upon the debtor's default.
Accounts Payable Turnover: (Cost of goods sold) / A/P = # of turns in the period.
Accommodation Indorser: One who places his indorsement without compensation on a note, in effect acting as a guarantee of payment.
Accord and Satisfaction: A settlement agreement by which a claim is satisfied and discharged.
Acknowledgment (with respect to an instrument): The statement of a competent officer, usually a notary public, that the person who has executed an instrument has appeared before him and sworn to the facts of its execution.
Actionable: Affording grounds for a legal action.
Affidavit: A statement sworn to or affirmed before an official who is authorized to administer oaths - usually a notary public.
After-Acquired Property: Property which a debtor acquires after the execution of a mortgage or other form of indebtedness and which secures such indebtedness.
Agent: A person authorized by another, i.e., the principal, to act for him.
Amicus Curiae: "Friend of the court." A term frequently used to designate one not a party to the proceeding but who has filed a brief regarding the issue or principle of law to be decided.
Arbitration: The determination of a dispute by a disinterested third person, or persons, selected by the disputants.
Assumpsit: A form of action for the recovery of damages for the nonperformance of a contract.
Attachment: Taking property into custody of the court, either to satisfy a judgment ultimately to be rendered, or as a method of acquiring jurisdiction.
Attestation: The act of witnessing the execution of an instrument.
Attorney-In-Fact: A person who is authorized by power of attorney to act for another.
Audited Financial Statement: A report on the financial position or operations of a company that has been reviewed by an independent auditor.
Automatic Stay: A stay of actions by creditors for 120 days granted to filers of bankruptcy petitions, during which time creditors may take no action against the debtor or its property. Stays are automatically granted to both involuntary and voluntary petitioners.
Bailment: The delivery of property by one, known as the bailor, to another, known as the bailee, to be held in custody for certain purposes.
Balance Sheet: The balance sheet shows the financial condition of a company at a specific point in time. The balance sheet is broken down into the major sections: Assets, liabilities and net worth.
Bankruptcy Trustee: The person appointed by a bankruptcy court to oversee either the running of a buisiness in a reorganization proceeding or the sale of assets and distribution of proceeds in a business liquidation.
Bearer: The person in possession of an instrument, document of title or security payable to bearer or indorsed in blank.
Bequest: A gift of personal property by will.
Bill of Exchange: A written order, which may be negotiable or nonnegotiable, directing one party to pay a certain sum of money to the drawer or to a third person.

Terms About Corporate Law:

Advisory Board: A body that advises the board of directors and management of a corporation.

Annual Meeting of Directors: Meeting held each year to elect officers of a corporation, and other corporate matters. Usually follows immediately after an Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Bond: An interest-bearing instrument issued by a corporation that serves as an evidence of a debt or obligation.

Common Stock: A corporation's primary class of stock. Common stock holders typically have voting rights.

Debt Financing: A method of financing where the company receives a loan and gives its promise to repay the loan.

Dilution: The effect of reducing an existing shareholder's interest in a corporation when new shares are issued.