The Effect of DOGE and Its Efforts to Reduce the Federal Government Footprint

The last few months have been a whirlwind in American politics. Much of the news, especially during the early months of 2025, revolved around the Department of Governmental Efficiency (“DOGE”). The department, led publicly by Elon Musk, has set out to reduce federal spending in a myriad of ways, including reducing the government workforce, rescinding federal contracts, and reducing the federal government’s real estate footprint. 

Unsurprisingly, DOGE’s work so far has been extremely polarizing within the United States (for a long list of valid reasons). However, the initiative to reduce the amount of commercial real estate owned and leased by the federal government is not a novel initiative; in 2015, President Obama’s administration released Budget Memorandum M-12-12, Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations, colloquially known as the “Reduce the Footprint” memorandum. The current focus on reducing the federal real estate footprint presents an interesting opportunity for real estate developers, and the federal government’s rush to sell buildings and terminate its existing leases may have a profound impact on the local communities. 

Maybe You Should File That Form D After All?

As a lawyer who frequently works with entrepreneurs raising capital, we are often called on to assist with compliance with state and federal securities laws. For those who don’t know, when you sell a “security” in a private offering, you need to have exemptions from both state and federal registration requirements for offerings of securities. In case you were wondering, a “security” is any instrument that has a future value tied to the success of the enterprise (e.g. common or preferred stock, promissory notes (convertible or otherwise), or SAFEs).

While there are other exemptions available in certain situations, by far the most common exemptions used are those under Regulation D. The SEC’s fiscal 2023 report indicates that $2.7 trillion has been raised in Rule 506(b) offerings, with an additional $169 billion in Rule 506(c) offerings (using general solicitation and verification of accredited status of investors), and $258 million in Rule 504 offerings.

Ode to Eggs

Since I love eggs for breakfast and they’ve been in the news quite a lot lately, I decided to write my first post for entreVIEW about them! They’re simple, quick and high in protein. While I wasn’t always so fond of eggs, somewhere in my adult life I began eating eggs for breakfast almost every day—preferably scrambled or over-medium with a dash of hot sauce.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the lack of eggs in grocery and convenience stores over the past couple of months. As we near the month of April, which is one of the highest demand months of the year for eggs (given the Easter Bunny’s mutual appreciation for the item), I’m expecting to see fewer eggs in stock and higher prices for a dozen eggs. One expert predicts that egg prices may soar as high as $10/dozen! Might that be enough to change my morning breakfast ritual? Probably not. Assuming I can find them, I’d prefer to reduce my spending in other ways than change my breakfast routine.

What Personal Information of Yours Can be Accessed by Anyone? or

Does driving (a paddleboard) without a license warrant a permanent criminal record?

As the ice is melting on nearby Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, my not-so-distant memories turn to swimming, canoeing, kayaking and paddleboarding in the calm and pristine water. But I also have other darker memories of this lake.

On July 12, 2014, a greyish overcast early morning with no one else on the lake, my son, daughter-in-law, and I were enjoying a relaxing paddleboard excursion. Our serene paddling was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a motor as a boat came through the channel and headed our way.

The AI Revolution: Tech is Taking Over

Artificial intelligence isn’t just tech jargon anymore—it is the headliner at the global innovation festival. From self-driving cars to AI-powered investment tools, AI is flipping industries upside down and rewriting the startup playbook. PwC estimates that AI will add over $15 trillion to the global economy and boost local GDP by 26% by 2030, with the broader market projected to hit $826 billion in just five years.

That’s not just a stat—it is a wake-up call. AI has shifted from a niche subject to a main stage act, captivating everyone from Fortune 500 execs to founders and innovators who are either building with AI or competing against those who are. 

I remember back in law school, grinding through legal textbooks until 2 a.m. and the struggle was real. Fast forward to now, and tools like ChatGPT can solve a semester’s worth of problems in minutes. For entrepreneurs, this isn’t just technological progress — it is a massive shift in the rules of the game. The message is clear: adapt fast or get left behind. Or, as 50 Cent would say: “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”

Requiem for the Penny?

On February 9, 2025, at 8:27, Donald Trump posted (from his Super Bowl box?) that production of the U.S. penny coin will cease.

Can this really happen? And if so, can it work?

The penny, worth one cent, costs approximately 3.7 cents to mint. It’s estimated that there are approximately 240 billion pennies floating around out there ($2.4 billion dollars!), many of them in change jars, on your car floorboards, swimming around in the bottom of your purse, or buried in your couch cushions – in other words, not being put back into circulation. But retailers and other money handlers still make change and need pennies to do so – so they need to “buy” more pennies from their banks, which in turn need to obtain more pennies from the Mint. The U.S. Mint lost more than $85 million making pennies in 2024 – 3.7 cents at a time.

Buy-Sell Provisions: More Than Just an Emergency Plan

Regardless of the type of entity, every business has or should have (more on the should aspect below) a governing document that is at least a basic agreement among its owners that governs (1) the operation of the business and (2) the owners’ contractual rights, obligations, and restrictions with respect to their ownership interests in the business. The second of these contains what are commonly referred to, by lawyers at least, as the “buy-sell” provisions. If for some reason the owners decide not to enter into a written governing document, then the statutory default provisions of the business’s state of formation (which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction) automatically govern the entity and the owners. For example, if an owner of a limited liability company is determined to be legally incompetent to manage their affairs and the business either doesn’t have a governing document or that document is silent as to the treatment of an owner’s interest in the event of legal incompetence, what happens? Under Delaware law, the most widely recognized state of formation for businesses, the owner’s personal representative can effectively step into the owner’s shoes as an owner, thereby resulting in a previously unrelated (and likely inexperienced) third party having an active ownership interest in the business.