A side effect of my decades representing clients in high-stakes business disputes is that the legal-problem-solving side of my brain rarely rests—even when I’m supposedly resting. My recent binge-watching of Welcome to the Chippendales, a mini-series depicting Steve Banerjee’s founding of the male striptease business enterprise, its impressive growth, and Banerjee’s ultimate undoing, is a prime example. It is riveting TV, and not just for the murders, bruised egos, bitter rivalries, raging insecurities, and brilliant business decisions alongside idiotic and illegal ones. The series also prompted many fascinating legal questions: Is it possible to have a business partner and not know it? What if you keep calling him or her your “employee” – will that help? Is it a defense to a breach of contract claim that you didn’t fully understand the contract? Will courts help you undo a contract you later come to regret? If you think your licensees are cheating you out of fees, what rights do you have? Can words scrawled on a cocktail napkin be an enforceable contract? What about a license agreement calling for millions in royalties – can you write that on a napkin? Somebody please get these folks a legal pad…or at least a few sheets of lined paper!

In my forthcoming series of blog posts that we’re calling The Chippendales Chats, I will explore the answers to these questions. You may not enjoy it as much as the TV show, but I hope it will at least clarify a few legal concepts that have real-world relevance for businesses and the people who run them.

But first, a few disclaimers. These posts contain spoilers about the show. Also, my discussion is of the television series, and not what may or may not have occurred in real life. And finally, as with all my blogging, I am not providing legal advice. I’m just sharing ideas informed by my experience that I find interesting.

Finally, special thanks to HCM’s very own Coralie Chu for her research assistance and other valuable insights for this series.