Betty formed and became president and sole shareholder of a startup company, ABC, Inc. (“ABC”), which sells a daily online calendaring service. ABC retained Lucy, a lawyer, to advise it about a new trademark.
As ABC was very short on cash, Lucy orally proposed that, in lieu of receiving her usual $200 per hour fee, she could become a 1 percent owner of ABC. On behalf of ABC Betty orally agreed. Lucy performed 20 hours of legal work and received her ABC stock shares. Years later, Lucy would sell her shares back to Betty for $40,000.
