Practice Areas
Business
Law
Business
law, also known as commercial law, governs every aspect of business
and commercial transactions through a body of rules such as
the Uniform Commercial Code, the California and California Business
and Professions Code, Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA),
and scores of other regulations.
Buy-Sell
Agreements
A buy-sell
agreement is an agreement between business partners which dictates
how certain events will affect the business partnership as a
whole. Although not entirely accurate, a buy-sell agreement
may be thought of as the Last Will and Testament of a business.
If a business partner dies, becomes incapacitated or gets divorced,
the buy-sell agreement determines how the business will be divided
or how the business will continue to operate after certain events.
Contract
Law
A contract
is a binding legal agreement that is enforceable in a court
of law. Custom prepared agreements anticipate pitfalls common
to specific transactions and industries, spell out everything,
assume nothing, and are drafted to end favorably should a problem
arise. These are not the one-size-fits-all forms available from
websites, bookstores and office software.
Corporate
Governance and Compliance
Incorporating
a business as a C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC or other entity is merely
a first step toward limiting liability and availing a business
to tax advantages. Failing to keep up with required meetings
and records keeping exposes corporate and other limited liability
entities allows creditors, litigants and even the Internal Revenue
Service to pierce a corporate veil and access a business owners
personal resources or quash a business tax write-offs and apply
all company tax liability to the business owner without the
benefit of any tax write-offs.
Employment Law Compliance
Employment law is comprised
of administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal
rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations.
Entity Formation
A new business may be started
in one of many different forms. Although there are formalities
to observe and abide by, an existing business may change its
form as business and tax regulations are amended, as business
plans change or the business grows. The decision to incorporate,
form a partnership, a limited liability company or other entity
is unique to each proprietor, industry and market.
Landlord/Tenant Law
Landlord/Tenant law encompasses
all aspects of the relationship between the owner of real property
and a person who leases all or part of the property. Legal issues
in Landlord/Tenant law include unlawful lease provisions, improper
care and maintenance of property, liability for tenant and guest
injuries, wrongfully detaining property and evictions.
Risk Mitigation
Identifying legal risks to a
business and taking action before the risks becomes a financial
liability is savvy business ownership. Having proper procedures
in place before a customer or employee is injured can significantly
reduce financial liability when an accident does occur.
Secured
Transactions
The
most common secured transaction is a loan or line of credit
extended from a financial institution to a business using the
assets of the business as collateral. While some assets, such
as commercial paper, may be surrendered to the lender as collateral
for the duration of the loan or line, other assets, such as
capital equipment and inventory, will remain in the possession
of the business for the duration of the loan or line while subject
to the lender's security interest.
Securities
Law
The
body of laws governing the issuance and selling of securities
not only applies to corporations traded on Wall Street, but
to transactions in corporations and limited liability companies
operating on Main Street as well. Even businesses seeking modest
investments should consult an attorney before soliciting potential
investors.
Wills,
Trusts, and Powers of Attorney
Unless dictated in advance,
state law will determine who decides how much medical care a
person receives, how property will be divided after death, and
how much of the estate will be awarded to the state in the form
of taxes. A judge will decide who raises the children of a deceased
parent. Those who wish to have a say in such decisions need
to plan their estates in advance. Business owners generally
have more assets and more complex estates. |
