Transactions

• Business Formations
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  We organize and incorporate business entities for entrepreneurs, such as limited liability companies and corporations. Operating your business through a business entity can help shield your personal assets from claims brought by third parties. It may also provide tax advantages. Our firm offers affordable flat-fee services, including registration with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, drafting the organizing documents, articles of incorporation or articles of organization; providing a corporate record book; issuing shares or membership units; drafting initial organizational resolutions and meeting minutes. Where there are multiple owners we strongly recommend and can provide comprehensive shareholder or operating agreements and ownership transfer restrictions (buy-sell agreements).
  
  
• Business Purchases and Sales
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  Our firm has guided many clients through all sizes of business purchase and sale transactions. Many people are tempted to work solely with a business broker or a neutral closing attorney to save on legal fees. Although we routinely and successfully work with business brokers, it is not wise to rely on pre-written 'standard form' contracts these agents and attorneys frequently use. Whether you are buying or selling, you need a lawyer to appropriately protect your legal and financial interests with a comprehensively drafted sales contract. Creating this document does not have to be costly; it is more a matter of knowing what variation of standard clauses are in your best interests to include. When brought into a transaction early, we can also help you work your way through the delicate but critical due diligence process, decide whether an asset sale, merger, or stock sale is in your best interests, and if you are the seller, help guard against the filing of a lawsuit by a disgruntled buyer. Once the definitive agreement has been signed, we can attend or even conduct the closing and handle all of the post-closing filings to make sure that all the paperwork is appropriately distributed and where necessary, recorded, in public records. If you are considering buying or selling a business, please call us for assistance before you move to the first (or next) stage of the process.
  
  
• Commercial Contracts
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  One of the most important decisions a small business owner can face is whether to hire an attorney to draft or review a contract. Usually, wherever there is a business relationship between two or more distinct entities, landlord and tenant, vendor and customer, employer and employee, partner and partner, there is a need to formalize the understanding in writing. Many expensive and long lawsuits could have been averted with a simple agreement at the outset. In fact, many of the cases we litigate involve two honest people who relied on a handshake but had different understandings of the agreement or came across a subsequent circumstance they didn't plan for. Our attorneys can help you decide when you need a custom-drafted contract for part of your business operations.
  
  
• Intellectual Property
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  With each passing day, information and ideas move around the world with increasing velocity and decreasing control. There are those who will take advantage of your creativity and efforts for their own profit, sometimes unknowingly and other times in bad faith. If you hold a patent, trademark or copyright you already know you can protect yourself from the theft and unauthorized use of your ideas, inventions, and work product. Even without registration, it may be possible to prevent another from profiting from your labor.
  
  
• Regulatory Compliance
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  In today's increasingly fluid and complex atmosphere of governmental regulation, business owners must be aware of federal and state laws that affect their companies' operations and transactions. We regularly handle the prosecution and defense of a variety of corporate compliance issues in complex civil litigation cases. This courtroom experience translates to precise planning and timely execution in all of your regulatory compliance matters. If you want peace of mind, please contact us for more information about our services. We offer comprehensive and tailored legal solutions to small business owners at affordable flat rates.