Corporate Law Attorney

As anybody will tell you, being a business owner can be difficult. From making sure that your customers are satisfied, balancing the books, paying your employees, and making sure that your business turns a profit at the end of every month, being a business owner means having to wear different hats. Unfortunately, some of the hats require more specialization than the owner may have.

It may involve issues such as ensuring that your business is up to code and in compliance with all of the NY state regulations and requirements, dealing with a potential lawsuit against a customer, handling a lawsuit against the union or an individual employee, or just being able to handle any of the number of various legal issues and problems that are thrown at you at any moment. Fortunately, a corporate attorney can help assist in such matters to prevent your business and yourself from falling victim to trouble. This section shall address the role of a business attorney and the importance of the different types of services a business lawyer in New York (NY) can provide to business owners in New York City (NYC).

Types Of Corporate Law

New York is the business center of the US if not the world. Businesses are formed and dissolved almost every day in NYC, and there are thousands of legal issues that confront business owners daily. Below are the different types of corporate law that face such business owners and that a business law attorney can help with.

• Corporate Representation. Corporate representation involves assisting businesses with a number of matters related to the day-to-day operations of their business. This may include any merger or acquisition, dissolution of the business, tax guidance, drafting and reviewing corporate documents, agreements and contracts, recommendations involving the issuance of securities or investment in securities, counsel regarding the purchase or sale of businesses, assets and rights, assisting in real estate development and transactions, and providing advice as to bankruptcy matters.
• Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Mergers and Acquisition Law involves the laws affecting the purchase of one company by another, or what’s otherwise called an acquisition. This is also called a Merger, which is the juxtaposition of two companies into a new entity. When two or more companies join each other and one new company continues to exist, a “merger” is formed. A NY business lawyer can help draft the legal paperwork to establish this formation.
• Venture Capital Law. Venture capital law is a financial method utilized by some businesses to raise money. Traditionally, it is used by relatively new, privately held companies that would not normally be able to raise capital by other methods, such as obtaining a business loan from a bank.
• Project Finance Law. Project finance law is the financing of long-term projects in which the debt and equity used to finance the project are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project. Project finance lawyers negotiate and draft financial documents, generally involving many companies and often government entities partnering on one deal.
• Corporate Securities Law. This type of law is the group of laws and regulations that govern the issuance of securities, which then mandates what a corporation has to do in order to offer their investment to the public. Corporate lawyers that practice this area of law are familiar with what disclosures a company must reveal to its investors.
• Copyright and Trademark Registration. Copyrights, trademarks and registrations are legal ways to protect the theft of someone’s original ideas and to then be used as the property of someone else. A corporate lawyer familiar with copyright and trademark knows the steps taken to protect your business’s trademark or your business’s intellectual property, such as an invention.

Legal Services Provided By Commercial, Business and Corporate Attorneys in New York

If you own a business, there are a number of legal services a corporate attorney can assist you with. These include the following:

• Formation of Business Legal Entities. In New York, the most common forms of business are the sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, S corporation, and a limited liability company (LLC). A corporate attorney can analyze your business and take into account the various legal and tax considerations involved in selecting a business structure proper for your business.
• Corporate Governance. Corporate governance is the process by which companies are directed and controlled or governed. Boards of directors are responsible for the “governance” of their companies. Corporate governance is then what the board of a company does and how it established the values of its company. A business NYC lawyer nyc can help draft these internal board of director guidelines, which is distinguished from the day to day operational management of the company by its full-time executives.
• Business Licenses. Depending upon the type of service your business provides and what type of business you have, various license(s) may be required. This could be from the state, city, county, or some other agency. A corporate law attorney will determine what is necessary in order for your business to operate.
• Business Contracts and Agreements. Unless you’re wanting to end up with an issue regarding a contract, all contracts must be in writing. A business contract lawyer can draft the appropriate contract involving your business, whether it is an employment agreement, independent contractor agreement, client agreement, terms and conditions, intellectual property agreement, etc. Having a corporate attorney familiar with contract law and who can review and draft any contract involving your business is a key to staying protected.
• Cross-Border and International Business Activities. These activities refer to all those business activities which involve cross border transactions of goods, services and resources between two or more nations. If your business deals with goods and services overseas, a corporate attorney will be able to research those laws of the home country that you’re dealing, trading, or doing business in. An NYC commercial attorney will not only be familiar with New York laws, but also other state’s and other country’s laws as well.
• Business Intellectual Property. A business law lawyer can protect your business’s intellectual property. For instance, if your company’s trademark is being stolen by a competitor, a New York business law attorney will be able to respond appropriately.
• Business Fundraising. If your business engages in fundraising activities for non-profits or political purposes, a business and corporate attorney will be familiar with the NY funding raising laws so that no violations occur.
• Corporate Secretarial Services. Corporate Secretarial Services assists clients to manage and mitigate risks of corporate non-compliance.
• Outside General Counsel. When you have an outside counsel, it means that you have hired a law firm to represent you and your company. Some matters are best suited to be farmed out rather than handled by in-house counsel. Outside counsel means that your company has paid a retainer fee and will then pay the outside attorney on an hourly basis.
• Business Reorganizations. A reorganization of a business is a significant and disruptive repair of that business in order to try to restore it to profitability. An NYC business law attorney can help provide legal advice in such matters, which may include shutting down or selling divisions, replacing management, cutting budgets, and laying off workers

Duties Of Corporate Law Attorney

As a business owner, you can expect the NYC business law firm that you hire to do a number of tasks and be responsible for a number of issues that your business is faced with. These may the include the following:

• Appraising The Business For Prospective Buyers Or Partners. A corporate attorney can help provide you the data and information needed for a prospective buyer of your business. This may include any legal liens or judgments against your business.
• Verify Accounts And Finances For Business Transactions. A corporate law firm can review any business transactions to make sure that these transactions are compliant with any state, city, or county statutes or codes. Accordingly, it’s beneficial to have a corporate attorney with a wide range of legal skills, including being a cpa attorney and cpa lawyer.
• Negotiating Employee Contracts. A corporate attorney can use their negotiation skills on behalf of the company when negotiating employee contracts.
• Preparing And Filing Government Reports. In order to remain compliant, a corporate attorney will be familiar with the filing process and to make sure that everything is legal.
• Drafting Legal Documents. Drafting any type of legal document can be tricky, so for anything involving drafting and reviewing, a corporate attorney should be involved in order to best protect the company.
• Reviewing New Business Relationships With Vendors and Subcontractors. A corporate attorney can review and analyze the history of any potential vendors and subcontractors before that company does business with them. This is normally accomplished by reviewing if any judgments or liens exist.
• Guiding Managers On Regulatory and Compliance Matters. A corporate attorney will work with company managers and educate them in company guidelines in order to ensure that the company, including its mangers and employees, comply with all state and federal regulations.
• Administering Training Workshops. In order to make sure that the company’s employees do no commit any state or federal violations, a corporate attorney can administer training and materials for its employees and managers. This is commonly done to prevent employee discrimination, sexual harassment, or OSHA violations.
• Formulating Employee Handbooks. In New York, an employee handbook not only provides the materials so that the employee can act compliant on behalf of the company, but it also acts as a legal contract between the employee and the company. Accordingly, it is important that the handbook is drafted properly so as to best protect the company.
• Analyzing Legal Issues Relating to Proposed Products. A corporate attorney can review and analyze company products so as best to avoid any future or potential lawsuits, such as negligent advertising, design, or manufacturing.
• Representing The Corporation Before Administrative Boards and Court Trials. A corporate attorney is also responsible for ultimately representing the company in court in case the company or any of its board members are sued or for any pending litigation, including both civil and criminal cases.
• Providing Supervision to Outside Lawyers Hired to Assist the Corporation With Their Specialized Legal Services. Oftentimes, a corporate attorney will also counsel and supervise attorney outside the parent office. For instance, if the New York company has to hire an Illinois lawyer to help defend the company in Illinois from a workers compensation claim, the corporate attorney will provide supervision in those matters on behalf of the company.
• Structuring Joint Enterprises With Other Organizations. A corporate attorney can also provide advice when it comes to joint mergers with other businesses and organizations. The corporate attorney will analyze the tax and infrastructure of each business and provide advice as to how to proceed.

Startup Attorney

If you are a new business owner and have either just started up your business, or are thinking about starting up a business, a NYC startup lawyer will be very beneficial to you. Not only will they be able to analyze your company and tax goals and determine what type of business structure is best for your business, but having determined that, they will be able to prepare and file the necessary paperwork for your business so that you can be fully compliant and operational. For instance, rather than operate as a sole proprietor or partnership, your corporate attorney may determine that your best course of action would be to operate as a limited liability company and would then advise you as to what tax incentives you could expect.

Or, if you have questions determining the difference between a corporation and a limited liability company, your corporate attorney can counsel you in the various differences, including the strengths and weaknesses of both.

They also can determine which licenses, if any, you will need to start your business, where to and how to file, and they can also prepare the various forms you may need to get your business started, such as employment agreement, client agreement, terms and conditions, etc.

In addition, a corporate attorney will be able to review your business process, plan, and product(s) to determine if there may be any potential legal issue(s) for your business in the future, and if so, how best to avoid them.

FAQ