We offer personalized legal services + strategic business counseling.
Area of Focus | Real Estate
How Lawyers Help with Real Estate
Having a Real Estate Lawyer advise you when purchasing or selling a commercial or residential property will help you get the best deals, bulletproof contracts, and more importantly, give you the peace of mind that the deal process will run smoothly. The lawyer will read through all the documents and check to see if your requirements are being met. If this is the first time you are dealing with real estate investments, you will likely be surprised by how tricky it can be to prepare purchase and sale contracts, including Asset Purchase Agreement or Stock Purchase Agreements. This is another scenario where the counsel of an attorney will help you come out on top. The attorney will carefully draft the contracts and negotiate to ensure the material terms are in your favor.
The process of purchasing a property is more complicated than simply agreeing on the terms and making the payment. Both the buyer and the seller need to prepare special documents, review title insurance reports, and other paperwork required to make the transaction binding. Hiring a real estate lawyer to do all of this is the best decision you can make. The lawyer will draft the contracts, perform additional due diligence on the property, and make sure that the transaction is completed without incident. In addition, a lawyer will go over all the paperwork required for special forms such as the HUD-1 Form, for example.
Another specialty of real estate lawyers is their ability to help with property transfers. The lawyer knows every step of the process and will ensure that the property transfer is made according to your state’s specific laws. If you are planning to purchase or sell commercial property, you need to take into account that there’s a new set of state taxes that need to be paid if you or your entity are the sole owner. This all can be made simpler by choosing to work with a team of experienced professionals who will guide you.
In some states, it’s required to have a real estate lawyer present when closing a deal. If your state requires it, both the seller and the buyer will benefit from legal support. The reason why you should have a real estate lawyer present even if it’s not required by state law is that legal counsel will act as a safeguard from any issues. In addition, you and your family will know that your investments are protected by bulletproof contracts and clauses that represent your best interests.
Area of Focus | Small Business
How Lawyers Help with Operating a Business
Contracts can seem overwhelming and even intimidating if you are unfamiliar with hiring employees or independent contractors, entering commercial and retail leases or subleases, partnership, single-member operating agreements or corporate bylaws, secured loans or financing and client negotiation. This is where the counsel of business lawyers comes in to help. A great team of legal professionals will draft and review every contract associated with your business.
Another important service that business lawyers offer is the legal ability to protect your assets. This is not limited to physical property, equipment or inventory. It also includes the intellectual properties that you have worked so hard to develop. By having legal counsel, your assets and private business plans, including trademarks, logo brand marks and federal and common-law copyrights will be protected at all times. Even if a lawsuit is filed against you or your company, we are here to represent you. We will make sure that all employees fill out the proper liability paperwork required to keep you safe.
When starting a new business, you will find that drafting client term agreements and service contracts is quite complicated if you choose to do it on your own. A business lawyer will overview the entire process and make sure to include clauses that guarantee your legal liability protection. It’s noteworthy to mention that a business lawyer will not only make the contract look professional, but he will also be there to personalize and enforce it so that it best suits your needs. Client Service Agreements include work-product consent, non-refundable deposit, termination provisions, force majeur clause, legal liability protection language, billing policies, requirements, binding mediation enforcement clause, respectful communications and scope of work addendum; a CSA project will also include additional consultation regarding business process specificity.
If you are planning to work with an investor so that you can raise more capital and take your business to the next level, this means that you will need to prepare countless documents and ensure all the information is accurate. This is another scenario where a lawyer can ensure that all documents are complete, signed by the right people, and represent your business’s best interest. Moreover, having a lawyer conduct this type of operation will allow your business to be more professional and trustworthy. This project would include representation, counsel to reach an accepted offer, gathering further information, assist on the material LOI terms and preparing LOI, including additional consultation and analysis regarding valuation, equity, limiting liability, voting rights and management.
While employing a lawyer to help with operating businesses is going to make legal documents much easier to deal with, the most crucial benefit is that you will always be on the right side of the law. It happens more often than you would think for entrepreneurs to violate legal requirements without even knowing it. A business lawyer will make sure that all your taxes are paid and that every contract is followed accordingly.