Corporate & LLC Law

Most of the small businesses we work with are organized as limited liability companies, though a corporation is still the better fit for some. We'll talk through liability protection, how you plan to take money out of the business, and whether you expect to bring in investors. The tax side matters too, and we're glad to work alongside your accountant on that part.

Filing the certificate with the Secretary of State is the easy part. The operating agreement or bylaws are where the real decisions live: how votes are counted, how profits are split, what happens if one owner wants out, and how a deadlock gets broken. A template from the internet rarely answers those questions, and the gaps tend to show up at the worst possible moment.

If there's more than one owner, a buy-sell agreement is one of the most useful documents you can have. It spells out what happens to an owner's share if they retire, become disabled, get divorced, or die, and how that share gets valued. It should also line up with each owner's personal estate plan, which our estate planning practice can help with.

We stay with the company after it's formed, too. That includes amendments, bringing in new members or shareholders, contracts with customers and suppliers, and, when the time comes, selling the business or winding it down properly.