Small Business Consulting
We take great pleasure in working with both individuals considering pursuing their dream – starting their very own business, as well as young businesses facing challenges on the road to growth, stability and profitability.
Start Ups
A first issue for all individuals starting a new business is choice of entity – the opportunity to consider governance issues and preferences, sources of financing and investors, management and tax matters. Considering these issues in a thoughtful, deliberate fashion can help to maximize your objectives while minimizing taxes and unnecessary costs at both the entity level and for the owners personally. While we use paralegals to assist us, we believe the initial meeting to discuss your objectives and review your options cannot be delegated; you will always meet with an experienced business attorney to discuss, review and plan for establishing your business entity. Anything short of good planning could jeopardize your business objectives.
Beyond Choice of Entity
Choice of entity is only the starting point for your new business. There may be leases to negotiate, both for premises and equipment, bank or other financing matters to resolve, a franchise agreement to pore through and dissect, employment and confidentiality agreements to consider, and more. The list of the myriad of issues which a new or existing business may, and likely will face, is long and varied. We bring a wide variety of background to counseling small business clients, allowing us to guide you through the maze of laws, regulations and issues in an economical manner. Our goals have never been, and will never be, a “one shot” representation. Our goal is to represent our business clients for the long term.
Established Companies
Once a new business is established, we continue to provide ongoing advice for the wide variety of legal issues which may be confronted by a growing business. Employment contracts and restrictive covenants, financing, corporate governance and shareholder agreements, including Buy-Sell Agreements which allow a company to remain “close” while providing liquidity to the owners, general contracts, acquisitions, mergers and divestitures, are just some of the issues a small business may need to address. Read more about our business services under Corporate Law.
This is a sampling of the small business law services provided to small- and medium-sized businesses:
- Asset Purchase Agreements
- Buy-Sell Agreements
- Capitalization Options
- “Choice of Entity” Considerations
- Contracts
- Covenants Not-to-Compete (Non-Competition Agreements)
- Employment Agreements
- Financing Options
- Initial Organizational Issues
- Leases
- Registered Agent Services
- Member/Shareholder Agreements
- Shareholder Disputes
- Tax Issues
Small Business Consulting Articles
Paid to Vote? Maybe in Missouri and Illinois
Missouri and Illinois have deemed voting to be such an important civic duty that each state has protected an employee’s right to have sufficient time to vote. Missouri law provides for three contiguous hours, while Illinois law requires two contiguous hours, between...
Anti-Money Laundering Comes to Main Street
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was placed on the federal government’s books on January 1, 2021. The intent was to restrict, if not eliminate, those opportunities for criminals, Russian oligarchs, terrorists, and other bad actors to fund their illicit activity by hiding and moving money through anonymous shell companies and other corporate structures here in the United States.
Breaching Fiduciary Duties in LLCs: Did the Bad Actor Really Expect a Different Outcome?
From my vantage point, there are close calls, and then there aren't. This is a story where the facts and arguments point, indisputably, to the issue not being even remotely close when viewed from the reasonable person standard. In a recent case involving two subjects...
Wayfair Tax Supports Tax Fairness
The Chesterfield Regional Chamber of Commerce (Chesterfield, Missouri) was asked to weigh in on the issue of the City of Chesterfield applying sales taxes to online purchases from out-of-state vendors. First, a little history. For decades, the United States Supreme...
