Every day, business owners make decisions with potential legal consequences. This is true the day that you open your business, and continues through the day that you sell or close the business. When selecting a business attorney, it is imperative that you choose an attorney who can effectively communicate with you and whom you can trust to provide you with the best business law advice.
If your attorney is to serve you effectively, he or she not only needs to understand business law, but also needs to understand your business. While certain laws, regulations, and principals generally apply across all types of businesses, there are likely specific rules and regulations that apply to your particular industry. When choosing a business attorney, make sure the attorney understands your business, and is either familiar with the regulation governing your business or is capable of finding and understanding those regulations.
The Wisconsin corporate attorneys at Andre Law Offices have extensive experience counseling business owners and assisting them with preparing legal documents, with strategic planning, and with commercial law disputes. Return to Top
Starting a new business can present significant challenges, and all new business owners need to address certain legal issues as early in the process as possible.
The first question that all business owners need to ask when starting a business is “What is the best way to set up and operate my business?” There are several options, including sole proprietorships, C-corporations and S-corporations, limited liability companies (LLC’s), and limited and general partnerships. Each form has its advantages and disadvantages. The knowledgeable business attorneys at Andre Law Offices, working in conjunction with your accountant, can help you to determine the entity that best fits your needs and the nature of your business.
As a new business owner, our business attorneys can help you to address other business legal issues, including obtaining financing, negotiating a lease for the business, and drafting appropriate legal contracts and business agreements for use in your business.
Once your business is established, the business attorneys at Andre Law Offices will continue to stand by your side as your business grows, establishing a strong and effective working relationship. Return to Top
They say that you only sell your business once. You have worked long and hard to build your business, and if you are ready to sell, you will need the services of an experienced business attorney. If you are selling a business, the business attorneys at Andre Law Offices will work to ensure that your interests are protected in the transaction, from the offer to purchase through closing.
If you are buying a business or business assets, it is equally important to have zealous and effective legal representation. The transaction should be structured so as to promote your interests as much as possible. Once the offer is accepted, you will have to carefully review all of the records and documents concerning the business as part of your due diligence.
The business attorneys at Andre Law Offices have represented numerous buyers in purchase transactions, including stock acquisitions and asset purchases. We can prepare and negotiate an offer to purchase that protects your interests, and provide assistance and advice during the due diligence process. We will also be with you at closing to ensure that your rights are protected.
We work closely with other professional advisors, such as accountants, bankers, appraisers, and insurance agents, to ensure that if any issues may arise, they are resolved quickly and efficiently, to ensure that your transaction will proceed to closing in a timely manner. Return to Top
Business owners and individuals enter into contracts, whether oral or written, every day. Whenever possible, you should always reduce business agreements to writing. Unfortunately, the days of the “handshake” agreement are long gone, and you need to make sure that you are taking all reasonable steps to document your agreements. A well-drafted contract should spell out the parties’ obligations under their business agreement so that misunderstandings and disagreements, and the lawsuits they generate, can be avoided. The experienced business attorneys at Andre Law Offices can help you prepare legal contracts and business agreements that are binding, clear and concise.
In the absence of a written contract detailing each party’s obligations, the parties may find themselves disagreeing about essential terms like pricing, quality, and deadlines. Written business agreements can help to avoid such misunderstandings or memory lapses by binding the parties to the essential terms of the agreement in writing.
Business contracts should be as clear and concise as possible. Few things are more likely to lead to a lawsuit faster than a vague and ambiguous contract which fails to properly memorialize the terms of the agreement. If essential terms are absent, or are not spelled out clearly, the parties will likely find themselves in court, where a judge or jury, not the parties themselves, will ultimately determine their intent and how the contract is interpreted.
The business attorneys at Andre Law Offices have extensive experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating all manner of contracts and business agreements, including contracts for the purchase or leasing of commercial real estate, manufacturing and distribution agreements, master service agreements, licensing agreements, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, and employment agreements. Return to Top
At some point, almost all business owners will find themselves needing the help of an experienced business attorney. At Andre Law Offices, we represent numerous small businesses in Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin, including manufacturers, consulting firms, service companies, sales and distribution companies, financial institutions, and construction companies.
While our business attorneys are experienced litigators, our primary goal is to help our clients to avoid costly litigation. We understand the significant costs in terms of time and expense that often accompany lawsuits, and that your resources are better spent running the business than fighting in court. To that end, we provide assistance in negotiating and drafting all manner of effective legal contracts and business agreements, including leases, employment agreements, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, manufacturing and distribution agreements, and master services agreements. We also counsel our clients on compliance issues and employment law matters to ensure that our clients meet all federal and state regulations governing employment practices, and offer general business law advice. Our employment law attorneys can help you to comply with your statutory obligations and avoid the mistakes that lead to unnecessary and time-consuming lawsuits.
There may be times, however, when you need to resort to litigation to protect your rights, or you are named as a defendant in a lawsuit. When that time comes, our experienced litigation attorneys will aggressively represent your interests, whether you are pursuing collections, seeking to enforce a legal contract, or have been sued by an employee, customer, or vendor. We will discuss the facts and the law with you, and work with you to define goals and develop an appropriate and cost-effective strategy to meet those goals.
If you own a business, the attorneys at Andre Law Offices stand ready to help protect your assets so that you can focus on success. Return to Top