Business Startups
Our Maryland and Washington DC business lawyers assist companies in all facets of the organization and operation of new business ventures. We help clients determine the appropriate legal form (LLC, Corporation, Partnership, etc.) for their new business in consideration of all tax, financing, and investor preference issues. We document necessary shareholder and operating agreements. We ensure that our clients meet all necessary licensing, tax, and other reporting requirements. In addition, we help our clients to establish and maintain appropriate employee manuals, non-compete agreements, shareholder and member agreements, and other agreements important to the prudent management of the company.
Outside General Counsel
Our Maryland and Washington DC business lawyers serve as outside general counsel to private businesses. We represent business owners who require a regular source of legal advice but who are sensitive to the cost of maintaining full-time in-house counsel. We arrange fixed price retainers to provide clients with advice on routine matters such as:
- Insurance policy review
- Lease negotiation and review
- Contract negotiation and review
- HR, employment
- Corporate governance, corporate form
- Minute books, stock ledgers, etc.
- Annual filings
- Financing
- Licensing
- Notices
Employment and Non-Compete Agreements
Our Maryland and DC business lawyers advise employers with respect to the negotiation, documentation, and enforcement of employment, separation, non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements. Increasingly, confidential intellectual property is a core asset of the business enterprise. Without due care, this asset can be subject to disclosure, misapplication, dilution, or outright conversion. Our clients turn to us to assess and safeguard their intellectual property.
Business Sales and Acquisitions
Our Maryland and DC business lawyers represent clients in the acquisition and sale of businesses. We have represented entrepreneurs and business owners in acquiring their first business and in readying their business for sale, including negotiating and documenting sales and acquisition agreements. We strive to negotiate and structure each transaction to maximize our clients’ prospects for achieving their strategic goals in light of applicable tax, commercial, and legal considerations. We work closely with an established network of accountants, environmental specialists, and other professionals to ensure that every detail is prudently addressed.
Business Dissolution
Not every business survives. The Maryland and DC business lawyers at our firm assist shareholders and owners negotiate, document, and manage the dissolution of firms. This includes prudently managing liquidators’ fiduciary obligations to creditors and resolving disputes between owners entitled to distribution of remaining assets.
Commercial Transactions
A business operates by virtue of its commercial transactions. Like the tools of a craftsman, a company's contracts should be suited to the company and to the special circumstances of the transaction at issue. Our Maryland and DC business lawyers assist businesses of all sizes to negotiate and document sales contracts, asset sales and purchases, commercial leases, licenses, joint ventures, employment and non-compete agreements, confidentiality agreements, consulting agreements, promissory notes, guarantees, and other commercial transactions. We strive to optimize our clients' welfare by ensuring that the terms of their transactions actually meet their needs and do not contain hidden obligations, costs, or penalties.
Business Financing
Most businesses need capital at some point in their life cycle. The Maryland and DC business lawyers at our firm help clients negotiate and document the terms of financing. Whether it is a commercial loan, private placement, angel financing, venture capital, or a loan workout, our lawyers guide our clients through the financing process to obtain the most cost-efficient financing within the regulatory requirements of state and federal law.
Compliance and Internal Investigations
The Maryland and DC business lawyers at our firm are experienced in civil investigations undertaken by governmental agencies including the Justice Department, Internal Revenue Service, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration ("PWBA"), and the Department of Labor ("DOL"). Our business lawyers also represent boards of directors undertaking internal investigations of corporate wrongdoing by company insiders.