Articles Posted in Corporations

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Fotolia_178717790_Subscription_Monthly_M-300x125California creditors have a variety of tools available to enforce their legal rights. The appropriate tool will depend on the circumstances. For example, in some instances, a lien may be placed on real and/or personal property in order to protect or enforce a creditor’s rights.  In the case of a debtor’s interest in an LLC, a charging order may be obtained creating a lien against the debtor’s membership interest in the LLC. Learn more about what a charging order is, how it works, and when it is the best tool for a creditor. An experienced San Jose corporate attorney can help your business find the best tools for enforcing creditors’ rights against any debtor.

What is a Charging Order and When is it Appropriate?

When a creditor has obtained a judgment against a debtor, the creditor may obtain a variety of different orders or liens to enforce the judgment against the debtor’s assets. These can include a garnishment of the debtor’s wages, a levy of the debtor’s bank accounts, or the creation of a lien against the debtor’s real estate and personal property. When the debtor possesses an interest in a limited liability company (LLC), a court may issue to the creditor and against the debtor a charging order in order to allow the creditor to try to enforce the judgment against the debtor’s membership interest in the LLC.

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There are a variety of ways for a corporation to sell its assets without compromising its structural integrity or otherwise damaging the business.  One common method by which California corporations can sell assets is a stock purchase agreement.  For example, if an investor (which can even be a company) wants to buy stock in a company,

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the executing instrument is typically a stock purchase agreement.  The stock purchase agreement allows a business to sell its assets – and sometimes, certain voting and management rights – without actually selling the business itself.  In order to protect the assets at issue and protect the legal interests of the companies involved, a California corporate transactional attorney can help businesses effectively negotiate and execute stock purchase agreements.

What is a Stock Purchase Agreement?

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California business litigation is a long and complicated process. It is important to have an experienced litigator assess your case and review your lawsuit complaint to ensure that the process is done correctly from the start. This blog post goes over the process, and how an experienced California business litigation attorney can protect your company’s legal interests.litigation-300x139

The Stages of Business Litigation

The first step in business litigation is to prepare a California business lawsuit complaint and file it with the appropriate court. The complaint should specify the exact legal harm that has been suffered and the relief sought by the plaintiff. This will generally take the form of an estimate of the financial damages suffered as a result of the legal harm. Once the complaint has been filed, the lawsuit has officially started. The complaint must then be served upon the opposing party. That party has a short window in which to file an official response to the complaint.  If they fail to do so, the complaining party may ask the court for a summary judgment to get their requested relief. The vast majority of defendants answer lawsuits in a timely manner. Summary judgments on service grounds are, therefore, rare. Once an answer has been filed, the next phase of the lawsuit begins.

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Silicon Valley companies have human resource (HR) departments to manage employment issues. HR departments both limit the company’s exposure to legal liability for employment-related claims and

facilitate the timely resolution of workplace disputes. For small companies, however, it can be difficult to train, staff, and maintain HR employees. A Silicon Valley employment law attorney can help you determine whether an HR department is right for your business.

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The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Human Resources 

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For California business owners, knowing what expenses are deductible from tax liability is not just a sound financial strategy. It can also prevent criminal liability for tax fraud and other white collar crimes. Ensure that all your financial and legal interests are protected by consulting with an experienced California tax law attorney.

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Common Deductions

Tax liability is a function of a company’s profit less its operating and business expenses. These expenses are known as the taxpayer’s deductions. Thus, the greater a company’s deductions, the less overall tax liability it will have. This causes many companies and business owners to push the boundaries of allowable business deductions. While this can reduce the company’s initial tax liability, it can also result in a time-consuming audit and heavy fines. In serious cases, it can even result in criminal liability. It is, therefore, very important for business owners to ensure that they are making appropriate, lawful deductions.

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For many businesses, promissory notes are a significant asset in the company’s financial portfolio. Securing such a promissory note with a personal guarantee can be an guarantee-300x200important step in protecting the company’s financial interests. Unfortunately, many business owners learn the hard way that a simple promissory note template is not always sufficient to enforce the personal guarantee, thus wasting this valuable asset. Learn more about how a Los Angeles business attorney can help you secure all your assets to protect the financial health of your business.

The Benefits of a Personal Guarantee

When a personal guarantee is accompanied with a promissory note, a personal guarantee acts like collateral. The asset (promissory note) is protected by the collateral (the guarantor’s promise to pay, and the ability to sue the guarantor personally for noncompliance with the terms of the promissory note). As with any collateral, a personal guarantee gives the asset more security. Businesses can therefore protect their financial interests by protecting promissory notes with personal guarantees.

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Of the many challenges faced when starting a business, creation of a company’s bylaws can be one of the more complex, technical, and overwhelming challenges of them all. While daunting, such agreements can protect startup companies from liability in business transactions. A Silicon Valley corporate lawyer can help your business create the bylaws which will best meet your legal needs.

  • Identify the needs of your businessFotolia_104278045_Subscription_Monthly_M-300x169

Before crafting any corporate policy, it is important to determine your goals. Does the policy need to protect the company from legal liability? Reduce operating expenses? Provide clarity for executing important business discussions? Identifying clear goals will allow for bylaws to effectively address such needs. Owners should also be sure to consider both the short and long-term needs of the business. Business, financial, and legal concerns can change over time. Effective bylaws will allow the business to adapt to the dynamic reality of the marketplace.

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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are complex business transactions with much on the line.  If a merger or acquisition is not successful, a business can lose substantial assets.  Of course, no one would intentionally enter into an acquisition transaction knowing it would fail; however, reports have indicated that more than half of acquisitions do fail at some point.

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It is important to understand how acquisitions fail, steps to take to prevent failure, and how your business can recover from a failed merger and acquisition.  An experienced California merger and acquisition lawyer from Structure Law Group, LLP can help you understand all aspects of a merger and acquisition and help you prepare for any outcome.

Common Reasons For Failed Acquisitions

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Selling a business can be an extremely lucrative prospect, but like any business transaction, the deal can go wrong and can be unnecessarily costly.  The sale of a business usually is not the sale of one asset; instead, all the assets of the business are sold or transferred.  One way to ensure that the sale of your business ends up in your favor is to skillfully negotiate the definitive agreement that sets out the final terms of the sale.  The experienced corporate attorneys at Structure Law Group, LLP have helped many entrepreneurs sell their businesses to achieve cost effective and positive results.

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The following are only a few questions to ask when drafting a definitive agreement to sell your business:

  • What does the sale include – what is the business, what are the business assets and liabilities?
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Often, selection and formation of a startup can be stressful and confusing.  But it is not the end of the process.  In order to protect your startup and its status, many steps must be followed to continue to ensure the startup remains in good standing with local and state laws.  The experienced California corporate lawyers at Structure Law Group, LLP can help entrepreneurs and businesses, at any stage of the process, protect and maintain their corporate form.

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Why It Matters

Formation of a limited liability company (LLC) or incorporation of a startup takes time and money to gain the protections offered by the corporate form.  If a business owner fails to maintain the ongoing requirements, the startup’s status may be put in jeopardy, and as a result, can lose the protection offered by the corporate form.  Maintenance of a corporation or an LLC is a continual process, requiring completion of steps to be in compliance with all applicable California state and local laws.

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