Corporate Attorney

What is Corporate Law?

Corporations are treated like people; they can sue and be sued. Corporations are legal entities that are authorized to conduct business. As separate legal entities, corporations are set apart from their individual owners and shareholders. Corporate law focuses on all the legal hurdles that corporations may face. There are so many state and federal requirements that corporations must abide by which is why most states make it mandatory that corporations hold annual meetings. An attorney along with owners and shareholders attend this meeting as to make sure that the corporation is following all rules and regulations.

Corporations also confront the normal everyday issues that businesses face, such as employment issues, disputes regarding contracts, and product liability issues, etc. Depending on the corporation’s size, they can either hire a legal team with various types of specialties, or one individual attorney with a broad range of experience.

Important Terms

• Corporation. A corporation is a legal entity whose main purpose is conducting business. Corporations are either closed or public. Few people own the corporation when it is a close corporation, it also does not have its stock publicly traded. With public corporations, stock is traded on the stock exchange market.
• S Corporation. This kind of corporation has a limited number of shareholders. Although the shareholders have some certain tax benefits, they have no stock options.
• Piercing the Corporate Veil. The person with the highest ranking in a company, who is responsible for making decisions regarding management.
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Appointed by board of directors, the CEO is the executive chief with the power to make decisions and authority to manage the corporation’s daily operations.
• Board of Directors (BOD). Elected by the corporation’s shareholders, the board is a group of individuals that manage the corporation’s affairs and with power to appoint the corporation officers.

What to Consider When Hiring a Corporate Lawyer

Although corporations must be incorporated, they do not necessarily have to be in their home state. For example, Delaware is actually a popular pick when it comes to incorporation due to its tax benefits and the low costs of incorporation. However, corporations still need to register their corporation in states where they conduct their business. It’s always best to check with an attorney if you would like to incorporate out of state.

As mentioned above, corporations are heavily regulated by state laws and the federal laws. Actions like calling for board meetings, issuing stocks, appointing employees, and having communications with shareholders- are all actions which are governed by several state and federal statutes. Corporations that fail to follow statutes can be subject to heavy fines and even lawsuits. Taking this into consideration, it is extremely important that a corporation has a lawyer to help it navigate the murky waters of state laws and federal laws.

Corporate Lawyers Los Angeles Businesses Trust

Most Los Angeles business owners know that a corporate attorney can help their company with litigation, but there are a number of other ways corporate lawyers can help your business:

• Small Business Legal Services – A good corporate attorney will provide legal counseling from startups, business formation, incorporation, and litigation. First, some general rules about dealing with lawyers: If you are being sued, it’s too late.
  
  
• Partnership agreements – A partnership agreement details the responsibilities of each founder to the business. This might be in terms of the amount of resources they provide or the work that they do for the business. This agreement will also set provisions for profit-share, decision-making authority, and how to deal with the dissolution of the business.
  
  
• Contracts – Strong contracts will protect your business from litigation and from other parties not fulfilling their responsibilities to your company. You will need business contracts with suppliers, clients, and employees.
  
  
• Intellectual property protection – Trademarks, patents and copyrights will protect what makes your business unique. A lawyer can help you to file the paperwork properly to ensure there are no loopholes.
  
  
• Business formation – If you need help weighing up the pros and cons of each type of business entity, then a corporate lawyer will be able to help. They will also assist with filling out and filing the formation paperwork.
  
  
• Employment Lawsuit Defense – Even with strong employment contracts, employment disputes can happen. Corporate lawyers are experts at trying to prevent and resolve issues without litigation. If you are facing litigation, they can help with that too.