BUSINESS LAW

 

Business Planning and Formation for Start-Ups

R | R's start-up experience includes helping entrepreneurial businesses in technology and other industries, whether started with major venture capital financing or founded on a bootstrap budget. We combine our entrepreneurial experience and technical legal skills to help you make the key decisions in the formation of your business, including:

  • Choice of business entity: corporation (Sub Chapter S and C), limited liability company (LLC), general or limited partnership, proprietorship, non-profits, cooperatives, business trusts, and joint ventures international (International & Domestic)
  • Tax attributes: taxable or flow through entity, cash or accrual accounting
  • Capitalization plan: voting and non-voting common stock, convertible preferred stock, warrants and other rights, and rights upon merger or liquidation
  • Corporate governance: relationships among, powers and duties of stockholders, officers and directors
  • Employee rights and obligations: employee contracts, intellectual property contracts, intellectual property rights assignments, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements
  • Compensation plans: stock option plans, restricted stock, bonus and profit - sharing plans
  • Stockholder agreements: insurance-funded buyout arrangements, dispute resolution mechanisms and voting trusts

Our experience allows us to provide founders with a start-up game plan that provides significant flexibility for growth and the inevitable changes in direction that businesses encounter. While some decisions in structuring an entity can be delayed or changed later at modest cost, other decisions could commit the business to a course that cannot be changed without substantial tax and legal and administrative costs. Our seasoned attorneys focus on your practical objectives and operate within your capital reality to help you navigate the process in the most efficient manner.

We also prepare and advise clients with respect to the critical contracts and arrangements necessary to start the business on its path toward growth and success:

  • stockholder agreements
  • employment agreements
  • intellectual property rights assignments
  • non-competition and non-solicitation agreements
  • equity incentive plans

To discuss your particular business start-up strategy, call us at 443-413-5228 to schedule a time to meet with our attorneys.