Business Law

Forms for filing most business entities can be found at the Indiana Secretary of State’s website. By going to this website, attorney fees can be avoided if you are certain of how you want to set up your business. On the other hand, some people prefer to spend the relatively small cost of having counsel prepare their paper work, ensuring the necessary details are covered.

By-laws can be particularly important, because that is where you want to detail what happens if one or more owners want out, needs to be kicked out, the business fails or succeeds. While these are issues most new businesses don’t want to concentrate on, it can very much be worth it, as corporate dissolution/split up fights can be very expensive and time consuming, especially if there was nothing agreed to in writing at the beginning. 

While both LLC’s and corporations provide limited liability to owners (so long as you fulfill the preliminary and bi-annual report filing with the Secretary of State, advertise yourself with Inc. or LLC at all times, and don’t commingle business and personal funds and assets, so others can “pierce the corporate veil”). Subchapter S corporations incur no corporate income taxes, with mandatory profit/loss pass through to owners, which can be an advantage. On the other hand, LLC’s are better suited if it’s important to separate management powers from owner-investors. Subchapter S Corporations have a limit of 100 shareholders, all shareholders have to be people (not businesses), only 1 class of stock, and no nonresident alien shareholders (see 26 U.S.C.A. 1361).

 

Having an attorney prepare contracts for general use with customers, or concerning individual business transactions, usually provides long term value greater than the cost. Contract forms that are available on the internet, or at retail outlets, are usually better than no contract, but many times lack several terms that may be highly beneficial to your specific situation or deal. Many contracts can be generated within 2-3 hours of time.   

Over the years I have also been involved in assisting clients with the structure and details of business plans, and efforts to obtain seed money or capital for a start-up. 

The extent and cost of my services are totally dependent upon the amount of time expended. My normal practice will be to quote you a minimum hourly retainer, or larger set fee if you prefer. If you don’t like either option, you owe nothing and got a free consultation. If the retainer paid turns out to be larger than the time necessary to complete what you need, you will receive a refund at the end, less my itemized time (I break my billing down to a tenth of an hour). 

  

, so if that’s what you need, I’m not your guy. 

With an economics degree from Purdue, I have always been interested in the various funding, marketing, profit-making, and legal issues that most businesses routinely face.  

Helping start-up or existing businesses avoid or solve legal or financial concerns is an interesting and challenging part of my practice.