What to Look for in a Strong Corporate Attorney
What should you look for in a strong corporate attorney? Why is your corporate attorney one of the most important members of your business team? Every corporation, every team of executives and even the Board of Directors should have 3 internal or external experts to turn to for strong advice and counsel at every step of the corporate journey: A CPA/Tax Expert, a Banking/Financial partner and an experienced corporate attorney. These 3 disciplines provide valuable insight, direction and advice in every phase of a corporation’s existence.
Your corporate attorney’s primary responsibility is to protect the corporate veil while guiding decision-making in corporate formation and entity selection, contracting, employer management and defense strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution.
Corporate governance and compliance is the duty and responsibility of majority stakeholders, executives, officers and board members. Effective corporate governance ensures completion and memorialization of important documents such as the company’s minutes, policies and procedures, employee handbook as well as corporate documents such as the LLC operating agreement or the bylaws and shareholders’ agreement. These documents should be updated regularly to ensure compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations as well as changes in the life of the corporation and decisions taken by the company.
Entity selection is not only important at the outset of operations but as the corporation grows and expands through mergers and acquisitions. These transactions require extensive due diligence to ensure acquired assets are transferred with clear title and free of encumbrances and mergers and stock purchase transactions have been thoroughly investigated and vetted for accuracy and to reduce or eliminate risks associated with contingent liabilities. The risks for buyers and sellers alike are substantial and most acquisitions unfortunately fail. Your strong corporate attorney can be the difference between success and failure in any merger or acquisition.
A strong corporate attorney should provide proven strategies for the cost-effective and timely resolution of any dispute or lawsuit. The likelihood of internal or external disputes and lawsuits is an unfortunate fact of business. The company must be prepared to respond to challenges, remediate or mitigate potential exposures and resolve disputes and lawsuits in an effective manner.
Your strong corporate attorney should provide sound counsel in every phase of your corporation’s foundation, development, growth and ultimate disposition. Look for a corporate attorney or law firm with decades of experience in your specific vertical and geographic market(s). Your corporate attorney should be available for consultation in every important decision taken by your company.
