Business Law

As your business grows, your legal needs will change. Those changes must be addressed so that your business operates at its best. A relationship with the Cummins & Bonestroo Law Office is invaluable to businesses of all sizes and all types. We represent large and small businesses from formation of the entity, throughout its operation and upon its sale.

Our attorneys handle business and commercial litigation involving contract disputes and other conflicts. We assist business owners in tax planning as well as personal liability protection. In all matters, we look at the totality of your business and help you ensure that all you have worked for is secure.

Business Entity Formation

When a business is started there are a number of important decisions to make that impact the business from a legal and tax perspective. We are experienced in advising business owners in the selection of the type of business entity that is appropriate to their business' needs. We are experienced in guiding businesses in selecting and forming sole proprietorships, limited liability companies (LLCs), Corporations, S-Corporations and Partnerships.

With our assistance in forming your business entity, we ensure that your business is set up in a way that provides liability protection and is suitable from a tax standpoint. We assist new and existing businesses to operate with important legal formalities such as Bylaws, Operating Agreements, written Resolutions, leases and contracts. We also assist new and existing businesses in business succession planning through the negotiation and drafting of a Buy-Sell Agreement or Member Control Agreement.

Business Purchases and Sales

The purchase or sale of a business is a transaction with a major impact on an individual's personal and professional life. With so much at stake financially, it is essential for both buyers and sellers of going businesses to be represented by experienced attorneys. Whether the purchase of a business is the first step to your future or the transition out of long a career, the purchase or sale of a business has numerous legal and tax issues. These need to be taken into consideration to ensure the best interests of the parties and to allow the transaction to close successfully.

We provide business formation assistance to large and small businesses, helping owners select the entity that best protects them and will help them reach their goals. We help our clients determine the appropriate business entity, setting up corporations and limited liability companies [LLCs] and even non-profit and tax exempt organizations.

Our attorneys handle a number of business-related concerns, from starting up a business to selling a business. We also draft and review contracts and buy-sell agreements, advising our clients with the benefit of our years of experience. Our attorneys draft promissory notes, leases and non-compete and confidentiality agreements. We are available for our clients for whatever their needs.

Business Succession Planning

Going businesses also need a plan for the future. A Business Succession Plan is created to allow a business owner to ensure the smooth transition of a business to a key employee or family member upon retirement, death or incapacity. A business buy-sell agreement ensures the smooth transition of a business when an owner, partner or stockholder leaves the business and ensuring the business can continue with its new ownership, and the original owners are fairly compensated for the effort in creating a successful business. Our attorneys provide businesses of all sizes with options in handling the challenges and opportunities in the creation of a Business Succession Plan.

Contracts

Running a business is challenging enough without having to worry about a legal dispute. Contract disputes and litigation can be costly and frustrating for any business owner. Many of these disputes can be avoided, and risks can be minimized by the creation of a contract that expresses the intent of the parties accurately.

We have years of experience in negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts of all types for our clients and ensuring that their interests are protected. A contract binds its parties by law, and it is essential that a contract is carefully drafted to minimize potential for disputes and liability and is precisely drafted to reflect the parties' agreement.

At Cummins & Bonestroo Law Office, our attorneys are experienced not only in drafting contracts, but also in reviewing contracts our clients bring to us when they are interested in a purchase or business opportunity. We review the contracts with the view of ensuring that our clients are receiving a fair and just deal. We look out for our clients' best interests in all that we do.

In the event of a contractual dispute, we represent parties in negotiation and litigation to ensure that our clients' interests are protected, and that a positive resolution can be reached.