Business Formation
Get It Right from the Beginning
Starting a Business? Talk to Our Business Formation Attorneys
The beginning of a new business venture is multi-faceted, stressful, and complex. The decisions that you make during the business formation process will significantly affect your exposure to personal liability, professional liability, and the overall success of the company. Doing this without an experienced business attorney is a major risk that could cause you major headaches for years to come.
A good lawyer must spot potential risks and advise clients on what paths are available to take. In the formation process, we help clients understand the future financial and legal impacts of their decisions so that they can feel prepared and secure. Our business lawyers have extensive experience counseling clients in a wide range of business types and industries. As your attorney, we will help you make the right decisions and will implement necessary legal measures on your behalf, allowing you to focus on growing and managing your business.
ESQx lawyers represent startups and entrepreneurs on a regular basis through all phases of development, through entity selection, corporate and capital structuring, financing, and regulatory compliance. Our experience representing successful start-ups allows us to devise realistic and cost-effective solutions for our client’s financial needs for growth and expansion, while preparing them for success with solid legal and business foundations.
What We Do
Legal Services for Businesses
At ESQx, our business formation lawyers advise clients in two major areas: risks and opportunities. Within both of these opposing worlds there are legal maneuvers that clients can make to maximize their opportunities while minimizing their risks. We take pride in offering essential services where we explore issues relating to tax liability, exposure of personal liability, business flexibility and durability, licensure requirements, and operational success.
We offer the following services:
- Helping you select an entity (LLC vs. corporation)
- Filing your Articles of Incorporation (for C-Corps and S-Corps)
- Filing your Certificate of Organization (for LLCs)
- Drafting operating agreements
- Drafting corporate bylaws and shareholders’ agreements
- Drafting partnership agreements
- Drafting and maintaining shareholder agreements and minutes of shareholder meetings
- Securing IRS EIN tax IDs
- Advising on setting up business banking
- Procuring a registered agent service
- Procuring a virtual office
- Helping you select the right insurance policy
- Crafting a loss prevention policy
- Ensuring regulatory compliance and licensing
- Drafting profits interest agreements and equity incentive plans
- Advising on non-profit formation and governance
- Advising on tangential issues such as wills and trusts
Common Entity Types
Selecting your business entity type is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when starting a business. Every option comes with unique benefits and potential downsides. At ESQx, we can help you pick which type of entity is best for your current situation and future goals.
Sole Proprietorship
As the simplest and most common structure chosen to start a business, a sole proprietorship can be a great introduction into entrepreneurship. It is an unincorporated business owned and run by one individual with no distinction between the business and the owner. The owner is entitled to all profits and is responsible for all of the business’s debts, losses and liabilities. We rarely recommend this type as a long-term solution for businesses, however, due to its lack of liability protection.
Corporation
There are two types of corporations: C corporations and S corporations. The C corporation is the default corporation under IRS rules. The S corporation is a corporation that has elected a special tax status with the IRS and therefore has some tax advantages. Both business structures get their names from the parts of the Internal Revenue Code that they are taxed under.
Limited Liability Company
An LLC is a business structure that offers limited liability protection and pass-through taxation. As with corporations, the LLC legally exists as a separate entity from its owners. Therefore, owners cannot typically be held personally responsible for the business debts and liabilities. The LLC is viewed as a very flexible and durable entity which is used by small businesses and Fortune 500 companies alike. It may be a great fit for your business as well.
Partnership
A partnership is a business that has multiple owners. It’s not a legal business entity, and it doesn’t have to be registered with the state. Essentially, if you decide to go into business with another person without filing any state paperwork, you’re automatically in a partnership. There are four types of partnerships: general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and limited liability limited partnerships.
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Ready to Get Started?
There’s so much more we want to tell you about forming a business if you’ll give us the chance! If you’re ready to receive experienced business law formation advice, don’t hesitate to reach out today. We can’t wait to meet you. Did we mention every consultation is free?