Every marriage is not meant to last forever. No matter what the reasoning behind the divorce, it is important to have legal representation for each side. I almost lost everything because my former spouse said that he was taking care of things and that he would be fair about how the assets were divided. It took several weeks for me to find out what he was up to. It was then that I hired my own attorney and got what I deserved. You should never attempt to go through a divorce without a lawyer working on your side. On my site, I have listed several of the issues that can get overlooked if you are inexperienced with divorce documents and proceedings.
Joy Johnson
Issuing shares in a company is a big step that has major implications for its future. If you're thinking about turning a business into a shareholding enterprise, it's a good idea to think about the issue the way a securities law attorney would. Let's take a look at three of the biggest things you'll have to deal with and what a corporate lawyer would tell you about each.
Obligations to Shareholders
If you've been running a non-shareholding operation, the largest change you'll notice is the obligations you have to shareholders. While it's never wise to take money out the banana stand, the reality is that shareholders have rights that are written into American law. They have the right to see that corporate officers, presumably you being one of them, are running the business competently, ethically and for their financial benefit. If you fail in these duties, those shareholders have the right to pursue action to have you ousted from your position. In the worst scenario, they may even decide your conduct was fraudulent and try to bring civil or criminal actions against you.
New Incentives
No one would incorporate a company as a shareholding business if it were nothing but onerous obligations. A big upside to having shares is that they can be deployed as incentives. If you want to attract talent to your business, you have something more to offer people than just a salary and a health plan. They can be given shares in the company as compensation, providing them with a stake in its future rather than just a job.
Similarly, officers can be incentivized through the issuing of shares. After all, when the company profits, they stand to profit.
Regulatory Filings
With the issuance of shares comes a whole set of regulations. One major reason to retain the services of a securities law attorney is to make sure each word of your regulatory filings is checked and rechecked.
Specific types of companies will have different reporting requirements, too. These help investors understand what the health of the business is. Generally, the more public a company is, such as being listed and traded on a stock exchange, the greater its reporting requirements. Trading over the counter is an alternative, but the so-called pink sheets aren't necessarily the most appealing way to attract capital. Your corporate lawyer at Carter West Law can help you make sense of what arrangement is likely to benefit your business the most.