For business owners, there are a lot of legal responsibilities that come along with owning and operating a legitimate company. Taking on all of these responsibilities on your own without legal guidance can lead to you making mistakes that in some cases can be expensive and difficult to recover from.
Business law attorney, Lanease Fuller, works with small businesses to help them with contract negotiations, business transactions, intellectual property needs, and other legal services. She has years of experience representing her clients on a wide range of law matters. Learn more about the role of a business lawyer below:
What Is the Role of a Corporate Lawyer?
The role of a corporate lawyer is to advise clients of their rights, responsibilities, and duties under the law.
When a corporate lawyer is hired by a corporation, the lawyer represents the corporate entity, not its shareholders or employees. This may be a confusing concept to grasp until you learn that a corporation is actually treated a lot like a person under the law.
A corporation is a legal entity that is created under state law, usually for the purpose of conducting business. A corporation is treated as a unique entity or “person” under the law, separate from its owners or shareholders.
Corporate law includes all of the legal issues that surround a corporation, which are many because corporations are subject to complex state and federal regulations. Most states require corporations to hold regular meetings, such as annual shareholder meetings, along with other requirements.
Corporate lawyers make sure corporations are in compliance with these rules, while taking on other types of work.
What Type of Work Do Corporate Lawyers Do?
Contrary to popular belief, most corporate lawyers rarely step foot in courtrooms. Instead, most of the work they do is considered “transactional” in nature. That means they spend most of their time helping a corporation to avoid litigation.
More specifically, corporate lawyers may spend their time on:
- Contracts: Reviewing, drafting, and negotiating legally-binding agreements on behalf of the corporation, which could involve everything from lease agreements to multi-billion dollar acquisitions
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A): Conducting due diligence, negotiating, drafting, and generally overseeing “deals” that involve a corporation “merging” with another company or “acquiring” (purchasing) another company
- Corporate governance: Helping clients create the framework for how a firm is directed and controlled, such as by drafting articles of incorporation, creating bylaws, advising corporate directors and officers on their rights and responsibilities, and other policies used to manage the company
- Venture capital: Helping startup or existing corporations find capital to build or expand the business, which can involve either private or public financing
- Securities: Advising clients on securities law compliance, which involves the complex regulations aimed at preventing fraud, insider training, and market manipulation, as well as promoting transparency, within publicly-traded companies
In many cases, corporate lawyers work in large or mid-size law firms that have corporate law departments. Many corporate lawyers have specialties or areas of corporate law that they focus on such as M&A, venture capital, or securities.
Some corporate lawyers work in-house, and most large corporations have their own in-house legal departments. In-house corporate lawyers generally handle a wide variety of issues.
When Might an Individual or Business Need Help From a Corporate Lawyer?
A corporate lawyer advises firms on how to comply with rules and laws, but that’s only the beginning. In truth, any individual starting a business venture could benefit from a corporate lawyer. Why? Because a corporate lawyer can help you structure and plan your business for success, even if you end up going with a business structure other than a corporation.
It’s always a good idea to have a lawyer on board to craft your business’ managing documents, review contracts, and help you make other strategy decisions.
Of course, it’s not always possible for smaller businesses (or even medium-sized businesses) to have a corporate lawyer on retainer, but one should be consulted when forming a business, when closing a business, and when problems arise, at the very least.
Top Business Lawyers in Houston Area
Attorney Fuller is a seasoned attorney with nearly three decades of experience representing a wide range of clients. This includes individuals who have suffered an injury due to another’s actions, individuals facing criminal charges, those who have been arrested for DWI, individuals who have found themselves in a civil litigation dispute, and those looking for legal guidance in business.
After filling out a client intake form, Attorney Lanease D. Fuller will take appropriate action in your case to help you get the results you are looking for. This includes but not limited to gathering evidence, going to trial, and earning a settlement that is appropriate for your specific situation. Reach out to us today to take the first step towards settling your case.
LANEASE D. FULLER LAW
4615 S. Frwy St. 820
Houston, TX 77051
713-439-7400
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