Five Steps to Buying a Small Business in New York – Part 5: Closing the Deal

See Part 1 here; Part 2 here; Part 3 here; Part 4 here; Part 5 here; Finally, the day of the closing on your small business purchase has arrived. The parties and their attorneys come together for the final handshake on the deal. All of…

Five Steps to Buying a Small Business in New York – Part 4: Documenting the Deal

See Part 1 here; Part 2 here; Part 3 here; Part 4 here; Part 5 here; The purchase of a small business requires many legal agreements and documents to effect the transaction.  Obviously, you need an experienced attorney to draft and/or…

New York Limited Liability Companies FAQ

What is a New York Limited Liability Company ("LLC")?  Who can form an LLC?  How do I form an LLC?  How much does it cost to form an LLC? What ongoing requirements are there for maintaining an LLC?  How does an LLC pay taxes?  Is an LLC…

Five Steps to Buying a Small Business in New York – Part 3: Due Diligence

(See Part 1 here; Part 2 here; Part 3 here; Part 4 here; Part 5 here;) Due diligence is the process of investigating the business you are planning to buy inside and out;  lots of files to look at, numbers to crunch and agreements to review. …

Don’t be a Victim of your Law Firm’s “No Small Business” Policy

Via MyShingle I learned about this telling article by a leading law firm consulting company.   According to the article, small businesses are bad news for big law firms.  Short of telling the client to hit the road, they recommend…

Keep Your Legal Fees in Check!

Most attorneys and law firms still charge  by the hour.  Even though flat fees seem to be more common nowadays for certain routine agreements and matters, the meter usually starts running as soon as you start talking to your attorney. …

Promissory Notes

  What: A Promissory Note (also known as "note" or "negotiable instrument") is a written statement  that evidences that money is owed to you by the author (also known as "maker") of the statement.  You can transfer the note to other people…

NY Business Certificates – Know Your “Doing Business As” Responsibilities

D.B.A. or "Doing Business As" is not only a cool bar in the East Village, it also refers to individuals (sole proprietorships), partnerships, corporations and other entities that do  business under a name different from their real name.  For…

Five Steps to Buying a Small Business In New York – Part 2: Negotiating the Terms of the Deal

See Part 1 here; Part 2 here; Part 3 here; Part 4 here; Part 5 here; Once you have found a business that seems like a worthwhile acquisition (a “target”), you are ready to negotiate the terms of the transaction.  But what are the typical…

Ken Adams’ Thoughts on “For the Avoidance of Doubt”

Many lawyers draft contracts that are too long, too complex, and just badly written. Bad agreements are hard to eradicate, because everybody copies everybody else without thinking twice about it. Agreements should be easy to read and should…