Governing Documents
In company formation law, clear operating agreements and shareholder agreements are crucial for both solo small business owners and groups of cofounders. We help clients understand the management, voting, and ownership issues at stake during company formation, and draft clear governing documents. This includes:
- LLC Operating Agreements and corporation Shareholders Agreements & Bylaws. These documents establish the relationship between a company's owners and cover a wide range of important issues such as management, voting, sale of shares, board of directors, and profit-sharing rules.
- Shareholders agreements. These impose prudent restrictions on the board of directors and keep all the initial founders on the same page.
- Other written resolutions. Issuing stock, appointing officers, and adding new directors all require written board resolutions and failing to follow these formalities can have serious consequences for a new business.
Founder Documents
When taking stock or equity in your own business, lawyers who understand startups can help guide new companies through the complex set of documents each founder needs to protect the company's IP, setup stock vesting, and ensure confidentiality.
- Stock Agreements are essential if founders wish to impose vesting restrictions on one another to incentivize dedication to the company or prepare for future investment.
- All companies need to protect their intellectual property – but this is especially important for tech startups, game developers or any company producing creative content or design.
- IP assignment and confidentiality agreements ensure the company has clear ownership of the work produced by employees and contractors. Future investors often scrutinize these documents looking for potential issues.
Company Filings
We help clients file the proper paperwork to create their company after deciding on the type of entity. Future funding, growth plans, and the relationship and expectation of the founders are crucial to structuring a company. We advise clients on long terms plans for developing and funding their business, then do the legwork to get papers drafted and filed to create the foundation for future growth.