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Business Development
Business Formation and Development
Not only does Murray & Hopkins have the legal know-how to help you make sure your business is operating in accordance to state and federal guidelines, but we also have the business experience and expertise to help your small business grow, or your already successful business become even more profitable. Murray and Hopkins has over 40 years of experience in creating both profit and not-for-profit organizations. We can help you, whether your company is in the conception stage or you've been in business for years. Our line of services includes owner agreements, employee manuals, employee contracts and contracts with customers. Murray and Hopkins acts as corporation counsel for many smaller businesses that don't have the need for a full-time corporation counsel. We handle the needs and concerns that pop up in the day-to-day operation of your business. We have the means to do it cost effectively and quickly.
Business Organization
Business organizations is an area of law that covers the broad array of rules governing the formation and operation of different kinds of entities by which individuals can organize to do business. The term is also used to describe the entities themselves. A variety of other terms are used fairly interchangeably to describe this area, including business associations, business forms, and business entities.
The law of business organizations originally derived from the common law of England, but has evolved significantly in the Twentieth Century. In common law countries today, the most commonly addressed forms are:
- The sole proprietorship
- The partnership, sometimes called a "general partnership".
- The Limited Partnership (LP).
- The Limited-Liability Limited Partnership (LLLP)
- The Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
- The For Profit Corporation (Inc.,Co.,Corp., Sub-chapter "C" Corp.).
- The Limited-Liability Company (LLC, Ltd.)
- The Non-Profit Corporation
- The Corporation (Sub-chapter "S" Corp.)
Less commonly used business forms include the Series LLC, and the limited company (LC).
Charitable Organization Development
We've been involved in things as simple as a memorial fund to full tax exempt status with the IRS under IRS code 501 C3. We can help you organize establish bylaws, a board of trustees or directors and help you with questions that arise in the development of a not for profit organization. Past clients include:
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Eugene Franjola Memorial Fund
Succession Planning
In organizational development, succession planning is the process of identifying and preparing suitable employees through mentoring, training and job rotation, to replace key players - such as the chief executive officer (CEO) - within an organization as their terms expire. From the risk management aspect, provisions are made in case no suitable internal candidates are available to replace the loss of any key person. It is usual for an organization to insure the key person so that funds are available if she or he dies and these funds can be used by the business to cope with the problems before a suitable replacement is found or developed.
Succession Planning involves having senior executives periodically review their top executives and those in the next-lower level to determine several backups for each senior position. This is important because it often takes years of grooming to develop effective senior managers. There is a critical shortage in companies of middle and top leaders for the next five years. Organizations will need to create pools of candidates with high leadership potential.
A careful and considered plan of action ensures the least possible disruption to the person's responsibilities and therefore the organization's effectiveness. Examples include such a person who is:
- suddenly and unexpectedly unable or unwilling to continue their role within the organization;
- accepting an approach from another organization or external opportunity which will terminate or lessen their value to the current organization;
- indicating the conclusion of a contract or time-limited project; or
moving to another position and different set of responsibilities within the organization.
A succession plan clearly sets out the factors to be taken into account and the process to be followed in relation to retaining or replacing the person.
Strategic Operating Agreements
A strategic operating agreement allows you to structure your financial and working relationships with your co-owners in a way that suits your business. In your operating agreement, you and your co-owners establish each owner's percentage of ownership in the LLC (limited liability company), his or her share of profits (or losses), his or her rights and responsibilities, and what will happen to the business if one of you leaves.We've been involved in things as simple as a memorial fund to full tax exempt status with the IRS under IRS code 501 C3. We can help you organize your charitable organization, establish bylaws and a board of trustees or directors and help you with questions that arise in the development of a not-for-profit organization.
While many states do not legally require your LLC to have an operating agreement, it's foolish to run an LLC without one (even if you're the sole owner of your company).
An operating agreement helps your LLC by guarding your limited liability status, heading off financial and management misunderstandings, and making sure your business is governed by your own rules -- not default rules created by your state.
The main reason to make an operating agreement is as simple as it is important: It helps ensure that courts will respect your limited personal liability. This is particularly key in a one-person LLC where, without the formality of an agreement, the LLC will look a lot like a sole proprietorship. Having a formal written operating agreement will lend credibility to your LLC's separate existence.
Co-owned LLCs need to document their profit-sharing and decision-making protocols as well as their procedures for handling the departure and addition of members. Without an operating agreement, you and your co-owners will be ill-equipped to settle misunderstandings over finances and management. What's more, your LLC will be subject to the default operating rules created by your state law.
Each state has laws that set out basic operating rules for LLCs, some of which will govern your business unless your operating agreement says otherwise. (These are called "default rules.")
Many states, for example, have a default rule that requires owners to divide up LLC profits and losses equally, regardless of each member's investment in the business. If you and your co-owners did not invest equal amounts in the LLC, it's doubtful you'll want to allocate profits equally. To avoid this, your operating agreement must spell out how you and your co-owners want to split profits and losses.
By writing an operating agreement, you can choose the rules that will govern your LLC's inner workings, rather than having to follow default rules that may or may not be right for your LLC.
