Business Law

Our business attorneys have decades of experience helping New Jersey businesses in a wide range of industries with their legal issues. We represent businesses of all sizes, from local “mom and pop” family businesses to international corporations. Our philosophy is that it is best to help businesses businesses and their owners plan to avoid problems before problems start. This allows them to save time and money, and to avoid distractions which would distract them from their core business. However, when disputes do arise, our litigators are tenacious fighters for our clients.

Business Formation and Planning

Our attorneys help companies get started. We help them choose and form the type of entity, such as a corporation, limited liability company or partnership, which under New Jersey law will best protect them from liability while minimizing the tax bite on their profits. We help them structure their operations, contracts and organization to ensure they are able to enforce their agreements so that they can collect payment on the work they perform and enforce their agreements with customers, vendors, general contractors and subcontractors. We also help them write agreements (such as partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, and LLC operating agreements) which help the business function efficiently, and minimize the potential for disputes among the owners. Our attorneys are particularly well suited for this task, with significant business, legal and financial experience. Frank Nardi, for example, is a tax and transactional attorney, a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified financial planner (CFP).

Advice and Outside General Counsel Services

Many companies do not have the need or the resources to keep employ a full-time legal staff in-house. However, all businesses still need legal advice and legal services throughout their life. Our attorneys therefore are available for counseling businesses and providing a wide range of legal services on an “as needed” basis.

Contract Negotiation and Drafting

We help businesses with a wide range of contracts. We negotiate deals and draft contracts for our clients with the goal of protecting their interests, maximizing their profits, minimizing their taxes, avoiding disputes, and ensuring that they are enforceable in court. We work to get the deal closed, but at the same time ensure that the final contract which is negotiated protects our clients’ rights.

Business Transactions

Our transactional attorneys represent buyers and sellers in the negotiation and closing of business purchases and sales. We also represent individuals who are selling their ownership stake in their businesses, or buying out an individual owner’s equity.

Commercial Leasing

We negotiate and draft leases for commercial landlords and tenants. Our goal is to ensure that at the end of the day the leases protect our clients’ rights, and prevents disputes down the road (and also provides a means for resolution should disputes occur).

Commercial Real Estate

We represent buyers and sellers in the sale of commercial and industrial real estate, from retail stores, to office buildings, to apartment houses, to contaminated industrial property. We negotiate contracts, handle due diligence and financing, and close the deal.

Business Litigation

Our business litigators have decades of experience representing businesses in a wide range of business litigation in state and federal court, and in arbitration and mediation, in New Jersey, New York, and throughout the northeast. We also represent the owners of New Jersey businesses in shareholder and partnership litigation. We represent businesses in disputes with governmental entities, including taxing and regulatory authorities.

Collecting Accounts Receivable

A contractor can do the best job in the world, but if it doesn’t get paid it will go out of business. Our attorneys work with businesses on many ways to ensure that they get paid. First, we draft contracts which ensure payment and provide incentives for the other parties to pay, such as payment of attorneys fees and interest upon default. Our business litigators have represented many contractors in suits to collect unpaid receivables. We also are aggressive in utilizing all the collection tools available under New Jersey law, such as the use of construction or garagekeepers liens, and the New Jersey Prompt Pay Act.

Dealing With the Fallout of Financial Distress

Our business lawyers help businesses in financial distress seek relief from their creditors, whether through a liquidation or reorganization in bankruptcy, or by negotiation debts with the business’s creditors.

Recent Examples

• Successfully litigated to obtain insurance coverage which was wrongfully denied after Hudson County food company was in head on collision.
• Successfully negotiated with state to drop tax claim against Rockaway, New Jersey construction company.
• Won a trial for a Secaucus solid waste company against a competitor for tortious interference with its client.
• Won on Arbitration trial in the American Arbitration Association for a Hudson County animal feed dealer breach of contract.
• Enforced option to buy in lease for Passaic County manufacturing and processing plant.
• Negotiated many shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, and LLC operating agreements for new and mature businesses in a wide variety of industries throughout New Jersey.
• Defended and negotiated resolutions to violations imposed by various governmental agencies against many businesses, including garbage companies and taverns in Hudson County.
• Successfully represented the owner of an Edison, New Jersey technology company in the sale of his ownership interest.
• We have drafted and negotiated contracts for a wide range of businesses throughout New Jersey. For example, we drafted partnership agreements for a New Jersey gravel company, and an agreement for the sale of a Garfield oil company.
• Successfully represented international manufacturing company recover money owed by Perth Amboy apparel company in bankruptcy litigation.
• We have represented Jersey City real estate developers and Passaic County manufacturers in disputes with auction houses.
• Used New Jersey Construction Lien Law to obtain payment for a Pennsylvania electrical contractor for work performed on a solar power project in Clifton, New Jersey; also used construction lien law to force payment for Riverdale, New Jersey construction and demolition debris hauler for work performed on Belmar construction project.

Contact Us

Our business attorneys are here to help your business with its legal needs, whether they are planning to avoid legal problems, or litigating disputes once they have arisen. We are conveniently located in Totowa, New Jersey, in Passaic County. Call us at (973) 890-0004 or e-mail us to schedule a consultation.