Attorney Clifford Hunt has practiced securities and corporate law in the Tampa Bay area for 18 years.  Mr. Hunt’s substantial experience in securities and corporate law includes:

• Representation of business entities regarding securities offerings
• securities reporting under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
• mergers and acquisitions, and business combinations
• Representation of business entities regarding employment contracts and trade secret protection
• Representation of investment advisers, broker-dealers, their principals and associated persons in state and federal court litigation, arbitration matters and regulatory investigations
• Representation of investors/shareholders in matters involving securities anti-fraud issues, including broker-dealer sales practices violations.

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Attorney Clifford Hunt has practiced securities and corporate law in the Tampa Bay area for 18 years. Mr. Hunt received his Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Hanover College in 1983, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1986. He is a member of the Florida Bar, the United States District Courts for the Middle District of Florida, the Central District of Illinois, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits.

Q. How do I raise capital to expand my small business?
A. In addition to obtaining financing from traditional commercial lending sources, capital can be raised by small businesses in private securities transactions involving equity and/or debt financing. In raising capital, business owners must be aware of and comply with state and federal securities laws. Typically there are one or more securities transactional exemptions that allow small business issuers to sell securities without registering the securities with the SEC or states’ securities administrators

Q. How do I prevent my employees from starting their own competing business by utilizing my confidential client/customer information and/or trade secrets?
A. Florida has trade secret laws that we incorporate into employee agreements to prohibit solicitation of clients and use of client information upon termination of their employment. We prepare agreements for execution by sales staff and clerical employees.

Q. What recourse do I have to recover losses I have sustained as a result of following my stock broker’s recommendations?
A. Under Florida law, a broker has a fiduciary duty to a client to exercise the utmost good faith and fair dealing when handling a client’s account. This fiduciary duty requires the broker to make recommendations that are suitable for the client in light of the client’s investment objectives, annual income, net worth, age and financial sophistication. If a broker makes an unsuitable recommendation, he/she has violated Florida law. Similarly, a broker and broker-dealer can be held liable for failing to state all material facts relevant to a securities purchase or sale transaction. We have asserted claims for these types of violations in many securities arbitration cases for our clients.

Q. What laws do I have to comply with if I sell a controlling interest in my corporation or consider entering into a merger with another company?
A. The sale of a controlling interest in a privately held (i.e., non-public) company involves a private securities transaction that must comply with both state and federal securities laws. It is important to note that the sale of a business via a securities transaction will typically allow the liabilities of the sold business to remain with the business. Many purchasers deem it more desirable to simply purchase the assets of the target business and reject assumption of liabilities. In any substantial asset sale and merger transaction, the parties must comply with applicable provisions of the Florida Business Corporations Act, Chapter 607, Florida Statutes.