In today's fast-paced business environment, most people and most businesses, no matter how large or small, would substantially benefit to have a trusted, experienced legal advisor who understands your unique legal circumstances and who knows how to help you navigate the increasingly complex legal climate. Having the right legal advisor on your contracts/leases, employee matters, business decisions and dispute resolutions often dramatically lowers a business' legal expenses, increases opportunities and allows them to develop a close working relationship with the firm. We welcome discussing a relationship with you.

Firm Founder, Paul K. Silverberg, established this law firm in 2000 based on his legal training at one of the largest international law firms, judicial clerk internship for a federal judge, professional business consulting and vital roles as Vice President of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel. The firm understands that trust and expertise are some of the greatest assets you require when handling a transaction or dispute. We specialize in working together with our clients, in a personalized and professional manner, to gain their trust and respect. We are experienced and familiar with the intricacies of transactions and the legal process here in greater Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The firm's practice has covered numerous areas of law on varying scales of size and complexity. Each representation is personalized to the client's needs and circumstance. The Firm’s clientele ranges from multi-million dollars companies to individuals in industries ranging from aeronautics to construction to medical products/services to restaurants to real estate with clients and matters locally, nationally and on an international basis, including clients in Europe, Asia and South and Central America.

Our business law and commercial litigation services include:

• Business Law (transactional)
• Commercial Litigation
• Contracts and Leases
• Corporate Structuring and Creation
• Buying and Selling of Businesses
• Ownership Agreements (shareholders and members)
• Bankruptcy (creditor representation)
• Corporate Law
• Alcoholic Beverage Law (Liquor Law)
• Creditors' Rights
• Commercial Real Estate
• International Law
• Employment Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Business Planning
• Complex Litigation
• Business Mergers and Acquisitions
• Business Mediation
• Agent Representation
• Business Reengineering
• Strategic Planning
• Negotiations

As skilled business law attorneys familiar with litigation and transactions in greater Ft. Lauderdale, we understand that disputes arise in every area of human endeavor; business and personal financial affairs are no exception. We work hard to resolve disputes for our clients without litigation, but if necessary, we have the experience, ability and training to provide an outstanding level of representation in court (State, Federal and arbitration).

With our main office in Weston, Silverberg & Weiss, PA provides services with satellite locations in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach & Tampa.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced business law and commercial litigation attorney, please call us today at 866-781-6103, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your FREE initial consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Business Law:
Business law is a broad category that encompasses the rules and requirements for all phases of a business’s life- from its creation through all of the activities during its life, and finally its termination. The creation of a business includes the decision whether to form the business as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation or some other type of entity, or whether to set it up as a nonprofit.

The activities during a business’s life include managing the various relationships that a company might have with its employees, customers, vendors, stockholders, bankers, the government and the public. Businesses also, of course, raise capital, keep records, file business and tax forms, hire employees, market and advertise their goods or services, merge with, acquire and/or sell other businesses, along with a host of related activities.

Business Contracts:
Business contracts are written documents that embody a wide range of business relationships that occur in the life of a typical company. They can include non-compete agreements, non-piracy agreements, non-disclosure agreements, restrictive covenants, employment agreements, producer agreements, sales representative agreements, consulting agreements, management agreements, franchise agreements, licensing agreements, deferred compensation agreements, independent contractor agreements, employee leasing, "rabbi" trusts and others.

Mergers & Acquisitions:
The phrase mergers and acquisitions refers to corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as other assets. Usually mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies participate in a due diligence process to ensure a successful combination of all parts. Corportate mergers are often aimed at reducing market competition.

On other occasions, acquisitions can happen through hostile takeover by purchasing the majority of outstanding shares of a company in the open stock market. In the United States, business laws vary from state to state and some companies have limited protection against a hostile takeover.

Technically, what differentiates a merger from an acquisition is how it is financed. Simply put, a merger is a combination of two companies into one larger company. A "merger" or "merger of equals" is often financed by an all-stock deal (a stock swap). An all-stock deal occurs when all of the owners of stocks of either company get the same amount of stock in the new combined company. The term "demerger" is sometimes used to indicate the effective opposite of a merger, where one company splits into two, the second often being a separately listed stock company if the parent was a stock company.

An acquisition (a larger company buying out a smaller company) can involve a cash and debt combination, or just cash, or a combination of cash and stock of the purchasing entity, or just stock. The Sears-Kmart acquisition is an example of a cash deal. In addition, the acquisition can take the form of a purchase of the stock or other equity interests of the target entity, or the acquisition of all or substantially of its assets.

Employment Law:
Employment law is the body of laws, administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, workers and their organizations. Employment law mediates many aspects of the relationship between labor unions, employers and employees. Employment law also includes establishing and implementing executive employment agreements, employment benefit arrangements and stock option plans.

Joint Ventures:
A joint venture is a short-term partnership in which the persons jointly undertake a transaction for mutual profit. Generally each person contributes assets and shares risk. Like a partnership, joint ventures can involve any type of business transaction and the "persons" involved can be individuals, groups of individuals, companies or corporations.

Franchises and Other Types of Business Marketing:
A great many small businesses in the marketplace today are operated not as purely independent businesses, but as franchises, distributorships, or any of various types of licensing arrangements.  All of these businesses are created through written agreements containing express and implied warranties, and it is not uncommon for issues to arise resulting in litigation.

Licensing and Commercial Contracts:
Business services attorneys counsel clients in a wide range of commercial and intellectual property (IP) transactions. They provide assistance in structuring, drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial and IP agreements related to the development, acquisition and commercialization of technology, IP, goods or services. The types of agreements involved in these transactions include:

• Software license, maintenance and support, source code escrow, end user license, patent and other technology license agreements
• Development agreements
• Purchase and supply agreements
• Manufacturing agreements
• Distribution, reseller, value-added reseller (VAR) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreements
• Referral, marketing agreements
• Employment, consulting, technical services and outsourcing agreements
• Joint venture, strategic partner, technology transfer agreements
• E-commerce and Internet-related agreements (including web-based hosting agreements, application service provider (ASP) agreements, web site development, privacy policies and website terms of use)
• Non-disclosure agreements

Sales Commission Disputes:
In avoiding sales commission litigation there is no substitute for an artfully drafted agreement spelling out precisely how and at what rate sales representatives are to receive commissions. Common usage and custom are also taken into consideration by courts in determining the issues, even where there is a written agreement.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution:
Commercial disputes often become legal disputes, the resolution of which typically proceeds along an escalating scale of confrontation ranging from informal settlement negotiation to hardball litigation.  An effective business litigation attorney must have complete mastery of this complex and challenging field of law, but more than that, he or she must also have the patience and personal skills to operate on an informal level, and the aggressive forensic ability and tenacity to claim victory in the courtroom.

Contract Remedies:
Contracts are the very stuff upon which the marketplace is founded, and they provide the basis for a large share of business litigation.  The remedies for breach of contract include money damages and injunctive relief expressly directing one of the parties to perform a contractual obligation. This remedy involves a form of injunction called a “specific performance” decree.  The remedy of specific performance is often called an “extraordinary” equitable remedy, in that courts will not grant specific performance except in a sharply limited number of circumstances. Punitive damages are not an available remedy in a contract lawsuit.

Business Litigation:
Business litigation is the area of law that provides assistance in the preparation and presentation of a lawsuit or other resort to the courts to determine a legal question or matter in business situations.  Business can be any activity or enterprise entered into for profit, usually a company, a corporation, partnership or any such formal organization. Business lawyers advise and represent businesses and financial institutions in such areas as business torts, class actions, complex contracts, financial forensics, government investigations, international dispute resolution, professional relations, real estate disputes, securities and antitrust, technology and intellectual property, professional malpractice, shareholder and corporate governance and telecommunications.

Business lawyers place an emphasis on achieving or defending against pre-judgment remedies, including pre-judgment orders for writs of possession, attachments, temporary restraining orders, and injunctions, as well as arbitration or mediation settlements and monetary compensation resulting from lawsuits. Transactional business lawyers represent clients in matters relating to, but not limited to, organizational, operational and contractual documents for corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, commercial transactions, mergers, real estate acquisitions, leasing and development and commercial financing.

Business Formation:
There really isn’t any need for legal counsel in forming a sole proprietorship, but other forms of business organization are a good deal more complicated and are best accomplished with the assistance of a lawyer. These include the formation of partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations.

Business and Corporate Services:
Business and corporate services involves advising companies and investors in the purchase, sale and mergers of businesses.  The services provided include forming and funding start-up companies, buying and selling practices, assets, divisions and companies, engaging in private stock offerings and re-sales, structuring venture capital financing, forming off-shore sales and sourcing entities, structuring commercial and partnering transactions and syndicating real property acquisitions.

Real Estate Financing and Transactional Services:
Typically, as they expand, growing businesses become more and more involved in real estate transactions, ranging from office space to retail store properties to warehouses and shopping mall syndication.  A qualified business lawyer can provide valuable assistance in traditional real estate purchase, sale and leasing transactions, and in dealing with environmental and various other issues arising out of industrial and agricultural redevelopment projects.

If you or someone you know in Florida needs the assistance of an experienced Ft. Lauderdale/Weston Business Law Attorney, call Paul Silverberg today at 866-781-6103, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

If you or someone you know in Florida needs the assistance of an experienced Ft. Lauderdale/Weston Business Law Attorney, call Paul Silverberg today at 866-781-6103, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Silverberg & Weiss, PA
2665 Executive Park Drive, Suite 3
Weston, FL 33331
Telephone: 866-781-6103
Fax: 954-384-5390

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Paul K. Silverberg
Paul K. Silverberg established Silverberg & Associates in 2000 based on his legal training at one of the largest international law firms, judicial clerk internship for a federal judge, professional business consulting and vital roles as Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Director of Finance and General Counsel.

His education is highlighted by receiving his Juris Doctor (J.D.), cum laude, and his business education (B.S.B.A.) in Finance and International Economics. Paul Silverberg's business and legal experience has allowed him to perform professional services for Fortune 100 companies, multi-million dollar companies, strategic growth companies, start-ups and individuals. In 2001, Mr. Silverberg was honored by Who's Who Historic Society as International Who's Who of Professionals.

AREAS OF PRACTICE:

• Business Law (transactional)
• Commercial Litigation
• Contracts
• Acquisitions
• Bankruptcy
• Corporate Law
• Alcoholic Beverage Law (Liquor Law)
• Creditors' Rights
• Commercial Real Estate
• International Law
• Employment Law
• Business Planning
• Complex Litigation