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Frequently Asked Questions of George E. Antrim, III, PLLC
 The following information includes frequently asked business
litigation questions. The answers stated are general in nature and
are not intended to apply to every business litigation situation.
Each case is different and carries its own set of circumstances
that must be taken into consideration by competent legal counsel.
By contacting Minneapolis business lawyer
George E. Antrim, III, you can receive a personal consultation
regarding your specific legal claim.
What is Business
Litigation?
Business litigation involves business people representing a
variety of industries on local, state and federal levels in matters
pertaining to such diverse areas as:
- Business Torts: including commercial defamation; trade dress,
patent or trademark infringement (including Lanham Act suits);
interference with contractual or economic relations; breach of
fiduciary duty; fraud and misrepresentation; unfair and deceptive
trade practices and other conduct or claims that affect the success
of a business.
- Class Actions: including securities fraud, commercial and tax
issues, and minority shareholder rights.
- Contracts: such as a service contract with a primary vendor, an
output contract with a key supplier, a sales contract with an
important customer, or any other kind of written or oral
agreement.
- Professional Malpractice: accountants, architects, engineers,
doctors and lawyers all face the risk of malpractice claims that
can jeopardize business, reputation and finances.
- Securities and Antitrust: claims involving securities and
investments, claims arising under federal law--for example, Rule
10b-5, the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act--or state securities laws.
- Shareholder and Corporate Governance: shareholder inspection
rights, duties of directors and officers, conflicts of interest,
derivative actions, business judgment rule defenses, change of
control provisions, dissent and appraisal proceedings, involuntary
and judicial dissolution, minority shareholder rights and claims
and valuation of closely held corporations.
- Telecommunications: technical and industry-specific issues,
including issues arising out of the Telecommunications Act of
1996.
What do Business Law Lawyers
do?
Business law encompasses rules, statutes, codes and regulations
that are established which govern commercial relationships and
provide a legal framework within which business law attorneys may
help you conduct and manage your business.
Business law attorneys help you with every aspect of highly
diverse business law including areas like: banking and finance law,
business formation and organization, business negotiations,
business planning, transactional business law, acquisition, merger,
divestiture and sale of businesses, and business litigation, as
well as environmental, intellectual property, labor and civil law
areas. For more information, please
contact Minneapolis business lawyer George E. Antrim, III.
What are the motives behind
mergers and acquisitions?
- Economies of scale: This refers to the fact that the combined
company can often reduce duplicate departments or operations,
lowering the costs of the company relative to theoretically the
same revenue stream, thus increasing profit.
- Increased Revenue/Increased Market Share: This motive assumes
that the company will be absorbing a major competitor and
increasing its power (by capturing increased market share) to set
prices.
- Cross Selling: For example, a bank buying a stock broker could
then sell its banking products to the stock broker's customers,
while the broker can sign up the bank's customers for brokerage
accounts. Or, a manufacturer can acquire and sell complementary
products.
- Synergy: Better use of complementary resources.
- Taxes: A profitable company can buy a loss maker to use the
target's tax write-offs.
- Geographical or other diversification: This is designed to
smooth the earnings results of a company, which over the long term
smoothes the stock price of a company, giving conservative
investors more confidence in investing in the company. However,
this does not always deliver value to shareholders.
For more information, please
contact Minneapolis mergers and acquisitions Attorney George E.
Antrim, III.
What are some of the most common
types of business organizations?
The most common types of business organizations include:
- Sole Proprietorship - you are the only owner of the
business.
- Partnership - which can take the form of a regular partnership,
a general partnership, limited partnership or limited liability
partnership.
- Corporation - the default form of a corporation is a C
Corporation (also known as Subchapter C Corporation). Smaller
corporations typically file for the S Corporation (Subchapter S)
tax election so they are not double taxed.
- Limited Liability Company (LLC) - a hybrid formation that
provides personal liability protection similar to a corporation,
with the flexibility and tax advantages of a single proprietorship
or partnership.
Should I hire a business law
attorney?
It's obvious that you should hire a business attorney if you're
being investigated for securities fraud by the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) or a customer is severely injured by one
of your products or on your premises. But, there are a lot of not
so obvious reasons to retain a business law attorney.
For example, are you planning on forming a corporation or
partnership? A business law attorney can avert a lot of legal
issues that can arise with forming these types of businesses and he
or she can advise you on the best business formation for your
needs. A business law attorney can also help research any possible
intellectual property issues and issues relating to hiring
employees, tax issues and other legal matters that can arise with
forming and running a business.
If you or someone you know in Minneapolis, or within the
surrounding cities and counties of Minnesota needs the assistance
or legal counsel of an experienced business litigation lawyer,
contact the Law Offices of George E. Antrim, III, PLLC, today at
1-866-435-0754, or complete the contact form
provided on this site to begin your
free consultation with a Minneapolis business litigation
attorney.
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