Corporate Business Attorney

A corporate business Attorney can guide you through the channels necessary to start your business and keep your business operating in compliance with the law. You have heard of or operate as of one of the following businesses: Sole proprietorship, proprietorship, partnership, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, Limited Liability Company, corporation.

Question is, do you know the difference of each and if you are operating as any of these entities, are you certain that it is the most appropriate structure for your business? Once you have determined your most appropriate business structure for your company, how do you ensure that you are compliant and if the need arises, how do you defend yourself against legal suits?

Nature of Work

To help you select the most appropriate business structure and help your business remain complaint with all applicable laws, you should obtain the services of a corporate business attorney. The corporate business attorney protects your business assets and gives advice on applicable laws. Furthermore, the corporate business attorney leads or supports any required legal defense of the business and is a resource during business transaction negotiations.

A Corporate Business Attorney prepares documents pertaining to business planning, such as contracts, litigation, employment law and even immigration law. Additionally, corporate attorneys advise businesses and corporations on issues related to taxes, discrimination, harassment, corporate governance, and other business related issues.

Specialties

Corporate Business Attorneys sometimes specialize in particular areas –if you are able to obtain an attorney who is knowledgeable in many areas, you are off to a great start! Areas in which you must be certain that your business attorney is knowledgeable are business organization, which was discussed earlier, contracts, and taxes.

Contract attorneys deal with agreements between parties and negotiate the agreed upon components by which each party must abide. These agreements may include the actual creation of a sound contract, renegotiation or termination of a contract, defense of a breached contract and suit for breach of contract. For example, your corporate business contracts attorney can help you create a contract to start your corporation or terminate your limited liability partnership.

Tax laws are confusing for many individuals and even more so for businesses. Tax attorneys make certain that the business is aware of all business tax concerns. Some of these concerns may include the applicable tax year, state, federal, income, payroll, property, estate and even gift taxes. Your corporate business tax attorney will ensure that you are in compliance with all tax regulations—both at the state and federal levels. And, if the need arises, your tax attorney will defend and support your business in cases brought by the IRS.

Some other key corporate business attorney specialty areas include Real Estate, licenses, and intellectual property. Real Estate attorneys address issues concerning property including, zoning, closings, tenants, foreclosures, title searches and encumbrances and intellectual property attorneys address trademark, copyright and patent laws.

Fees

Attorney fees are either fixed, flat, hourly or contingent. Fees are charged based on the corporate business attorney’s location, areas of specialty, experience and the amount of time the attorney spends on your case. Often, the more specialized the attorney’s services are, the more expensive the rates will be. In house counsel salaries will depend on several factors including the size of the company and the attorney’s experience. Attorneys who charge an hourly rate may charge as low as $35.00 per hour or as much as $1,000.00 per hour.

According to the Unites States Department of Labor, as of May 2008 the average hourly wage paid to corporate business attorneys was $72.99 and the average annual salary was $151,820. Attorneys received highest paying salaries in District of Columbia, Delaware, New York, California and Illinois. Attorneys commanded the highest hourly wages in San Jose, CA, Sunnyvale, CA, Santa Clara, CA, Santa Rosa, CA, San Francisco, CA, San Mateo, CA, Redwood, CA, Rockford, IL, White Plains, NY, and Wayne, NY.

Clearly hiring an attorney is expensive and you must research thoroughly before you select the ideal attorney for your business. Even more costly however, is operating your business without legal representation. Litigation settlements can range in the millions and even higher. Somehow, a corporate business attorney salary of $150,000 seems really minute when compared to a million-dollar settlement!