Our lawyers and business consultants often work with start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs to create contracts from scratch based on the particular needs of the business.  Our law firm may also tailor existing contracts for more general use, or review and improve current business agreements and legal contracts.  We are happy to provide a free initial review to see whether your industry or business is one in which we may provide contract drafting and development services.  The following examples are some of the more popular industry areas in which our law firm provides services to:

Internet and E-Commerce Contract Drafting and Development

In the area of internet, e-commerce, and technology, the scope of our legal services consists of reviewing, interpreting, and drafting a broad range of agreements, including browse wrap and click wrap agreements, website development agreements, terms of use and privacy policy agreements, as well as cease and desist orders. We excel at translating information into business value, particularly when it involves the strategic use of technology.

Commercial Lease Contract Drafting And Development

A commercial lease agreement is essentially a twofold agreement.  It is a legal contract governing the relationship between the landlord and tenant and it is a grant of an interest in real property.  The landlord, having an ownership or leasehold interest in the real property, grants to the tenant or subtenant, as the case may be, the exclusive use of all or a portion of the real property for a certain period.  Besides the grant, the lease contains provisions dealing with the rent, term, and other matters for which each is responsible. 

In office and retail leases, both from a landlord and tenant perspective, a standard form lease agreement does not necessarily say everything it needs to say.  Leasing or renting commercial space is a significant responsibility.  The success or failure of a business may very well ride or certain provisions in the lease agreement.  Thus, the landlord or the tenant, would be prudent to carefully draft or investigate the lease contract provisions to ensure these provision meet the needs and preferences of the business.

Employment Contract Drafting and Development

As a business law firm, we are frequently called on to assist our business clients in the negotiation and drafting of employment agreements.  Like any other legal agreement entered into at the commencement of a collaboration between two or more parties, be it a corporation, limited liability company, a partnership, or a joint venture, employment agreements can play a vital role in determining the success or the failure of the relationship.

With profits declining and competition on the rise, businesses are not only struggling to find creative solutions to increase productivity, contain costs and protect their market shares, but to define and clarify each party's expectations and obligations both during the employment relationship and, just as importantly, after the relationship comes to an end. Many have turned to employment agreements as a vehicle to attract and retain key personnel and to prevent the disclosure or unauthorized use of trade secrets and other confidential information.

The decision whether a business should negotiate and develop an employment agreement may likely depend on the type of business and employee involved.  Generally, employment agreements are more common for employees with significant authority to transact business on behalf of the business, and less common for those employees whom don't have such authority.  Other considerations that may factor in on the decision of whether a business should implement a written employment is the complexity of  the employee's compensation arrangement, the uniqueness of the employee's skill and services being provided to the business, and the degree to which the employee may pose a competitive threat to the business after the relationship comes to an end.

Independent Contractor Drafting and Development

Many businesses, especially in the start-up phase, perceive that hiring independent contractor instead of employees can have many economic advantages, such as saving on unemployment and workers' compensation premiums and other payroll taxes, as well as benefits available only to employees such as overtime, health coverage, and insurance.  However, misclassifying individuals working for the business as independent contracts can have detrimental consequences for the business. 

Simply stated, an independent contractor is a person or business entity hired to provide a specific service or product, but not hired to work as an employee.  This person or entity normally would contract with a business to perform a piece of work or provide a specific good according to his or her own methods and is subject to the contracting businesses control only as to the final result of his or her work or end product.

The distinction between employees and independent contractors has significance for the contracting businesses liability exposure arising from the actions of the individual or business entity employed, as well as liability for a range of employment benefits and expenses.  Thus, it is of significant importance to a contracting business to make clear whether an individual is an independent contract or an employee so as to not misclassify the business relationship.

When a small business or start-up determines that it is in its benefit to use an independent contractor, our law firm may help analyze the relationship and work to implement a proper business relationship structure that will closely match the regulatory agencies' criteria for independent contractors.

Confidentiality Contract Drafting and Development

A confidentiality agreement (sometimes referred to as an NDA or non-disclosure agreement) can be crucial legal instrument for start-ups during its development stages or for a small business negotiating its launch of a new product or service.  In short, a confidentiality agreement is a binding legal contract which outlines certain confidential material, knowledge, or information that individuals or business entities wish to share exclusively.  As such, the the confidentiality agreement protects sensitive, non-public business information.

Confidentiality agreements are common signed when two or more individuals or businesses are negotiating doing business and need to understand the processes or other information used in each others business for the purpose of evaluating the potential for a short-term or long-term business relationship. 

As a business law firm, we are often called on by businesses and entrepreneurs to properly draft confidentiality agreements or NDA's so sensitive, valuable business information is not, intentionally or unintentionally, revealed to another individual or business without consent.