Business
Commercial judgment. Transactional counsel. A clear understanding of your business.
In this practice
LaFontisee Law advises business owners, entrepreneurs and closely held companies on the legal arrangements that govern their enterprises. The practice encompasses formation and governance, commercial agreements, transactions and business disputes, with counsel directed to the client’s objectives, operating requirements and tolerance for risk.
Business matters often require decisions before every uncertainty can be resolved. An ownership agreement must accommodate competing interests. A contract must assign responsibility for events neither party fully controls. A transaction must address what the buyer expects to acquire and what the seller is prepared to stand behind. The firm helps clients evaluate these questions and translate the agreed commercial terms into workable legal obligations.
The practice draws on Louis LaFontisee’s transactional experience and enterprise technology background. That combination is particularly relevant where a company’s value or operations depend on software, information, service providers or continuing contractual relationships. Counsel considers the agreement in the context of the business that must perform it.
Formation & Governance
The firm advises on entity formation and the agreements governing ownership, management and decision-making. The work includes defining authority, documenting the respective rights and obligations of owners, and addressing how the enterprise will respond to changes in participation or direction. Governance documents are developed around the proposed business and the relationships among its principals.
Attention is given to matters that may be straightforward at formation but become consequential over time: capital contributions, reserved decisions, access to information, transfers of interests, departures and deadlock. For an existing business, counsel considers whether its documents continue to reflect how decisions are made and whether changes in ownership or operations call for revised arrangements.
Contracts
LaFontisee Law drafts, reviews and negotiates commercial agreements with attention to the obligations that determine the value and risk of the relationship. Scope, performance standards, payment, confidentiality, ownership of work product, indemnification and limits on liability are considered together. A provision that is acceptable in isolation may have a different effect when read alongside the remaining terms.
The firm also addresses how agreements operate after signing. Acceptance procedures, change requests, renewal provisions, termination rights and transition obligations can materially affect a client’s ability to obtain the anticipated benefit or respond to a change in circumstances. The objective is documentation that expresses the negotiated bargain accurately and provides a clear basis for administering the relationship.
Transactions
Transactional counsel involves the assessment of information, negotiation of terms and preparation of documents supporting the proposed arrangement. The firm helps clients identify issues in due diligence, evaluate contractual commitments and determine how outstanding matters should be addressed through conditions, representations, covenants or other negotiated provisions.
Where technology or data is material to a transaction, the review considers the rights and dependencies underlying the business. Agreements with providers, restrictions on use or transfer, continuing service obligations and responsibility for information may affect what can be delivered at closing and what support will be needed afterward. Legal analysis is connected to these operational considerations throughout the engagement.
Commercial Matters
The firm counsels clients when performance falls short, business relationships change or the meaning of an agreement becomes disputed. The work begins with the relevant documents, the parties’ conduct and the client’s commercial objective. Counsel assesses the obligations at issue, the information needed to evaluate the disagreement and the practical implications of the available responses.
A continuing customer, supplier or ownership relationship may influence the preferred course as much as the immediate claim. The firm assists with communications, negotiations and revised arrangements where appropriate, considering the cost, timing and business consequences of each approach. Advice is directed to the particular dispute and the result the client is seeking.