Corporate and Business

Eckhart, Chodash & Strohmeier addresses the full spectrum of business legal issues facing entrepreneurs and middle-market firms, including corporate, financial, tax, real estate, contracts, and negotiations, in a plain and comprehensible way. We are often retained for a specific engagement, but we also act as outside general counsel to support your continuing or emerging legal needs.

Services offered include:

Incorporations
Limited liability companies
Shareholder agreements
Operating agreements
Tax advice and planning

Distribution agreements
Executive compensation
Annual meetings and corporate records
Contracts and agreements

Corporate and Business Client Story

Our client, a successful manufacturer of industrial components, had been owned by the same people for over 30 years. As they approached retirement, they wanted to bring in new ownership from the ranks, both family and non-family employees. We designed a flexible succession plan that enabled the employees to buy stock at affordable prices, but also guaranteed a substantial payout to the original owners at retirement, or to pay estate taxes if they died while still at the company. The new employee-shareholders were locked in with employment and noncompetition agreements. All of the shareholders signed buy/sell agreements to insure that the stock remained within the current ownership group. The net result was that the original owners can rest assured that the company which they built will buy them out at agreed prices and continue beyond them. And the new owners are excited and enthusiastic about the business opportunity they now have.