Where A Corporate Lawyer Fits Into A Company's Plans
The operations of a company can present a number of legal challenges, especially if it is publicly held or in the process of tracking investors. A corporate lawyer can help you navigate some of the potential pitfalls of running a business, so let's take a look at what that exactly entails.
SEC Reporting Requirements
Most businesses that trade publicly or that seek outside investments have to report a certain amount of information to the government under SEC regulations. The frequency and the size of these reports increase significantly as a firm's capitalization and valuation both grow. In order to stay on a straight and narrow path, it's a good idea to have a securities attorney around to advise you.
Organizational Issues
How a company is structured can become a source of legal trouble in its own right. A corporate lawyer can help you identify the specific structure that meets your operation's needs. If you have questions about the differences between being incorporated as PLC versus a private firm, a corporate lawyer will help you make sense of the distinctions and their legal implications.
When a business undergoes major organizational changes, a securities attorney can become especially valuable. Such scenarios include IPOs, mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs. There are often major financial issues during these transitions, as the SEC frowns upon bad accounting practices when money is being moved from one entity to another.
Not Accidentally Committing Fraud
The representations that companies produce matter. You might not think much of a tiny press release, for example, but investors scour all the output of enterprises to decide which ones to invest in.
There are also limits on when officers of a company can trade in relationship to announcements. If the CEO wants to sell some shares, it's a good idea to run it past a corporate lawyer to ensure the sale doesn't accidentally correspond with the date of a particular announcement. It's not unusual for the timing of announcements and stock sales to trigger civil or even criminal investigations.
Representing Other Parties
While we tend to assume that the term corporate lawyer implies that an attorney represents a company, other interested parties often seek similar counsel. Let's say several shareholders are thinking about how to bring about changes in how the firm is run. They also need to navigate the process and to avoid the same pitfalls, like fraud, that the company tries to avoid.
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