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Your Resource for Clear and Concise Answers on Our Services and Legal Support

Frequently Asked Question

We provide clear and concise answers to the questions most commonly asked about our services and legal support. Explore this resource to gain a better understanding of how we can assist your business and find quick solutions to your inquiries. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, feel free to reach out to our team for personalized assistance.

Can I get assistance with a contract review?

Yes. Pricing for this would depend on the type of contract, and the amount of pages. You can book an initial review by a lawyer and consultation.

What kind of contracts does your team review?

We draft and review shareholder agreements, service agreements, terms of use, privacy policy, NDAs, partnership agreements, operating agreements, bylaws, settlement agreements, financing agreements, subscription agreements, employment agreements, and more.

Can I get assistance with drafting a partnership agreement?

Yes. This is generally an operating agreement or shareholder agreement. Partnership agreements are for general partnerships, which we do not generally recommend since there is no limited liability.

How long will it take to review a partnership or operating agreement?

Depends on how many partners are in the agreement and the complexity of it.

You can book an initial review and consultation

How much will it cost to review a partnership agreement?

This will be an hourly matter, cost will be depending on how many partners are in the agreement and the complexity of it. Our review fee starts at $695 and can increase based on the complexity. It is best to share the agreement with us so we can provide a quote

Can your firm help me form a business?

Yes, we can. We assist with forming all types of entities. We suggest a paid consultation to help you figure out the entity that best fits your needs and help you structure it correctly based on your needs and goals.

Can the attorney help me decide what entity is best for my business type?

The attorney would advise you to contact an accountant to discuss what would be the best option for you.

What kind of entity would be best for my business?

There are a variety of factors to weigh. When creating an entity with us, you can book a 30 minute paid consultation with an attorney to help you determine the right entity choice for you. Here is a helpful guide.

How long will it take to form a business?

It varies by state. For California:

LLCs: 1-2 weeks for single members; 2-3 weeks for multi-member

Corporations: 2-4 weeks for single shareholder; 4-6 weeks for multi-shareholder.

Depends on how fast the state processes the applications and whether you pay for expedited processing.

You can expedite processing with an additional fee for a 24 hour turn around.

What is the process to add/remove a partner from my business?

We would need to review the company agreements (operating agreement/shareholder agreement) and then determine what the process would be based on the company documents. 

Please request a copy of the company formation documents so we can evaluate what would be required. 

What are the steps to form a startup?

You want to figure out the type of business entity, then file the formation articles, then draft the governance documents, draft the stock purchase agreements, draft the founder agreements, and issue the shares.

We can also help with fundraising, hiring employees, issuing equity to advisors, and drafting terms of use and privacy policies for your website.

Can your team assist with drafting an equity agreement?

Yes. We have experience with SAFE agreements, convertible notes, and selling shares.

Yes. We have experience with SAFE agreements, convertible notes, and selling shares.

Yes, but we would need to find out more about the type of Visa and what they are looking to do.

I’m starting a new business, what is the most tax efficient choice of entity for me?

The principal business forms are C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies (LLC), and Sole Proprietorships. While C Corporations have two levels of tax, there are a number of benefits they provide such as ease of share transferability, limited liability and etc. On the other hand, S Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs and Sole Proprietorships are tax transparent entities with only a single level of tax. Often times, this decision is driven with considerations beyond tax. Check out our entity of choice guide on carbonlg.com for a deeper insight into tax advantages and disadvantages of each. 

Can I operate my business from home?

Absolutely. It is a common misconception that you need a separate space to run your business. However, you will still need to obtain a business license and possibly a seller’s permit if you are selling tangible goods.

Should I write my own business plan?

Yes. A business is like your child–you are the one that made it and will be caring for it for the next 18 years 🙂 Initially, do not depend on someone else to determine how it will function and what its purpose will be. A useful resource is strategyzer.com. 

Yes, if you want to protect your brand.

Can I get assistance with registering a trademark/copyright?

Yes, we’d love to!

A wordmark protects the the words of trademark in plain text while a design mark protects a logo and the stylized version of a word mark. A word mark generally protects the name in any shape size or form. If you want to protect the look and and design of the brand, then a design mark may be better. You can also for both.

What is the difference between an intent to use and in use trademark application?

Intent-To-Use trademark application (ITU application) allows an applicant to file an application to register a mark before use in commerce. Use in commerce refers to the usage of your trademark in connection with selling or offering the relevant goods or services.

I received an office action, what can I do?

Most replies to Office actions must be received within 3 months from the mailing date on the Office action (rules change so please verify before relying on this timeline). We have had considerable success with all types of office actions. We can provide advice or handle responses for our clients. We have a team of experienced professionals ready to assist.

How much will it cost to respond to an office action?

This would depend on the complexity of the office action. Responses start at $150 and can cost up to $5,000 for very complex responses where we will spend considerable time preparing a detailed brief to argue for your registration as well as speak with the examining attorney to convince them to register the mark.

Does your firm handle patents?

No, but we work with many great attorneys that do. Let us know what you are looking to patent and we can connect you with the right attorney to assist you.

Does your firm handle partner disputes?

Yes, up until litigation. If a matter is in litigation, we work with a team of great co-counsel to help clients litigate a dispute.

Does your team help with sending demand letters?
Yes we do. We can help you determine the right course of action with sending a demand and obtaining your ideal outcome.
Can your firm handle employee disputes?

Yes, in certain cases we can handle employee disputes.

Does your firm handle real estate law?

We focus mainly on commercial leases. We don’t handle other areas of real estate law.

Does your firm handle residential landlord and tenant law?

No. We suggest looking for someone on avvo.com or the State Bar website.

 

Can your team assist with employment agreements?

Yes. We provide employment templates as well as customized executive employment agreements.

What types of law does your firm focus on?

Business formations/dissolutions, governance, corporate, contracts, copyright, trademark and employment law.

We also provide general counsel services to select clients that are scaling quickly and need a team to help take some of the contracting and compliance matters off of their plate.

What is the cost to set up a retainer with your firm?

Our retainer fee starts at $3,000.

That is the deposit required to engage our firm as your counsel. We bill on either an hourly or project basis depending on the services needed. We can apply your retainer to both the hourly invoices and the project invoices. 

All retainers are kept in a trust account. Any unused funds are returned once our services are terminated.

Can I come in for a consultation?

No, we only offer over the phone or zoom initial consults.

 

 

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