Corporate Law

The Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) is a relatively new business vehicle that has become an increasingly popular option for small business owners. The LLC simplifies cumbersome corporate...

The LLC is an increasingly popular form of business organization that simplifies corporate formalities and offers significant tax benefits to its members. Since LLCs enjoy limited liability,...

The Limited Liability Company (LLC) is an alternative to the traditional corporation. It has the major benefit of "pass-through" tax treatment, meaning LLC income is not taxed separately from the...

A "come-along" clause, also known as a "drag-along" clause, is a common provision included in shareholder agreements, particularly in the agreements of growing companies seeking venture capital. ...

Incorporation is the process of creating a corporation. A corporation, under the law, is an independent entity with tax liabilities and responsibilities equal to those of its owners. There are two...

Financial regulation for publicly traded corporations in the United States is governed principally by rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the...

By-laws establish the manner in which a corporation shall be governed. Articles of incorporation are the original documents that are filed with a state's secretary of state's office that...

Corporations are required to keep a registered agent on file with the state they are incorporated in. A registered agent includes the name of the corporation and in some cases an individual's name...

A limited liability corporation, or LLC, is a type of business structure that provides a company with certain benefits, such as limiting the liability of individual members for the conduct and...

A shareholder of a corporation is entitled to receive accurate and current corporate financial information. The right to access to corporate financial information holds true whether you own one or...

Incorporation offers many benefits including protection of a company's officers and directors from personal liability, asset protection, tax benefits and increased ability to effectively value and...

Corporations, like individuals, have yearly tax due dates. They also sometimes run short of funds to pay those taxes on time. However, the Internal Revenue Service allows a corporation to file a...

Multiple objectives are associated with incorporating a business. One of the primary benefits of incorporation is protecting owners (shareholders) from liability arising from the operation of the...

Researching a company can require you to find information on where the business is incorporated. All corporations, limited liability companies and legal partnerships are required to register with...

Many forms of business organization are available to the budding entrepreneur, including sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs and corporations. Among these, the corporation is the most popular, in...

A multinational corporation is often thought to be a giant business entity with operations in dozens of countries. However, the minimum requirement for a corporation to be considered multinational...

Two popular business entities are Limited Liability Companies (LLC) and S Corporations. Both offer liability protections and pass-through features for income that business owners find attractive....

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee, 40 years or older, due to his age. An employer may not use the ages of...

Rules of corporate governance establish and allocate the responsibilities that shareholders and directors have in operating a business. In general, the right to manage the affairs of a corporation...

It can seem like a complex task to track down the ownership of a corporate entity. Fortunately, because so many records are placed online these days, finding a person responsible for a corporate...

An agreement among co-owners of a C-corporation goes by a variety of names, such as buy-sell agreement, buyout agreement or shareholders' agreement. However, when you design your own agreement, it...

An Employer Identification Number (EIN), also known as a Tax ID Number, is a unique number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to each business that is required to file a federal income tax...

In California, the Secretary of State is responsible for chartering corporations and maintaining business filings. The Nonprofit Corporation Law (Section 5000 to 10,008) of the California...

The chief operations officer holds a primary management position in a business enterprise, particularly a corporation. The typical chief operations officer works closely with the chief executive...

Most corporations are governed by a board of directors. A director on a board is responsible for fulfilling specific duties established by law, the articles of incorporation, and the bylaws of the...

The Uniform Commercial Code is a statutory scheme developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The enactment of versions of the Uniform Commercial Code in all U.S....

Australia's Parliament passed the Trade Practices Act of 1974 to regulate corporations and protect consumers from unscrupulous business practices: Part IV-A of the Trade Practices Act of 1974. In...

Corporate lawyers generally handle commercial-type transactions. Usually, these attorneys do not regularly appear in court but rather perform transactional-based functions which allow a...

In an effort to save time and money, always look up anything to do with laws and procedures on government sites. Don't be fooled by sites that say they will do the work for you or they will...

If you're looking to make a profit in the stock market, you should be aware of the laws that protect your investments. The individual states and the federal government have laws to protect against...

Many businesses incorporate in Texas because of its tax benefits and simple incorporation process. Texas also allows new corporations the ability to choose their tax structure. This flexibility...

No single event precipitated enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Rather, the comprehensive legislation was a response to several concurrent major corporate fraud, conflict of interest and...

Money laundering, using a layer of transactions to make money appear as if it came from a legitimate source, carries severe penalties for a "non-violent" crime. Because criminals often store...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed by the U.S. Congress in response to major corporate financial scandals such as those involving Enron and WorldCom. It applies to all public companies,...

If you are considering buying a company or making a major investment, you will need to examine the company's status in exhaustive detail to determine the quality of your investment. If the company...

The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, as it was known by the U.S. Senate, but is more commonly referred to as The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, is a federal law governing...

The Trade Practices Act of 1974, and the subsequent addition of Section 51AC, is one of Australia's more powerful pieces of business legislation. Section 51AC is a far-reaching piece of a larger...

Section 50 of Australia's Trade Practices Act of 1974 is the small business owner's source of protection and salvation in the face of the rapidly expanding corporate giants that have swept across...

Confidentiality agreements are contracts made with one or more parties agreeing that certain information will remain only between them. Most common forms of confidentiality agreements are between...

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, regulates brokerages and dealers in the securities industry. It assumed the responsibilities formerly held by the National Association of...

Securities offered for sale to the public must either be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or...

A limited liability company (LLC) is a type of business entity having characteristics of both a partnership and a corporation. Business owners seeking to limit their personal liability for...

The Pennsylvania Department of State offers online and local services for businesses wanting to incorporate a business name. While the incorporation process is straightforward, some variations...

Over the last few years the duties and responsibilities of the board of directors have been consistently brought to the forefront of public opinion. The various accounting scandals underscore how...

Companies offering securities for sale to the public must comply with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. Since the express provisions of the Securities Act provide for...

The Uniform Securities Act is a model statute designed to assist each state in the drafting of its securities laws. The goal of the Act is not only to provide guidance to each state so it can deal...

Nonprofit charities are on the rise in the United States. As Anne Frank said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." While the decision...

A close corporation is a form of enterprise where the owner/shareholders are actively involved in the business affairs and management of the company. In order to insure that control remains with...