Often, clients or businesses have important legal documents that have not been reviewed in a while. Then, sometimes, the need to understand those documents comes up, and the business cannot answer basic questions about the document. A business lawyer can help a business understand how the document may apply in a given situation.
What are examples of common lease documents that a business may want a lawyer to review?
A lawyer may review many types of documents, but some common documents that Nick Heimlich has been asked to review are:
- Lease Agreements for commercial tenants
- Franchise Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
- Management Agreements
- Purchase Contracts
- Invoice Terms
- User Agreements
- Corporate Bylaws
- Operating Agreements for a limited liability company
- Shareholder Meeting Agendas, Votes or Resolutions
- Business Sale Agreements.
What types of situations might trigger the need to review an agreement with a lawyer?
There are many reasons that could trigger a legal review, such as a change in business, a need to downsize or exit contracts or negotiate better terms. A desire to expand business could also lead to a contract review. Sometimes, problems with a vendor or customer may lead to a review to improve a contract’s terms.
What if I already signed an agreement, can a lawyer still help me?
Most likely, at the very least, the lawyer can explain how the contract works and its terms so it is understood. Depending on the contract, the attorney may also advise on how to negotiate changes to the contract or the potential consequences if a party breaches a contract. This is especially important for starting businesses to avoid and limit personal liability.
What if I signed a commercial real estate lease agreement for 5 years and I’m in year 2, but I am losing money, can I get out of the lease?
The answer depends on the lease, but often you can break the lease, but there will be financial consequences. If you are in this situation and want to navigate this, an attorney is key as they can advise you on steps to try to exit the lease as cleanly as possible. Sometimes, if a landlord is told about the situation, they may simply let the tenant out without penalty and before the end of the lease term. Other times, you can negotiate with the landlord to try to pay less than the full term of rent. Finally, even if all negotiations seem to fail and you must give up the premises, a lawyer can help deal with the negotiation of the lease contract breach. Generally, landlords have a duty to try to find a new tenant (called a duty to mitigate), so they can’t just sit back and try to collect rent forever from an old tenant or demand it in a lawsuit. However, if the tenant does not leave the space and provide it to the landlord, then the landlord may claim they couldn’t rent it out due to the tenant’s occupancy.
Why should I hire Nick Heimlich as my attorney for a dispute involving a contract?
Mr. Heimlich has been an attorney since 2004, nearly 20 years, so experience is definitely one reason. Next, there is also the fact that Mr. Heimlich has litigated many types of contracts and disputes, so he is not afraid of a case becoming a lawsuit. Mr. Heimlich regularly represents clients either suing for a breach of contract or defending a breach of contract. Finally, Mr. Heimlich is responsive and works toward helping his clients to resolve their legal disputes in a reasonable way. Mr. Heimlich knows that there is both a time to fight in court, and sometimes a time to try to work things out. Sometimes, negotiations even happen after a lawsuit is filed or even right before trial.
