Corporate Counseling
Graubard Miller counsels numerous public and private companies. Our approach is to work with principals of our business clients to achieve practical resolutions of business disputes, to focus on essential business issues and to promote effective personal relationships among principals. In our capacity as counsel to public companies, we advise on matters such as reporting requirements, compliance with the applicable SEC rules and regulations (including Sarbanes-Oxley) and relevant listing requirements. We also serve as general counsel to a large number of private companies. In this role, we help private companies through their start-up and development phases and provide advice in all areas of their operations as they grow and mature. Of course, we also handle all general contract work for the companies we represent, including the preparation and negotiation of employment agreements, stock option agreements and other compensatory arrangements, license agreements, intellectual property, secured financing and general business agreements.
We also have substantial experience in assisting our clients in connection with listing their securities on national securities exchanges, such as NASDAQ and the NYSE MKT, as well as the OTC Bulletin Board, including the OTCQX marketplace, the premier tier of the OTC Market which was designed to allow more than 360 world class companies now on its exchange to better engage U.S. investors via an innovative trading, quotation and disclosure venue. As a Designated Advisor for Disclosure (DAD) on the OTCQX marketplace, we have been selected by the OTCQX to serve as a securities professional knowledgeable in both the disclosure requirements of U.S. securities laws and the most effective investor communications practices.
We assist clients in all phases of enterprise start-up – from filing appropriate formation documents with federal and state agencies to designing and drafting corporate governance documents such as partnership agreements, corporate by-laws, shareholder agreements, and voting agreements. We also work with clients to negotiate and consummate financings for their start-up and development-stage enterprises. Graubard Miller counsels clients in selecting appropriate forms of business organization, including general and limited partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies.
Within a diversified corporate finance practice, our lawyers help clients form investment funds, as well as negotiate and consummate public and private offerings, venture capital transactions and structured financings.
Our attorneys also have substantial experience representing companies and individuals in matters relating to employment, such as the negotiation and preparation of employment and stock option agreements, counseling regarding employee termination and severance and compliance with the myriad of federal, state and local laws addressing non-discrimination in areas that include age, race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin and disability and structuring employment-related agreements to provide favorable tax treatment.
Our practice also addresses a broad range of intellectual property matters including trade secret, non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreements to protect intellectual property, and licensing, franchising and joint venture agreements pertaining to the development, ownership and use of intellectual property. Although we do not directly handle product and process patents, we are sensitive to issues related to such patents and work closely with specialists at patent law firms to assure client needs are met regarding such issues.