COMMERCIAL LAW
Areas of practice:
INCORPORATIONS
Should you incorporate your business? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Should you incorporate provincially or federally? Andrew Hertzog has many years of experience and can guide you through the process and help you make the right decisions. When starting a business it is essential that you get off to a good start and have a solid foundation. Small mistakes made at this stage can cause very large and costly problems down the road. Let Andrew Hertzog help you establish a solid structure which will serve you well during the entire life of your business.
UPKEEP OF MINUTE BOOKS / GOVERNMENT DECLARATIONS
Are you keeping your Minute Book up to date? Do you have the necessary directors and shareholders resolutions each year? Have you prepared special resolutions to legitimize any changes in the company? If you don’t keep your Minute Book up to date, you could encounter serious problems down the road, especially if you want to borrow money, bring on additional investors or sell the company. Are you making the mandatory provincial and/or federal statutory declarations on time? If you are late, there will be late fees. Did you know that failure to file your annual declarations could result in the government dissolving your company? Once this happens, it is difficult and expensive to re-establish the company. For a small annual flat fee, Andrew Hertzog will prepare your company’s annual resolutions and government declarations. Trust your Minute Book to Andrew Hertzog and enjoy peace of mind!
UNANIMOUS SHAREHOLDERS AND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS
Does your business have a Unanimous Shareholders Agreement (if incorporated) or Partnership Agreement? This is an essential document for any business with more than one (1) owner. When you start a business, all the owners are typically very positive and on the same page. But, this often changes over time. What if you start having different priorities or different visions for the company? What if your financial circumstances change? How will decisions be made? What will happen if one of the owner wants to sell his stake in the business to a third party? What if an owner passes away or is ill or injured and becomes unable to continue to participate in the business? Do you want to get stuck running your business with a complete stranger? Do you want to risk-losing the business altogether? A well-drafted Unanimous Shareholders Agreement or Partnership Agreement can foresee and help resolve all these potential issues and many more, which may arise in the course of your business. Let Andrew Hertzog provide you with this protection.
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
Andrew Hertzog has extensive experience in drafting and reviewing all manner of commercial contracts and agreements, including:
- Commercial leases
- Distribution agreements
- Employment contracts
- Independent contractor agreements
- Consulting contracts
- Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements
- Purchase and sale of business and business assets
- Franchise agreements
It is imperative that all contracts your business enters into are drafted and/or revised by a legal professional. Put Andrew Hertzog to work for you and use his experience to get the best possible deal and to avoid serious pitfalls.
8BUSINESS FORMS AND DOCUMENTS
Do you have the proper terms and conditions on your business forms and documents to protect your interests and to shield you from liability? Many businesses do not properly protect themselves to the extent permitted by law. Having the proper terms and conditions on your business forms can keep you out of trouble and even avoid costly lawsuits.
Have you protected your business on your:
- Purchase orders?
- Quotes?
- Invoices?
- Other business forms and documents?
If not, let Andrew Hertzog provide you with all the protections permitted by law and help you avoid the expenses and inconvenience of litigation.
SALE AND PURCHASE OF BUSINESS, BUSINESS ASSETS
Thinking of buying a business? Want to avoid being taken for a ride? Thinking of selling your business? Want to protect against something from your past coming back to haunt you? Want to make sure your deal gets done and doesn’t get bugged down in legal formalities and red tape? Andrew Hertzog has lots of experience in these transactions, representing both buyers and sellers. He understands that you just want to get your deal done as simply and efficiently as possible, without worrying about legal mumbo-jumbo. Let him guide you through the process, protect your interests and take care of the legal formalities, so that you can concentrate on getting your deal done.
COLLECTION OF OVERDUE ACCOUNTS
Do any of your customers owe you money? Have they ignored your requests for payment or reneged on promises to make good? Sometimes all it takes is a well-drafted lawyer’s letter to make a debtor understand that he needs to pay up now. Andrew Hertzog has great experience and expertise in composing such letters which will get your debtor’s attention and make him realize the gravity of his situation. Of course, sometimes it proves necessary to take a customer to court to collect overdue account. Andrew Hertzog has been successful prosecuting such claims for more than 38 years. Let Andrew Hertzog take care of collecting from your stubborn creditors to save you the aggravation and let you concentrate on running your business.
THE “LEGAL CHECK-UP”
This is a unique service offered only by Hertzog & Associates.
Over the years we have seen that many small business are not properly set up and protected, which can lead to serious problems down the road, resulting in huge lawyer’s bills. Most lawyers are reactive – they try to help resolve their client’s issues after they arise. We prefer to be proactive, and try to keep our client out of trouble. The Legal Check-Up is a great tool to help our clients avoid legal entanglements. For a flat fee of $1,000 which represents only a portion of the time we will spend on the file, we will examine a small business form top to bottom, using a proprietary checklist we have developed, to determine where a business is properly organized and protected, and where there are gaps which leave them open to liability and problems. After performing the Legal Check-Up, we provide a detailed report to the client, showing where they are properly protected and where there are areas of concern, and of course we offer them solutions to any potential problems. You can’t protect yourself from every potential issue, but you should make sure that you do have as much protection as the law permits.
OTHER SERVICES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Faced with an issue you don’t know how to resolve? Do you want to understand your right and obligations in a particular situation? Do you want to do something with your business, but you don’t know how to get it done? Let Andrew Hertzog put his more than 38 years of experience as a lawyer to work for you!