Working with tristate ongoing counsel is ideal for businesses seeking to expand or relocate. Having dedicated counsel who is always looking out for your interests is beneficial—your attorneys are keenly aware of your particular needs, and this will mean fewer missed opportunities.

When you develop a relationship with Jenkins Fenstermaker’s business and commercial attorneys, you can leap over competitors in your plans to expand or relocate because we already know your business and its goals. 

Businesses define relationships with clients, vendors, and other businesses in contracts, but contracts can also be the basis of disputes. To make sure that contracts work as tools to help your business run smoothly and efficiently, you need reliable contract drafting and review from counsel who understand your business.

The business and commercial attorneys at Jenkins Fenstermaker will make sure you understand your business’s agreements to protect your business to the fullest. As tristate ongoing counsel, we are familiar with the nuances of your business because of the continuous relationship and communication. As your outside counsel, we also know what terms you routinely want to see in your contracts and how you regularly conduct business. 

Most organizations require employees to function, and defining the terms of the employment relationship requires a deft hand with a deep understanding of labor and employment laws. Employment and non-competition agreements help businesses define relationships with quality workers while also protecting precious company assets: confidential or proprietary information and quality employees.

Few companies have internal legal departments to handle such matters, and even those that do can benefit from outside counsel to assist with specialty or surplus legal matters. Working with outside counsel from Jenkins Fenstermaker gives your company the benefit of legal guidance from highly respected business and commercial attorneys and labor and employment lawyers all under one umbrella.

Businesses are all subject to regulation from one or more government units. The very act of establishing and registering an organization with the appropriate authorities is just the first step. Annual filings as well as industry or other business-related filings may also be required. Failure to identify and meet all of the relevant regulatory requirements can jeopardize not just profitability but the business’s very existence.

As tristate ongoing counsel, we know your business and the applicable regulatory and licensing requirements such as professional licensing requirements or HIPAA. We help clients identify and prepare the necessary filings and stay ahead of the deadlines.

When needed, we will engage the right tax professionals to confirm your business accurately identifies and satisfies its tax-related obligations. Join the ranks of smart businesses that delegate this responsibility to knowledgeable outside counsel, relieving the business of the burden of tracking the various regulatory requirements.

Forward-thinking business leaders engage experienced counsel to help develop and document a solid succession plan—one that can adapt as the situation warrants. Business succession planning can facilitate a smooth transition and carry the business into the future when leadership changes. With a well-thought-out succession plan, everyone knows what to expect. 

The sale of a business can also result in a change in leadership. When the change at the top involves a change in ownership, we can negotiate and draft a buy-sell agreement as part of a succession plan or as an independent plan for the business’s future. 

Working with ongoing counsel before there are issues regarding the business’s future saves time and money for your business.

In any situation in which stakeholders have opposing interests, there is a need for counsel who already know your business and who can react quickly on your behalf. Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC knows the tristate area, too, and is in an ideal position to protect your rights in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Tristate ongoing counsel can help your business on the front end by ensuring that contractual obligations, default terms, and other elements are clearly spelled out. In the event of a later dispute, we are ready to respond even more quickly when we have an existing client relationship. 

Business and commercial disputes occur in various contexts but commonly arise in the following areas:

• Shareholder/partner disagreements with each other or with the corporate officers or directors
• Construction matters, including contractor performance
• Corporate malfeasance
• Landlord/Tenant relationships
• Eminent domain matters
• Boundary disputes
• Bankruptcy

Regardless of the basis of the dispute, our commercial litigation group puts its broad understanding of the issues and obligations to work protecting the client and its business.

The federal Bankruptcy code details the specific requirements and implications of a Chapter 7, Chapter 11, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but the amount and complexity of bankruptcy laws can be overwhelming. If your business experiences financial strife, consult with ongoing counsel to explore debt management opportunities including the possibility of bankruptcy. When we start from a point of familiarity, we can help struggling businesses develop strategies to deal with a financial crisis. 

Ongoing counsel can also help protect your rights as a creditor, too. Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC attorneys know how to employ creative solutions to protect your interests as a creditor in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Business Dissolution Services

Not all businesses stay “in business” indefinitely. Some end voluntarily through merger, sale, or cessation of business, and others end by necessity or due to their failure to comply with legal requirements. No matter the reason, tristate ongoing counsel can help ease the stress of dissolving a business. 

Cessation of operations and the dissolution of a business entity require multiple steps, including the following: 

• Hold final governance meetings and update business records accordingly
• File the necessary dissolution documents with the appropriate state authority, often the secretary of state
• Notify the Internal Revenue Service
• Notify creditors and other parties impacted by the dissolution
• Prepare and file final local, state, and federal tax returns
• Manage employee-related matters incident to the dissolution such as WARN Act obligations

At Jenkins Fenstermaker, we provide business dissolution services in WV, KY, and OH to expeditiously and accurately wind up business affairs, reducing the stress and working toward a clean wrap-up to the business. 

Not all businesses stay “in business” indefinitely. Some end voluntarily through merger, sale, or cessation of business, and others end by necessity or due to their failure to comply with legal requirements. No matter the reason, tristate ongoing counsel can help ease the stress of dissolving a business. 

Cessation of operations and the dissolution of a business entity require multiple steps, including the following: 

• Hold final governance meetings and update business records accordingly
• File the necessary dissolution documents with the appropriate state authority, often the secretary of state
• Notify the Internal Revenue Service
• Notify creditors and other parties impacted by the dissolution
• Prepare and file final local, state, and federal tax returns
• Manage employee-related matters incident to the dissolution such as WARN Act obligations

At Jenkins Fenstermaker, we provide business dissolution services in WV, KY, and OH to expeditiously and accurately wind up business affairs, reducing the stress and working toward a clean wrap-up to the business. 

Tristate ongoing counsel advise businesses in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio on the impact of various real estate transactions:

• Leasing, buying, or selling real estate
• The regulatory requirements of the particular locale of a real estate purchase, lease, or development
• Financing for real estate purchases, construction, and development
• Whether there are incentives available such as Opportunity Zones. 

We also help with negotiations in real estate transactions and drafting or reviewing real estate transaction documents for purchases, leases, and closings. 

A relationship with the ongoing counsel at Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC, can feel and work like having in-house counsel, freeing up your time to get back to the business of doing business. Contact us by calling us at (304) 523-2100 or (866) 617-4736 toll-free, or by using our website contact form, to see what tristate ongoing counsel can do for you.