Orlando's Lawyer

Criminal Law or penal law, involves prosecution by the government of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime. It is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. There are four theories of criminal justice: punishment, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. It is believed that by imposing sanctions for the crime, society can achieve justice and a peaceable social order.

Commercial Transactions

The legal team at Orlando Lawyer is routinely involved in negotiating and closing commercial business transactions for both small and large companies. Our attorneys have significant experience in a wide range of transactional matters, such as asset sales and purchases; closely held stock transfers; lease and real estate property negotiations; franchise, licensing and distribution arrangements; and transfers of intellectual property. We also assist new companies in establishing their corporate or partnership structure, negotiating shareholder or partnership agreements, and ensuring compliance with various state and federal requirements for newly formed and ongoing business entities.

Importance of a Business Lawyer

Along with legal requirements, there can also be litigations, disputes, etc., that need preparation beforehand in order to avoid serious consequences. A lawyer is the person that can help you with all of these and much more.

For any situation that might have a legal impact on your business, a lawyer should be consulted immediately.

Situations When Lawyers Can Help

• Deciding on a business structure
• Receiving finance from an external source
• Signing deals, contracts, or leases as well as the negotiations for these
• Developing a hiring process
• Being involved in Merger and Acquisition (M&A)
• Protection of intellectual property

The Need for a Lawyer

The need for a lawyer for your small business arises from the fact that there are hundreds of laws for business that need to be followed and each industry will have its own particular regulations and rules. A small business owner would, of course, be unaware of all the laws. Apart from federal laws, there are laws for your state, city, and county that, at times, can overlap or even contradict each other.

The laws are never constant and are continuously evolving in small and subtle ways that can cause you to suddenly be out of compliance with the law even though your business has not changed! This is done to accommodate changes and new requirements of the ever-changing economy and market environment. Keeping track of all these changes can be a daunting task that business owners cannot handle by themselves.

Not all the laws will be relevant to your business, many laws are antiquated, and some laws are not being enforced though they are still laws. This happens with very old laws that are somehow never rolled back and technically continue to be active.

Important Laws for Small Business

While it is practically impossible to list out all the laws here (which would require volumes of books to accommodate) along with various loopholes that can affect a small business, here is a general list of laws that are required to be followed by a small business.

The actual law applicable to your business will differ according to your geographic location as well as the nature of your business.

Business Formation Laws –

These laws define the steps and measures that you need to take to form and operate a small business. They also vary with the type of business entity like partnership, limited Liability Company (LLC), corporation, etc.

Consumer Protection Laws –

These are various federal and state laws that help ensure that the consumers are protected against fraudulent, misleading, faulty goods and/or fault services, etc. These laws must be adhered to in all your relationships with any present or prospective customer.

Contract Laws –

These laws will act as guidelines for the content of the contracts that you may enter into with your clients or with other businesses.

Hiring and Employment Laws –

These laws are designed to protect the employee’s rights and care should be taken against any violation as a result of any sort of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, skin color, sex, etc. There are also various laws that regulate health and safety and various other benefits that need to be provided to the employees.

Environmental Laws –

If your business is into any kind of manufacturing, then you will have to follow various laws that are designed to protect the environment.

IP (Intellectual Property) Laws –

IP laws are designed to protect the intellectual property of a person or an entity from being misused and at the same can be used for protecting your intellectual property from any sort of abuse as well.

License and Permit Laws –

This pertains to various licenses and permits that your business must have in order to operate.

Zoning Laws –

These are designed to regulate the use of the property that your company may lease or buy, according to the type of business being operated.

With so many laws, regulations, and specific rules that change from state to state, county to county, city to city, and from year to year, it is absolutely essential for your business to have a lawyer. A lawyer will protect your company’s best interests and defend it against the many challenges and difficulties that can arise during the course of simply doing business.

The new bankruptcy law (effective October 17, 2005) makes filing bankruptcy more complicated. The new laws include impediments to filing bankruptcy, new bankruptcy court rules, new forms, and additional work for debtors and their attorneys.  Additionally, there are many parts of the new law which are ambiguous and subject to multiple interpretations.  Because of this, there is some risk and uncertainty about how the new law may impact your assets.

As judges interpret and clarify this law through their court decisions, the new bankruptcy law will become more clear.  Since bankruptcy courts are located all over the country, even after one judge interprets a part of the new law, it will take time for the judge’s interpretation to be tested on appeal and for the ultimate ruling to spread throughout the country’s legal community.

Who Can File Bankruptcy in Florida

A permanent resident of Florida can file bankruptcy in a Florida bankruptcy court. Florida has three bankruptcy districts (Southern District, Middle District, and Northern District), and each of Florida’s counties is assigned to one of the three bankruptcy districts. You must file bankruptcy in the district of your residence. I represent bankruptcy debtors only in the Middle District of Florida which includes many counties along the I-4 corridor (Daytona Beach to Tampa) and I-95 from Brevard County to Jacksonville.

An important concept in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy is “exemptions” or “exempt property.” When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Trustee takes all of your “non-exempt” property and sells it for the benefit of your unsecured creditors. The Trustee cannot take your exempt property and you may keep all of your exempt property regardless of its value and amount. What property is “exempt” and what property is “non-exempt” depends on the laws of the applicable state. Each state has its unique laws about what assets are exempt and non-exempt for bankruptcy purposes. Therefore, before you file bankruptcy you and your bankruptcy attorney must ascertain which state laws will determine your exempt assets.

Florida has liberal bankruptcy exemptions, including an unlimited homestead exemption. Only Florida residents (who meet residency requirements) are eligible for Florida exemptions. Just because you are a Florida resident when you file for bankruptcy does not mean you are entitled to Florida exemptions in bankruptcy.

Under the new bankruptcy law the state exemption law applicable to your bankruptcy is determined by the state in which you have been domiciled for the 730 days (two years) immediately preceding your filing date. If you have not been a permanent resident of Florida for the two-year period immediately preceding your bankruptcy, then your bankruptcy exemptions will be those allowed by the state in which you were domiciled for 180 days immediately preceding the two-year period, or the state in which you were domiciled for the longer portion of such 180-day period.

Otherwise stated, a person filing bankruptcy in Florida today is eligible for the property exemptions he could have claimed if he had filed bankruptcy two years ago. If this person was a Florida resident two years ago, he claims Florida exemptions today; if two years ago he was a resident of a different state then he is entitled to the exemptions of the state of his prior residence.

In reality, the laws about bankrutpcy exemptions are even more complicated than the example above.  Many issues are unclear under the new law and will have to be resolved over time through court decisions.  Before you file bankruptcy in Florida, you and your attorney should discuss where you have resided during the past few years and should discuss whether Florida bankruptcy exemptions would apply in your case.