Legal Support at Every Stage of Your Business
From incorporating your first company to selling it, we help owners make sound decisions and document them properly. Select a service to learn more.
Buying and Selling a Business
Share and asset purchases and sales, from the letter of intent through closing.
Commercial Leasing
Offers to lease, lease negotiation and review for tenants and landlords.
Start-Ups
Incorporation, founder agreements and the legal foundation for a growing business.
Corporate Restructuring
Corporate reorganizations, tax rollovers and family trusts that fit your tax and succession goals.
Dental Practices
Opening, buying and selling clinics, partnerships, DSOs and the regulatory issues particular to dentists.
Buying and Selling a Business
Buying or selling a business is one of the most significant transactions an owner will undertake. We act for both buyers and sellers, and we help you decide whether a share sale or an asset sale best suits your tax, liability and commercial goals. We guide you through the letter of intent, due diligence, negotiation and closing, so that the deal you agreed to is the deal you complete. We regularly act on the sale and purchase of professional practices and franchised businesses.
- Letters of intent and deal structuring
- Due diligence and disclosure
- Share and asset purchase agreements
- Vendor take-back financing and security
- Closing documents and post-closing filings
Commercial Leasing
A commercial lease can commit a business to years of obligations, often backed by a personal guarantee. We act for tenants and landlords on offers to lease, new leases, renewals, amendments, assignments and subleases. We explain each clause in plain language and negotiate the terms that matter, such as rent and additional rent, term and renewal rights, permitted use and repair obligations, before you sign.
- Offers to lease and letters of intent
- Lease review, negotiation and drafting
- Renewals and amendments
- Assignments, subleases and landlord consents
- Guarantees and security deposits
Start-Ups
The decisions made in a business's first months are often the hardest to change later. We help founders incorporate, choose a sound ownership structure and put in place the agreements that keep a growing business on track: who owns what, who makes decisions and what happens if a founder leaves. Your corporation and minute book are set up properly from the start, so the business is ready for lenders, investors and its first employees.
- Incorporation and organizational documents
- Shareholder and founder agreements
- Employment and contractor agreements
- Corporate records, minute books and annual filings
- Ongoing advice as the business grows
Corporate Restructuring
As a business grows or its owners' goals change, its legal structure often needs to change with it. We plan and carry out corporate reorganizations in coordination with your accountant, including share restructurings, estate freezes, tax-deferred transfers of property to a corporation, and changes in shareholders. The result is a clear, well-documented structure that fits your tax, succession and risk-management goals.
- Share exchanges and reorganizations
- Estate freezes and family holding companies
- Family trusts and trust planning for business owners
- Tax-deferred transfers of assets to a corporation
- Section 85 tax rollovers of shares and other property to a corporation
- Amalgamations and wind-ups
- Adding or removing shareholders
Dental Practices
We have a special focus on business law for dentists. Advising dentists calls for particular experience, because of the regulatory and transaction complexities involved. We act for dentists on opening new clinics, buying and selling existing practices, estate planning, shareholder disputes, employment law and the other legal matters that arise in running a practice. We also advise dentists on multi-disciplinary practices and on partnerships with non-dentist investors and dental service organizations (DSOs). We walk you through each step and hold multiple meetings to go through each document together.
- Opening a new clinic from scratch: construction contract and lease review, incorporation and shareholder agreements.
- Buying and selling: letters of intent, due diligence, amalgamations, purchase agreements and closing.
- Estate planning: wills (including dual and corporate wills), powers of attorney, estate freezes, family trusts and succession planning for your practice.
- Shareholder disputes: review of the shareholder agreement, buy-out and exit negotiations, and resolution of deadlocks between owners.
- Employment law: associate and employee agreements, terminations and workplace policies.
- Non-dentist investors and DSOs: regulatory advice, corporate structuring and drafting management agreements and other related agreements.
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Schedule a consultation with Whitestone Law today and get the guidance you need.
FAQs
We provide legal services in corporate and commercial law, real estate transactions, and estate planning, along with related advisory support.
Yes. Every engagement is customized based on your goals, circumstances, and the complexity of the matter.
Yes. Clients work directly with their lawyer to ensure continuity, accountability, and clear communication.
Yes. We provide ongoing advisory and general counsel services for clients who require consistent legal guidance over time.