Family Law

• Child Support
  The company should obtain and submit all necessary employment forms in a timely manner. Every employer should be familiar with the use of IRS W-4 Forms for the determination of employee federal income tax withholding amounts, the later distribution of IRS W-2 Forms to employees to notify them of their wages and withholdings, I-9 Forms to ensure against employment of illegal aliens, New Hire Reports submitted to the South Carolina Department of Social Services to ensure that child support payments are made by employed fathers, the UCE-151 form submitted to the South Carolina Employment Security Commission in order to obtain an employment security account number, and the SCTC-111 form submitted to the South Carolina Department of Revenue to obtain a state withholding tax number, to name a few. Failure to comply with these or other requirements can lead to substantial penalties.
• Adoption

Criminal Law

• Theft
• Embezzlement
  To better prevent the opportunity, if not the temptation, of employee embezzlement, South Carolina businesses might consider adopting the following safeguards and procedures.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  A substantial area of practice for each attorney in our law firm is corporate formation, structuring, and governance: from simple to sophisticated multi-entity formations. Areas in which an attorney can assist you include...
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Business Disputes
  However, even reasonable people do not always agree on their duties and obligations to each other. Sometimes appeals have to be made to the court system to settle business disputes. When this happens, business litigation might fall into one or more of a variety of "causes of action" (a legal basis for suing someone).
• Business Transactions
  The best cure for business disputes is always prevention through careful diligence. Every business operates in an atmosphere that is entirely a legal one. Despite the obviousness of this fact, corners in business transactions are frequently cut to save time and money or prior success in transactions encourage a business to assume it may never have to consider commencing litigation or to defend itself against a lawsuit.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Whereas corporations and limited liability companies are generally treated as separate entities for purposes of personal asset protection, taxation under Subchapter “C†allows taxing authorities to treat a business as a separate entity for income tax purposes. Separate entity status results in the double taxation of business profit from the perspective of a shareholder of a corporation or a member of an LLC. Tax on net profit is paid on the entity level according to a graduated tax rate, just like personal income tax. Thereafter, when the after-tax net profit is distributed to the shareholders or members, such distributions (or dividends, if a public corporation) are again subject to taxation as personal income to the shareholder or member. Thus, the same net profit is taxed twice, first on the entity level then on the shareholder level.
• Construction Contracts
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
• Unfair Competition
  By prevent fraudulent and dishonest commercial practices in the marketplace, laws against unfair trade practices and against unfair competition serve a variety of purposes, they: (1) protect the investments made by businesses in developing and distinguishing their products, and services, (2) protect the goodwill associated with such businesses, products, and services upon which consumers reasonably rely, and (3) encourage greater competition among businesses and greater product quality and variety in protecting such investments and goodwill.
• Small Business Law
  Small Business Law Firm, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This document is protected by U.S. and International Copyright Laws. The Website and its contents are distributed on an ‘as is’ basis and may be incorrect or out of date and may not constitute a definitive or complete statement of the law and no representations or warranties are being made that of the Provided Content is an exhaustive examination of all possible facts, circumstances, or applications of law. Neither the Website nor Provided Content are to be used for transactions or the provision of, or basis for, legal advice. Provided Content is not intended to constitute legal advice in any specific situation and nothing herein should be considered legal advice or constitute the creation of an attorney-client relationship. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of the Terms of Use at any time and without advance notice to you. Please check the Terms of Use of on this website periodically for changes, your continued use of this Website following the Posting of changes to the Terms of Use will mean you accept those changes. Photographs shown on this site or stock photographs may have been purchased from a third-party vendors and may not reflect people or places associated with the firm.

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Every business must understand its obligations with regard to Workers Compensation Insurance. South Carolina requires businesses with four or more employees (not including any self-employed individuals who are not technically employees) to obtain Workers Compensation Insurance. Workers Compensation Insurance covers employees for work-related matters. As a “no fault†type of insurance, it indemnifies the employer from financial liability for injuries incurred on the job. If your have four or more employees and do not carry this type of insurance, you should contact an insurance company that offers this type of coverage.
• Wrongful Termination
  Employment practices liability insurance covers various lawsuits brought by employees, such as for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Regrettably, sometimes employment experiences end in a law suit. Indeed, federal statistics show that an employer is more likely to be sued by an employee than a third party. Being unprepared for this type of eventuality can be disastrous for a business. Contact an insurance agent experienced in these matters for more information.
• Employment Contract
  Reviewing or negotiating applicable startup agreements, including, without limitation, commerical lease agreements, franchise uniform offering circulars ("UFOCs"), sales contracts, service agreements, employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and other agreements and licenses
• Non-compete Agreement
  Covenanants not to compete (also referred to as "non-compete agreements" are generally enforceable against an employee. However, they generally will not be if the prohibitions are more broad than are reasonbaly necessary to protect an employer's interest. The numerous traps for drafting an enforceable covenant not to compete or non-compete agreement are numerous and subtle. The rules governing their enforceablity also greatly vary from state to state. Contact a lawyer with our law firm to assist you in drafting or reviewing any such agreement in accordance with the laws of the applicable state.
• Sexual Harassment
  Nearly every business with employees will want to have a Sexual Harassment Policy in place. Sexual harassment policies that are made well known to every employee and supervisor prior to any instance of harassment and which are followed are always good evidence of the company’s reasonable and good faith effort to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. Sexual Harassment is generally defined as an unwelcome sexual advance or request for sexual favors, or any verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to such conduct is used as a basis to make an employment decision or the conduct creates an offensive work environment. The business should also consider reviewing the company’s sexual harassment policies at employee meetings at least once every year (or more frequently if employ turnover warrants it) and have each employee sign a statement that they have reviewed and understood the policy and have had the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers about the policy.

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  Work with an attorney or lawyer knowledgeable in the wide ranging areas of law applicable to restaurant operations, including,without limitation, labor laws, beer, wine and alcoholic beverage licensing, food permits, tax issues, immigration, premises liability, and even intellectual property laws.
• Construction Litigation
• Real Estate Transactions
• Land Use and Zoning
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  Residential real estate and rental agreements are generally governed under a separate body of statutory law. Whereas commercial statutory law tends to be comparatively "hands off" in presuming that parties in commercial transactions are sophisticated to look out for there own best interests, landlord-tenant residential statutes are generally far more paternalistic in attempting to protect the rights of tenants and to set forth obligations of landlords.
• Property Damage
  You may want to determine if your business needs property damage insurance. Property damage insurance covers damage to your business property. If your business has real property or valuable equipment you should contact an insurance agent to discuss a policy that suits your needs.

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  You should also consider using a mechanism such as a buy-sell agreement to ensure that your family is treated fairly by your partners should you die unexpectedly prior to selling out your ownership rights in the partnership. To better ensure the availability of buy-out funds, a buy-sell agreement can funded by using a life insurance policy taken out and paid for by the partnership. Buy-sell agreements like insurance contracts are not part of your probate estate. Should you decide to convert your partnership to a limited liability company, you and your family are given some protection with regard to the value of your ownership interest by statute. However, this issue of valuation can be more specifically addressed in the company operating agreement, which can also provide that an insurance policy by taken out for the purpose of buying your ownership rights in the event of your death. See the section on Business Estate Planning for more information.
• Wills
• Power of Attorney
  For businesss owners and non-business-owners alike, a basic estate plan mayinclude a will, general or special durable financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney, and a living will (sometimes called a declaration of desire for a natural death), as well as actions taken for dealing with non-probate estates, such as joint bank accounts and life insurance policieis with a named beneficiary. A will, and any seperately written codicil, can address the transfer of one's estate to heirs through both general and specific devisements. So-called "mirror" wills between a husband and wife reflect each other in leaving the majority of eachspouses estate to the other spouse, unless the other spouse predeceases them. In such case, the bulk of the estate is left to family members per stirpes (to children on a pro rata basis, then, if any child predeceases the parent, to the children of that predeceased child, and if no children or grandchildren then to siblings, and if no children, grandchildren, or siblings then to parents). In each and every case, devises of specific items to specific individuals can be made.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Once a lien is filed, the claim still must be brought before a court. Again, there is a deadline before which a suit to foreclose the mechanics lien must be brought, which is in effect to file suit against the debtor with the possibility of having the real property foreceably sold and the proceeds from the sale applied to the judgment amount awarded by a judge. Also, individual owners cannot generally represent any business entity in which they operate in such foreclosure proceedings. That would be the unauthorized practice of law and can only be done by an appropriately licensed attorney.
• Tax Law
  To obtain Subchapter “S†status under the federal income tax law all of the following requirements must be met: the entity must be a domestic corporation or LLC. The entity may not have more than one class of stock, though voting rights may vary. The entity may not have more than 100 shareholders or members. The entity may not have any shareholder or member that is a nonresident alien or nonhuman entity (such as other corporations or partnerships), unless the shareholder is Subchapter “S†parent that elects Qualified Subchapter “S†Subsidiary (“QSSS†) treatment for its 100.0% owned subsidiary (for federal tax purposes, a QSSS is not treated as a separate entity, but rather all the subsidiary’s assets, liabilities, and items of income, deductions and credits are treated as those of the Subchapter “S†parent [IRC Section 1361(b) (3) (A)] or an estate or trust that is authorized to be a Subchapter “S†shareholder or member under tax laws. Certain exempt organizations, such as qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans, or charitable organizations will be allowed to be shareholders in a Subchapter “S†entity (for purposes of determining the number of shareholders of an S corporation, a qualified tax-exempt shareholder counts as one shareholder). In addition, a Subchapter “S†entity must operate on a calendar year basis ending December 31st unless there is a business reason not to do so.