Business and Corporate Law

RKPT's Business and Corporate Law practice group helps business owners and executives to plan for and address the various issues they face in forming, operating and growing their businesses. We represent entrepreneurs and businesses of all types and sizes from start-up through succession planning.

We proudly partner with established and emerging companies based in our greater Cincinnati area, but also handle corporate matters throughout the U.S.

The RKPT Promise: Trusted Partnership that Minimizes Your Risks and Maximizes Your Results

RKPT's corporate law attorneys act as true partners to our business clients. Our track record, spanning over half a century, makes us a trusted source of business advice and guidance. We are always looking for creative solutions to help our clients move their businesses forward.

As your partner, you can expect our attorneys to deliver your efficient solutions, based on your business's goals and risk tolerance. Whether we represent you on a limited issue or on many issues as outside general counsel, you will find that we listen more than we talk: we provide proactive, creative legal advice in the context of your company's mission, concerns, and long-term plans.

We understand the value of collaboration. As a corporate client, you also benefit from the unique advantages of our in-house network of legal expertise. Commercial property matters are handled through collaboration with our real estate group. Issues surrounding family business ownership and succession are seamlessly coordinated with our personal planning group. When disputes arise, we handle negotiation, litigation, mediation, and arbitration with the added advantage of our in-house litigators — all well equipped to handle niche areas such as construction law or creditors’ rights.

Our Business and Corporate Law services include:

Business Representation and Transactions

At RKPT, our corporate lawyers help businesses navigate complex legal issues surrounding business law, including:

  • Choosing the correct business entity
  • Drafting contracts to clarify the relationships between business owners, investors, and employees
  • Negotiating contracts and leases
  • Drafting confidentiality, nonsolicitation, and non-compete agreements
  • Investigating and completing mergers and acquisitions
  • Buying or selling a business or its assets
  • Business succession planning

Our lawyers provide comprehensive business law advice from the start of your business through its growth and development. We provide assistance managing your business and can even help when it comes time to sell your company.

Contact us today to learn more about our corporate law practice and to schedule a meeting with one of our lawyers to get the help your business needs.

Business Formation

Choosing the right legal entity for your business is a crucial step that can set the stage for business success. Regardless of what business your company will do or the type of industry in which your company will operate, an experienced business formation lawyer can help solve problems for you before they happen.

Our lawyers will evaluate your business objectives, help you evaluate regulatory and compliance issues, and analyze other factors that will impact your company’s foundation and ensure smooth day-to-day operations for years to come.

There are many legal requirements for starting a new business, and an experienced business lawyer can help protect your personal and business assets while you focus on what you do best: launching your new business.

Partnership and Shareholder Agreements

A partnership or shareholder agreement outlines how the business will be operated and identifies the rights and responsibilities of the business owners. It ensures that owners are treated fairly and protects them from actions by other owners or outside third parties.

As your business grows and evolves, conflicts may arise. A partnership or shareholder agreement can help your business avoid costly legal battles by identifying the rights and responsibilities of the business owners and providing a process for resolving business disputes.

An experienced business lawyer will get to know what makes your business unique and can create a shareholder or partnership agreement that will protect the rights of the owners, as well as the business as a whole.

Noncompete, Nonsolicitation, and Confidentiality Agreements

Noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality agreements help to fairly protect a company’s business interests by restricting what employees can do when an employment relationship ends. They can be used to prevent the disclosure of confidential information, and to prohibit a former employee from contacting a business’s customers.

While a confidentiality, nonsolicitation, or noncompete agreement can be a beneficial tool to protect a company’s legitimate business interests, a poorly drafted agreement can be harmful to a business, either because its terms are unenforceable, or because it is excessively punitive to its employees.

The experienced corporate lawyers at RKPT can draft confidentiality, nonsolicitation, or noncompete agreements that will protect your company’s confidential information and legitimate business interests, while also maintaining positive corporate culture for your employees.

Mergers and Acquisitions

As your business grows, you may find a competitive advantage by merging your business with another company or acquiring a strategic target. The corporate lawyers at RKPT help you analyze a proposed merger or acquisition, determine whether it is the right move for your business, and avoid the risks associated with these transactions.

Our business law lawyers will work closely with your senior management and business leaders to create solutions that protect your interests and help you meet your goals.

Buying or Selling a Business

Buying or selling a business is complicated. There are large sums of money at stake, and complex valuations, negotiations, and contracts that must be completed, often on a very specific timetable. To avoid a costly mistake, an experienced corporate lawyer can provide advice, negotiate the purchase or sale, and prepare the appropriate contracts to make sure the transaction goes smoothly and the sale is completed properly. A lawyer will make sure you get the deal you want and will structure the transaction in a way that is most advantageous to you.

Succession Planning

A business succession plan allows business owners to pass their leadership roles to other employees or a group of employees. A well-drafted business succession plan ensures that a company continues to run smoothly as its most important people move on—either to retirement, to new opportunities, or in the event they pass away.

At RKPT, our experienced business succession planning lawyers can assist with the organizational structure, tax implications, and estate planning issues that make a business succession plan a success.

RKPT Provides Assistance with All Your Business Needs

Running a successful business isn’t easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. The corporate lawyers at RKPT are here to help your business succeed. From our offices in Cincinnati, we represent businesses throughout Ohio and across the country.

Contact us today to learn how the business lawyers at RKPT can help, and to schedule a confidential meeting with one of our attorneys to get the legal assistance you need.

Commercial Loan Transactions

Commercial loan transactions have long been a cornerstone of RKPT’s practice. Our commercial lending lawyers regularly work with borrowers and local, regional, and national lenders to document and perfect secured transactions such as mortgage loans, asset purchases, and other transactions.

Our attorneys approach each transaction with the expertise required to secure advantageous loan terms or document the deal to secure the collateral required by the lender in exchange for the loan.

RKPT also operates a wholly-owned title company, Safe Title Agency, Inc., which often acts as an escrow agent and title company to streamline the process.

Representing Lenders and Borrowers in Commercial Loan Transactions

RKPT’s commercial lending lawyers have extensive experience representing lenders and borrowers in commercial loan transactions. Our lawyers are routinely called upon to handle commercial loans that involve asset-based working capital financing, equipment financing and leasing, inventory and account receivable financing, cash flow lending, construction loans, real estate mortgage loans, and factoring transactions. We represent clients across many industries, including real estate, manufacturing, healthcare, oil and gas, and others.

Lender Services

Commercial loans are complex transactions. Standard, boilerplate documents are often insufficient to protect lending institutions. The lawyers at RKPT create custom lending contracts prepared with your specific transaction in mind. These documents protect your interest and, when necessary, allow you to execute on collateral.

RKPT regularly assists lending institutions with commercial loan transactions by

  • Analyzing priority issues
  • Perfecting security interests
  • Conducting due diligence investigations
  • Preparing creditor agreements
  • Managing environmental issues in commercial loans
  • Negotiating and drafting loan and security documents, including Cognovit Notes
  • Executing on Cognovit Notes through litigation
  • Restructuring loans and loan workouts
  • Negotiating and preparing forbearance and standstill agreements
  • Preparing legal opinion letters for borrowers

Borrower Services

RKPT can review, negotiate, and revise loan agreements, security agreements, and other loan documents to protect borrowers against the pitfalls that are common in many commercial loan agreements. We work with lending institutions to ensure the documents accurately reflect your understanding of the transaction and protect your interests as a borrower.

We also represent borrowers who are alleged to be in violation of loan agreements. We regularly negotiate standstill and forbearance agreements that enable our clients to continue to operate during a financial downturn.

Loan Restructuring and Workouts

In addition to negotiating and preparing the initial loan documentation, we can also assist when situations change and the loan must be restructured or worked out. With decades of experience representing lending and borrowers in commercial loan transactions, our commercial lending lawyers understand the nuances of these complex agreements and can quickly analyze the issues and help our clients find solutions.

RKPT: Experienced Commercial Loan Attorneys Serving Ohio, the Midwest, and Florida

For over five decades, we have developed a reputation for professionalism that provides vast resources that can be brought to bear upon any transaction when the need arises. If you need assistance with a commercial loan transaction, call us at (513) 721-3330 or contact RKPT online to discuss your needs and how we can help.

Emerging Companies

At RKPT, our business and corporate lawyers have extensive experience representing emerging companies and new business owners across all phases of the start-up process. We regularly advise and represent entrepreneurs and investors. We strive to become trusted advisors who will guide you through the start-up process and help your business grow and succeed.

Our lawyers are ready to assist with creative solutions to business formation and financing challenges, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and tax issues. We offer proactive legal advice that will address key factors in your new business and avoid issues in the future.

Regardless of the type of business you are in or where you are in the start-up process, we will work to develop solutions to complex business issues. After a careful analysis of your unique situation and the challenges you face, we will deliver efficient solutions based on your unique needs. Whether we are representing your start-up on limited issues or serving as outside general counsel, we will provide customized, proactive, and creative legal counsel that will drive your business forward consistent with the goals, mission, and long-term plans of your company.

RKPT: Trusted Advisors Who Minimize Risk While Maximizing Results

Our broad experience representing businesses at all stages gives us invaluable insight into the challenges facing new ventures. We understand the unique needs that start-ups face and can draw on a track record that spans more than half a century of serving as a trusted source of business advice to our clients.

Whether you need assistance with formation and financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, or succession planning, our business and corporate lawyers have the experience and expertise to deliver principled advice that will help you meet and exceed your goals.

Business Formation

The lawyers at RKPT regularly provide strategic advice to emerging companies and their funding teams at the earliest stages of development. Choosing the right legal entity can set the stage for business success. Our lawyers will evaluate your objectives and recommend a business entity that will protect your personal and business assets while providing opportunities for growth.

Financing

Our lawyers can negotiate with investors, perform due diligence, ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, and help structure capitalization and funding transactions. We will identify potential issues and provide advice about funding alternatives and can facilitate introductions to funding sources throughout the Midwest and across the country.

Corporate Governance

Our attorneys can prepare a partnership or shareholder agreement that will help avoid costly legal battles by identifying the rights and responsibilities of the business owners and providing a process for resolving disputes.

Mergers and Acquisitions

As your business evolves, you may be interested in acquiring other entities. Our lawyers have extensive experience navigating the challenges that come with business growth and can provide advice and legal representation in the most complex business transactions. We can help determine the best structure of a transaction, avoid the risks associated with these complex transactions, and create solutions that will protect the business and its owners while meeting your goals.

Succession Planning

Completing the life-cycle of a business, our lawyers can offer advice and provide assistance as business leaders transition to different roles or move on to retirement, new opportunities, or in the event they pass away. A sound business succession plan ensures that your company will continue to run smoothly even as the business owners transition into new roles.

Experienced Business Lawyers Serving Emerging Companies in Ohio

The business and corporate lawyers at RKPT are here to help your new venture succeed. Based in Cincinnati, we represent businesses throughout Ohio and across the country.

For more information and to learn how we can help, contact the business and corporate lawyers at RKPT today.

Employment and Labor Law

RKPT attorneys provide legal services across a spectrum of employment and labor issues to employers of all sizes. We advise clients on the ever-changing workplace laws and ensure compliance by regularly reviewing and updating policies and training in these critical areas. Our clients value our ability to provide practical advice and strategic solutions as they navigate the thicket of employment law issues they encounter, while helping them to avoid future challenges or disputes.

In addition to counseling clients on compliance with state and federal workplace laws and standards, including the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), and the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), we also assist employers develop sound workplace policies and procedures; provide HR counseling; negotiate, draft and review restrictive covenants and non-competition agreements; advise clients on employee benefits issues; provide workplace training sessions; and conduct workplace investigations.

When litigation is necessary, we effectively and efficiently represent our clients in disputes over employment matters in state and federal courts, in arbitrations, and before state and federal administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor, and state Civil Rights Commissions. We also assist employers in all aspects of Workers’ Compensation claims.

As a team of experienced employment law practitioners, we are able to meet our clients’ employment law needs, however sophisticated or complex, with efficiency and confidence.

Our Employment Law Services

Statutory and Regulatory Compliance

We help new and established employers comply with state and federal workplace laws and standards, including the ADA, FMLA, and the FLSA. Our employment law attorneys routinely conduct reviews of our clients’ employment-related practices to ensure compliance with applicable laws and avoid potential future disputes.

Workplace Policies and Best Practices

We assist employers develop sound workplace policies and procedures, including employee handbooks and manuals. A detailed understanding of each client’s business needs, workplace, and circumstances is our mission, allowing us to provide creative, dynamic, and individualized solutions and services.

Human Resources Counseling/Personnel Actions

We provide human resources counseling to employers, helping them to create and maintain a positive and productive employee environment, while managing risk and planning for the future. Our HR services also include assistance with personnel actions, assessment of worker classification, wage and hour compliance, leaves of absence and reasonable accommodations, and employee discipline and discharge.

Restrictive Covenants/Non-competition Agreements

We provide strategic guidance to clients concerning restrictive covenants and protection of their proprietary information. Recognizing the critical importance of protecting confidential information and trade secrets when an employee leaves, we work closely with our clients to draft agreements containing reasonable and enforceable post-employment limitations.

Employee Benefits

At RKPT we advise clients on a broad range of employee benefits issues, including healthcare, retirement, employment, incentive bonus, and severance programs. Always mindful of our clients’ overall business objectives and the strategic importance of an employer’s benefits program, we strive to ensure that the appropriate components are in place, and that the benefits plan complies with applicable state and federal requirements.

Workers’ Compensation

We assist clients in all aspects of workers’ compensation, providing counseling to employers, negotiating settlements where appropriate, and defending claims if necessary. We also represent clients in the defense of workplace lawsuits that may be subject to a workers’ compensation exception or that have been improperly brought in court. We help employers obtain enforceable releases and waivers of non-workers’ compensation claims.

Litigation of Employment Matters

When litigation is necessary, we effectively and efficiently represent our clients in disputes over employment matters in state and federal courts, before state and federal administrative agencies, and in arbitrations. Our experienced litigators have prevailed in administrative hearings and in trials and appeals in courts throughout Ohio.

Workplace Trainings

We provide interactive training and coaching programs to employers on a wide variety of topics, including ethics, compliance, prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination, diversity, and leadership. Our programs are tailored to the specific needs and goals of each client and deliver practical and proactive advice, including the latest legal developments and trends in the ever-changing workplace.

Workplace Investigations

We conduct and counsel employers on workplace investigations, including allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and employee misconduct. We also perform risk assessments of our clients’ internal investigation systems and resources so that they are well-prepared to respond should the need for an investigation arise.

Experienced Employment Law Attorneys Serving Ohio

For more information about our labor and employment law services, we welcome you to contact us.

For additional information about our Business and Corporate Law practice, we invite you to contact RKPT.