Hinch Law

Ok, after a brief interlude, I'm back to complete the third and final part of my answer to the latest question in the "Ask a Lawyer" series.  The question is, "Why should I hire a lawyer to incorporate my business?"  We have broken this question down into three parts, as follows: How do I know what form of business entity is right for me?  Should every business incorporate? What's the difference between a corporation and a limited liability company?  Which is right for me? Why should I hire a lawyer to help form my corporation/LLC?  Why not do it myself?   Having addressed 1 and 2 in previous posts, this post will answer 3 and complete our response to the overall question.   Allow me to call out the elephant in the room implied in question 3 -- lawyers cost money, perhaps a lot of money. That's money that could be spent investing in the business.  On the other hand, forming a corporation is "easy."  To satisfy the State of Il...

In our last post, we provided the first in a three part response to the question, "Why Should I Hire a Lawyer to Help Incorporate My Business?"  The first part of our answer was to first consider whether every business ought to "incorporate," and what are the options available for small business owners to consider. This post provides part two of our answer - once a business owner makes the decision to form a limited liability entity, which form of entity should she choose?  For the majority of business owners, this comes down to a choice between a corporation, often an "S-corporation", and a limited liability company.  What's the difference? First, note that State law is essential to understanding how corporations and LLCs are formed, operated, dissolved, etc.  Each State is different, and some States are considered to have business statutes and supporting court opinions that are more favorable to business owners than other States.  Delawar...

Having just finished a three-part answer to the last question in the "Ask a Lawyer" series, about why to consider hiring a lawyer to help with your will and estate plan , the next question in line also requires a multi-part answer.  The question is "why should I hire a lawyer to help incorporate my business?"  To help provide a thorough answer, we will break the question down as follows: How do I know what type of entity is appropriate for me and my business?  Should every business incorporate? What's the difference between a corporation and a limited liability company?  Which should I choose? Why should I hire a lawyer to help form my corporation/limited liability company?  Why not do it myself? I will address question 1. above in this post.  To decide which type of entity is best for you, it's important to understand what are your options.  I will list the most common choices here with a very brief description of each. Sole Proprietorshi...

Note:  This is the first in a new series of posts entitled "Ask a Lawyer," in which readers may submit questions to be considered for this page.  Please note that, as with any posts on this blog, the posts are educational in nature and do not constitute legal advice in the attorney/client sense.  Therefore, questions should be general in nature and not include any confidential information. Question:   Please generally explain the enforceability of Non-Compete agreements in Illinois. This question could justify a treatise, but I will do my best to provide a general, concise, though by necessity perhaps unhelpfully broad, answer.  For a more specific review of a particular Non-Compete agreement or provision in an employment contract, consult and retain an attorney.  I would be glad to talk with anyone who has specific questions about their situation.   A  "Covenant Not to Compete"  is a provision commonly used in an employment ...