Business Law

Most business problems that land on a lawyer's desk were cheap to prevent and expensive to fix. We help Iowa businesses set up properly, put the agreements in writing while everyone still gets along, and handle it when a deal or a partnership goes sideways.

What we handle

Entity formation and selection — LLC, corporation, partnership

Operating agreements and partnership agreements

Buy-sell agreements between owners

Commercial contracts — drafting, review, and negotiation

Commercial leases

Business purchases and sales

Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements

Owner succession and transfer to the next generation

Dissolution and winding up

The three documents most small Iowa businesses do not have

An operating agreement that says something. Iowa will supply default rules if you do not write your own, and the defaults are rarely what the owners would have picked. A single-member LLC needs one too — it is part of what keeps the liability shield credible.

A buy-sell agreement. What happens when an owner dies, divorces, quits, or wants out? Without an answer agreed in advance, you negotiate it at the worst possible moment, often with someone's spouse or estate.

A written contract with your biggest customer. The relationship that matters most is usually the one running on a handshake and a purchase order. That is fine until it is not.

Common questions

Should I be an LLC or an S-corp?

These are two different questions people often merge. The LLC is the entity; S-corp is a tax election an LLC or a corporation can make. The right combination depends on your income, whether you have partners, and how you pay yourself. We work through it with your accountant rather than instead of them.

I am the only owner. Do I really need an operating agreement?

Yes. It documents that the business is separate from you, which matters if someone ever argues it is not. Banks and buyers ask for it. And it lets you decide what happens to the business if something happens to you.

A partner wants out and we never put anything in writing. Now what?

Then Iowa's default rules and whatever evidence exists of your actual arrangement decide it — which usually means a negotiation with real leverage on both sides. It is resolvable. It is just more expensive than the agreement would have been.

Starting something, buying something, or finally putting the handshake in writing — start with a conversation.