Here at Citron & Deutsch, we offer detailed and quality service for all kinds of businesses. For the past 48 years, we have had the honor to represent and assist all kinds of companies, from one industry to another. We are a dedicated Los Angeles business transactional law firm that helps each and every one of the business’ we represent to achieve the highest level of success. ur firm has handled all types of business issues and we are only learning more each and every day.

Our Business Transaction Attorneys here at Citron & Deutsch have assisted clients and their businesses in transactional matters since 1971. From mergers, acquisitions, to business contracts, employment and termination agreements… we handle it all.

Our firm is available to assist in legal issues pertaining but not limited to:

• Business entity formations
• Employment Agreements
• Dissolutions
• Operating Agreements
• Manufacturing Agreements
• Promissory Notes
• Non-Disclosure Agreements
• Trademarks
• Negotiation contracts

Every business, whether it has just started or has been around for years, goes through issues from time to time. What allows us to be different from other business firms out there, is that we not only try to do what’s best for your company now, we try to do what’s best for you as the client and for the future of the company. We look at all the details and aspects of the company’s fate.

Most businesses have one or two key individuals who create the environment for success. In a smaller business, the loss of the owner can be a fatal blow. Planning for business succession includes the following options:

4. Wind Down. The wind down and closing of a business can be a very difficult and costly process. There are often commitments with significant liability, including leases of office space and equipment as well as long term supply contracts. Provisions can be drawn into these agreements protecting the business from a key person’s death or supplemental life insurance may be required to protect the business.
5. Family Succession. If the plan is to have your children take over the family business, make sure they have had time to mature into the roll and that the most important aspects of operations for survival have been handed down. This should include a properly planned internship program and developing relationships for successor family management with key consultants and management personnel.
6. Management Buyout. Management buyouts work best when they are planned and the parameters for the purchase are established in writing in advance. The buyout agreed to by management will include purchase price and terms, but the critical element is management succession. If additional management talent is required, it should be a part of the succession and buyout plan. Often, the purchase is leveraged and the balance of the payments due are contingent upon continued business success.
7. Sale of the Business. Determine the real assets which are being sold and their real value to an outside buyer without the key manager. Many businesses depreciate significantly after the loss of the entrepreneur who founded the company. For a business to be saleable for full value, the buyer must feel secure of continued success, which may require a sale of the business during the manager’s lifetime with a continued employment agreement for some period of time, or it may mean establishing special compensation packages for other key employees to insure their continued employment.

The negative impact of illness, disability or death of a business owner can be significantly reduced with advanced planning. A succession plan may include bringing in supplemental management talent, entering into a buy-sell agreement with partners, training your family to take your place, and/or creating a market for the business to be sold. These options should be reviewed, carefully discussed and a plan put in place as a part of a complete estate plan.

Each business has its own personality. The ideal plan varies depending upon the size, type, makeup and characteristics of your business.