Brody Wilkinson represents a diverse range of businesses throughout every stage of development. We cultivate long-term relationships with clients and comprehensive knowledge of their day-to-day business operations. For many clients, our skilled attorneys serve as outside general counsel to manage all legal needs. We seamlessly provide next-level services as companies grow and prosper from entity formation to investment rounds to exit events.
Succession planning and exit strategies must be carefully planned in advance well before ownership and management transitions. Collaborating closely with company leadership, we evaluate all aspects of governance, management and operations to position businesses optimally for future sales and transfers.
For family and privately held companies, succession plans are not only as critical as estate plans but the two are also intertwined. Succession planning additionally addresses the trust and estate needs of owners and executives. Our business and estate planning attorneys work together ensuring both interests are properly met with a focus on minimizing taxes and fostering harmonious relationships among family members and key non-family employees.
Our work in this area includes:
- Tax planning
- Lifetime gift planning
- Shareholder & buy/sell agreements
- Ownership transfers
- Wealth transfers
- Dispositions
- Transition strategies
- Arrangements for non-employee owners
Representative matters include:
Representation of the principal of a data and analytics company in a multi-million dollar sale of his equity interests in the company to a strategic buyer. The deal included post-closing earn-out payments, incentive bonus payments and an executive employment agreement for the principal.
Representation of a client in connection with drafting transfer on death (TOD) designations for shares of stock and membership interests in the client’s operating and real estate companies. As a result, the TOD designations will pass the shares at the client’s death to his revocable trust without the need for obtaining lender consent since ownership and membership interests have not changed. Changes in the client’s circumstances can be more easily accommodated through an amendment to the trust than filing a new TOD designation.
Representation of the principals of a health care industry company in a multi-million dollar sale of their equity interests to a strategic buyer. The transaction was structured for tax purposes as a tax-free reorganization and conversion of the company from an S corporation into an LLC and then a sale of the membership interests in the LLC to the buyer. The transaction also included transition services agreements for the principals and a post-closing earn-out payment.
