Privately held and family owned businesses are the most vital economic force in the United States. They make up more than 90 percent of all business enterprises in the United States and nearly 35 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Polsinelli Shughart serves as general counsel to these businesses handling:

• Day-to-day legal matters such as contract review and disputes
• Conduct of annual meetings and preparation of annual minutes and
• Advise on governance issues
• Provide general counsel advice from a legal perspective
• Coordinate employee benefits and employment disputes
• Coordinate other legal services such as litigation

Family and privately owned businesses are vulnerable to problems with government regulations, documenting operations, succession and estate planning, taxes and more. Only 30 percent of all family owned businesses survive into the second generation, with 12 percent being viable into the third generation. Only 3 percent of all family businesses operate at the fourth generation and beyond. In the next five years, 30 percent of family owned firms will experience a change in leadership due to retirement or semi-retirement.

We can help your business prevail over those odds and challenges by working with you to devise key operational and growth strategies. As a full-service firm, we can guide your company through the numerous regulatory mazes, including environmental, economic, workplace and tax compliance.

We also provide counsel on:

• Entity formation
• Human resource issues
• Financing
• Succession and estate planning
• Intellectual property protection
• Business expansion
• Real estate purchase, sale, and leasing
• Equipment purchase and leasing
• Computer software licenses
• All other legal concerns involved in setting up and operating a family business