Find Lawyers in Washington, United States for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
Practice Area Overview
Depending on the jurisdiction, closely held company law may differ significantly from the law of the same jurisdiction that is applicable to corporations and other enterprises that are publicly held. For example, in many jurisdictions owners in closely held companies are subject to heightened fiduciary duties to one another, which may preclude structural actions or transactions that would be permissible in the public company sphere. On the other hand, closely held companies are free from many of the disclosure and other regulations that constrain publicly held enterprises in their activities. This is true even when the closely held company is of equal size as a publicly held participant in the same industry. Practitioners in this area must be experts in recognizing these legal and regulatory differences and also be aware of the alternative governance frameworks available in other jurisdictions.
The key challenge in family business law is to structure an environment in which familial goals and interests and enterprise goals are mutually reinforcing. This requires empathy and creativity on the part of the practitioner, particularly the ability to translate essentially non-legal concepts such as stewardship into legal script, all in a tax-efficient manner.
Bill Fleming practices in Keller Rohrback’s business group, where he focuses on estate and small business planning, charitable giving and trust and estate administration. Mr. Fleming is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School. He formerly practiced with the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher and Bartlett and the Seattle firm of Preston, Gates and Ellis.
Andrew provides sophisticated estate, gift, generation skipping, and other tax-optimized wealth transfer strategies, business succession planning, trust administration, as well as customized “family office” solutions to high-net worth individuals, families, and private businesses across the Pacific Northwest. He serves as outside general counsel to many private businesses, guiding legal strategy for significant and complex matters associated with the business and legal affairs of ...
Professional Experience As chair of the firm’s estate planning and probate group, Laura Hoexter’s practice focuses on wills, trusts and estates. She works with individuals to help them establish foundational documents, such as tax-saving wills and living trusts, financial and health care powers of attorney, and health care directives. She addresses complex issues that may arise, including non-citizen status, retirement benefit planning and life insurance arrangements. Laura has si...
A highly respected Seattle business and estate planning/probate attorney, George Holzapfel’s practice is concentrated in business law with an emphasis on tax and estate planning. George serves as general counsel to more than 320 corporations, LLC’s, partnerships and sole proprietorships, as well as many individuals and families. Businesses represented include accountants, architects, advertisers, apartment and commercial building owners, computer companies, contractors, distributo...
Darin Jensen’s practice concentrates on private family companies and their owners. His unique background in law and accounting makes him particularly well-suited to handle complex tax and business matters. Darin advises business owners on general business planning and family wealth succession strategies. As a business attorney, he assists individuals, businesses, tax-exempt organizations, and private family foundations in a variety of matters such as business formation and on-going oper...
Professional Experience With more than 40 years of experience, Allen is a leader in Helsell Fetterman’s Business and Real Estate Groups. Allen represents numerous individuals and companies in all types of real estate transactions. He has regularly worked on boundary line disputes and homeowner and condominium owner association matters. He has considerable experience working on commercial leases representing both landlords and tenants. He is skilled in drafting all types of real estate d...
Paul Tonella practices in Keller Rohrback's business and estate planning group, where he represents individuals, families, and businesses in tax and general legal matters. He brings a wide range of experience in entity formation, contracts, purchases and sales of companies, personalized estate planning and probate and trust administration.
With over 20 years of experience and 250+ merger/acquisition transactions (ranging up to $120M), Karl provides comprehensive legal and tax counsel, personalized to all types of closely held and family businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. Drawing upon a significant federal and state tax background, he enjoys assisting clients with choice of entity and formation, governance and operating agreements, employment and compensation plans, service agreements, as well as business dissolutions,...
Tyler’s corporate practice focuses on helping professionals such as physicians, dentists, veterinarians, CPAs, and attorneys with all of their business needs. He helps professionals form their own companies, structure partnership and other joint ventures, and acquire existing practices. Once established, he assists with all legal matters that arise during a company’s tenure, including lease renewals, real estate acquisitions, space-sharing arrangements, issues with clients/patient...
Konrad’s practice focuses on advising high net-worth individuals and businesses with sophisticated tax planning. Prior to joining Lasher, Konrad obtained his CPA and worked as both a tax consultant and auditor gaining a strong understanding and acumen of tax returns, financial statements and business operations. After obtaining his law degree, Konrad went on to advise Fortune 500 companies in sophisticated tax planning and compliance. Konrad now brings his experience to medium-sized bus...
Professional Experience Kelsey Ondrak’s practice encompasses estate planning, probate, business succession planning, trust administration, and taxation. She helps families and individuals achieve their estate planning goals by utilizing wills, trusts, healthcare & financial durable powers of attorney, and advanced directives. By understanding who and what is important to her clients, she can customize and create a comprehensive estate plan. Kelsey also works with business owners and...
Professional Experience Greg serves as a trusted advisor for individuals and families navigating the complex legal landscape of their lives. He advises clients on the full array of estate planning matters, including wills, trusts, charitable planning, tax planning, and international estate planning—always focused on providing practical and creative solutions. Greg also assists tax-exempt organizations on entity formation, grant-making, board fiduciary duties, corporate governance matter...
Professional Experience Chris focuses his practice in the areas of business and tax law. Prior to joining Helsell Fetterman, Chris was an associate at another Seattle law firm, focusing on business transactions and tax controversies. Chris delivers a broad range of transactional legal services to individuals, family-owned businesses, and closely held corporations. He counsels businesses throughout their lifecycle, from formation, corporation governance, acquisitions, and strategic partnership...
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