FAQ

A corporate restructuring lawyer provides legal guidance to businesses undergoing significant organizational changes. We analyze your business structure, identify legal issues, and develop strategies to implement changes while minimizing risks. Our work includes drafting and reviewing legal documents, negotiating with stakeholders, resolving disputes, and ensuring compliance with relevant laws.

Corporate restructuring lawyers serve as strategic advisors throughout the transformation process, helping protect the business's interests while facilitating necessary changes to ownership, operations, governance, or financial structure.

Whether you're reorganizing due to growth, addressing partnership disputes, or preparing for a sale, a corporate restructuring lawyer ensures the transition occurs legally and advantageously. We are your legal guides and strategic partners through complex business transformations.

Business restructuring and bankruptcy are distinctly different processes with different purposes and outcomes.

Restructuring is a proactive, voluntary process that businesses undertake to improve operations, resolve conflicts, or adapt to changing conditions – often while the company remains financially viable. It may involve reorganizing debt, changing ownership structures, modifying governance, or streamlining operations.

In contrast, bankruptcy is a legal proceeding initiated when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.

If you're planning to file for bankruptcy, it's already too late to effectively restructure. Any last-minute restructuring could be reversed and considered a "fraudulent transfer" or "preferential transfer" by the courts. Proper restructuring must happen well in advance of financial problems.

Strategic restructuring allows you to isolate liabilities, so if catastrophic events occur, only the affected operational entities need to enter bankruptcy while other entities holding valuable assets (real estate, intellectual property, goodwill) remain protected.

A skilled corporate restructuring lawyer can help businesses implement changes that prevent the need for bankruptcy altogether or minimize its impact if unavoidable. Restructuring is a strategic tool for proactive business health, while bankruptcy is a legal remedy for financial distress.

The corporate restructuring process typically follows several key phases:

1. Assessment and Analysis: During an initial consultation, our attorneys will discuss what you want to restructure, why you want to restructure, what is the timeframe, and what are your biggest concerns? From there, we will conduct a comprehensive analysis of your business structure, operations, finances, and legal obligations to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. We begin with a deep dive into your business – understanding your goals, challenges, and current structure to identify opportunities and potential issues.
2. Strategy Development: Based on your objectives and our analysis, we next create a tailored restructuring plan aligned with your business objectives, whether that involves resolving partner disputes, reorganizing debt, or preparing for growth. We develop a customized legal strategy designed to achieve your specific business objectives.
3. Stakeholder Communication: We help you clearly communicate changes with shareholders, partners, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders to manage expectations and maintain relationships.
4. Documentation and Implementation: We handle all necessary legal documentation and execution, including revising legal documents (shareholder agreements, corporate bylaws, partnership agreements, etc.) and guiding the formal implementation of structural changes.
5. Dispute Resolution: When conflicts arise during restructuring, we represent your interests through negotiation, mediation, or litigation if necessary.
6. Compliance and Follow-up: We ensure all changes are compliant with relevant laws and regulations, then provide ongoing legal support as your business transitions to its new structure.

Throughout this process, your restructuring lawyer serves as both legal counsel and strategic advisor, protecting your interests while facilitating necessary changes. We guide you every step of the way.

The timeline for business restructuring varies significantly based on multiple factors:

1. Complexity of the restructuring: Simple ownership transfers or governance changes might be completed in 2-8 weeks, while comprehensive reorganizations involving multiple business aspects typically take 2-4 months or longer.
2. Stakeholder cooperation: When all partners or shareholders agree on the restructuring approach, the process moves more quickly. Disputes or disagreements can extend timelines significantly.
3. Third-party approvals: Restructuring may require approvals from lenders, regulatory bodies, or other external parties, each with their own timelines.
4. Documentation requirements: Creating, reviewing, and finalizing legal documents takes time, particularly when multiple rounds of revisions are needed.
5. Client timeframe and priorities: Many clients prefer to implement restructuring in phases, starting with only the most critical elements. This phased approach allows businesses to address immediate concerns and minimize business disruption while planning for more comprehensive restructuring over time.

Our restructuring attorneys work to establish realistic timelines at the outset of the process, identifying potential bottlenecks and developing strategies to address them.

Throughout the process, we provide regular updates on progress and adjust timelines as needed. While thorough restructuring isn't instantaneous, the investment of time ultimately creates a stronger, more sustainable business foundation. We provide clear communication and realistic expectations regarding the timeline, working efficiently to achieve your desired outcomes.

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OSHA regulations apply to these employers with exceptions noted:

1. Most Private Employers: OSHA applies to most private employers in the United States. This includes businesses, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Whether you have a small business or a large company, you are generally subject to OSHA regulations. Exceptions to State Plan private sector coverage is listed on each OSHA-approved State Plan’s web page.
2. State and Local Government Employers: Employees at state and local government agencies fall outside the scope of federal OSHA coverage but are protected if they work in states that have OSHA-approved state programs.
3. Federal Employers: OSHA’s protection applies to all federal agencies. Although OSHA does not fine federal agencies, it monitors these agencies and conducts federal workplace inspections in response to workers’ reports of hazards.
4. Employee Thresholds: Some OSHA requirements may apply differently based on the number of employees at a workplace. For example, businesses with ten or fewer employees may be exempt from certain record-keeping requirements, but they are still required to provide a workplace that is free from serious recognized health or safety hazards.
5. Temporary and Seasonal Workers: OSHA regulations apply to temporary and seasonal workers. Both the host employer and the staffing agency that provide the workers share responsibility for their health and safety.
6. Independent Contractors: If an independent contractor is self-employed and has no employees working for them, OSHA has no authority over that individual. The employer hiring the independent contractor, however, is still responsible for protecting its employees from any potential hazards created by the self-employed contractor. While OSHA has no authority over a self-employed independent contractor, the employer can contractually bind the contractor to adhere to safety requirements and standards.
7. Agriculture: OSHA regulations apply to most aspects of agriculture, but there are certain exemptions for small farming operations and family farms. Farm workers who work for an immediate family member on a farm that does not hire outside employees are not covered by OSHA.
8. Maritime and Longshore Work: Federal OSHA covers maritime and longshore workers. Most State Plans, however, do not cover maritime employment. Check your state’s OSHA program to see if it includes maritime workers.

Self-employed workers are not covered by OSHA. Neither are farm workers who work for an immediate family member on a farm that does not hire outside employees.

Workers whose safety is regulated by another federal agency are also not subject to OSHA regulations. This includes, for example, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

OSHA's regulations apply only to the employer-employee relationship and not to employer activities that can affect the general public. State, County, or City public safety and health authorities are responsible for regulating and protecting public safety.

Federal OSHA and its state partners are responsible for the safety of nearly 8 million worksites and 130 million workers. Because the agency covers so many employers and worksites, it is unable to inspect every worksite.

As a result, some types of employers are more likely to have dealings with OSHA than others, especially employers whose workers are exposed to hazards such as falls, heavy equipment, or confined spaces. Our law firm has found that inspections are more common for employers who work in plants or facilities and who are in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation/warehousing industries.