Strictly Business

A Business Law Blog for Entrepreneurs, Startups, Venture Capital, and the Private Fund Industry.

Limited Liability Company Archives

Limited Liability Examined: Part 1 – Common Questions Related to Limited Liability in the Context of a New Business

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Do I need an LLC or corporation for my new business or is it safe to operate as a sole proprietor? Is purchasing insurance enough protection? If I form a limited liability company or corporation, is it still possible that I can be held liable for something? How can I make my entity “bulletproof?” Will my LLC provide asset protection to me? What can I do to limit my contract liability? If I decide to form a limited liability company or corporation, are there costs or downsides?

These are common questions we get from clients. In this series of posts, we’ll tackle these questions and maybe a few others and try to provide some practical guidance and suggestions. [Read more…]

Retaining Key Employees in a Privately-Held Company through Equity Compensation – Part 4: “Profits Interests” in LLCs and Partnerships

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This post is the fourth in a series exploring techniques to attract and retain key employees, directors, and other service providers of privately held companies through equity-based compensation arrangements and alternative arrangements that provide cash payments tied to the value of the company’s stock or ownership interests.

Previously, I provided an overview and discussed the tax treatment of various equity compensation arrangements typically used by corporations, such as stock options, restricted stock, phantom stock, and stock appreciation rights. In this post, I’ll discuss a popular technique, called a “profits interest,” which is available to entities taxed as partnerships, such as limited liability companies (or “LLCs”). Profits interests can provide a tax efficient way to reward key service providers. Since LLCs are the most popular type of entity taxed as a partnership, for the rest of this post, I will assume that the entity in question is an LLC.

[Read more…]

When does a deal involve securities regulation? Part 3: Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies

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This post is the third in a series exploring when securities laws impact business transactions.

In my previous posts, I provided a general overview of the definition of a “security” under federal securities laws.  One of the categories of investments that constitutes a “security” under federal law is an “investment contract.”  The term is a rather open-ended one, but under the so-called Howey Test, the term includes any arrangement or transaction that is “an investment in a common venture premised on a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.”  As a result, any transaction which constitutes an investment contract is a security under federal securities law.  In this post, we’ll explore when an interest in a limited liability company (“LLC”) or a partnership constitutes an investment contract, and consequently, a security. [Read more…]

When does a deal involve securities regulation? Part 2: The “Howey” Test

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This post is the second in a series exploring when securities laws impact business transactions.

In my previous post, I provided a general overview of the definition of a “security” under federal securities laws.  The Securities Act of 1933 provides for a very far reaching definition of a security, including “any note, stock… investment contract…, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a ‘security’…”  As explained in my prior post, this definition, taken literally, can result in both overinclusiveness and underinclusiveness.  I’ll discuss the issue of overinclusiveness and how it is addressed in future posts; this post will discuss how the inclusion of an “investment contract” within the definition of a security allows the definition to include classes of investments that are not specifically listed, like limited liability company interests and limited partnership interests, which are both concepts that had not even been invented when the Securities Act was passed. [Read more…]

When does a deal involve securities regulation? Part 1: Introduction

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Business owners and attorneys without a securities background will often engage in transactions that, while on first blush do not involve securities regulation, but actually are a securities transaction, and thus subject to federal and state securities laws.  For instance, real estate developers often finance projects by bringing in outside investors as limited partners.  They are likely to hire a real estate attorney to complete the deal, who will dutifully draft a limited partnership agreement for the transaction.  What neither of them often realize is that a securities transaction is occurring as part of the deal.  The sale of limited partnership interests is usually a securities transaction under federal and state law.  This means that the interests are subject to registration with the SEC and with the state of each investor’s residence[1], unless an exemption can be found. In addition, all statements made in discussions with limited partners are subject to the anti-fraud rules. [Read more…]

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