Transactions.

A critical piece of a business’s success is having the right attorney on its side for both the expected legal transactions and for when legal problems start to interfere with business operations.

Hospitality Law.

  • Hotels and restaurants are two of the most common types of businesses under the umbrella of hospitality law. These businesses have a number of legal duties to their guests, including protecting their safety, preventing negligence, and safeguarding their identifying information. They must also comply with typical employer regulations, like hiring and firing employees, and enter into contracts frequently. In addition, hotels must protect their guests from criminal activity, like theft or terrorist attacks.

    Restaurants are different than convenience stores and grocery stores because they must sell food that is safe for human consumption. In order to ensure this, many states have Truth in Menu laws that require restaurants to accurately describe the food on their menus. The federal government also has a number of food regulations that restaurants must abide by, such as warnings regarding trans fats. Restaurants must also protect their customers against slips and falls, food poisoning, and other personal injuries. Both industries also commonly deal with franchise agreements, supply chain and other commercial transactions, labor disputes, complex real estate transactions, contract negotiations, and a variety of other legal issues.

    The Atlas Law Firm, currently acts as Outside General Counsel for several national restaurant chains. If you are the owner of a hospitality business and would like to have someone to call with the questions that arise during the week-to-week operation of your business, we would be happy to discuss being your General Counsel.

Contract Drafting & Review.

  • Legal paperwork can be both confusing and frustrating, even for an experienced business owner. In order to set yourself up for future success, it’s important that your business contracts are clear, comprehensive, and legally sound. Most business owners find this risky to navigate themselves without the help of contract lawyers. Our attorneys specialize in helping people create documents for their business relationships, employment contracts, company formation, and anything else related to your business agreement needs. We have expertise in legal document review, research, and analysis, and will devote our skills to protecting and organizing your business.

    One of the cornerstones of any successful business is the paperwork. These contracts are there to protect your physical and/or intellectual property, outline relationships with employees and other organizations, and clarify the purpose and goals of your company. Without solid and enforceable documents, you’re putting your business at risk for all sorts of troubles, from trademark violations to human resources disputes. At the Atlas Law Firm, our contract lawyers give you a strong legal foundation so you can avoid these troubles whenever possible.

contract signature

Commercial Leases.

  • As a commercial business owner, you probably already understand how crucial selecting the right property for your business is. No matter what type of business you’re running or whichever industry you’re in, the location of that storefront, warehouse, shop, and more, will undeniably matter. If you operate an office space, the location of that building, as well as the amenities included matters. If you run a storefront, where that storefront is in relation to your customer base will matter. In general, half the battle of running a successful shop, office, restaurant, and more is picking a location that works best for you—the other half is ensuring you can lock that location down.

    Ideally, you’d be able to find a commercial space that fits your business best—a great location, tons of amenities, and everything on site that you need to keep your employees and customers happy. Even more ideally, you’d be able to sign the papers on that property for the price you want without a single issue. The reality? That’s not always the way it works. Oftentimes, even when you do find the perfect location that fits every last one of your needs, the biggest issue arises—the commercial lease.

downtown Houston buildings

Franchise Law.

  • Are you thinking about purchasing a franchise? Is your existing franchised business up for renewal? If so, let the Altas Law Firm help you through the process. We utilize our extensive experience in working with franchisees to help you understand the Franchise Disclosure Document and the Franchise Agreement and identify potential trouble spots before you commit.

    Our franchise review includes a detailed report outlining the key terms of your franchise agreement and Franchise Disclosure Document and a follow-up telephone consultation to cover any concerns. The analysis includes an examination of key areas such as protections against same-brand competition, Termination and renewal rights, franchisor’s obligations, your obligations, dispute resolution procedures, sale and transfer restrictions, Noncompetition provisions, and much more. We can suggest changes to the agreement as written and can help you negotiate changes with your franchisor. By allowing us to assist you before making the long-term commitment of becoming a franchisee or renewing your existing franchise agreement, we can help you save time and money by preventing future problems.

    We frequently hear from franchises who express frustration that their franchisors or suppliers are not doing what they said they would do at the outset of the agreements. Sometimes this is a result of poor execution. Sometimes it is the result of a change in management. Sometimes the reasons are not apparent. When a franchisor fails to perform its obligations to a franchisee, it is important that the franchisee seek legal assistance so that it does not forfeit any of its rights.

hamburger with onions lettuce and tomato

Negotiations.

  • When disputes arise in business, it’s often difficult to know how to resolve the conflict without risking a valuable relationship. Nonetheless, it is possible to turn tense disputes into productive negotiations and maintain strong relationships. The importance of negotiation skills in these instances is paramount.

    At the Atlas Law Firm, we have extensive experience representing clients in negotiating disputes on our clients’ behalf, without forgetting that there is usually business to do with the other party after the deal is made. We understand that lawyers too often get in the way of a good deal, but our clients find that we usually find a way to make a deal even better.

business men shaking hands

General Counsel.

  • Several attorneys at the Atlas Law Firm currently act as general counsel to companies across the country. Whether you run a small business or operate national chain, we recognize that it doesn’t always make sense to have a full-time lawyer as in-house general counsel. Yet many businesses could do well with having prompt and reliable legal advice from someone they trust. This helps reduce your exposure to liability on the front-end, while keeping costs predictable.

    We are available to advise and counsel business clients across a wide range of issues, day in and day out. If having an attorney familiar with your business and ready to answer your legal questions as they arise sounds like something your company could use, please give us a call. We would love to discuss if hiring us to be your general counsel makes sense for your business.

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