Lancaster Business Lawyer

There are a variety of reasons why you might need a lawyer at some point in your life. Finding a reliable and skilled lawyer can prove difficult. Derryberry & Associates has been serving the Lancaster area for over 15 years, specializing in real estate, estate planning, employment, and business law. We think you’ll immediately realize why this lovely community continues to depend on us for all of their legal needs, thanks to our broad range of expertise and professional, yet friendly approach.

Business Law

As a business owner or manager, it’s essential that you have a trustworthy and knowledgeable business attorney to contact when the need arises. From obtaining general business legal advice, forming an LLC or corporation, conducting a legal transaction, and beyond, the services provided by your local business lawyer at Derryberry & Associates are nearly endless. Reach out to your friendly Lancaster business attorney today and make sure all your company’s bases are covered.

Business Formation

Starting a business is an exciting milestone in your career and your life as a whole. To ensure that you’re fully protected, prepared for the challenges your business may face, and ready to do business legally, finding a dependable business lawyer is essential. The success of a business depends greatly on the foundation on which it’s built. For that reason, our team is dedicated to supporting you and your new venture in every way, doing our part to ensure that the foundation is a strong and structured one. We specialize in every step of legal business formation, including:

Acquisitions
Mergers
Sole Proprietorships
Limited Partnerships
Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP)
Partnerships
Limited Liability Company (LLC) Formation
Professional Corporation (PC) Formation
C-Corp Formation
S-Corp Formation
Breach of Contract

When a contract is breached, the guilty party is responsible for remedying that breach. Breaches come in several forms, including:

Anticipatory Breaches
Actual Breaches
Material Breaches
Minor Breaches

At Derryberry & Associates, we are familiar with contract breaches of all kinds. Your business law lawyer will help you determine which type of breach has occurred, what damages have resulted, and the best way to resolve the issue. Contract breaches could occur in relation to a number of business agreements, including:

Construction agreements
Service agreements
Franchise contracts
Employment agreements
Real estate agreements
Property agreements
Purchase and sale of business

Certain factors must be in place to prove that a contract has been violated. Your business attorney at Derryberry & Associates will help you sort through any relevant documentation, evaluate the contract(s), determine damages, and support you through the legal process. If you are being sued for breach of contract, we’ll work with you to prove your side of the case. In order to bring forth a breach of contract lawsuit, the claimant must prove that:

  1. A valid contract exists
  2. The plaintiff has an excuse for nonperformance or evidence of performance
  3. The defendant breached the contract
  4. The breach has resulted in damages
Trade Secrets

When you own a business, it’s important to make sure your intellectual property is always well-protected and legally defended. Our business law office is familiar with all the best approaches to legally protecting your trade secrets, whether they include:

Contact lists
Financial data
Techniques
Programs
Business plans
Methods
Recipes
Formulas
Designs
Strategies
Processes

Our business attorneys can help with any intellectual property case, including:

Trade secret misappropriation
Corporate espionage
Breach of binding agreements
Intellectual property theft
Business Litigation

When your business faces a lawsuit, it can be incredibly overwhelming and scary – particularly if you haven’t dealt with such a situation before. If you’ve been served, your first step should be to contact the most reliable business lawyer in Lancaster – Derryberry & Associates. From there, we’ll work to put this legal issue behind you as we gather all the necessary documentation, learn your side of the story, and fight to help you protect your business.

If you’re on the other side of business litigation and you need to take a legal approach to a business dispute, our business law firm is prepared to handle your case. We’ll help you prepare for litigation, ensure that your case is defended properly, and help your business prepare a case professionally and effectively. Some of the many reasons for business litigation include:

Partnership disputes
Class action defense
Intellectual property disputes
Employment disputes
Breach of contract
Business Purchases and Sales

Purchasing or selling a business is an exciting, but potentially overwhelming event. Every detail – from the structure of the sale to the necessary legal documentation to the financing – needs to be completed carefully and thoughtfully. At Derryberry & Associates, your business attorney in Lancaster will walk alongside you to make the purchase or sale seamless and painless. We are well-versed in every part of the process, including:

Drafting and reviewing closing and settlement documents
Drafting and reviewing non-compete and confidentiality agreements
Verifying and transferring the business’s assets and intellectual property
Transferring business-owned vehicles
Assumption of the existing business lease
License review
Regulatory compliance review
Drafting review purchase and sale documents
Sale price negotiation
Business Dissolution

As business lawyers, we understand that dissolving your business is the last thing you ever expected or wanted to do. We’re here to make that process a little less stressful and scary and a little more straightforward, allowing you to move on to your next venture. The process of closing a business is much more complex than the physical acts of hanging a sign on the door and emptying your desk. Many legal documents and processes are necessary. Our team will help you every step of the way with:

Contractual obligations
Debt responsibilities
Real estate lease obligations
Property ownership details
Dissolutions in which partners wish to retain assets and clients
Corporate shareholder disputes
Partnership Disputes

When you start a business with a trusted partner, you never think a serious dispute may occur somewhere down the line. However, partnership disputes are surprisingly common. Careful planning is essential during the early days of business formation, but many people don’t think to formalize agreements in those preliminary stages. If a conflict occurs and an internal resolution hasn’t been effective, it may be time to reach out to your local business attorney to start the mediation or dispute process. Disputes can occur for a number of reasons, including:

Succession issues
Misappropriation of funds
Trade secret or intellectual property breaches
Breach of fiduciary duty
Financial mismanagement
Management direction
Ownership structure issues