How Can a Lawyer Help Me Form a New Business?

When starting a business or a not-for-profit I usually have to go through all the steps. There’s setting up the shell and corporation with the Secretary of State, which is fairly easy. What should be in the bylaws? How many directors do I need? Who should be on the Board of Directors? For profits need only one director; usually the founder is the one director. Not-for-profits need three directors. That gets a little bit more complicated because you want people who are actually going to be engaged in helping move the organization moving forward. What about Federal Employer Identification Number? That’s something every entity needs to get. What tax returns have to be filed? We will run through all of those things. What about corporate records?

A Board of Directors is supposed to meet at least once a year. Ideally, they will meet more often, possibly quarterly, to monitor. The Board of Directors is charged with making strategic decisions about where the organization is supposed to be headed. That’s not something the Executive Director will have or the president, if it’s a different person, will have some input on that, but the final decision has to be with the Board of Directors. I also do training for boards of directors.