Running a Business

Once your company is formed, the legal work does not stop. Every operating business signs contracts, hires help, negotiates a lease, and eventually deals with a dispute or a demand letter. Handling these matters correctly protects the company you built, and handling them without a lawyer often means signing agreements you do not fully understand or missing a deadline that costs you leverage later.

Fisher Stone provides ongoing outside general counsel to New York companies for a flat fee, quoted up front, with a real attorney working your matter from start to finish. You reach your attorney directly by call, email, or text. There are no call centers and no handoffs between staff as your business grows.

What ongoing business legal support covers

Running a business raises legal questions that do not fit neatly into a single project like forming an entity or closing a sale. Ongoing counsel covers the contracts a company signs with customers and vendors, the documents that govern employees and independent contractors, lease review, licenses and permits, protecting your brand, and responding when a dispute or a demand letter arrives. Instead of searching for a different lawyer every time a new issue comes up, you have an attorney who already knows your business and can act quickly.

This service is built for companies that are already operating: signing new contracts, hiring people, renting space, and handling the legal questions that come with running a business in New York. If you have not yet formed your company, see business formation first.

Contracts that protect your business

Most legal problems in business start with a contract that was signed too quickly or never reviewed at all. A written agreement should state what each side is required to do, when payment is due, how the agreement ends, and what happens if something goes wrong. Fisher Stone drafts and reviews the agreements your company relies on, so the terms actually protect you rather than just the other party.

Customer and service agreements

A clear customer or service agreement sets the scope of what you are providing, the payment terms, and what happens if a client wants to cancel or is unhappy with the result. Without one, disagreements over scope or payment are harder to resolve and more likely to end in a dispute. We draft agreements that match how your business actually operates, not a generic template pulled off the internet.

Vendor contracts

Agreements with suppliers, contractors, and other vendors need the same attention as customer-facing agreements. Pricing, delivery terms, liability if something goes wrong, and how either side can end the relationship should all be addressed before you sign, not after a problem comes up. We review vendor contracts you are handed and negotiate terms that are fairer to your business.

NDAs

A non-disclosure agreement protects confidential information you share with a potential partner, investor, employee, or contractor. It defines what counts as confidential, how long the obligation lasts, and what the other party can and cannot do with the information. We prepare NDAs for these situations so you can share what is necessary to do business without giving up more protection than you intended.

Employees and independent contractors

How you classify and document the people who work for your business carries real legal weight. An employee and an independent contractor are treated differently under New York and federal law, covering taxes, benefits, overtime, and liability, and misclassifying a worker can create obligations you did not plan for. We prepare offer letters, independent contractor agreements, and basic employment documents, and advise on which classification fits a given role.

For companies with multiple owners, changes in the business often mean the operating agreement or partnership agreement needs an update too. Bringing in a new partner, changing how profits are split, or adjusting management responsibilities should be reflected in an amendment, so the document that governs your company still matches how it actually runs.

Protecting your brand and intellectual property

Your business name, logo, and reputation are assets, protected only to the extent the law recognizes your rights in them. A federal trademark registration gives you stronger, nationwide rights to your brand and a clearer path to stop someone else from using a confusingly similar name. See our trademarks service for how registration works. Where a matter calls for specialized intellectual property work outside trademarks, such as patents, we refer you to counsel who handles that area.

Handling disputes and demand letters

A demand letter from a customer, a former employee, a vendor, or a competitor should be reviewed before you respond. How you reply, and whether you respond at all, can affect your position if the matter goes further. We review the letter, assess the actual exposure, and prepare a response that protects your position, whether that means negotiating a resolution, correcting a misunderstanding, or preparing for the dispute to continue.

Not every disagreement needs to become a lawsuit. Many disputes are resolved through a firm, well-documented response or a negotiated settlement, which is faster and less expensive than litigation. Where a matter cannot be resolved that way, we advise you on your options and what litigation would involve.

How flat-fee counsel works

For a defined piece of work, such as reviewing a lease or drafting a specific contract, Fisher Stone quotes a flat fee before any work begins, so you know the full cost upfront. For companies that want an ongoing relationship, we act as your outside general counsel: the attorney who already knows your business is the one you call when the next contract, hire, or dispute comes up, rather than starting over with someone new each time.

Every matter is handled by a licensed New York attorney directly, reachable by call, email, or text, with no call centers and no junior staff standing between you and the person doing the work. A free consultation of about 15 minutes is the starting point, whether you need a single contract reviewed or an ongoing counsel relationship, and this service sits alongside the rest of Fisher Stone’s business law practice.