Kleinbard’s lawyers have been representing closely-held businesses since the Firm was formed more than 70 years ago, and they continue to be a significant part of our practice. We provide services to private and closely-held businesses, whether owned by a family, an individual, a small group of individuals, or a private equity firm. Our closely-held business clients range from pre-revenue, start-up companies, to businesses transitioning from their fifth to sixth generation of family ownership. Our clients in this sector seek our technical expertise as well as general business counseling, as demonstrated by the number of client advisory boards on which Kleinbard lawyers serve.
Our services to closely-held businesses include the following areas:
- Business formation, corporate governance, and business counseling;
- Business divorce and business reorganization;
- Finance (including venture capital, private equity, bank, and public financing);
- Mergers and acquisitions; and joint ventures and strategic alliances;
- Employment arrangements, employee benefits, employment counseling, employment litigation, ERISA, and executive compensation;
- Government relations (including lobbying and strategic counseling);
- Intellectual property protection and licensing; and intellectual property litigation;
- Contract disputes and business torts;
- Insurance coverage;
- Shareholder and partner disputes;
- Restrictive covenants and unfair competition;
- Real estate (including purchase, sale, financing, and leasing); and
- Business succession and tax planning.
Examples of our recent successes for our closely-held business clients include:
- Representing the sole management shareholder in acquiring the minority equity interests of siblings and cousins in connection with the transition from the fourth to fifth generation of ownership of a well-recognized company in the Philadelphia business community.
- Representing a nationally-recognized healthcare company in connection with a refinancing of its senior debt facility, allowing for a multi-million dollar distribution to the founder.
- Representing senior management in the leveraged buyout of a financial services company.
- Representing a water-related technology company in obtaining insurance coverage for an international contractual dispute involving more than $3 million.
- Successfully representing a construction materials company in defending a preliminary injunction action brought by a competitor seeking to prevent our client from hiring a highly-regarded industry salesperson.
- Representing a diversified family business in the $48 million sale of a division that management determined was no longer a strategic asset.
- Representing a third-generation logistics company in connection with a shareholders’ agreement among siblings governing ownership and transition issues.
- Representing a product design firm in connection with the negotiation of new executive employment for three management shareholders.
- Representing a natural waste management company in privatizing and improving a biosolids plant, and managing and coordinating the process with two Mayoral administrations, City Council, the Water Department, and neighborhood groups.
