Business Law

The acquisition, merger, sale, transfer or purchase of a business is a milestone event. These types of transactions can be intricate. The sooner legal input is sought the better. We start by learning as much as possible about our clients’ objectives. This allows us advise comprehensively, anticipate challenges and proactively solve problems.

Change is Constant. All businesses and companies will at some stage have to adapt, restructure and reorganise. Change can be voluntary or forced and can arise for any number of reasons.

Setting up a business is a bold step, which can lead to great success, fulfilment and satisfaction. We want to be part of your success by establishing a successful long-term relationship so that we become your touchstone when faced with a legal issue as your business grows.

Business owners need to plan how they would like their business to continue once they cease to have an active role. The succession will have a far greater chance of success if it is properly planned and structured. The mix of business and relationships can complicate matters in a family business. To avoid unforeseen and unwelcome consequences it pays to get early legal advice.

Business-to-business agreements have a different legal character to business-to-consumer agreements. They do not have the automatic legal protections that are designed to protect uninformed or uneducated parties. Courts are slow to grant “opts outs”. Businesses are expected to know how to protect their interests. A major part of that responsibility is to understand what constitutes a valid and enforceable commercial agreement.

It never ceases to surprise how many senior executives, company directors, owners and proprietors of businesses give great amounts of their time and energy to running and promoting their companies yet neglect their personal affairs. We see helping hard working and effective people to ensure this does not happen to them as a core part of the Thomas Barry & Company business law service.

Finance is the life blood of business. Thomas Barry & Company has the expertise and experience necessary to guide clients through the legal, regulatory and compliance issues to do with banking and finance.

Liquidation is the means by which a company is brought to an end and the assets and property of the company distributed. Liquidation can be by court order or voluntary. There is a designated order in which interested parties such as the Revenue, employees, financial institutions, general creditors and shareholders are paid.

Examinership is a process whereby the protection of the Court is sought to assist the survival of a Company. Once the company is placed into examinership a window is given during which creditors cannot seek repayment of outstanding debts from the company.

In Receivership the Receiver is granted the legal right to receive and dispose of property belonging to others for the benefit of a secured creditor. A Receiver and Manager has the additional power to manage and trade with the company’s charged assets.

In an ever more regulated business environment failure to observe the proper formalities or ensure compliance with a wide variety of regulations can have significant adverse consequences. The consequences can be both personal and corporate. Corporate governance has to be at the forefront of a business’s thinking.

Shareholders Agreements – Where individuals use a limited liability company as the vehicle for a business activity it is advisable to have a shareholders agreement in addition to the Constitution. A Shareholders Agreement regulates issues such as how the business is run, how key decisions are made, the financial commitments of the parties, the rights of families and exit strategies.

Joint Venture Agreements – “JV’s” are agreements between two or more parties on how they will collaborate in a common business project. The parties generally agree to share the profits and losses proportionate to their interests in the agreement.

Partnership Agreements – Such agreements regulate the way individuals or unincorporated companies work together. They cover much the same ground as shareholders agreements. One of the key differences between a partnership agreement and a shareholders agreement is in the area of responsibility for debts. With a partnership agreement, while the owners can decide how to allocate responsibility for debts between themselves, as far as the outside world is concerned, they are all fully liable for any liabilities the partnership may incur. This is not the case with a shareholders agreement. Here the parties own shares in the company operating the business not the business itself and it is the company which is responsible for the business debts.