Tampa Business Lawyer

Comprehensive Legal Services for Businesses

The Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez is a firm believer that small businesses are the back-bone of the Tampa Bay area. We work closely with active and prospective local area businesses to help grow and sustain their business.

If you are planning on starting your own business, we can help you with coming up with a business plan, incorporating your idea into a real legal entity, and choose the right type of tax structure for your particular needs and circumstances.

If you are an existing business, we can assist with drafting and enforcing contracts, handling collection matters, and dealing with governmental regulation issues.

Being a Tampa native, Gian-Franco Melendez can also help connect you with the right contractor, supplier, CPA, etc., that you may require to run your business.

Contact Gian-Franco Melendez today with any questions you may have about legal services pertaining to your small business. We can be reached by calling 813-473-4944 or by filling out our contact form.

Our Business Services

• General Business Law
• Contracts & Enforcement
• Incorporation
• Business Formation and Planning
• Governmental Regulation
• Collections
• Business Strategy
• Commercial Litigation

General Legal Services for Businesses

• Assistance and direction with day-to-day corporate governance, annual meetings, stock purchases, and corporate transactions
• Serve as the company’s register agent and maintain the company’s corporate books.

At the Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, we aim to help grow your business through reducing risk and avoiding potential legal issues. Hiring a Tampa Bay business lawyer that understands the challenges of running a business is one of the most important steps to ensuring long-term business success.

Contracts & Enforcement Legal Services

The Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez offers a wide and comprehensive list of contract and legal document services, including:

Drafting Legal Documents

We have extensive experience in reviewing and drafting a wide variety of legal documents. Far too often, a business comes to us for help with a huge problem, which easily could have been avoided if they had a strong comprehensive contract in place. We like to ensure that our clients avoid these headaches by putting them in the best position possible with contracts that fully suit their needs. As part of this service, we offer a fixed price for drafting most contract forms.

Drafting and Enforcing Contracts

Our contract drafting services include:

• • contactor-owner agreements,
  • subcontractor-contractor agreements,
  • owner-architect agreements,
  • owner-engineer agreements,
  • engineer-architect agreements,
  • developer agreements,
  • licensing agreements,
  • distribution agreements,
  • teaming agreements,
  • joint venture agreements,
  • supplier agreements,
  • promissory notes,
  • guarantees,
  • releases,
  • settlement agreements,
  • privacy policies and terms of use,
  • workmanship and manufacturer warranties,
  • indemnity provisions,
  • disclaimer provisions,
  • notice provisions,
  • pay when paid clauses,
  • price acceleration provisions,
  • and any type of contract document your company needs.

Business Formation and Planning

When you are just starting your business, choosing the right business formation or entity type can make all the difference in terms of tax and personal liability.

At the Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, we will review your entire business plan, examine your business goals, and help you determine what type of legal entity best suits your business. Once this process is complete, we will help you draw up all the proper legal documents to establish your business and get you started.

The types of legal entities we can help you create include: limited liability companies (LLC, PLLC), limited partnerships, corporations (S Corp, C Corp, PA), non-profits, and fictitious names (DBA).

Our office can assist you with the following steps in business formation:

• Draft or revise the legal aspects of your business plan.
• Consult with you on the different business entities available in Florida.
• Explain how the business entity you choose can help you reach your objectives.
• Explain the tax, liability, and management aspects of each entity.
• Register necessary documents, like tax forms, articles of incorporation, partnership agreements, etc.
• Assist with securing necessary permits or licenses from local, state, and federal offices.
• Advise on payroll regulations, employee benefits, and workers’ compensation requirements.

Debt Collecting for Small Business

Attempting to collect a debt owed can be one of the more frustrating tasks of running a business. We assist our clients with getting the money they are owed so that the headache can be resolved in the most efficient and professional way possible.

We understand how important being paid for your services and products is, especially for small businesses. Outstanding debts can impact how effectively you can run your business. At the Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, we use our experience and passion for serving our clients to pursue and collect your debt as quickly as possible.

Many times a legal demand letter from our office can resolve the matter in an agreeable manner without having to file a lawsuit. And, many debtors are more responsive to a letter that comes from an attorney than if it just came from the small business itself. If the debtor ignores the demand, or refuses to pay the debt outright, we have the necessary skills and resources to file a lawsuit on your behalf and get you the money you are owed.

Lien Services for Small Businesses

At the Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, LLC, we want to protect your interest in construction contracts and make sure that you get paid what you are owed. Liens and bonds require a detailed understanding of the legal requirements and deadlines that make up Florida’s laws.

We represent general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in all trades to perfect liens for the value of the materials and labor when they have not been fully compensated for the improvements they have made to the property. We also help clients enforce liens through foreclosures, litigation, and judicial sales.

We prepare lien and bond documents at flat fee rates, including the Notice to Owner, Claim of Lien, Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit, Notice of Non-Payment, partial and final release of lien, and partial and final applications for payment.

Florida Statutes Chapter 558 governs resolution of construction defects and it applies to all commercial and residential construction projects unless the parties have agreed to opt-out of the requirements. It is important to retain an attorney that understands the requirements of Chapter 558 before filing or defending a lawsuit involving construction defects.

Business Merger and Acquisition

Buying or selling a business can be a daunting task. The Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez can assist you in analyzing an upcoming transaction and help you reach an agreement, with an outcome that suits your best interests. Our unique combination of legal expertise, negotiating skills, and business knowledge allows us to effectively represent clients in all types of corporate transactions.

We assist with the creation of corporations (S corporation, C, corporation), limited liability companies (LLC, PLLC), partnerships, and all types of charitable organizations (501c3).

We provide advice and assistance with buying or selling companies, stock purchase agreements, and asset purchase agreements.

From mergers and acquisitions to strategic alliances and joint ventures, we will help you figure out the best strategy for your particular needs.