Broward County General Counsel Attorney for Business Owners

The goal of good outside counsel is a business that never has to explain itself to a judge. When contracts are tight, entity records are clean, and disputes get handled before they harden into lawsuits, owners spend their time running the company. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team provides Broward County general counsel services to business owners, investors, and family-run companies throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, backed by a litigation practice that shows up when prevention fails.

That litigation background shapes how the firm advises. A lawyer who has tried commercial cases knows which sentence in an operating agreement will be fought over, which email thread will become an exhibit, and which handshake deal will collapse the moment the parties disagree. Outside general counsel built on that experience produces documents and decisions designed to hold up under pressure.

Broward businesses have a particular rhythm: closely held companies, real estate holdings, partnerships between friends and relatives, and owners who live part of the year in the Northeast. Each of those arrangements tends to run on informal understandings until money or control becomes contested. Regular legal attention is the cheapest way to replace those understandings with something enforceable.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team as Your Outside General Counsel

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests here. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. Together they practice as a true legal team: everyone working on your matter knows your file, so a question does not wait for one particular lawyer to resurface. The firm keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and conference calls are scheduled around the people involved.

The firm’s general counsel program is built for businesses that need regular access to legal advice without carrying an in-house lawyer. The firm can serve as the company’s registered agent and handle the contract, compliance, and operational questions that come up in the normal course of business. Having a litigator involved before a dispute starts often keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit.

Results in court inform the advice. In a recent matter, after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm’s client received a 32-page final judgment granting specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of outcome depends on contract drafting and record-keeping done long before trial, which is exactly the work outside counsel does. The firm also has experience in mediation and arbitration, and it looks for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

What Outside General Counsel Covers for Broward Businesses

• Operating Agreements and Shareholder Agreements: The document that governs buyouts, expulsion, voting, deadlock, and exit. Florida’s LLC and corporate statutes allow an agreement to include a deadlock sale mechanism, and a well-drafted one can resolve an ownership standoff without a court ever dissolving the company.
• Commercial Contracts and Leases: Vendor agreements, purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts, reviewed with an eye toward how they would be read in a dispute rather than how they read on signing day.
• Registered Agent and Entity Maintenance: Service of process lands on the registered agent, so a missed lawsuit is a real risk when that role is neglected. Through its general counsel program the firm can act as the company’s registered agent and keep entity records in order.
• Family Business Governance: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions, and in-laws holding shares all benefit from written rules about control, compensation, and succession before disagreement arrives.
• Real Estate Transactions and Co-Ownership: Purchase and sale contracts, failed closings, landlord and tenant questions, and agreements among co-owners that address what happens if one wants out. Co-owners who cannot agree can end up in a partition action, which is far more expensive than a clear exit clause.
• Partner and Member Conflicts: Early advice on unpaid distributions, disputed capital contributions, and managers who cannot account for company money, including whether emergency injunctive relief is warranted to stop assets from moving.
• Compliance and Day-to-Day Operational Questions: The steady stream of “can we do this?” questions that arise in running a company, answered by someone who already knows the business.

Why Prevention Matters When Partners Fall Out

Florida law gives a business owner real remedies when a company becomes unworkable, but those remedies are blunt and expensive compared to what a good agreement would have provided. Under the LLC statute, a court can dissolve a company on a member’s petition when activities are conducted unlawfully, when it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, when controlling members act illegally or fraudulently, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened. A court may also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder may petition for dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can often elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase. Once made, the election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside. In these proceedings a court can also issue injunctions, appoint a receiver, and take steps to preserve corporate assets while the case proceeds.

The practical point is that every one of these outcomes is faster, cheaper, and more predictable when the owners already wrote the rules. An operating agreement with a deadlock sale provision, a valuation method, and a clear exit path means the parties follow a contract instead of asking a judge to improvise one. This is where a Broward County business attorney who also litigates earns the retainer: the drafting reflects what actually fails in court.

Deadlines and Court Logistics Business Owners Should Know

Time limits drive many business decisions, and owners often learn them too late. A claim founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied contract has four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. An action for specific performance of a contract carries a one-year period, which is short enough to surprise owners who assume they have years to decide. Professional malpractice claims, including against advisors, run two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Negligence claims were cut to two years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023. Keeping contracts, correspondence, and financial records organized is how a business preserves the ability to act inside these windows.

If a dispute does reach court, Broward County cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Circuit civil matters are handled at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale, and the circuit also operates regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Disputes above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court. The Seventeenth Circuit also maintains complex business divisions that handle matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction litigation, with a case entering one of them through the procedure the circuit’s administrative order sets out. Businesses with federal claims or parties in different states may find themselves in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, among other cities.

If something has already gone wrong, the practical advice is simple. Stop and preserve documents, including emails and text messages. Do not move, spend, or reshuffle company funds to “protect” them, because that can look like the very conduct you are complaining about. Gather the operating agreement, any amendments, bank statements, and tax filings. Then call a lawyer before sending a heated message to a partner, because the first written exchange in a dispute frequently becomes an exhibit.

Broward County General Counsel Questions Answered

What does an outside general counsel actually do?

An outside general counsel serves as the company’s ongoing legal advisor without being an employee. That means reviewing contracts, answering operational questions, helping keep the entity in good standing, and flagging risk before it becomes a dispute. At this firm the program can also include serving as the company’s registered agent.

Is outside general counsel cheaper than hiring an in-house attorney?

For most small and mid-sized businesses, yes. An in-house lawyer carries a full salary and benefits whether or not there is work. Outside counsel is used as needed, which fits companies that need regular but not constant legal input.

Why would a litigation firm serve as general counsel?

Because the drafting and advice are informed by how disputes actually unfold. A lawyer who has litigated contract and partnership cases knows which provisions get fought over and writes with that in mind. Having a litigator involved before a dispute often keeps it from becoming a lawsuit.

Can you help with an operating agreement we signed years ago and never revisited?

Yes. Many companies run on an agreement that no longer matches how the business works. Reviewing it for buyout, deadlock, expulsion, and transfer provisions, and amending it by agreement of the owners, is a common and worthwhile project.

What happens if my business partners and I deadlock?

It depends on your operating or shareholder agreement. If it contains a deadlock sale provision, that mechanism may control. Without one, Florida law allows a court, on specified grounds, to dissolve the company, appoint a receiver or custodian, or order a buyout of a petitioning owner’s interest.

How long do I have to sue over a breach of a written contract?

Five years under Florida law for a claim founded on a written instrument. Oral or implied contract claims have four years. Specific performance actions have only one year, so that claim should not wait.

Does my company need a registered agent, and can your firm serve as one?

Florida entities must maintain a registered agent to receive legal papers. Through the firm’s general counsel program, the firm can serve in that role, which helps ensure lawsuits and official notices are seen by lawyers promptly.

We are a family business. Can general counsel help before relatives start fighting?

That is often the best time. Written rules on ownership percentages, compensation, voting, and what happens if someone wants out or passes away are much easier to agree on while relationships are good. The firm handles family business matters with discretion.

I live in New York and co-own a Broward property or business. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with interests in South Florida, handles local court appearances, and keeps out of state clients informed so they do not need to travel for every proceeding.

Will you work with my current attorney on a Florida issue?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s work comes from referrals by other lawyers, including out of state attorneys and Florida attorneys who do not handle business litigation. The firm communicates with referring counsel throughout and respects the referring lawyer’s relationship with the client.

Does every business problem end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in each, and they pursue the path most likely to serve the client’s goals efficiently.

General Counsel Representation Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The firm’s work starts in Broward County and reaches across it, from Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood through Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Weston, Lauderhill, Tamarac, Margate, Coconut Creek, Parkland, and Hallandale Beach. Business owners in those communities range from family-run companies and professional practices to real estate investors holding property through LLCs.

North of the county line, the firm also serves clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach. Whether the company sits in a Broward office park or the owner lives a thousand miles away, outside general counsel works the same way: steady attention, clear documents, and early advice.

Speak With a Broward County General Counsel Attorney

If your company needs regular legal guidance, a cleaner set of agreements, or a litigator who will look at problems before they become cases, a Broward County general counsel attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can discuss what fits your business. Call the firm to schedule a consultation and talk through your company, your owners, and what you want protected.

The firm answers its phone, returns calls within 24 hours when attorneys are in court, and looks for solutions that make sense for the client’s budget as well as the client’s goals. Reach out before the next disagreement turns into a dispute.