Jupiter General Counsel Attorney for South Florida Businesses

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team serves as Jupiter general counsel for business owners, investors, and family companies across Palm Beach County and Broward County, handling contracts, compliance, ownership questions, and the disputes that grow out of them.

Outside general counsel is a different arrangement from hiring a lawyer after something breaks. The company has a lawyer it can call on a Tuesday afternoon about a lease clause, an operating agreement that nobody has read since signing, or a partner who wants to be paid back for expenses nobody approved. Most business disputes begin as small, undocumented disagreements, and the cheapest time to deal with them is before they harden into a claim. For a Jupiter business, that means having someone who knows the company’s paperwork and who also knows how these disagreements are tried when talks fail.

The decision that matters most is when to bring a lawyer in. Companies that wait until a dispute is active are already negotiating from behind, because the contract they signed, the minutes they never kept, and the emails they wrote now define their position. A general counsel relationship moves that decision earlier, to the point where documents can still be fixed rather than merely explained.

What an Outside General Counsel Relationship Covers

The firm’s general counsel program is built for companies that need regular access to legal advice without the expense of an in-house attorney. The firm can act as the company’s registered agent and works through the contract, compliance, and operating questions that come up in the course of doing business. Because the same lawyers also try business and real estate cases, the advice is shaped by how disputes actually get decided rather than by what looks tidy on paper.

That litigation background shows up in ordinary work. A lawyer who has seen a purchase agreement tested at trial reads indemnity language differently. A lawyer who has handled a business divorce knows which buy-sell provisions hold up when two owners stop speaking, and which ones leave a company deadlocked. When a Jupiter business owner asks whether a handshake arrangement with a vendor is enough, the honest answer depends on how that arrangement would be argued later, and that is exactly the perspective a litigator brings to the question.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s business and real estate disputes, serving Jupiter and the rest of Palm Beach County along with Broward County, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from 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. That matters for a general counsel client because a corporate problem does not always stay in one forum; a contract dispute with an out-of-state counterparty can end up in federal court, and the lawyer who advised on the contract should be comfortable there.

The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone handling a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Clients are told plainly what to expect: no attorney can promise a result, but the firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation. As proof of trial work, the firm recently won a 32-page final judgment after a five-day bench trial in the Broward County Circuit Court, awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A significant part of the practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, which says something about how the work is regarded by lawyers who have to trust someone with their own clients.

Matters a Jupiter Business Typically Brings to Counsel

• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: The document that governs how owners are paid, how decisions are made, and how someone exits is the one most often signed in a hurry. Florida’s LLC statute allows a court to dissolve a company when managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, but a well-drafted deadlock sale provision in the agreement can take precedence if it is started before the court finds those grounds.
• Commercial Leases: Jupiter’s marina, restaurant, retail, and professional-office tenants live and die by lease language on renewals, assignment, personal guarantees, and default. Reviewing the lease before signing costs far less than litigating it afterward.
• Partner and Member Disputes: Disagreements over contributions, profit splits, and whether an owner is acting in his or her own interest are the usual start of a business divorce, including buyouts, valuation fights, and judicial dissolution.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, and managers who cannot account for company money can support claims for an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty. Florida’s LLC statute lists misappropriation or waste of assets that injures the company as a ground for judicial dissolution.
• Family-Owned Businesses: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different plans, and in-laws holding shares face questions of control and compensation that benefit from written rules set up before tempers rise.
• Real Estate Held Together: Co-owned property, failed closings, title clouds, and landlord and tenant problems often sit beside the business itself, and may call for partition or quiet title actions.
• Registered Agent and Compliance: Missed service of process is a quiet way to lose a case. The firm can act as registered agent so a summons reaches a lawyer rather than a drawer.

Decisions to Make Before a Problem Becomes a Lawsuit

The first decision is whether your agreements actually say what you think they say. Pull the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, key leases, and any loan documents, and read the sections on management authority, transfer of interests, and what happens on a deadlock or an owner’s departure. If the answers are missing or contradictory, that is the thing to fix while everyone still gets along. Florida’s corporate statutes, for example, preserve a shareholder’s right to use an agreed deadlock sale provision even after a dissolution action has been filed on certain grounds, which shows how much leverage a clause written in advance can carry.

The second decision is how to document what has already happened. Keep bank statements, capital contribution records, emails, texts, and any notes about who agreed to what. In disputes over money, the winning side is frequently the one that can show where funds went. Resist the urge to confront a partner by text or to move money out of a shared account in retaliation; both can hand the other side an argument. If you believe assets are being moved or spent, say so to counsel quickly, because a court can issue injunctive relief to hold things in place while the case is pending.

The third decision is timing. Florida sets different deadlines for different claims. An action on a written contract generally has five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four, rescission has four, and fraud has four years from discovery with an outer limit of twelve. A suit for specific performance has a shorter one-year period, which catches real estate buyers who wait to see whether a seller will come around. Negligence claims now carry two years for causes of action arising after the 2023 amendments, and professional malpractice claims also run two years from discovery. Do not rely on a deadline you have estimated yourself; have counsel confirm which one applies to your facts.

The fourth decision is where a dispute will be heard. A Jupiter company’s case will most often be filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit’s circuit court in Palm Beach County if the amount in controversy is above the county court ceiling, with county civil court handling claims up to that ceiling and small claims handling the smallest. Disputes between parties in different states, or with federal questions, can reach the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. If a counterparty is in Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit has a complex business division that handles dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation. Knowing which forum applies shapes strategy, cost, and timing from the start.

The fifth decision is whether to resolve the matter or try it. Many disputes end through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and the firm’s attorneys are comfortable in all three. When a buyout is realistic, Florida’s corporate statute allows the company or other shareholders to elect to purchase a petitioning shareholder’s shares at fair value, and if the sides agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. That kind of structured exit often preserves more value than a full dissolution fight.

When Business Ownership Overlaps With Real Estate

Jupiter business owners often hold the building, the dock, or the investment property alongside the operating company, and a dispute in one tends to spill into the other. Florida’s partition statute allows a co-owner to ask the court to divide property or, if division would prejudice the owners, to order a sale at public auction with proceeds split by ownership share. Where inherited property is held among relatives, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can change the process, giving cotenants protections before a forced sale. Quiet title actions let an owner cancel a conveyance or remove a cloud on title, and the plaintiff must generally trace title for at least seven years.

Landlord and tenant disputes follow their own timetable. For unpaid rent, a landlord’s written demand starts a three-day period, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, after which the lease may be terminated. For other violations that can be cured, the notice allows seven days to fix the problem, and a landlord who accepts partial rent does not automatically give up the right to terminate, though the landlord must handle that payment properly. Getting these notices right is where many landlord cases are won or lost.

Questions Jupiter Business Owners Ask About General Counsel

What does outside general counsel actually do for a small company?

The firm becomes the company’s regular source of legal advice on contracts, compliance, and operations, without the cost of an in-house lawyer. It can also serve as registered agent, so legal papers directed to the company reach attorneys promptly.

Is a general counsel arrangement only for large businesses?

No. It is often most useful for owner-managed companies that cannot justify a full-time lawyer but still sign leases, take on partners, and enter vendor and customer contracts. Having a lawyer familiar with the company before a dispute starts frequently keeps disagreements from turning into lawsuits.

Why use a litigation firm rather than a transactional-only lawyer?

Because contracts are tested in disputes, and a lawyer who has tried those disputes drafts and reviews with the failure points in mind. The firm’s work centers on contract litigation, business divorce, and real estate disputes, so that experience informs everyday advice.

How long do I have to sue over a broken contract in Florida?

For a claim founded on a written instrument, the period is five years. A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years, and an action to rescind a contract also has four. Specific performance actions carry a shorter one-year period, so those should be evaluated quickly.

Can I remove a partner from my LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation terms, and Florida law offers court remedies for serious misconduct or when the company cannot function. An attorney needs to read the agreement before advising on options.

What can I do if a partner is taking money from the company?

Possible claims include breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of funds. In urgent cases a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the dispute is pending.

When can a court dissolve an LLC?

On a member’s or manager’s request, grounds include conduct of affairs unlawfully, impracticability of operating under the agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets, and a management deadlock that threatens irreparable injury. Courts can also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioner’s interest.

If a shareholder petitions to dissolve our corporation, can we avoid dissolution?

In many such proceedings the corporation, or other shareholders if it does not act, may elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value. The corporation must notify the other shareholders of that option within 30 days of the proceeding starting, and an election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a Jupiter business. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida, handling local court appearances so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Should I involve a lawyer before a dispute even exists?

Generally, yes, particularly when signing an operating agreement, a lease, or a buyout. Corrections are cheap before a conflict and expensive after, and an agreement that is clear about deadlocks, valuation, and exits is the best protection you can buy.

Does every business dispute end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The firm pursues whichever path is most likely to serve the client’s goals efficiently and will litigate when a negotiated outcome is not available.

Serving Jupiter Business Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

From Jupiter itself, the firm’s general counsel and business litigation work extends along the county’s northern coast and inland communities, including Jupiter Farms, Tequesta, Juno Beach, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Lake Park. Further south in Palm Beach County, the team serves business owners in Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton.

The firm also represents clients in Broward County, including Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Hollywood, and across South Florida generally. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or property in these communities are served the same way, with the firm handling local proceedings on their behalf.

Speak With a Jupiter General Counsel Attorney Before the Next Dispute

If your company has contracts nobody has reviewed, an ownership arrangement that is starting to strain, or a dispute that has already begun, a conversation with a Jupiter general counsel attorney can clarify where you stand and what to do first. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team answers calls directly and returns messages within 24 hours when attorneys are in court.

Call the firm to schedule a consultation about outside general counsel services or a pending business or real estate dispute in Palm Beach County or Broward County.