Miramar General Counsel for Businesses and Business Owners

A Miramar company that waits for a contract dispute, a partner falling-out, or a lease default to find a lawyer is already behind. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation, transactions, and Miramar general counsel work for companies and owners across Broward County and Palm Beach County, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or property in South Florida.

Outside general counsel means a lawyer who knows your company before something breaks. Instead of hiring an in-house attorney, you have a firm that reads the contracts, answers the operational questions, and spots the clause that will cause trouble two years from now. Miramar businesses, from logistics and light industrial operations near the Miramar Parkway corridor to professional practices, family-run shops, and investor-owned rental property, tend to hit the same pressure points: vague agreements, informal ownership arrangements, and leases nobody read closely.

The practical payoff is timing. Florida’s limitations periods run on fixed clocks, evidence is freshest early, and a dispute caught in its first weeks is far cheaper to resolve than one that has hardened.

What a General Counsel Relationship Covers for a Miramar Business

The scope is whatever your company actually needs. Some clients call twice a year; others call weekly. Common work includes reviewing and negotiating vendor, customer, and employment-related agreements; advising owners on operating agreements and shareholder agreements; handling commercial lease questions; and responding when a demand letter arrives. Through its general counsel program, the firm can also serve as your company’s registered agent, so service of process lands with lawyers who will recognize it and act on it the same day.

Because the firm is a litigation practice first, the advice is shaped by how disputes actually get decided. A contract drafted by someone who has tried contract cases reads differently from one assembled from a template.

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

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team: everyone on a matter knows the file, so when you call, the person who answers can actually help. If an attorney is in court, the firm keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy.

Results matter, and the firm has them. In a recent matter, a Broward County Circuit Court judge issued a 32-page final judgment granting our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract after a five-day bench trial. That is the kind of record behind the contract advice we give: we know how these agreements hold up when a judge reads them line by line.

The firm is also comfortable with mediation and arbitration, and looks for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. A meaningful share of the practice comes from referrals by other attorneys, which says something about how colleagues view the work.

Situations Where Outside Counsel Pays for Itself

• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: The document that decides what happens when owners disagree. A good one addresses deadlock, buyouts, valuation, and exit before anyone is angry. Florida’s LLC statute lets a court dissolve a company when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury threatens, but a deadlock sale provision in your own agreement often controls instead.
• Commercial Contracts and Leases: Purchase agreements, supply contracts, loan documents, and leases are where disputes start. Wording on default, cure periods, and fee-shifting gets reviewed before signing, not after a breach.
• Family and Closely Held Businesses: Siblings, parents and children, or spouses sharing ownership need clear rules on control, compensation, and succession. Putting them in writing early protects both the company and the relationship.
• Partner and Member Conflicts: Questions about contributions, profit splits, or an owner acting in his or her own interest. Counsel can advise on buyouts, fiduciary duty, and dissolution before positions harden.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, and managers who cannot account for company money. Early advice can lead to an accounting claim and, where needed, emergency relief to stop assets from moving.
• Real Estate Held by Co-Owners: Partition and title issues for investors, former partners, and heirs. Florida courts handle partition in chancery, and heirs property has its own statutory framework.
• Tenant and Landlord Issues: Notice requirements are strict. A nonpayment demand under Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statute gives a tenant three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, and a defective notice can derail a possession case.
• Injunction Risk: Disputes involving company assets, property, or a departing owner sometimes need a temporary or permanent injunction quickly. Advance preparation makes a fast filing possible.

Practical Steps for a Miramar Business Owner Right Now

Start by gathering your core documents in one place: articles of organization or incorporation, operating or shareholder agreements, major contracts, current leases, loan documents, and any correspondence in an active dispute. Gaps in this file are usually the first thing a lawyer notices, and the firm can help fill them.

Next, check the clock on anything contested. Florida gives five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an oral or implied one. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, capped at twelve. Specific performance claims have only one year. Negligence and non-medical professional malpractice claims carry two years. Those periods are why waiting “to see how it plays out” can quietly cost you a claim.

Do not stop at calendar dates. Preserve emails, texts, bank records, and accounting files; do not delete anything, even if it looks unhelpful. Avoid accepting partial rent from a defaulting tenant without a plan, because Florida law requires specific steps after a partial payment on a nonpayment notice, though accepting it does not by itself waive your right to terminate.

Where a case lands depends on the amount at stake. Disputes above $50,000 belong in circuit court, which in this region means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County or the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County. Smaller claims go to county court, and small claims cover the lowest tier. Broward’s circuit also maintains complex business divisions that handle matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction cases. Federal cases from both counties go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Finally, call before you send the angry email. A short conversation with counsel often changes what you should say, to whom, and in what order.

When a Dispute Turns Into Litigation: How General Counsel Helps

The advantage of an ongoing relationship is that when something does go wrong, the lawyer already knows the company. Pleadings are faster, and strategy reflects actual business goals.

In an LLC or corporate dispute, the options are statutory and specific. A court may dissolve an LLC when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when it is no longer reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement. A court may also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of a petitioning member’s interest. For corporations, a shareholder petitioning for dissolution may face an election by the corporation or other shareholders to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value; if the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase. That election is irrevocable unless a court finds it equitable to modify it. Courts can also issue injunctions and take steps to preserve corporate assets during these proceedings.

For co-owned property, partition is available in chancery. If dividing the land would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale and split the proceeds by ownership share. Heirs property, meaning co-owned land with relatives and no governing agreement among cotenants, follows its own rules under Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which favors protecting family owners from forced sales. Quiet title actions, meanwhile, let an owner remove competing claims; a plaintiff must generally trace title back at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise, and the action may be filed in any county where part of the land sits.

Questions Miramar Owners Ask About Outside General Counsel

What does outside general counsel actually do?

It means a law firm serves as your company’s legal department. The work includes contract review, compliance and operational questions, advice on ownership and governance, and, when needed, handling disputes. You get consistent access to lawyers who know your business without carrying an in-house salary.

Is general counsel only for large companies?

No. Many clients are owner-operated businesses, family companies, and investors with rental property. If your company signs contracts, leases space, or has more than one owner, the relationship can help.

Can the firm act as our registered agent?

Yes. Through the general counsel program, the firm serves as the company’s registered agent. That means legal papers are received by lawyers who will review them immediately.

How is this different from calling a lawyer only when there is a lawsuit?

Prevention is cheaper. A reviewed contract or a clear operating agreement often keeps a disagreement from becoming litigation. And when a dispute does arise, your lawyer already understands the company.

How long do I have to sue for breach of a written contract in Florida?

Five years. An oral or implied contract claim has four years, and specific performance actions have one year. Fraud is four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve.

Did the 2023 tort reform change contract deadlines?

No. The change cut the negligence limitations period from four years to two for claims accruing after the effective date, but it left the five-year written-contract period and the four-year intentional-tort period alone.

Can my operating agreement override Florida’s default dissolution rules?

In part. If the agreement has a deadlock sale provision and it is initiated before a court finds deadlock grounds, that provision applies instead of a judicial dissolution order or a statutory buyout order, provided it is then carried out. This is a reason to draft those provisions carefully.

My partner is draining the company. What can be done quickly?

Claims may include an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and recovery of funds. Where assets are at risk of being moved or spent, the firm can seek emergency injunctive relief while the case proceeds. Courts also can appoint a receiver or custodian in dissolution cases after a hearing.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and own a Miramar business. Do I need to travel?

Generally not for routine matters. The firm handles local court appearances, keeps you informed, and schedules conference calls at times that work for everyone.

Does a business dispute always end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The firm is experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and trial work, and recommends the path most likely to meet your goals efficiently.

Do you work with other lawyers who have clients with Florida disputes?

Yes. Referrals from out of state attorneys and from Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation are a significant part of the practice. The firm communicates with referring counsel throughout and respects that relationship with the client.

Serving Miramar General Counsel Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The firm’s work for Miramar businesses sits within Broward County and reaches well beyond it. From Miramar itself, we represent companies and owners in neighboring Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Davie, Cooper City, and Southwest Ranches, and we work with clients in Pembroke Park, West Park, and Dania Beach. Heading north through the county, the firm serves Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Weston, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Margate, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Parkland, and Oakland Park.

Into Palm Beach County, the firm represents clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. Business owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with interests anywhere in these communities are regularly part of the client base, and the firm handles the local proceedings for them.

Speak With a Miramar General Counsel Attorney Before the Next Problem Starts

If your company needs a Miramar business attorney who knows the contracts, the courts, and the people involved, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is ready to talk. Call to schedule a consultation about outside general counsel services, an agreement that needs review, or a dispute that is already taking shape. A conversation now is far less expensive than a lawsuit later.