Riviera Beach General Counsel for Businesses and Property Owners

A marina operator, a landlord with a handful of rental units, or a family company holding waterfront land in Riviera Beach often reaches the same point: the contracts are signed, the money is moving, and nobody has looked at the paperwork since the day it was drafted. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation, transactions, and outside Riviera Beach general counsel services for owners and investors in Palm Beach County and neighboring Broward County.

The point of having a lawyer on call before trouble starts is mostly arithmetic. Florida gives you five years to sue on a written contract, but only four on an oral or implied one, one year on a specific performance claim, and two years on a negligence claim. An operating agreement that never addressed a deadlock, a lease signed without anyone checking the default terms, or a handshake deal with a vendor can each cost more to fix after a dispute than to structure correctly at the outset. General counsel work is the discipline of catching those gaps while they are still inexpensive.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz 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. The firm’s work centers on business divorce, partnership and member disputes, complex contract litigation, partition actions, and real estate litigation.

That litigation background shapes how the general counsel program works. Through it, the firm serves as a company’s registered agent and handles the contract, compliance, and operational questions that arise in ordinary business. A lawyer who tries these cases knows which clauses fail under pressure, which recordkeeping habits win or lose an accounting claim, and which provisions a court will actually enforce.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts, works alongside Mr. Schwartz. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when an attorney is in court. Clients are told plainly that most want a cost-effective solution, not legal fees that outrun common sense, and the firm is experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as the courtroom.

Results at trial inform the advice clients receive on the front end. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm obtained a 32-page final judgment awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Knowing what it takes to win that kind of case is exactly what makes a purchase contract worth drafting carefully in the first place.

What an Outside General Counsel Relationship Covers for Riviera Beach Clients

• Registered Agent Service: The firm can act as the company’s registered agent, so service of a lawsuit or official notice lands with lawyers who recognize it and can act on it quickly.
• Contract Review and Drafting: Vendor agreements, purchase contracts, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts are reviewed for the terms that decide disputes later, such as default, notice, and remedy provisions.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Buyout formulas, valuation methods, deadlock procedures, and transfer restrictions are far easier to negotiate while the owners still get along. Florida’s LLC statute even recognizes deadlock sale provisions in an operating agreement.
• Commercial Lease Questions: Landlords and tenants need to know the written-notice rules, such as the three-day notice for unpaid rent in a residential tenancy, and how commercial leases differ in what they require.
• Property and Title Issues: Co-ownership problems, competing ownership claims, and cloudy title can be addressed through partition or quiet title actions, and are far cleaner to avoid through careful structuring at purchase.
• Compliance and Operational Questions: Day-to-day questions on entity governance, internal records, and business decisions get answered before they become disputes.
• Early Warning on Disputes: When a partner stops reporting income, a tenant stops paying, or a counterparty goes silent, counsel who already knows your documents can tell you quickly whether the situation calls for a demand letter, mediation, or an emergency injunction.

What to Do When a Business Problem Is Already Underway

If a dispute has already started, gather the documents before anything else: the operating or shareholder agreement, the signed contract, bank statements, correspondence, and any notices sent or received. Courts and mediators decide these cases largely on paper, and disputes often turn on the precise wording of an agreement and the history of dealings between the parties. Do not delete messages, and do not confront a partner about missing money before talking to counsel, because that can prompt the very asset movement you are worried about.

Next, identify which clock is running. A written contract claim carries a five-year limit, an oral or implied one carries four, a fraud claim runs four years from discovery with an outer cap of twelve, and a specific performance action carries a one-year limit. A negligence claim is now two years, following the 2023 reform. Waiting to see whether a relationship recovers is how people lose claims they would otherwise have won.

Where would the case be heard? Palm Beach County cases are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County, and Broward County cases go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Since the amount in controversy decides the court, claims above the county court ceiling go to circuit court, while smaller claims are heard in county court or small claims. Federal court in West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale comes into play when a case qualifies for the Southern District of Florida. Broward also has a complex business division that handles matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction cases.

When money is leaving the company or an asset is about to be sold, speed matters more than anything. Florida courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions, and in dissolution proceedings can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, so an owner does not have to sit still while assets disappear. Out-of-state owners with Palm Beach County interests are common clients here, and the firm handles the local appearances so they do not have to travel for each hearing.

How Co-Owner Disputes Unwind Under Florida Law

General counsel work often exists to prevent a business divorce, but when one happens, the statutes provide real tools. Under Florida’s LLC act, a member or manager can seek judicial dissolution on grounds such as deadlock with irreparable injury threatened, misappropriated or wasted assets, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, or that it is no longer reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. The court may instead order a purchase of the petitioner’s interest or appoint a receiver or custodian.

For corporations, a shareholder can petition for dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders may elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. Within 30 days of the proceeding starting, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they can avoid dissolution by electing to buy. Filing for dissolution on certain grounds does not displace a shareholder’s right to use a compliant deadlock sale provision in a shareholder agreement. That is a strong reason to have one drafted.

Real property shared between co-owners follows a separate path. A partition action in Florida is brought in chancery. The court can divide the land, or, if division would prejudice the owners, order a sale at public auction with proceeds shared by interest. When the property was inherited, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can change the analysis, because a court must apply its protections once it finds the property qualifies. A quiet title action, by contrast, asks the court to cancel a competing claim and clear the cloud on ownership, and may be filed in any county where part of the land sits.

Riviera Beach General Counsel FAQ

What does outside general counsel actually do?

Outside general counsel acts as a company’s standing lawyer without the cost of an in-house attorney. The firm handles contract, compliance, and operational questions as they arise, and can serve as the registered agent.

Is outside general counsel only for large companies?

No. Small and family-owned businesses often benefit most, because they rarely have anyone else reviewing their agreements. A modest company with a poorly drafted operating agreement can face the same deadlock and valuation fights as a much larger one.

How is a general counsel program different from hiring a lawyer when a dispute starts?

A lawyer hired mid-dispute has to learn your documents and history under pressure. Counsel who already knows your agreements can often resolve a disagreement before it becomes a lawsuit, and can move faster if litigation cannot be avoided.

What does it mean to have a lawyer act as my registered agent?

The registered agent receives legal papers and official notices for the company. Having a law firm in that role means a lawsuit or government notice is recognized and acted on immediately instead of sitting in a drawer.

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

A claim on a written contract carries a five-year limit, while an oral or implied contract claim carries four years. A claim for specific performance has a one-year limit, so it should be raised quickly.

Did the 2023 reforms change contract deadlines?

No. The change shortened the negligence deadline from four years to two, but the five-year period for written contracts and the four-year period for intentional torts stayed as they were.

Can a general counsel relationship help me avoid a partner dispute?

Often, yes. Counsel can build buyout terms, valuation methods, and deadlock procedures into your operating or shareholder agreement before anyone is angry. Those provisions frequently decide what happens when owners disagree.

What if my business partner is taking money from the company?

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

Do I need a Florida lawyer if I live in New York or New Jersey but own property here?

Yes, if the dispute will be heard in a Florida court. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida, handling local appearances and keeping them informed.

How long does a business dispute take to resolve in Palm Beach County?

It depends on the claims, the number of parties, and whether the case resolves in mediation. Palm Beach County assigns civil cases to differentiated tracks, so complexity affects the pace. Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration before trial.

Will my general counsel also represent me in court if a dispute becomes a lawsuit?

The firm’s attorneys litigate business and real estate disputes in state and federal courts, so the same team that advised you can take the matter forward if it cannot be resolved otherwise.

Does every contract dispute have to go to trial?

No. Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration resolve many disputes, and the firm pursues the path most likely to meet your goals at a cost that makes sense.

Serving Business Owners Across Riviera Beach and the Surrounding Region

The firm’s general counsel and litigation work starts with Riviera Beach and runs through Palm Beach County. From the Singer Island and Blue Heron Boulevard corridor to the industrial and marine properties near the Port of Palm Beach, we work with owners and operators who rely on well-built contracts. We also serve clients in neighboring West Palm Beach, Lake Park, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Juno Beach, and Jupiter to the north, as well as Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Royal Palm Beach.

The firm’s reach continues south into Broward County, where we represent clients in Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, and Hollywood. Business and real estate clients throughout South Florida, along with owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold interests here, rely on the firm for contract, partnership, title, and general counsel matters.

Speak With a Riviera Beach General Counsel Attorney Today

If your company has been running on contracts no lawyer has reviewed, or a disagreement with a partner, tenant, or counterparty is beginning to look like a lawsuit, a conversation now costs far less than a fix later. Our Riviera Beach general counsel attorneys can look at your agreements, tell you where the exposure is, and recommend whether an ongoing counsel relationship fits your business. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation.