Tamara is a great Attorney and our company trusts in her to handle all our Corporate Law and HR Law matters.

Alan Lucero

Pre-Planning Advisor, Dignity Memorial, (Pierce Brothers Crestlawn Memorial Park) Riverside, CA

Contact us and then connect with us!

We are located at 141 Duesenberg Drive, Suite 7B, Westlake Village, CA  91362 Phone: 805-409-0530  Email: tamara@tamaraharper.com

Business Start-up START-UP ISSUES, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CONTRACTS

  • Form and organize corporations or alternative business entities. Tamara helps business entrepreneurs to avoid wasting time and money organizing business entities. She assists her clients choose the most cost effective business entity that best suits their particular needs.
  • Advise clients on the best jurisdictions to organize their business. Should you organize in California, Delaware or Nevada? Tamara helps clients organize their business in the jurisdiction that makes the most sense for them. If you organize in the wrong state, you will likely pay more money than necessary to organize your business.
  • Create agreements between partners and founding stockholders, including operating agreements, partnership agreements, shareholder agreements and buy-sell agreements.
    Tamara helps business partners identify their roles and define responsibilities before going into business, and then articulate their understandings in a written agreement. By entering into a good agreement in the beginning, partners will save substantial amounts of money in legal fees should things turn sour later on.
  • Prepare bylaws, minutes, shareholder and board of director minutes, resolutions, transfer ledgers and issue stock certificates.
    Disorganized and old corporate records can stall or even kill a deal that involves any kind of transaction involving bankers, brokers, institutional investors or a person with any level of financial sophistication. Tamara ensures that your corporate governance and other records will be kept current and organized, ensuring annual filings on a timely basis to keep your corporate entity in good standing.
  • Introduce clients to accounting, tax, PR, marketing, branding, Web development and business planning advisors and professionals.
    Through her strategic referral partnerships, Tamara can help your business grow by referring you to pre-screened and trusted professionals that will add value to your business.

Franchising

Franchise offerings and entering into a franchise agreement are complex legal matters. We strongly recommend a legal consultation and review of all franchise agreement and related documents prior to entering into a franchise agreement. There are several matters of due diligence (investigation) of registration matters for example as well as technical requirements for the potential investor that must be met.

  • Consider budgeting 1%-2% of the initial franchise fee to obtain solid legal advice prior to signing any written agreements.
  • Research, investigate and review all of the franchisor’s past and present franchise filings. If they are not registered in your state-do not invest.
  • Research with their state and any foreign jurisdictions in which they do business.
  • Pay attention to any past or present litigation filings against the franchisor and directly contact several current franchisees in various territories and interview them.

Useful Links: http://www.dbo.ca.gov/Licensees/franchise_investment_law/Default.asp http://www.dbo.ca.gov/Licensees/franchise_investment_law/california_franchise_relations_act.asp http://www.dbo.ca.gov/Licensees/franchise_investment_law/About.asp

Employment Law

Attorney Tamara Harper regularly advises employers in matters related to hiring, employment contracts, compensation, discipline termination and worker’s compensation concerns. She also assists employers in the design, drafting and implementation of personnel policies and employee manuals and handbooks; performance of personal policy audits.

  • Guides employers in all aspects and wage and hour compliance and the defense of Government wage and hour audits.
  • Advising clients on the legal and practical issues relating to drug and alcohol testing, lie detector examinations and honesty tests.
  • Informing employers regarding privacy issues in the workplace, employer responsibilities related to the content of and access to personnel files and legal concerns emanating from employee investigations.
  • Advising employers concerning labor issues relating to layoffs, sales, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, relocations and business closings.

Commercial Leasing

Review and preparation of commercial leases:  Renting commercial space is a big responsibility.  The success or failure of your business may depend upon certain terms of the lease.  Before you approach a landlord, you should understand how commercial leases differ from the more common residential variety. Commercial leases are not subject to most consumer protection laws that govern residential leases.

  • It is highly recommended that you have legal counsel involved with your lease team.
  • It is important to fully investigate the terms of the lease to ensure it meets the needs of your business.
  • Never sign a lease agreement unless you have a complete understanding and agree with of all aspects of the lease.
  • Remember, most business owners have some basic negotiating skills, as it relates to hiring, working with vendors and the selling of the firms products and services.  However, often times these very same owners are ill equipped to negotiate the lease terms with the landlord or the landlord’s broker. 
  • That inadequacy stems from the fact that most business owners negotiate a lease once every five years, whereas the party on the other side of the table may go through the process hundreds of times each year. Attorney Tamara Harper is highly skilled at negotiating the best possible lease terms for her clients.

Download our informative pamphlet Franchise Offerings here

Download the Nine Tools to Implement to Achieve Labor Law Compliance here

Download the Comprehensive Guide to Commercial Leasing here

This two part guide features a What to look for and look out for when commercial leasing and part two is a lease execution checklist.

Tamara L. Harper, A Professional Corporation, Navigating entrepreneurs, inventors, individuals, and small to mid-size companies in the e-commerce, retail, green energy, real estate, bio-tech, restaurant, and service industries to safe harbors through the maze of employment regulations, corporate compliance, real estate and civil litigation, trademark registration and defense, business sale or acquisition, investor capitalization, asset protection, legacy and estate planning and trust administration. “Navigating and charting a map of the waters and currents you need to sail to bring you safely home to your particular harbor.”  The materials and information contained on this website are provided for GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. The material should not be construed and is not intended as legal advice on any subject matter and is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL LEGAL COUNSELING from a qualified licensed attorney from the appropriate jurisdiction. IT IS NOT INTENDED, NOR DOES IT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP and no attorney-client relationship is formed unless agreed to in writing. In the event this communication is not in conformity with the regulations of any state, we are not willing to accept representation based on this communication. The content of this website is for advertising purposes, comes as-is and its accuracy, completeness, or applicability is not guaranteed. Tamara L. Harper expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or note taken based on any or all of the contents of this site.


© 2021 Tamara L. Harper, A Professional Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not to be copied without prior written permission.
141 Duesenberg Drive, Suite 7B, Westlake Village, CA 91362 805-409-0530.