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Chapter1 YOUR CLIENT WANTS TO GO INTO BUSINESS 1

Introduction 1

Types of Business Entities 2

Sole Proprietorship 2

Taxes 2

Sale or Disposal 3

Death 3

Advantages of a Sole Proprietorship 3

Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship 4

General Partnership 4

Number of Persons and Investment Needed 4

Name of General Partnership 4

Advantages of a General Partnership 4

Disadvantages of a General Partnership 5

Oral General Partnership 5

Agent of Partnership 6

Apparent Authority 6

Termination of Partnership on Death of a Partner 6

Loyalty 6

Adding Partners or Selling a Partner’s Interest 7

Assignment of Interest 7

Liability of New Partner 7

Partnership Agreement 7

Assets 8

Right to Sue and Be Sued 8

Advantages of a General Partnership 9

Disadvantages of a General Partnership 9

Limited Partnership 9

Restricted Rights of Limited Partners 10

Tax Advantages 10

Ownership of Real Property and Ability to Sue and Be Sued in Its Name 10

Uses of Limited Partnerships 10

Advantages of a Limited Partnership 11

Disadvantages of a Limited Partnership 11

Corporations 11

Limited Liability Company（LLC） 12

Limited Liability Company Members 12

Operating Agreement 12

Recording Requirements 13

Types of Limited Liability Companies 13

A Legal Entity 13

History 13

Non-Corporate Business 13

Investment in Limited Liability Companies 14

Taxation of an LLC 14

Dissolution of an LLC 14

Rule of IRS for Taxation as a Partnership 14

Limited Liability Partnership（LLP） 15

Summary 15

Chapter2 WHAT IS A CORPORATION？ 17

Duties of a Legal Secretary and/or Paralegal with Reference to a Corporation 17

Nature of a Corporation 18

Revised Model Business Corporation Act 18

Domestic，Foreign，and Alien Corporations 19

Sovereignty 19

Attributes of a Corporation 19

Taxation 19

Legal Entity 20

Creature of the State 20

Freely Transferable Stock 20

Centralized Management 20

Perpetual Existence 20

Citizenship 20

Liability of Stockholders 21

Types of Corporations 21

Public Corporation 21

Publicly Held Corporation 21

Domestic，Foreign，and Alien Corporations 22

For Profit Corporation 22

Professional Corporation 23

Nonprofit Corporation 23

Close Corporation（Closely Held） 23

Private Corporation 23

SubChapterS Corporation 23

Summary 24

Chapter3 DECIDING WHETHER AND HOW TO INCORPORATE 27

Introduction 27

Selecting a State in Which to Incorporate 27

Increase of Start-UP Costs 28

Publicly Traded Corporations 28

Delaware Corporations 28

Revised Model Business Corporation Act 29

Organization of Corporation 29

Certificate of Incorporation，Articles of Incorporation，Charter 29

Powers of a Corporation 29

Resident Agent 30

Issuance of Stock 30

Subscription Rights 30

How to Incorporate 30

Delaware Corporation Benefits 31

Promoters 31

Incorporating 31

Subscriber 32

Pre-Incorporation Transactions 33

Summary 33

Chapter4 CORPORATION STRUCTURE 36

How to Become a Shareholder 36

Management of a Corporation 37

Publicly Traded Corporations 37

Board of Directors 38

The Re*sed Model Business Corporation Act（Section 8.01（b），RMBCA） 39

Qualification of Directors（Section 8.02，RMBCA） 39

Number and Election of Directors 39

Section 8.03（a），RMBCA 39

Section 8.03（b），RMBCA 39

Section 8.03（c），RMBCA 40

Term of Office 40

Terms of Directors Generally（Section 8.05，RMBCA） 40

Resignation of Directors 40

Removal of Directors by Shareholders 40

Voting Group of Shareholders 41

Removal of Directors by Judicial Proceeding 41

Vacancy on Board（Section 8.10，RMBCA） 42

Compensation of Directors 42

Meetings of the Board of Directors 42

Action Without Meeting 43

Notice of Meeting 43

Waiver of Notice 43

Quorum and Voting 44

Section 8.24，RMBCA 44

Committees on the Board 45

Committees（Section 8.25，RMBCA） 45

Officers 46

Required Officers（Section 8.40，RMBCA） 47

Officers’Term of Office 47

Summary 47

Chapter5 DO YOU WANT A CLOSE CORPORATION？ 50

Introduction 50

Definition of a Close Corporation 52

Model Statutory Close Corporation Supplement 52

Legislative Intent-Various States-as to Close Corporations 52

Qualify and Elect Close Corporation Status-Delaware 53

Existing Corporation to Become a Close Corporation-Delaware 53

Why Would You Want a Close Corporation？ 54

Possible Future Problems Without a Close Corporation 54

Close Corporation-Advantages 54

Freeze-outs 55

How Do You Set Up a Close Corporation？ 55

Voting 55

Agreement 55

The Close Corporation Agreement Should Cover at Least the Following Areas 56

Summary 60

Chapter6 DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 65

Introduction 65

Loyalty 66

Remedies for Violation of Duty of Loyalty 66

Punitive Damages 67

Duty of Obedience 67

Duty of Diligence 67

Statutory Due Care 68

General Standards for Directors（Section 8.30，RMBCA） 68

Standards of Conduct of Officers（Section 8.42，RMBCA） 69

Self Interest（Conflict of Interest） 69

Director Conflict of Interest（Section 8.31，RMBCA） 70

SubChapterDefinitions（Section 8.60，RMBCA） 71

Judicial Action（Section 8.61，RMBCA） 72

Directors’Action（Section 8.62，RMBCA） 72

Shareholders’Action（Section 8.63，RMBCA） 73

Discussion of Sections 8.60-8.63 RMBCA（Known as SubChapterF） 73

Compensation and Waste 74

Compensation Plans for Executives 75

Incentive Stock Options 75

Non-Qualified Stock Options（Sometimes Called Nonstatutory） 76

Stock Appreciation Rights 76

Phantom Stock 76

Restricted Stock 77

Duties of Controlling Stockholders 77

Use of an Independent Committee of Directors to Shift Burden of Proof 78

Sale of a Controlling Interest 78

Purchase of a Controlling Interest 78

Sale of Corporate Office（Directorships）or Management Control Without Voting Control 79

Business Judgment Rule 79

Standards of Review and Standards of Conduct in Corporation Law 80

Liability of Directors 80

Limiting Liability of Directors（Section 2.202（b）（4），RMBCA） 80

Shareholders Liability—Optional 81

Protection of Directors 81

Summary 81

Chapter7 RAISING CAPITAL 88

Introduction 88

Blue Sky Laws 89

Debt Securities 89

Bonds 90

Debentures 90

Indentures 90

Promissory Notes 91

Corporate Power to Issue Debt Securities 91

General Powers（Section 3.02，RMBCA） 92

Callable Bonds 92

Convertible Bonds 92

Income Bonds 93

Participating Bonds 93

Secured Bonds 93

Unsecured Bonds（Debentures） 93

Equity Securities 94

Right to Issue Shares 94

Par Value 94

Articles of Incorporation（Section 2.02（b）（iv），RMBCA） 95

No Par Value 95

Issuance of Shares（Section 6.21，RMBCA） 95

Treasury Stock 96

Reports to Shareholders（Section 16.21，RMBCA） 96

Consideration Needed to Purchase Shares 96

Stocks Corporations Can Issue 97

Authorized Shares（Section 6.01，RMBCA） 97

Common Stock 98

Classes and Series of Stock 98

Preferred Stock 99

Straight Preferred Stock 99

Stock Options，Stock Rights，and Stock Warrants 99

Retained Earnings 99

Summary 100

Chapter8 SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS 104

Introduction 105

Right to Vote 105

Liability of Shareholders 105

Liability of Shareholders（Section 6.22，RMBCA） 106

Shares Represented by Certificates and Shares Without Certificates 106

Form and Content of Certificate（Section 6.25，RMBCA） 106

Shares Without Certificates（Section 6.26，RMBCA） 107

Right to Vote 107

Voting Requirements 107

Shareholders List for Meeting（Section 7.20，RMBCA） 108

Voting Power of Shares 109

To Control Voting and/or Election of Directors 109

How Directors Are Elected 110

Staggered Terms for Directors（Section 8.06，RMBCA） 110

Noncumulative Voting 110

Cumulative Voting 110

Formulas for Minority to Elect One Director 111

Defective Incorporation 111

Liability for Preincorporation Transactions（Section 2.04，RMBCA） 112

Limited Liability 112

Ultra Vires 112

Ultra Vires（Section 3.04，RMBCA） 113

Piercing the Corporate Veil 113

Commingling of Corporate Funds 114

Proxy 114

Proxy Solicitation 114

Proxies（Section 7.22，RMBCA） 115

Securities Exchange Act，1934，Rule 14（a） 115

Shareholders Right to Inspect Books and Records 116

Inspection of Records by Shareholders（Section 16.02，RMBCA） 116

Scope of Inspection Rights 117

Summary 117

Chapter9 CAPITAL AND DISTRIBUTION 123

Introduction 124

Corporate Liability 124

Low Par Stock 124

California and the RMBCA，Reference Par Value 125

Distributions（Section 1.40（6），RMBCA） 125

Dividends 125

Dividend Payments 126

Directors Liability for Declaring Improper Dividends or Distributions 127

Liability for Unlawful Distribution（Section 8.33，RMBCA） 127

Kinds of Dividends 128

Corporation’s Acquisition of Its Own Shares（Section 6.31，RMBCA） 129

Lost，Destroyed，and Stolen Certificated Securities 129

Lost，Destroyed，and Stolen Certificated Securities（Uniform Commercial Code，Section 8-405） 130

Liability and Non-Liability for Registration（UCC，Section 8-404） 130

Effect of Overissue（UCC，Section 8-104） 131

Endorsements;Instructions（UCC，Section 8-308） 131

Issuer’s Duty as to Adverse Claims（UCC，Section 403） 131

Assurance That Endorsements and Instructions Are Effective（UCC，Section 8-402） 132

Investment Securities 132

Certificated and Uncertificated Securities 133

Ownership of a Security 133

Rights and Obligations of Certificated and Uncertificated Shareholders 133

Issuer Must Register a Transfer of Security Ownership When Requested 133

Transfer of Securities 133

Transfer;Warranties 134

Unauthorized or Forged Endorsement 134

Summary 134

Chapter10 SHAREHOLDER SUITS 140

Introduction 141

Derivative Action 141

Party That Can Bring a Derivative Action 142

Derivative Proceedings，Definitions（Section 7.40，RMBCA） 142

Standing（Section 7.41，RMBCA） 142

Shareholder of a Parent Corporation 143

Creditors and Derivative Actions 143

Indispensable Party to Derivative Action 143

Difference between a Derivative and a Direct Action 143

Five Additional Areas That Give Rise to a Direct Action 144

Five Additional Areas That Give Rise to a Derivative Action 144

Continuing Wrong Theory 145

Demand（Section 7.42，RMBCA） 145

Derivative Action Without a Demand on the Board，New York State 145

Independent Committee to Investigate Basis for Derivative Action 145

Decision by Disinterested Committee 146

Dismissal（Section 7.44，RMBCA） 146

Demand on Shareholders 147

Right to Trial by Jury，Derivative Action 147

Discontinuance or Settlement（Section 7.45，RMBCA） 147

Counsel Fees for Plaintiff，Derivative Actions 148

Payment of Expenses（Section 7.46，RMBCA） 148

Security for Expenses 148

Avoiding Posting a Bond for Security 148

Strategy to Avoid Posting a Bond or Reducing the Amount 149

Indemnification 149

Settlement of Derivative.Actions 150

Shareholders Who Object to a Settlement 150

Class Actions 150

Summary 151

Chapter11 MERGERS，ACQUISITIONS，AND DISSOLUTIONS 155

Introduction 156

Merger 156

Consolidation 156

Business Acquisitions（Other Than Merger） 156

Sale of Substantially All Assets of a Corporation 157

1．In Regular Course of Business 157

2．Not in Regular Course of Business 158

Right to Dissent（Section 1302，RMBCA） 158

Appraisal Rights 159

Dissenters’Right to Appraisal 159

Stock Market Exception to Appraisal Rights 159

Statutory Merger 160

Surviving Shareholder Approval Not Required 160

Short Form Merger 160

Tax Aspects of Corporate Acquisitions 161

Triangular Mergers 161

Reverse Triangular Merger 162

Share Exchange 163

Public Corporation Going Private 163

Dissolution 163

Voluntary Dissolution 164

Dissolution by Board of Directors and Shareholders（Section 14.02，RMBCA） 164

Payment of Known and Unknown Claims in Dissolution 164

Summary 166

Chapter12 WHAT ARE INSIDER AND TENDER OFFERS？ 170

Introduction 171

Securities Act of 1933 171

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 172

Who Is an Insider？ 172

Short-Swing Profits Section 16（b）Securities Exchange Act of 1934 172

Securities Exchange Act of 1934，Rule 10b-5 173

Securities Exchange Act of 1934（Antifraud Provision），Section 10 173

Discussion：Section 16（b）and Rule 10b-5 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 173

Antifraud Provision，Section 10（b）and Rule 10b-5 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 174

Causation and Reliance：Rule 10b-5 174

Case Law Under Rule 10b-5 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 175

Elements Needed for a Rule 10b-5 Private Action Securities Exchange Act of 1934 176

Securities Exchange Act of 1934，Section 20A 176

Civil Penalties for Insider Trading 176

Tender Offers 177

Terminology with Tender Offers 177

Toehold Acquisitions，Tender Offers，and the Williams Act，Sections 13（d），14（d），and 14（e），Securities Exchange Act of 1934 178

Summary 179

Chapter13 PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OF SECURITIES 185

Introduction 186

Brief Description of the Securities Act of 1933 186

Registration 187

The Registration Process 187

Exemptions to Registration 188

How to Take a Small Business Public 188

Types of Underwriting 189

What Is a Security？ 190

What Is a Sale？（Reference to Security） 190

What Is an Offer to Sell？ 190

Section 5（a），Securities Act of 1933 190

Limited Offering Exemptions—Private Offers 191

Rule 504 Securities Act of 1933 191

Rule 505 Securities Act of 1933 191

Rule 506 Securities Act of 1933 192

Mechanics of Registration 192

After Registration 193

Duties and Prohibitions When in Registration 193

Liability Under the Securities Act 194

Blue Sky Laws 194

Antifraud Provisions 195

Misleading Proxy Statements 196

Fraudulent Tender Offers 196

Criminal Sanctions 196

Summary 196

Appendix A FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE 200

Appendix B FORM OF MINUTES OF ORGANIZATION MEETING 201

Appendix C FORM OF BYLAWS 204

Appendix D FORM FOR A CLOSE CORPORATION AGREEMENT 211

Appendix E FORM FOR CERTIFICATE OF AGREED VALUE 216

Appendix F FORM FOR A PROXY 217

Glossary 219

Index 229