Legal Services

Starting a new business is exciting; it can also be daunting. Whether your business is just getting off the ground or is already up and running, our attorneys can help you evaluate which type of business entity is right for you. We understand the complexities of business management, financial goals, and tax considerations, and we use our expertise to offer sound advice and allow you to focus on the success of your business. Just a few of the ways we can assist with your business include:

Entity formation, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations (S corp and C corp), and nonprofit organizations
Drafting, review, and negotiation of agreements with your employees, suppliers, distributors, and others
Real property leases
Applications for business licenses
Compliance with government and agency regulations

We understand the unique challenges of managing a nonprofit organization, and we are committed to providing sound advice to the board members, staff, and volunteers doing mission-driven work in the Eugene-Springfield community and throughout Oregon. Our attorneys draw on their experience in this area to assist with:

Starting a new nonprofit organization, including forming a nonprofit
corporation, drafting governance documents, and filing for tax-exempt status
Agreements with your employees, volunteers, community partners, and others
Real property leases
Compliance with government and agency regulations
Dissolving a nonprofit organization

No contract or arrangement can completely protect you from the potential stress and financial loss which may result when the person or business who owes you money stop making payments. Our attorneys strive to understand your needs and goals so we can help you protect your rights and comply with the complex and ever-changing laws applicable to foreclosures, bankruptcies, and other debt collection processes.

Our attorneys practicing in the areas of creditor’s rights represent individuals and businesses to collect what they are due. We generally only represent creditors in bankruptcy litigation, and do not represent debtors in bankruptcy administration matters. However, we have in rare cases represented an established client who ran into hard times in ancillary matters related to the bankruptcy.

Our creditor’s rights attorneys may be able to help you with:

Nonjudicial or judicial foreclosure on real or personal property
Alternatives to foreclosure, including deeds in lieu of foreclosure and debt workout
Collection litigation
Preparing, filing, and enforcing construction liens
Making and prosecuting claims on payment bonds under the federal
Miller Act and the Oregon Little Miller Act
Bankruptcy litigation

Internet computing and e-commerce are an integral, and inseparable, part of public, professional, and personal life. These technologies bring new opportunities – and new risks – for our clients. At Thorp Purdy, our lawyers offer sound and practical advice to clients who are developers, distributors, and end-users of information technologies.

Let us guide your through the business of e-business.

• Shrink-Wrap, Click-Wrap, and Browse-Wrap Agreements
• End-User Agreements
• Warranty and Liability Issues
• Website Terms of Service
• Website Privacy Policies
• Software and Content Licensing
• E-Commerce
• Online Advertising

The fringe benefits associated with employment are an important component of the compensation package which helps our business clients obtain and retain quality employees. But the laws applicable to employee benefit plans are an ever-changing landscape as Congress and federal or other agencies amend or enact new rules and laws. Our attorneys strive to stay on top of this regulatory maze and provide our clients with concise and clear advice on how to stay on top of it.

Our attorneys working in the area of employee benefits may be able to help you with:

• Designing and drafting single employer or multiemployer qualified retirement plans for your business, including money purchase pension, profit sharing or 401(k) plans.
• Designing and drafting cafeteria, medical reimbursement, and executive compensation plans.
• Advising plan trustees and/or their professionals on compliance with their obligations under the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, the Labor Management Relations Act, and regulations thereunder
• Correcting past plan errors by filing with the Internal Revenue Service Employee Compliance Resolution System and/or the Department of Labor Voluntary Fiduciary Correction or Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.