Attorney – Lawyers – Business Corporation & Partnership Law

What better place to start is there, than to discuss the imperative of creating a partnership agreement at the beginning of any collaborative business venture.

We should all heed the words spoken by oil supremo and business tycoon John D. Rockefeller, who is said to have described the need for a partnership agreement in this roundabout way.

He reminds us that –  ”A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.”

I’d like to say that a partnership agreement can protect your friendship but it can’t.

This treasured asset can only flourish with good will and commitment.

What a partnership agreement can do is ensure all partners will be treated in a consistent way in good times and bad.

The best quality and longest lived and the most useful parnership agreements will always detail how profits, assets, debts and other responsibilities will be shared among the partners. This will include the eventuality of a partnering split when one partner decides to leave the table.

While it is fun for friends to fantasize about trade logos, new products and first customers, the process of constructing a partnership agreement gives entrepreneurs the discipline to talk through the nitty-gritty details of how decisions will be made, what money can be taken out of the business, how new partners can invest, and what happens if one partner dies or becomes disabled.