Business Advisory and Outside General Counsel

Offit Kurman attorneys who serve as business advisors and outside general counsel provide comprehensive legal support to companies throughout their lifecycle, serving privately held and family-owned businesses, emerging companies, and middle-market organizations across a broad range of industries. The firm’s multidisciplinary approach enables tailored solutions that address each client's operational realities, daily legal needs, and long-term strategic goals. Attorneys deliver practical guidance on operations, risk mitigation, organizational structure, and forward-looking business planning, ensuring clients receive consistent, business-focused counsel that aligns legal considerations with overall objectives.

Business Formation and Organizational Structure

Attorneys advise entrepreneurs, closely held companies, and growing enterprises on entity formation and foundational governance. This includes selecting the appropriate business structure, drafting governing documents, addressing ownership and management rights, and guiding clients through restructuring or changes in control. Attorneys help ensure that organizational frameworks support the company’s needs now and as they evolve.

Ongoing Operational and Commercial Support

The practice group provides steady legal guidance across routine and complex operational matters. Services include preparing and negotiating commercial contracts, vendor and customer agreements, employment policies, and confidentiality or restrictive covenant arrangements. Attorneys also help businesses navigate compliance and regulatory requirements and risk-management considerations that arise in everyday operations.

Strategic Transactions and Corporate Planning

The team represents companies in transactions that shape growth and transition. The practice counsels clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financing and capital structure matters, and ownership transitions. Attorneys evaluate risk, negotiate deal terms, and structure transactions to align with the client’s strategic and financial goals.

Business Advisory Services

Beyond transactional and operational support, the practice group provides advisory guidance to leadership teams on issues affecting the broader health of the organization. This may include board-level governance matters, succession planning, executive and management arrangements, and long-term planning tied to growth, restructuring, or market shifts.

Outside General Counsel Support

For companies without in-house legal departments, or those seeking supplemental support, the firm serves as outside general counsel. This includes regular consultations with executive teams, issue-spotting across the business, policy development, review of key initiatives, and access to attorneys across corporate, tax, employment, real estate, intellectual property, and litigation disciplines. Clients benefit from continuity, institutional knowledge, and a scalable model that adjusts to business needs.

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    AIA Tri-State Conference
    Princeton will serve as the backdrop for three days of connection, learning, and design leadership. From keynotes to tours to the Tri-State Design Awards, this year’s conference is designed to go far beyond education sessions. Kick off the week with pre-conference intensives and individual state component Design Award celebrations, followed by three days of education, inspiration, networking, and design excellence at the 2026 AIA Tri-State Conference—featuring pre-conference intensives, three keynote speakers, 25 education sessions, curated tours, an expo, spec academies, and the AIA Tri-State Design Awards—bringing together architects and design professionals from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania to connect, learn, and celebrate the best of the profession. G2. Designing Secure Practices: Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Contractual Provisions, and Insurance Risks for Architects (4:00 PM - 5:30 PM) Architects and design professionals increasingly rely on cloud platforms, BIM software, and digital tools to manage sensitive data, creating cybersecurity and privacy risks. A single incident can trigger liability claims, regulatory obligations, reputational harm, and insurance challenges. Yet many firms underestimate how contracts, insurance, and internal practices intersect during a breach. This program offers legal and insurance perspectives on cyber risk in architecture, examining liability exposure, risky contract provisions, and mitigation strategies. A cyber insurance expert will explain policy responses, coverage gaps, coordination with professional liability, and best practices for aligning insurance with contractual risk and protecting firms from evolving cyber threats. Learning Objectives: Identify key cybersecurity and data privacy risks faced by architecture firms and explain how these risks can impact professional liability and project outcomes. Analyze common contractual provisions to determine which clauses may increase exposure to cyber incidents and propose strategies to mitigate these risks. Evaluate the scope and limitations of cyber insurance policies, including coordination with professional liability coverage, to determine how a policy would respond in a breach scenario. Develop actionable risk management strategies by integrating legal, contractual, and insurance considerations to protect sensitive client and project data.