Common Sense Approach
Business is complex. Your business is complex. Whether you are in a start-up mode, untangling the knots of buy-sell questions, buying or selling part or all of a business, dealing with employees, negotiating contracts, you make thousands of decisions every day.

Who do you turn to for counsel, advice and direction? Is there someone who understands you, your business and what matters to you? Who do you trust?

That is where Robinson Payne comes in. We can do the technical legal work, for sure. We help companies, business owners and executives with that all the time. Corporate governance, commercial real estate acquisition and sale, leasing, mergers, acquisitions, nonprofit organizations–we live in these and other such settings every day.

But to these legal issues we bring years of hands-on, street-smart, real-life experience, the kind of track record few lawyers have. We have bought and sold businesses, managed large staffs, retooled systems and processes. Doing what is both legal and practical makes all the difference in the world.

Robinson Payne walks with you, becoming a part of your trusted team. What we do today matters as much to us as to you, because we are never transactional, always relational–in for the long haul.
Call Us at 847.882.8888

Deal Makers Not Breakers
Let’s admit it. The day of handshake deals is gone. But we all want the process of documenting a loan to be sane and want the deal to close. When bankers get a lawyer involved with their loan, they are depending on their choice to minimize the bank’s risk as much as possible without killing the loan or alienating the customer with demands or the cost of the loan documentation.

That is why bankers keep coming back to Robinson Payne. They know we will strike the right balance with them and the person or business they seek to finance. How we work with everyone involved matters.

So we keep everything in the life of a loan–negotiation, due diligence, documentation, security, modifications, workouts–on track, for the best result for our client.

It is also why so many borrowers become clients. Borrowers know we can help them maximize their financing opportunities, so they want us in the picture. They also see how we approach their business, so business planning, succession strategies and even family dynamics receive our insightful attention.
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Live and Leave Your Legacy
The statistics remain constant: 70% of the population does not have a current Estate Plan. Among those with a net worth over $10 million, 37% haven’t even done a Will.

To state what we all know but don’t like to admit, few of us get any advance warning. We would like to believe the myth, that we always have more time. The truth: we can enjoy the best life brings, but we have to plan for the unexpected. The irony is that doing the latter increases the former.

There are lots of reasons we all tend to procrastinate, but among them is finding a lawyer you want to talk to about such sensitive issues. We understand that. That is why our clients come our way: they find out we will help them find the peace of mind that comes from setting everything in order.
Doing so in light of the legacy you want to leave, the children and family you must care for, the tax and legal hoops you can avoid–what seems daunting at first comes to be one of the most meaningful things you will ever do. We can help you get that done. Maybe you need a simple will, trusts to avoid probate, strategies to maximize taxes, even sophisticated planning. Whatever it is, Robinson Payne can promise you will receive the guidance you need to tailor what is just right for you.
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Trusted Member of Your Team
Companies employ attorneys when they need heightened and comprehensive attention to both their legal issues, and how those questions touch on so many aspects of the business at hand. These lawyers often bear the title of “General Counsel.”

But what happens to people whose lives take a similarly complex turn? Suddenly the neighborhood attorney can’t address increasingly complicated concerns. The attorney that once could handle a family real estate closing won’t know how to deal with multifaceted problems touching your business, finances, relationships, risks and opportunities.

This is why we struck on the concept of Personal General Counsel. It provides someone on a personal level what usually is only available to companies. We leverage, for your benefit, the unique combination of experience we have in corporate, estate planning, finance, family business, commercial activity of our own…and counseling thousands of client with tough situations. When you become one of our “PGC clients,” you gain added devotion and enduring relationship.

In today’s increasingly complex world, you don’t have to manage complexity alone. Let us walk with you, as your Personal General Counsel, on the long journey you want to navigate well.
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Implementing Your Plan
It has been said that the mortality rate continues to hover right around 100%. As funny as that saying is, you put the plans for your estate, finances, business and life in place because it is also true, whether we like it or not.

As important as it is to have a good plan in place, and all the papers – Trusts, Wills, Succession Plans, Banking – well-crafted, how it all plays out will depend a whole lot on the people you have put in place to aid everyone affected by loss. You want to choose those people now, before any crisis.

When we are part of your team, we not only have participated in designing plans, Robinson Payne remains on call when they have to be implemented. Not only will we tend to the technical details, but we will be part of delivering all the intention, relational sensitivity, and judgment you would want in those moments.

Leaving your legacy is often about leaving well. Combine your good planning with good administration, and you will have done it right.
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Shaping the Future
We’ve said it before. Many people ignore planning when it comes to their estates. Even more business owners neglect the attention they know they should give to the immediate and long-term future of their company.

It’s not surprising, when you think about it. Most people in business are busy building the enterprise, not planning for their retirement, demise, or partnership breakdown. But then the unexpected happens or time passes far more quickly than they thought possible.

The better course: take a little time periodically to answer a handful of questions about “What if?” Once you do, they can be answered more readily than you think, especially with the kind of guidance we can provide. With the buy/sell agreement, preparations to hand business off to children or employees, life insurance, retirement readiness and the like in place, you can get back to business knowing this is settled.

Integrating your thoughts into your Estate Plan, business operations, banking and personal life makes this all the more strategic. Robinson Payne can become your partner in planning it all well.
Call Us at 847.882.8888