When you retain The Law Offices of Owen Hathaway to advise on your business, you're entering a specific kind of relationship with specific obligations on both sides. This page explains how that relationship works.

Organization as Client

This is perhaps the single most important thing to understand about business representation. Colorado's (and most other states) rules of professional conduct (Rule 1.13) establish that when a lawyer represents an organization, the lawyer's client is the organization as an entity — not the individuals who own, operate, or manage it.

3. Our advice is focused on what's best for the business as an entity
4. Confidential communications belong to the business, not to you personally
5. If there's ever a tension between an individual owner's interests and the business's interests, we advise based on what's best for the business
6. If owners or partners have a dispute with each other, we cannot represent individual parties in that dispute (we'd have a conflict of interest)
7. We may share information with other owners, the board, or management if they have a right to know it in their capacity as representatives of the business

If you need legal advice on personal matters—your personal finances, your will, your family situation—that's separate from your business representation.s You'll need separate counsel for those matters, and you should make clear to us when you're asking a personal question versus a business question.

Decision-Making & Authorization

To work effectively, you must designate a single point of contact with authority to make decisions for the business. This person might be you, or it might be a board representative, managing member, or other designated authority. That's your call.

We will:

• Take instructions from this contact
• Provide updates and invoices to this contact
• Treat this contact as the voice of the business

If you need to change who that contact is, tell us in writing.

If there's ever ambiguity about who speaks for the business, we may ask for clarification—and we reserve the right to insist on written confirmation from multiple owners if we have reason to believe there's a disagreement about direction.

Scope of Services

What We Do

We advise on business matters including:

• Formation and structure (choosing entity type, tax classification, operating agreements, bylaws)
• Transactions (buying, selling, merging, acquiring assets)
• Contracts (drafting, reviewing, negotiating commercial agreements)
• Regulatory compliance (business licenses, employment law basics, disclosure requirements)
• Ownership & governance (ownership agreements, capital structures, decision-making frameworks)
• Day-to-day operations (policies, procedures, documentation, basic employement issues)
• Business wind-down (dissolution, liquidation, transition)

What We Don't Do (Or Do Differently)

Tax advice. We may discuss entity structure, tax classification, and broad tax implications. But we're not your tax advisor. Your CPA or tax professional handles your tax returns, tax strategy, and specific tax decisions. If we recommend a structure that has tax implications, you should run it by your tax advisor before implementing it.

Accounting advice. We may discuss capital accounts, distributions, accounting records, and financial reporting. But we're not your accountant. Your CPA or bookkeeper handles your accounting systems and financial statements.

Insurance advice. We may discuss insurance needs, liability exposure, and coverage gaps. But we're not your insurance broker. Your insurance professional determines what coverage you actually need and places your policies.

Litigation. If your business faces litigation—a lawsuit, a regulatory dispute, a collection action, or anything involving an actual or threatened court proceeding—we typically refer those matters to a litigation attorney. Not because we can't handle them, but because litigation requires a different skill set and daily practice than our transactional and advisory work. When litigation arises, we're happy to help you find the right counsel, brief them on background, and hand off our files. We'll quarterback your legal team if you want us too. We're good at coordinating multiple highly-skilled professionals.

Advisor Coordination

You should have a team. Ideally: a CPA or tax advisor, an accountant or bookkeeper, an insurance broker, and a financial advisor. We're the lawyer on that team.

How We Coordinate

Business decisions often involve legal, tax, accounting, and insurance considerations. We'll discuss these with you—and sometimes we'll need to talk directly with your other advisors to make sure everyone's on the same page.

We'll ask your permission before reaching out to your advisors. We've set up a simple authorization form where you can list your CPA, accountant, insurance broker, and other professional advisors. Once you've authorized us to contact them, we can reach out when it makes sense. We understand that sometimes the meter starts running when we reach out to your advisors, so you need to guide us on how proactive to be here. (You can update this form anytime.)

What We Won't Do

We won't try to do your advisors' jobs for you. We won't:

• Prepare your tax returns or tax documentation
• Maintain your accounting records or prepare financial statements
• Determine what insurance coverage you need or place your policies
• Make investment recommendations

If we see something that looks like a tax issue, an accounting question, or an insurance gap, we'll flag it and recommend you discuss it with the relevant advisor. The decisions are yours (working with your team).

Retainer & Budget Management

How the Retainer Works

When we engage, you'll pay an upfront retainer. This retainer is deposited in our client trust account and drawn against as we work.

Monthly billing: We bill monthly at the first of the month. Each invoice shows:

• Hours worked (attorney time at $290/hour, paralegal time at $125/hour)
• Out-of-pocket expenses (filing fees, service of process, court costs, etc.)
• The amount deducted from your retainer

Unused retainer: If the engagement ends with remaining retainer balance, we refund it—unless ongoing work is anticipated.

If We're Approaching the Retainer Limit

As part of your engagement letter, you'll choose one of two options:

Option A: We may bill over the retainer up to 15% without stopping to ask. Once we hit that threshold, we'll contact you for approval before spending more.

Option B: When we're approaching the limit, we'll contact you before proceeding. We'll then await your approval before incurring additional fees.

In either case: We will not file any petition, sign any agreement, take any court action, or make any major commitment on your behalf without your explicit written approval—even if we're within the retainer limit or you've pre-approved additional spending.

Expenses

We bill for out-of-pocket expenses including filing fees, service of process, court costs, document recording, and similar third-party charges. These are deducted from your retainer along with attorney and paralegal time.

If any single expense is likely to exceed a certain threshold (we'll tell you what that is in your engagement letter), we'll contact you for approval before incurring it.

Payment Terms

Invoices are due within the timeframe specified in your engagement letter. We accept payment by debit card (not credit card). If a payment bounces, you'll be charged $38. If invoices aren't paid within the specified timeframe, we reserve the right to pause work.

Information Disclosure Obligations

For us to give you solid advice, you must tell us what we need to know.

This includes:

• Ownership structure and any restrictions on ownership changes
• Outstanding obligations (loans, leases, contracts, judgments)
• Existing or threatened disputes or litigation
• Regulatory issues or compliance concerns
• Material facts about the business's operations, finances, or prospects
• Anything you know might affect the advice we give

If you don't tell us about something material, our advice won't be as good—and we can't be responsible for the consequences.

This is different from confidentiality. Confidentiality means we keep your secrets. Information disclosure means you tell us what we need to give you good advice in the first place.

Confidentiality

Everything you tell us is confidential. We won't disclose it to anyone outside the firm without your permission, except as required by law.

Important: The confidentiality belongs to the business, not to you personally. If the business has other owners, members, or a board, those people may have a right to know things they ask about in their capacity as representatives of the business. If an issue comes up, we'll advise you on what has to be shared.

If you share something personal and unrelated to the business, make that clear to us. Those conversations are separate and are confidential to you.

Termination of Representation

You can terminate our services anytime by written notice. We'll provide an accounting of fees, refund any unearned retainer, and send you copies of your files.

We can terminate if:

• You fail to cooperate (missing deadlines, not providing documents, not responding to reasonable requests)
• Invoices aren't paid within the specified timeframe
• A conflict of interest arises that makes representation unfeasible (for example, a dispute between owners where we can't represent all parties)
• We determine in our professional judgment that continued representation is untenable for any reason

If we terminate: We'll give you written notice, provide transition assistance, and send you your files. If you have pending matters, we'll work with successor counsel to ensure a smooth handoff.

What Happens If Circumstances Change

Business situations evolve. If any of the following happen, tell us:

• Ownership structure changes
• New disputes or legal issues arise
• You hire additional advisors or your team changes
• Your business priorities shift
• Circumstances affecting the engagement change materially

We may need to revisit scope, budget, or strategy. Better to have those conversations early than to discover later that circumstances have changed.

Your Relationship with Other Owners

Important: If there are multiple owners or partners, understand that we represent the business, not the individual owners.

If owners have a dispute with each other, we cannot represent individual parties in that dispute. We'd have a conflict of interest. If this happens, each owner would need separate counsel.

We can advise the business on governance, ownership agreements, and how to resolve disputes—but if litigation or formal dispute resolution becomes necessary between owners, you'll need to bring in separate counsel.

Privacy & Data Security

We take your confidential information seriously. We store all client files electronically with encryption. We do not retain paper files. For details on how we handle data, privacy, and security, see our Privacy Policy .