IPO Attorney Fees

The company engages an auditor to audit the company’s financials and then the company can file a registration statement (usually an S-1) with the SEC and become a 1934 Exchange Act publicly reporting company.

The SEC will review and comment on the S-1 registration statement within thirty days of the filing date. The SEC’s comments are normally regarding the company’s business and financial statements. After a process that usually lasts about 4 months, the SEC will declare the Form S-1 effective.

Before a company can make an IPO, it needs to make sure that it’s in compliance with each and every existing state and federal law regarding securities, and that there aren’t any existing obligations or legal barriers that could cause problems down the road.

It’s also important for a company to ensure that the IPO won’t negatively impact its contracts and that existing investor agreements won’t discourage new investors. In order to take care of it all, they naturally turn to IPO attorneys, who will also help to ensure that the company’s officers and employees continue to follow state and federal regulations, as well. IPO attorneys can also act as a resource, allowing companies to make informed decisions, which need to take into account the constantly shifting laws on securities.

Companies need to hire an IPO attorney not only because they need to protect themselves legally, but also because they need to protect their shareholders, especially from each other. It can be quite easy for a group of shareholders to violate the rights of another when the total numbers are low. IPO attorneys can help provide shareholder agreements that guard individual shareholders’ rights, thereby preventing costly conflicts.

Although an ounce of prevention is always much, much better than a pound of cure, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Working with IPO attorneys from the very beginning can help prevent disaster from striking, but nearly every business eventually has to face the consequences of breaking a law or regulation that it may not have even known existed. Having experienced IPO attorneys fighting on the company’s side, though, can ensure that it’s successful in the future, no matter what happens.