Most business legal problems are easier to handle before they become lawsuits: a contract that needs to be signed this week, a partner who wants out, an employee issue that keeps growing, or a customer who has stopped paying. The Law Office of Brantley Oakey has represented clients in Florida since 2012, provides business and corporate legal services to companies and owners in Naples and Collier County, and serves as general counsel to a number of corporations in Southwest Florida.
Call 239-963-2897 to talk about your business and where legal help may be useful.
Business legal services
- Contracts: drafting, reviewing, and negotiating customer, vendor, services, construction, and commercial lease agreements. See commercial contract review before you sign and our Naples contract attorney page.
- Entity formation and governance: choosing and setting up an LLC or corporation, operating agreements and bylaws, ownership records, and buy-sell terms.
- General counsel services: ongoing advice for companies that need regular legal guidance without an in-house legal department. See when Naples corporate counsel becomes essential.
- Employment matters for businesses: offer letters, policies and handbooks, separation agreements, confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements, advice on difficult employee situations, and defense of employers when employees sue.
- Commercial collections for creditors: unpaid invoices and accounts, demand letters, and suits to collect. See when to hire a commercial collection attorney.
- Disputes: when a problem cannot be resolved, see our business and commercial litigation page.
Contracts that allocate risk before a dispute
Many business disputes begin with an agreement that was unclear, copied from a different deal, or never put in writing. A useful contract addresses more than price and scope. It should say when payment is due, how changes are approved, how notice must be given, what happens after a default, whether attorney fees can be recovered, and where and how disputes will be resolved. Florida generally allows 5 years to sue on a written contract under section 95.11(2)(b), but only 4 years for an obligation not founded on a written instrument under section 95.11(3)(j), which is one more reason to put important terms in writing.
Ownership and governance
Owners of closely held companies often agree on everything until the business grows, struggles, or one owner wants to leave. Clear operating agreements or bylaws, current ownership records, and written buy-sell terms make those moments easier to manage. Florida law also gives LLC members rights to company information. For example, section 605.0410 requires an LLC to keep certain records and gives members of a member-managed LLC the right to inspect and copy them on reasonable notice. Knowing those rules helps both owners asking for information and managers responding to a request.
Employment matters for employers
Hiring, discipline, and separation decisions carry business risk. Written policies, consistent documentation, and properly drafted agreements reduce that risk. Restrictive covenants deserve particular care. Under section 542.335, a court will not enforce a noncompete or similar restrictive covenant unless it is in a writing signed by the person it is enforced against, and the party seeking enforcement must prove a legitimate business interest, such as trade secrets, confidential business information, or substantial customer relationships. Florida’s 2025 CHOICE Act (sections 542.41 to 542.45) added separate rules for certain “covered” noncompete and garden leave agreements, so older templates should be reviewed before they are reused. When an employee or former employee files a claim or lawsuit, we also represent employers in defending it.
Collections and debt matters
For businesses owed money, the first decision is a business one: whether the debt is worth pursuing, what documents support it, and whether the customer can pay. A clear demand, a payment agreement, or a lawsuit may each make sense depending on the amount and the facts. Creditors collecting consumer debts must also follow Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act, which in section 559.72 lists prohibited collection practices.
The office also handles consumer debt defense for individuals. See Florida debt collection defense.
When ongoing general counsel makes sense
General counsel support can be limited to a single project or set up as an ongoing relationship. It tends to make sense when a company signs contracts regularly, has several owners, manages employees, or faces recurring collection or vendor issues. The goal is not to involve a lawyer in every decision, but to have counsel available when a decision carries real contractual, employment, ownership, or litigation risk.
How we work with businesses
- Learn the business: how it makes money, who the owners are, and what keeps them up at night.
- Review the key documents: entity records, operating agreement or bylaws, standard contracts, and employee agreements.
- Identify the gaps that create the most risk, and address them in a practical order.
- Stay available for new contracts, disputes, and decisions as they come up.
Talk with a Naples business attorney
To discuss contracts, corporate matters, employment issues, or general counsel services, call the Law Office of Brantley Oakey at 239-963-2897 or use the contact page. The office is at 780 5th Ave S, Ste 200, Naples, FL 34102, and is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This page is general information only, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statute references are to the 2026 Florida Statutes and may change.