Dental Lawyers in Nashville
Dental professionals wear two hats—one as a dedicated healthcare provider and the other as entrepreneur and business owner. As a practicing dentist, the primary responsibility is patient health, overall care, and satisfaction. The need to succeed and flourish while protecting business assets from malpractice lawsuits, business disputes, and employee claims is paramount as a business owner. Our dental lawyers in Nashville understand these challenges and are dedicated to providing strategic legal guidance.
GSRM Law Dental Attorneys
GSRM Law provides an integrated approach to the dental profession. Our dental lawyers in Nashville represent dental professionals of all kinds, including orthodontists, endodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, periodontists, pediatric dentists (pedodontists), as well as prosthodontists. The firm advises dentists both individually and as business partners throughout Tennessee in all types of legal matters, including:
- Dental practice purchase agreements
- Start-ups and entity formation
- Entity agreements
- Associate buy-ins
- Real estate acquisition, sales, and leases
- Owner disputes
- Employee disputes
- Estate and business succession planning
An Attorney is Important to a Dental Office
Our skilled and experienced dental practice attorneys in Nashville have assisted hundreds of dentists in creating, managing, defending, and transitioning their dental practice. Thriving dental practices are supported by considerate planning, thoughtful negotiation, and sound management strategies. The experience of the legal counsel retained makes a significant impact on the direction taken or result achieved in any given situation.
Whether our dental client is starting a new practice, expanding the existing practice, resolving conflict, or transitioning into retirement, GSRM Law provides efficient and practical solutions at every juncture. Our dental attorneys stand ready to address legal concerns, operate as a member of the dental management team, and help devise comprehensive legal strategies that support both patient health and commercial-related objectives of your business procedure.
A Plan for Your Dental Practice
GSRM Law’s lawyers in Nashville work closely with dentists to structure, plan, and implement a business model that provides asset protection and operational efficiencies. It is essential to have a written, enforceable contract about the acquisition or the selling of a dental practice. Every dental practice, like each of your patients, will be unique in the dental industry. The development and implementation of the full range of dental practice agreements is a strength of GSRM Law attorneys. Dental practice agreements also pertain to financing, employee compensation, and other procedures protecting the dentist.
Dentists Have a Hard Job
The dental industry is a unique and complicated profession. It can be taxing on dental professionals, and our dental practice attorneys in Nashville are here to make it easier for our clients. A dental practice must obtain permits, licenses, and registrations so the dentist complies with regulatory standards. Additionally, financing a dental practice will require contracts with banks, suppliers, and vendors. GSRM Law attorneys are involved in every aspect of dental practice formation and organization, contract evaluation, negotiation, and documentation.
Conflict with Patients or Dental Malpractice
GSRM Law uses solid judgment and legal ingenuity to resolve conflict. GSRM Law attorneys are experienced litigators, and our dental practice attorneys in Nashville are skilled at representing dentists’ interests in dispute resolution arising from a variety of claims. We are here for all aspects of your dental practice. The firm has resolved a host of conflicts that can and do arise in the ongoing management of a dental practice, a sampling of which includes claims about landlord/tenant disputes, real property and equipment leases, joint ventures, employment matters, and dental malpractice, among many others.
Dental Practice Purchase Agreements
Whether our client is acquiring or selling a dental practice, a well-drafted purchase agreement will help to protect parties by clearly identifying the rights and responsibilities of each party. Dentistry is a sophisticated profession, and a carefully drafted purchase agreement that takes into account the informed wishes of the parties with respect to unforeseen events—as well as underlying healthcare law—provides an essential basis for a successful purchase or sale of a practice.
Start-ups and Corporate Formation
GSRM Law’s Nashville dental lawyers assist individual dentists and dentist groups to determine which business entity structure best suits their needs (sole proprietorship, general partnership, professional limited liability company, professional corporation, etc.). By identifying which entity type will provide the most advantageous tax and liability protection structure, our lawyers can help our clients ensure that the best possible foundation for their practice is in place.
Entity Agreements for Dentists
Communication is an essential foundation of every successful dental practice. A considerate and enforceable entity agreement promotes a clear understanding between the owners. It sets forth a roadmap for resolving internal conflicts. An entity agreement that defines owner responsibilities and delineates authority should provide further operational efficiencies. A few critical issues an entity agreement might address include:
- Profit sharing
- Voting and management rights
- Admittance of new owners
- Disability or death
- Competing business interests
- Buyout rights
An entity agreement may need to evolve with the dental practice. While entity agreements are not designed for frequent change, a GSRM Law attorney should periodically review entity plans to ensure the documentation continues to accurately reflect the desires of the owner(s). In addition, significant events, such as the admittance of a new owner, disability, death, or the contemplated sale of the dental practice, often call for changes and require prompt attention.
Associate Buy-ins
Owners and their associates have divergent interests concerning the valuation of a dental practice and the future benefits to be received from a practice for purposes of an associate buy-in. GSRM Law attorneys address these challenges and work to structure and negotiate an associate buy-in agreement that aligns, as much as possible, with the collective interests and objectives of all. It is essential to address potential concerns to avoid future conflict. GSRM Law attorneys assist clients to ease into the transition of an associate buy-in with industry-standard documentation that accounts for details, such as tax responsibility and ownership rights.
Real Estate Acquisition, Sales, and Leases
Whether dental office space is leased or owned, the cost thereof constitutes a sizable financial commitment. As a result, most dental professionals tend to concentrate negotiations on price. However, because the cost to relocate a practice is so high, our Nashville dental lawyers assist in identifying other risk factors specific to the healthcare profession.
When acquiring a commercial property, our attorneys negotiate all terms of the purchase contract and help ensure the transaction goes smoothly. A carefully negotiated real estate purchase agreement or lease will help safeguard the new investment and protect the interests of our client’s practice.
Owner Disputes
Controversy is an unfortunate yet realistic part of any entity. If owners become involved in a dispute, effective dispute resolution seeks to encourage cooperation and joint decision making in order to break a deadlock in a manner that advances all owners’ mutual interests. If a resolution involves an important management decision, such as the division of partnership assets, a carefully negotiated settlement will help protect the client’s goal.
Employee Disputes
Growth is an indicator of success—and growth creates the need to hire additional employees, such as hygienists and administrative staff. Well-drafted employee handbooks and policy manuals help protect a dental practice by setting clear guidelines for employees and the employer’s legal obligations.
Because every practice is different, employee handbooks and policy manuals should be tailored to the specific practice. If a dentist or dental practice is involved in an employment dispute, sound legal advice is critical to navigating the barrage of federal and state laws about issues such as wrongful discrimination, compensation, non-competition, and confidentiality, among many others.
Estate and Business Succession Planning
Effective estate and business succession planning ultimately rests on the plan’s result on intended beneficiaries. A plan that puts the client’s individual or business affairs in order offers the confidence to assure that beneficiaries are taken care of in case of disability, incapacitation, or death.
Estate plans can range from the simple, such as leaving everything to a spouse—to far more complex arrangements, such as using tax savings trusts and gifting methods to protect and preserve wealth. An effective estate plan ensures that the individual’s specific objectives are ultimately realized.
Contact us today to learn more about our dental lawyers in Nashville. Our team will protect your interests and ensure compliance with the ever-changing dental regulations.