Richard Burt Professional Law Corporation

Focus and practice areas

Richard G. Burt runs a business law practice in San Jose, California, under the name Richard Burt Professional Law Corporation. The work centers on how companies get built and how they change hands. Mr. Burt handles the formation of business entities, the negotiation of contracts, and business and real estate transactions. The firm names four services in its own navigation: business entity formation, buy-sell agreements, selling a business, and non-profit governance.

Mr. Burt limits his work to transactional and advisory matters. The site states that he handles no litigation of any kind, which tells a prospective client where the firm fits before the first call. Business owners who need documents drafted, entities formed, or a sale structured are the people the firm is set up to help.

Entity formation and the documents behind it

Forming a business entity means choosing a structure and then papering it. A corporation needs articles of incorporation filed with the California Secretary of State, a set of bylaws, and an initial round of resolutions. A limited liability company needs articles of organization and an operating agreement that sets out who owns what and who decides what. A partnership turns on a written agreement among the partners. Richard Burt handles each of these formations, so a client works through the choice of form and the paperwork that follows it in one place.

The choice of entity has consequences that last well past the filing. It shapes how profits are taxed, how owners share control, and how easily a stake can pass to someone new. In my opinion, this is where early advice earns its keep, because a structure that fits the owners saves argument later. Mr. Burt works on this side of a company's life, before disputes exist.

Contracts and transactions

Negotiating agreements

Contract work covers the terms that hold a deal together. Mr. Burt negotiates contracts and agreements of various kinds, which puts the firm in the room while terms are still open. A well-drafted agreement names the parties, fixes the price and the timing, and says what happens if something goes wrong. Clear language at the drafting stage keeps a deal from turning into a disagreement over what was meant.

Real estate and business deals

Real estate often sits inside a business transaction: a company buys a building, leases space, or transfers property as part of a larger sale. Each of these moves involves its own documents, such as purchase agreements, leases, and the instruments that transfer title. The firm handles real estate transactions alongside its business work, so a client with a deal that touches both finds them handled together.

Buy-sell agreements and selling a business

A buy-sell agreement decides what happens to an owner's stake when that owner leaves, dies, or wants out. It sets a valuation method and names who may buy the departing owner's share. For a company with more than one owner, this is the document that keeps a private falling-out from becoming a public fight. The firm lists buy-sell agreements among its named services.

Selling a business runs through several stages: a letter of intent, a period of due diligence, a purchase agreement, and a closing that moves the assets or the shares. A buyer's due diligence looks at the company's contracts, its ownership records, and any property it holds, which is where earlier clean paperwork pays off. Richard Burt handles the sale of a business, so a seller has counsel across the drafting and the terms of the deal.

Non-profit governance

Non-profit governance covers how a charitable organization is run: the board, the bylaws, the conflict-of-interest rules, and the filings that keep tax-exempt status intact. A California non-profit answers to the state, and for federal exemption it answers to the IRS as well. Boards often need help reading their own bylaws and recording their decisions in a way that holds up. Governance work overlaps with formation, since the choice to organize as a non-profit corporation sets the rules the board later follows. The firm names non-profit governance among its services, which carries its transactional focus into the way organizations are structured and kept compliant.

How the firm is built

The listing centers on one named attorney, Richard G. Burt, and the firm carries his name. The site keeps a bio page for him, though it stops short of listing his law school or the year of his admission. As a reviewer, I read a single-attorney structure as a sign that a client deals directly with the person doing the work, with little distance between the first call and the drafting.

The firm works from a downtown San Jose location. The site does not list a founding year, so the age of the firm is one detail a prospective client would want to ask about. What the site does make clear is the scope: it presents a bio page for Richard G. Burt and names business formation, buy-sell agreements, business sales, non-profit governance, contract work, and real estate transactions as the matters the firm handles.