News

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, the Capital Region’s largest law firm, has announced that Larenz M. Devaren has joined the practice as an associate in the firm’s Business, Corporate and Commercial Practice group. In his new role, Mr. Devaren will advise borrowers, financial institutions, and other lenders on a wide range of corporate finance transactions.Prior to joining Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, Mr. Devaren was an associate in the New York offices of Brown Rudnick LLP, where [...]

On April 25th, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, together with M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust and Schwartz Heslin Group, Inc. will be hosting a panel discussion focusing on optimizing business transition outcomes. Chuck Haviland, Partner with our Business, Corporate and Commercial Practice Group, will join the panel of experts giving attendees a better understanding of best practices to prepare their business for sale or transition. Recognizing the challenges of selling a business, panelists will [...]

Acquiring or selling a business can be a daunting task, even more so when the business holds one or more liquor licenses. To ensure a successful outcome, it is important for you to understand the threshold issues for transactions generally, as well as those unique to these types of transactions so you can hopefully avoid common pitfalls.Asset vs. equity purchaseFirst, the type of purchase – asset vs. equity (stock or membership interest) -- is not only the key to the structure of the [...]

Over the past year, television and radio commercials have touted the benefits of making a refund claim for Employee Retention Credits (ERC). While many business owners have received significant refunds and more business owners are contemplating making claims, the IRS has cautioned taxpayers to be wary of ERC promoters. Because the IRS sees this as an issue with significant risk of abuse and fraud, experts believe that ERC claims will be a focus of IRS audits in the near future.Summary of [...]

Obtaining a liquor license in the state of New York can be a complicated process, and the ongoing backlog at the New York State Liquor Authority (the SLA) is resulting in application processing times of between six and eight months; however, in many cases, applicants may be able to obtain a temporary permit to operate while the application is reviewed.If you are thinking of starting or purchasing a business requiring a liquor license, there are a number of threshold issues to consider before you [...]