Agribusiness

Our agribusiness team truly understands modern farming and the agricultural industry. We provide comprehensive legal services to agricultural cooperatives, corporations, LLC’s, individuals, landowners, farmers and other legal entities for services in various areas and matters, including the following:

• Business and Organizational Planning: INC, LLC, Series LLC, LLP formation, registered agent services, buy/sell agreements, equipment lease agreements, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, contracts
• Corporate Transactions: purchase orders, terms and conditions, contract review, mergers and acquisitions, battles for corporate control, corporate governance
• Environmental/Energy Matters: discharge issues/water run-off, wetland regulations, pesticide application, hazardous materials, CERCLA, FIFRA, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), water rights, wind, solar and waste bi-products
• Insurance Services: liability defense, coverage disputes, equine liability issues, risk management consultation, litigation services
• Labor & Employment: OSHA, employee handbooks, policies and procedures, independent contractor agreements, wage and hour laws, EEOC, FMLA, human resources assistance, ADA, immigration, collective bargaining, workers’ compensation, termination and disciplinary litigation
• Estate & Business Planning: estate tax, family limited partnerships, succession planning, gift transactions, asset protection planning, wills and trusts
• Real Estate: farmland preservation, easements, eminent domain, land purchases, zoning and land use, ground leases, contracts for deed and Section 1031 exchanges (three corner exchanges)
• Construction: equipment leasing, the Uniform Commercial Code, expansion issues, and construction litigation
• Lending Services: loan agreements, security agreements, mortgages and deeds of trust, foreclosure protection, and guarantees

We have immediate access to subject matter legal professionals practicing in virtually any area of business law or litigation that an agribusiness entity might encounter. As a result, our team of agriculture law attorneys has the knowledge and support of professionals practicing in other areas including, but not limited to:

• Finance & corporate lending
• Transportation
• Product liability
• Retail

Service Capabilities

Services that our agribusiness attorneys regularly handle include:

• Succession planning for the business entity
• General counsel advice to grain industry cooperatives 
• Illinois Department of Agriculture administrative law hearings
• Easements/field access/negotiation of utility easements
• Partition actions and family farm ownership disputes
• Equipment leasing and lease reviews
• Defense and prosecution of “nuisance/trespass” claims
• Lending/loan agreements, workouts, leases, purchases/sales, family limited partnerships
• Solar farm lease negotiations
• Wind farm construction litigation and turbine self- certification with FERC
• Cell tower lease negotiations
• Preparation of contract documents for Section 1031 exchanges
• Defense of liability claims, farm accidents and tractor accidents
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulatory enforcement
• CERCLA/Super Fund litigation and regulatory enforcement
• Animals Running At Large Act litigation
• Equine law matters
• Genetic seed issues
• Crop overspray litigation
• Contaminated soil clean up litigation
• Grain elevator accidents (personal injury/death, property damage claims)