At KEW Legal®, we serve as business and general counsel for companies, founders, and investors across Miami and South Florida, handling the legal work that keeps a business running and out of court, like entity formation, contracts, leases, ongoing compliance, and the transactions that come with growth.
For more than 10 years, we have represented Miami-area businesses in front of the Florida Department of State, Miami-Dade County licensing authorities, and, when disputes do arise, Miami-Dade Circuit Court and the Southern District of Florida.
We work in English and Spanish, and you deal directly with the attorney on your matter, not a junior associate. Hablamos español.
Miami-Dade County is currently ranked the #1 county in the United States for small business applications, with nearly 4,900 new business applications filed per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to Clarify Capital. That volume of new formations and partnerships is where legal problems tend to start, and where they are best to prevent.
Before you sign a lease, bring on a partner, or send your first client contract, we help you put the paperwork in place that actually protects the business you are building.
What Clients Say About KEW Legal®
“Rather than feeling like just another client, I felt like a priority.” Rodrigo A.
Business owners want to be heard, not processed. This is what that looks like.
“Their support as general counsel for my small company has been invaluable.” Valeria R.
Ongoing legal counsel that grows with your business, not just one-off fixes.
“Professional and knowledgeable legal team… outstanding legal services that exceeded my expectations.” Marco M.
Clear-eyed guidance that delivers on what it promises.
“As fellow legal professionals, we have consistently referred clients to KEW Legal… thoroughly impressed with their exceptional service.” Igor H.
When other lawyers send their own clients to a firm, that says something.
“Kristina and her team made my closing extremely seamless.” Erika F.
Real estate work handled without the stress, from start to finish.
Our Business Law Services in Miami
- Business entity formation and structuring (LLC, corporation, partnership)
- Operating agreements, bylaws, and shareholder and partnership agreements
- Contract drafting, review, and negotiation
- General counsel and ongoing legal support
- Mergers, acquisitions, and business sales or purchases
- Commercial lease review and negotiation
- Commercial Real Estate
- Employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, and workplace policies
- Trademark clearance, registration, and brand protection
- Regulatory compliance and local licensing, including Miami-Dade Business Tax Receipts
- Corporate governance, board matters, and succession planning
- Business litigation
- Business succession
- Real estate law
Get Trusted Legal Support Today
For straightforward legal advice and representation, contact KEW Legal®. Call (305) 990-2300 to schedule your consultation.
How to Start a Business in Florida
- Choose your business structure. Decide whether the business will operate as an LLC, corporation, partnership, or another entity. The right structure affects liability, taxes, ownership, and management.
- Choose and register the business name. Make sure the name is available in Florida and fits any naming requirements that apply to your entity type.
- File your formation documents. LLCs generally file Articles of Organization, while corporations file Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Division of Corporations through Sunbiz.
- Appoint a registered agent. Florida businesses must maintain a registered agent with a physical street address in the state to receive legal and official notices.
- Get an EIN. An Employer Identification Number from the IRS is typically needed to open a business bank account, hire employees, and handle federal tax matters.
- Create your ownership documents. For an LLC, this usually means an operating agreement. Corporations may need bylaws and shareholder agreements.
- Apply for required licenses and permits. Depending on the business and location, you may need state licenses, county business tax receipts, municipal approvals, or industry-specific permits.
- Open a business bank account. Keeping business and personal funds separate helps protect the business structure and makes accounting and tax reporting much cleaner.
- Put contracts and internal policies in place. Before hiring employees, signing a lease, taking on investors, or working with clients, make sure the business has the right agreements in place.
- Stay current with Florida filing requirements. Once the business is active, annual reports and other ongoing compliance requirements must be handled on time to keep the entity in good standing.
Why Choose KEW Legal® in Miami
Bilingual formation and contracts, in English and Spanish.
Miami runs on cross-border business. Spanish-language negotiations, foreign investors, and counterparties with operations in Latin America are routine here, not exceptions. You explain your business once, in the language you think in.
An integrated business, real estate, and litigation perspective.
Contracts drafted by lawyers who also litigate them tend to hold up better. KEW Legal® sees your business in full commercial context, from the entity structure to the lease to the vendor agreement, so the paperwork protects the whole operation, not just one piece of it.
Practical, cost-aware counsel.
A five-person startup doesn’t need a fifty-page shareholder agreement built for a public company, and a growing company shouldn’t be running on a template downloaded in 2019. KEW Legal® scales the work to where your business actually is.
Proven on high-value commercial matters.
With 10+ years in practice and experience on deals like the $412 million JW Marriott Miami Turnberry refinance, KEW Legal® handles sophisticated transactions with the same care it brings to a first-time founder’s operating agreement.
Direct attorney access and real recognition.
You work with the named attorney, not a junior handoff, backed by bar admissions in Florida, New York, and D.C. and recognition as Bad Ass Woman of the Year in the Law category.
Do I Need an LLC or a Corporation to Start a Business in Miami?
Most small and mid-size Miami businesses form as an LLC because it offers liability protection with flexible, pass-through taxation and less required formality than a corporation.
A corporation (taxed as a C-corp or, if eligible, an S-corp) tends to make more sense when you plan to raise outside investment, issue stock, or bring on institutional partners who expect a corporate structure. Either way, filing with Sunbiz is only the first step.
The operating agreement or bylaws you put in place afterward is what actually governs what happens when a partner leaves, a dispute comes up, or the business needs to bring in new capital, and it is worth getting reviewed by someone who has seen how these disputes actually play out in Miami-Dade courts.
Get to Know KEW Legal®
KEW Legal® has spent more than a decade representing business owners and investors across Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, and Coral Gables. The firm focuses on business, corporate, real estate, and litigation matters, including the cross-border work that comes with operating between Florida and Latin America.
When a founder needs an entity formed correctly the first time, a growing company needs a general counsel relationship instead of a one-off fix, or a deal needs to close on time, this is the work the firm handles every day.
You get direct answers about what your business actually needs, what it doesn’t, and where the real risk sits, whether that means an operating agreement, a lease, or a contract with a vendor abroad. Spanish-language service is standard, not an exception.
The firm’s credibility is grounded in real work: bar admissions in Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C., a $412 million refinance of the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry, and recognition as Bad Ass Woman of the Year in the Law category.
Areas We Serve in Miami
- Brickell
- Downtown Miami
- Edgewater
- Wynwood
- Design District
- Midtown Miami
- Coconut Grove
- Coral Way
- Little Havana
- Shenandoah
- The Roads
- Upper Eastside
- MiMo District
- Little Haiti
- Allapattah
- Overtown
- Flagami
- West Flagler
- Buena Vista
- Morningside
Our Process for Miami Businesses
1. Initial Consultation
We learn your business, your goals, and where the risk actually sits, whether you’re pre-launch, scaling, or cleaning up legal debt from years of DIY paperwork. You leave with a clear sense of what matters now and what can wait.
2. Entity Selection or Structure Review
For new businesses, we handle formation, LLC, corporation, or partnership, and file directly with Sunbiz. For existing businesses, we review your current structure for gaps, outdated agreements, or compliance issues.
3. Document Drafting
Operating agreements, bylaws, contracts, and leases get drafted or rewritten around your actual business, not a generic template, including Spanish-language versions where needed.
4. Compliance Check
We confirm registered agent status, annual report deadlines, required local licenses like a Miami-Dade Business Tax Receipt, and any industry-specific permitting your business needs.
5. Ongoing General Counsel
Many clients keep KEW on retainer for contract review, employment questions, and day-to-day legal issues as they come up, so problems get caught before they become disputes.
6. Transactions and Growth
When you’re ready to bring on a partner, raise capital, buy or sell a business, or expand, we handle the negotiation and documentation, and if a dispute does arise, we’re already positioned to litigate it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Business Law
Do I actually need a lawyer to start an LLC in Florida, or can I just file it myself on Sunbiz?
You can file Articles of Organization yourself on Sunbiz for $125, and the state doesn’t require a lawyer to do it. The risk isn’t the filing, it’s everything the filing doesn’t cover: an operating agreement that spells out what happens if a partner leaves, provisions that protect you personally, and terms that hold up if a dispute lands in Miami-Dade court.
What’s the actual difference between an LLC and an S-corp in Florida, and which one should I pick?
An LLC is a legal entity structure; an S-corp is a tax election, and an LLC can actually elect to be taxed as an S-corp once it’s profitable enough to make that worthwhile, typically around the point where the payroll tax savings outweigh the added administrative cost.
I found a contract template online, is it actually safe to just use that?
A generic template can work for very low-stakes situations, but it wasn’t written for Florida law, your industry, or your specific relationship with the other party. The clauses that matter most, indemnification, termination, dispute resolution, non-competes, are exactly the ones templates get wrong or leave vague.
What should be in a partnership or operating agreement so my business partner and I don’t end up in a dispute later?
At minimum, how profits and losses are split, what happens if a partner wants to leave or stops contributing, how major decisions get made, how the business gets valued if someone needs to be bought out, and how disputes get resolved.
When should I hire a business lawyer instead of just using LegalZoom or a similar template service?
Template services are built for volume, not your specific deal. They’re reasonable for a simple, low-risk formation with no partners and no unusual terms. Once money from more than one person is involved, once you’re signing a lease or a vendor contract with real obligations, or once you’re bringing on a partner or employee, the cost of a mistake usually outweighs what you saved on the template.
Do I need a registered agent in Florida, and can I just be my own?
Yes, every Florida LLC and corporation must maintain a registered agent with a physical Florida street address (a P.O. box doesn’t qualify) to receive legal and state correspondence. You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a Florida street address and are reliably available during business hours.
How do I protect my business name, logo, or brand in Miami?
Real brand protection usually means a federal trademark application through the USPTO, plus, if you operate under a name different from your legal entity name, a fictitious name (“doing business as”) registration with the state. A trademark search before you launch can also save you from having to rebrand later.
Local Resources in Miami for Business Owners
- Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz): Provides business entity filings, registered-agent information, annual report filing, judgment liens, UCC filings, and certified corporate documents.
- Miami-Dade County Business Tax Receipt: Required local licensing for most businesses operating in Miami-Dade County, administered through the county’s tax collector.
- Miami-Dade Beacon Council: The county’s official economic development partnership, offering resources for business relocation, expansion, and incentives.
- Miami-Dade County Strive305 Program: County-backed initiative offering training, resources, and support for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
- Eleventh Judicial Circuit Complex Business Litigation Division: Handles high-value Miami-Dade commercial disputes, including breach of contract, shareholder, and trade secret matters over $750,000.
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation: Maintains licensing and disciplinary records for regulated businesses and professionals.
- Business Law Section of The Florida Bar: Provides business-law publications, educational materials, and information involving corporate, franchise, technology, and commercial issues.
- Florida Small Business Development Center at Miami-Dade: Offers business consulting, financial guidance, and operational support to Miami-area companies facing growth or management challenges.
- USPTO Trademark Resources: Federal resources for searching and registering trademarks to protect a business name, logo, or brand nationally.
Ready to Build Your Miami Business on Solid Ground
A business running on handshake deals and downloaded templates doesn’t get safer by waiting, it usually gets more expensive to fix. The sooner your entity, contracts, and compliance are handled correctly, the fewer surprises you’ll face as the business grows.
KEW Legal® handles business formation, contracts, and general counsel for owners and investors across Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, Coral Gables, and statewide Florida, including cross-border matters and Spanish-language agreements.
Book a consultation to get a practical read on what your business actually needs. Video and Zoom appointments are available for busy or international clients.
Call us to schedule your consultation today.