CSC-What does Lawyers Incorporating Service Company Do?
Lawyers Incorporating Service Company, known as CSC, was founded in Wilmington, Delaware in 1899. It survives today as a national corporation providing services to keep businesses compliant with federal, state and local requirements. Corporations and limited liability companies — in the US and beyond — are required by law to file forms, pay appropriate fees, and submit reports with various government agencies. If a company fails to do so its charter can be suspended or even revoked. Courts can also impose damages for failing to maintain corporate compliance; and in some cases, the officers and/or directors can be personally liable for monetary damages and in other cases , even equitable relief. Doing business in multiple states can make compliance more complicated. Over two-thirds of US corporation have to file some form of report with the Secretary of State each year. CSC has a simple mission. "Protect and promote the rights of business." It also promotes the rights of persons, families, and counties. Hundreds of thousands of estate plans have been written to protect the rights of individuals. Thousands of businesses have been built, protected, and promoted by people utilizing CSC services. Every US county that has a courthouse, has a facility invoices from CSC. CSC does more than maintain corporate compliance, it also provides assistance with mergers and acquisitions, securities, and specialized legal services.
Main Services Provided by CSC
CSC provides a variety of services to businesses and legal professionals, such as business incorporation, registered agent services, and compliance assistance.
Business Incorporation. Helping businesses incorporate in all 50 states, CSC’s services include:
Registered Agent Services. A registered agent is the party appointed to receive all legal and official documents on behalf of a corporation, LLC, or other business entity. CSC’s registered agent service provides:
Compliance Assistance. It can be a monumental task for corporations and LLCs to keep on top of their corporation compliance obligations, including meeting all filing, statutory, and documentary requirements. In addition, many states require businesses to submit annual reports. Just missing one report or failing to pay an initial formation fee could mean that your company has to resurrect itself from administrative dissolution. CSC provides a suite of compliance tools to help handle the maze of laws and regulations governing businesses in all 50 states.
Using CSC to Incorporate
Incorporating a business is a challenge even for the most seasoned veterans of the LLC game. Why is that you might ask? Well, a lot of it has to do with the information that needs to be relayed to appropriate parties. You obviously need an attorney to assist in making sure that no mistakes are made that could be ruled as an abuse of legal counsel. There also must be consideration made to the local taxing jurisdiction and…well…yeah, it’s a lot to take in for one person, even one that’s used to a lot of information coming at them quickly. That’s where an incorporation service comes to the rescue.
Companies choose to use an incorporation service like Lawyers Incorporating Service for many reasons. First of all, using an incorporation service takes the pressure off companies to "get it right" the first time, and to legalize their company within a very small window of time. An incorporation service does all of that for you, if you pay them to. Secondly, they have experience and a familiarity with not only business law, but with your specific industry and how you do business. They know what works and what doesn’t, making it easy for them to offer you solutions to both simple and complex legal questions and future issues. Thirdly, they know how to help your company process its paperwork without a hitch. It sounds simple enough, but the largest problems people face when trying to incorporate simple is having the paperwork processed in a timely fashion, before any taxes are owed or any other issues are created by the state. Many incorporation services have been in business for decades, making them the ideal party in charge of this kind of business action.
And of course, we can’t begin to forget the wealth of experience that they can provide to help your business grow. With the proper incorporation process backed by a seasoned incorporation service, your business will become legal without fault, saving you the time, effort and hassle that it would take to do yourself, and keeping you on the good side of your local taxing authority. With CSC, or Corporation Service Corporation, you don’t have to worry about legal third parties messing with your business’s day-to-day operations and long term growth. There’s a reason companies opt for CSC over other incorporation service providers – they’re one of the most consistent, non-screwy, shockingly efficient services available today.
Selecting the Appropriate Service Package from CSC
It is important to note that all of the service packages offered by CSC contain the year within which the services will be performed. In many cases, thoroughly reading the services offered under the packages provides a better understanding of the specific services offered. Below are explanations of the service packages available from CSC:
Value Packages. There are three Value Packages: The Value Package, The Legal Specialty Package and the Corporate Specialty Package. The Value Package provides a business with its incorporation, an employer identification number, the ability to file annual reports online, unlimited phone consultations by CSC or U.S. Legal Support lawyers, a legal guidebook, a digital corporate seal and certificates and a business kit with a guidebook. The Legal Specialty Package provides these services, as well as a business license research package and corporate minute book. The Corporate Specialty Package contains these services, as well as employer identification number research.
Preferred Packages. There are three Preferred Packages: The Silver, The Gold and the Platinum. The Silver Package contains many of the services listed in the Value Packages discussed above, plus access to tax-related services such as income tax return preparation, payroll preparation and legal agreement preparation and review. The Gold Package contains the services listed in The Silver Package, plus access to trademark services such as trademark portfolio maintenance and watch services and reports and legal services including corporate compliance and online legal document assembly. The Platinum Package contains all the services listed in the Gold Package, plus additional services including intellectual property and litigation services, and a legal referral service that connects businesses with lawyers from trusted law firms.
It is generally recommended that a business consider the most expensive packages to determine which will best suit its needs. It is also recommended that a business contact customer service with specific questions regarding package pricing.
Testimonials & Cases
We recently spoke with Maria Cordero, the co-owner of BMF Law Group APC, a full-service law firm located in San Diego with an office in Los Angeles. Maria started working with CSC in 2004 through her previous firm when a colleague referred them. Maria continued to use CSC’s services for business license filings, new entity formations and merger and acquisition filings as well as many other legal and non-legal filings.
"CSC has always met our needs," Maria said. "They have a great customer service department that we definitely rely on. It’s more human, customer-focused than other companies, you are not speaking with a robot."
Thomas Pinder, a partner at the law firm Pinder Plummer LLP, also expressed satisfaction with his experiences working with CSC . Based in the Bahamas, his firm has been a company of choice for non-Bahamian lawyers since 1983. Their clients include international banks, including those from Europe and Latin America, as well as international companies conducting business with or through the Bahamas.
Pinder says he insists on working with and recommends working with CSC for reasons of efficiency, professionalism and a proven track record in the Bahamas with "high end and busy" law firms.
"We have a very high volume of company incorporations and re-registrations, Dawna [Ragan, commercial registered agent at CSC in the Bahamas] has extensive experience and is very professional," Pinder said.
The Price of Keeping Up with CSC
A hallmark of CSC is its transparent and reasonable pricing model. With over 125 years of experience, CSC is still the only national registered agent service with a robust automation team that creates custom reporting and invoices to meet the needs of its clients. Contrary to other registered agent providers that charge a flat rate plus a few cents per entity, CSC takes the time to get to know its clients and provide the customized reporting required to ensure compliance with entity records. From providing flat reporting fees to the most intricate custom reporting, CSC provides its clients with a solution for their unique registered agent invoices. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author, a proud employee of CSC.
Frequently Asked Questions onCSC
When I explain what CSC does to other lawyers, I commonly get the same questions over and over. In this section, I’ll answer the most common ones.
How much do your services cost?
It varies based on the service and your specific needs, but we work to make our services as affordable as possible. To check whether we can help you with a certain project, call us at 1-800-927-9800.
What kind of turnaround time do you have for your services?
CSC’s standard turnaround time is 24 hours for most of our services, except where custom work is needed. Usually, however, this is very flexible per your request and our workload. Your best bet is to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, so they can give you a precise answer for your specific project .
What kind of support do you offer for your services?
For every service, we have a team of highly-trained, licensed attorneys who are always ready to help you. No matter the legal issue, we will connect you with someone who’s experienced and qualified to help. You’ll never be left in the dark while working with CSC.
What if my legal documentation is very complex and requires a lot of complicated terms and conditions?
Not a problem. Whether your project is simple or complex, our team has successfully completed all kinds of tasks, from the mundane to the highly-specialized, and we’re more than happy to do the same for you. We understand that the law is always evolving, and your legal documentation needs to evolve with it.