Law Offices of Gerard F. Lane
Established 1959
“THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA IS BUSINESS”
Calvin Coolidge, United States President 1923 - 1929
This quote, oft repeated by my father throughout my youth, was particularly influential in my decision to enter the Boston College Carroll School of Management.
- Gerard F. Lane II
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Successful Businesses inevitably have inspired founders with powerful visions and industrious and motivated employees.
But they also need competent and responsive external support.
That’s where we come in.
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Our Perspective on American Business
Attorney Lane Sr. understood the power of a man with a vision who also had the drive, insight, intelligence, and perseverance to cause that vision to become a reality. And he respected it as one of the fundamental building blocks of the United States of America. Attorney Lane Sr. knew that in the USA as in nowhere else in the world, nor in the world’s history, the only real limitations on a dream are those we put upon ourselves.
Business drives America. And it will continue to do so, so long as America is the friend of the entrepreneur. So long as the business of America is business, the United States of America will remain strong. Supporting those entrepreneurs and supporting solid and ethical businesses is a unique, rewarding and exciting calling of any law practice that delves into this basic building block of American society.
The Law Offices of Gerard F. Lane are proud to continue to support this fundamental element of our economy and of our society.
Business Résumé of Attorney Gerard F. Lane II
Gerard F. Lane II graduated from Boston College Carroll School of Management in 1988 with a degree in Business Administration, a Major in Finance and Minor in Spanish - having studied Finance on two continents in two different languages, and having successfully found employment during that time in both countries and with both languages.
Post-graduation, Attorney Lane II began his business career in earnest first as a closing auditor for a regional mortgage company, and then as a comprehensive internal auditor for BayBank, NA - a popular Massachusetts bank that had expanded quickly through acquisitions of smaller local banks, and that was perhaps best known for revolutionizing the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) industry in Massachusetts.
Following his experience at BayBank, Gerard F. Lane II took a position at a Certified Public Accounting Firm in Quincy Massachusetts whose principal partner at that time was the Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy. In 1992, he passed the Certified Public Accountancy exam. Having already enrolled in law school and having accepted a job for a prominent Boston law firm, Lane II continued his accounting experience eventually rising to the position of Controller of the firm. He later took on the dual role of Office Manager and Controller, and thereby for a time managed all financial and all administrative aspects of the practice.
As a law student Lane II had a distinct advantage in business given his prior education, banking and accounting training and general business experience, and thus it was no surprise that he was awarded the coveted American Jurisprudence Award TM for Business Associations in his third year. Attorney Lane II rightly attributes his college education, weighted with courses in business management and finance, and his broad experience in mortgages, banking, accounting and law to his success in law school, and now his success as a business attorney.
Walked the Walk
Believing that the starry-eyed dreams of any entrepreneur should never be viewed with skepticism or indifference, but rather recognizing that a dream is the beginning of all great business endeavors was never a difficult task for Attorney Lane. He knows first hand that the only thing that gets one through the difficult times as a business grows is the seared memory of that fateful day when the first neuron fired its energy to the next and the next, and suddenly like creative wildfire in its infancy, an image formed a thought, which led to a concept, that created a dream. Holding onto that moment is often critical to the preservation of any dream and thus of any, and perhaps all, entrepreneurial endeavors.
The concept of a full-service business-support firm sprung from the professional experience of Attorney Lane II in the early 1990s, some 20+ years ago. But it took time to develop this starry-eyed dream. During his CPA auditing experiences Attorney Lane realized that two of the largest annual line items common to most all small businesses were legal and accounting costs. He also noted frequent duplication of efforts across these two professions. The thought occurred at that time that combining the two professional skill sets would inevitably allow for significant cost savings for the client. But to do so one would have to become competent in both professions. Thus the concept of “The Lane Company”, a professional corporation servicing both legal and accounting needs, was born.
Though no longer operating as The Lane Company, the current Law Offices of Gerard F. Lane embodies much of the same ideology of that original vision. Thus, Attorney Lane not only understands the growth of conceptualized ideas to legal and viable enterprises; he has experienced it.
Experience
A brief summary of our experience in business law includes, but is not limited to:
Further:
Attorney Gerard F. Lane II not only has managed his own law practice for the past thirteen years through both lean and abundant times, he has also managed funds for clients, estates, trusts, and as treasurer for a local non-profit youth sports association. Attorney Lane has experience in C-Corporations, S-Corporations, 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, Sole Proprietorships, various types of Trusts, and in small business financing.
Your Expectations
A person who enters our office with an idea of a plan of business can leave with knowledge and information in potential corporate structures, organization, financing, employee issues, banking, insurance and tax. He or she will return with a direction determined and decisions made, and we can then legally set up the business organization, prepare the way for land, business and asset purchases, employee hiring, IRS and Department of Revenue Registration, insurance, and if necessary, financing. In short, we are a one-stop full-service business support enterprise.
At the conclusion of a somewhat complex transaction involving a family purchase of a going concern, financing via an S.B.A. loan and second mortgage from Seller, separation of business assets from real estate purchased by creating a trust to hold real estate, establishment of the business as an S-Corporation for federal and state purposes, drafting of a commercial lease to establish arms-length status of trust to corporation, and allocation of loan proceeds to trust and S-Corp based upon fair market value of the respective entities, Attorney Lane then said to the Client /Purchaser –
“Now as the final step I’ll need to meet with your accountant in order to discuss the accounting and income tax issues. Who might that be?” To which, the client stated -
“I think I’m looking at him right now”.
Proudly, we still represent this client in all aspects of his family’s business needs.
Conclusion
The Business of America truly is Business
and
Small Business is the Engine of America!
We’d be proud to be of service to yours.