Christopher D. Wagner

Christopher D. Wagner

Christopher Wagner is an experienced and results-driven business law attorney with a comprehensive understanding of the factors and risks business owners must navigate in order to successfully operate a commercial enterprise. With a keen business acumen developed from over twelve years of accounting and financial experience in a variety of industries including e-commerce, real estate, healthcare, and insurance, Mr. Wagner is well positioned to provide valuable and cost-effective insights and solutions to his clients. Chris utilizes his business, accounting, and financial knowledge to help his clients achieve their respective business goals to advance productivity and growth, while minimizing potential risks.

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On January 7th, the Treasury Department announced that the Paycheck Protection Program, a unique program that kept many businesses afloat during the initial months of the pandemic, will re-open the week of January 11 for a second round of loans for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, initially only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans beginning on Monday, January 11, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter.The PPP fund provides forgivable loans to businesses, providing they maintain their payroll.


 
On April 23, 2020, Governor Wolf announced that all businesses in the construction industry in the Commonwealth are permitted to resume “in-person operations” beginning Friday, May 1, 2020. Construction industry businesses include those in new construction, renovation, and repair, as well as land subdivision and design-related field/project site activities.

The Wolf Administration has issued guidance (the “Guidance”) for all construction industry businesses and their employees in anticipation of resuming operations while at the same time mitigating the spread of COVID-19.  The Guidance provides universal protocols for all construction activity, as well as specific additional guidance for residential, commercial, and public construction projects. If you own or manage a construction industry business, you should review these guidelines and ensure such safety protocols are in place before starting up again.


Pennsylvania Business owners have probably heard that Governor Tom Wolf ordered that all "non-life-sustaining" businesses in Pennsylvania must close their physical locations to slow the spread of COVID-19. This order went into effect last evening. You may be wondering whether your business is “life-sustaining” and may stay open. There is little guidance from the Governor’s office, other than the chart published by the Governor

As a business lawyer, I have spent years counseling small to mid-sized companies across a wide range of industries.  I have advised clients on routine to complex business legal issues that arise during the start-up stage through operation and growth stages, and have structured many exit strategies and created successful succession plans in various ownership documents.  What I love best about providing sound legal guidance to business owners through the life cycle of their business is helping them solve issues that arise both from a legal perspective and also from a financial perspective.  Helping clients navigate through contractual, employment, finance, IP protection, and other daily issues so they can focus on achieving their goals of growth, maximization of profits, and sustainability, all while minimizing their potential for risk and exposure is a vital objective in my practice. 

I have recently been invited to participate for the next several weeks as an advisor in an exciting new local event – The Spark Bowl.  Co-sponsored by Delaware Valley University, it’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center and the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, this event is a local competition aimed at fostering innovation, growth, and entrepreneurship.   At the First Annual Spark Bowl event to be held on December 11th, students and local entrepreneurs in and around Bucks County will “pitch” their businesses plans to Spark’s judges, who will select a winner who will receive prizes and benefits to include monetary funding as well as access to expert advisors.  The contest will be judged by experienced investors who have a desire to support innovation and economic growth and prosperity within the local community.  As part of DelVal’s experiential learning program, DVU student teams will work with final contestants to prepare for the competition under the guidance of DelVal faculty and SBEC advisors.  Professor William Viel of DVU’s Business and Information Management Department is the Director of the SBEC.  It is quite a valuable resource to this community to have such an incubator right here in Central Bucks. Please click here to learn more about The Spark Bowl at Delaware Valley University.

After many years of working with business owners, some who were successful, and some who were not, it seems evident that the best predicator of sustainable business growth and success is: planning by asking the right questions up-front; creating detailed business plans and product or service models; determining the expected demand for their product or service in a low or highly competitive market; understanding both traditional and non-traditional financing alternatives; putting together the right team of professionals to help them produce, deliver and promote their business and its products/services; dealing with operational challenges and various levels of legal compliance properly, all while being willing to assess weaknesses and promote strengths.

The Spark Bowl has inspired me to remind my clients to think about why they are doing what they are doing, as they work through the day-to-day challenges (legal and otherwise) of operating and sustaining a business they built and love.

Good Luck to all the participants on December 11th!