The general counsel your business deserves, without the in-house cost.
Most small and mid-sized businesses do not need a full-time legal department. They need one phone number, answered by a senior attorney who already knows their business, their people, and their priorities. That is the role we play for closely-held companies across the tri-state. Outside general counsel, on retainer or per matter, with the seasoned judgment of a thirty-year practitioner and the speed of a small firm.
Why Founders Hire Us
Senior judgment from minute one. When you call, you reach a partner, not an associate working off a checklist. Decades of pattern recognition show up in every contract review and every term-sheet conversation.
We do transactions and litigation. Most small firms only do one. Because we do both, our contracts are written by lawyers who know which clauses fail in court. Our litigation strategy is shaped by lawyers who know how deals actually get done.
We integrate with your estate plan. For founders, the business is often the largest asset. We are uniquely positioned to align your operating agreement, buy-sell, and succession plan with your personal estate plan, something most corporate lawyers cannot do.
We bill predictably. Reasonable fees on documents. Honest scoping on litigation. No mystery six-figure invoices.
General Counsel for Closely-Held Businesses
Most small and mid-sized businesses do not need an in-house legal department. They do need a trusted lawyer on speed dial. We serve as outside general counsel to dozens of closely-held companies across industries, offering the same practical, ongoing advice a great in-house lawyer would, at a fraction of the full-time cost.
One call reaches a senior attorney who already knows your business, your team, your contracts, and your priorities. No re-explaining. No clock starting from zero.
Business Formations
Starting a business means making choices that will follow you for years: what entity to form, how to split equity among founders, how to protect yourself personally, how to set up for future investment or sale. We help founders work through those decisions carefully and form the right entity for their goals, whether LLC, S-Corporation, C-Corporation, partnership, or professional corporation, in the right jurisdiction, with the right operating, shareholder, and governance documents.
Note that the federal beneficial-ownership rules have shifted significantly over the past year — our March 2025 update on the Corporate Transparency Act covers what does and does not apply to new formations today.
Contracts & Agreements
Well-drafted contracts are the spine of a healthy business. We draft, negotiate, and pressure-test:
- Services and consulting agreements
- Master services agreements and statements of work
- Vendor and supplier contracts
- Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
- Licensing agreements
- Distribution and reseller agreements
- Partnership and joint venture agreements
Transactions
Buying a business, selling one, taking on investors, bringing in a new partner: these are among the most consequential moments in a founder's life, and the worst place to be self-taught. We represent clients on both sides of these transactions, from straightforward asset purchases to more complex stock and merger deals, always focused on closing on terms that protect our client's downside as fiercely as they capture the upside.
Employment & HR
As businesses grow, employment complexity grows with them. We draft and negotiate employment agreements, contractor agreements, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses (within the bounds of evolving state law), equity grant and stock option documents, and separation agreements designed to close the chapter cleanly.
Intellectual Property
Your brand, your content, your inventions, your customer lists: these are often your most valuable assets. We protect them through trademark registrations, copyright protections, trade secret agreements, and carefully drafted IP assignment and licensing provisions in every contract you sign.
Business Advisory
Sometimes what you need most is not a document. It is a fifteen-minute call with a calm, experienced lawyer. We serve as a sounding board for our business clients on strategy, on hard conversations with partners or employees, on vendor disputes, on how to respond to that demand letter sitting on your desk, and on the hundred other situations where experienced counsel quietly changes the outcome.
