Private Companies
What built the business may not be what carries it forward.
Owner-led and family companies often run on handshake understandings, aging operating agreements and a few relationships that matter more than any contract. We help owners formalize what needs formalizing, protect what they have built and prepare for growth, new partners or a sale.
Start a conversationHOW WE HELP
Counsel for the decisions a company compounds.
Owners carry decisions that outlast any single deal: who controls the company, whom it does business with and who eventually takes it over.
Outside General Counsel
Ongoing senior counsel on the contracts, decisions and risks of a growing company, without the cost of an in-house legal department.
Read →Governance & Ownership
Operating agreements, shareholder arrangements, boards and holding structures that settle who controls the business and how
Read →Commercial Transactions
Customer, supplier, distribution and services agreements written to hold up when the relationship is tested.
Read →M&A & Strategic Growth
Acquisitions, sales, mergers and strategic investments, from letter of intent through closing and integration.
Read →Succession & Exit
Ownership transitions, buy-sell arrangements, leadership handoffs and sales, planned well before a buyer arrives.
Read →SIGNAL
Written for companies and their owners.
Notes on the issues that come up most often in owner-led businesses.
Qualified Small Business Stock and Venture Economics
The 2025 expansion of Section 1202 brought Qualified Small Business Stock into a much wider range of venture outcomes.
Founder Equity is Governance
Founder equity is not simply compensation. Every meaningful grant also allocates control, incentives, risk and future flexibility.
Speed is a Deal Skill
Moving quickly is not the same thing as rushing. Good deal counsel knows which process matters, which issues can be triaged and which cannot be compressed.
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Matters of record.
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Represented The 86 Company, owner of Fords Gin, in its $22 million sale to Brown-Forman Corporation in 2019.
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Represented a consumer-brand founder in private-capital matters, a proposed majority-sale negotiation and subsequent restructuring-related advice
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Manufacturers of a high-profile brand fan in a $500M deal with a private equity firm. The fan manufacturer is the leading manufacturer of high-volume, low-speed industrial fans, lights, and control systems. With approximately 500 patents and patent applications worldwide, as well as hundreds of trademarks, the company places an emphasis on energy efficiency for industrial, commercial and residential use.The fan manufacturer is the leading manufacturer of high-volume, low-speed industrial fans, lights, and control systems. With approximately 500 patents and patent applications worldwide, as well as hundreds of trademarks, the company places an emphasis on energy efficiency for industrial, commercial and residential use.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Representative matters may include work performed at prior law firms.
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