Pursue your passion without worrying that what you think you know about the law will come back to bite you.

Whether you're new to the world of entrepreneurship or an established business, there are numerous legal issues that your business must be prepared to navigate. You could try to search the Internet for the answers to your legal questions and hope you get everything right. But just as hope isn't a viable business strategy, your favorite search engine isn't a business attorney.

Our Business Law Services include: business formation and governance, preparing business contracts, and succession planning.

Business Formation & Governance

PicturePhoto by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Business Formation Benefits:
  • Reduce personal exposure to business liabilities while pursuing your passion
  • Critical first step to obtaining any type of business financing
  • Be taken seriously as a business venture (not just a “hustler” or hobbyist)
  • Prevent misunderstandings among key stakeholders (co-owners, investors, key employees, etc.)
  • Freedom from the status quo your currently hate (job / boss / career)


When should you form your business entity? As early as possible!
  1. Before taking on any significant obligations or exposing yourself to any substantial risks, i.e. spending money, signing contracts/leases, etc.
  2. Before hiring various service providers and/or independent contractors.
  3. Before raising money, even from family and friends. Otherwise, you are inadvertently creating a partnership and the question of who owns or owes what is subject to everyone’s memory, misinterpretation, and mood swings.

Learn More About Business Formation
Business Formation Includes: Preparing and filing Articles of Organization or Incorporation with the Ohio Secretary of State; preparing business operating agreement or corporate bylaws; preparing initial corporate resolutions (as needed) for organizational matters; and obtaining the tax identification number.

Learn more about:
Single Owner: $400

Spouses: $425

Multiple Owners: $1,525

Multiple Ownership Classes / Vesting Restrictions: $3,350

+ $99 Minimum Secretary of State Fee
Operating Agreement / Corporate Bylaws

Why does my single member LLC need an operating agreement?
  • Certain default rules may not make sense for your business.
  • It serves as a basic how to guide for keeping the business legally compliant.
  • It may be required by your bank or other third parties to confirm the business’s structure.
  • Some banks require the operating agreement (and will not accept your personal power of attorney) to decide who gets access to any business bank accounts.
  • Having (and following) the operating agreement can help protect you in the event of a business lawsuit.
Single Owner: $250

Spouses: $275

Multiple Owners: $1,350

Multiple Ownership Classes / Vesting Restrictions: $2,900

Review and Advice: $475
Get attorney recommendations and counsel; editing or re-drafting the agreement or bylaws is not included.
Advisory Board Member Agreement: $750

Corporate Bylaws: $325
Corporate Resolutions: $175

Update / Serve as Statutory Agent: $75
+ $25 Secretary of State Fee

Business Contracts

PicturePhoto by Mari Helin on Unsplash
Why have a licensed attorney prepare and review your contracts?
  • Prevent misunderstandings and preserve your key business relationships
  • Minimize the financial risks your organization is exposed to if things don’t work out
  • Know that your business or non-profit is not being taken advantage of
  • Confirm that everyone is the same page (literally) about the terms of the agreement
  • Ensure your agreement will be legally enforceable in the event of a problem
 

Problems with Generic Online Form Contracts:
  • Just wrong . . . wrong parties, wrong applicable law, wrong type of agreement, etc.
  • One size does not fit all
  • Too simplistic / missing key clauses
  • Terms with legal meanings you don’t understand and don’t know whether you can change
  • Doesn’t match the parties’ intentions
 
Contract review and advice includes attorney recommendations and counseling. Document editing or re-drafting is not included. Most contract negotiations require either General Counsel Service or the Firm’s standard hourly retainer. The fee applicable to contract reviews and updates is not available where the agreement was not initially prepared by a licensed attorney.

Learn More About Business Contracts
B2B Service Agreements: $1,600

B2C Customer Agreements: $925
(Highly Regulated Industries: $2,400)

Commercial Lease / Real Estate Purchase Agreement and Negotiations: $4,900
Review & Advice (includes 1 round of attorney edits/redlines): $1,300
Short Form Lease Review (less than 10 pages): $650

Equipment Lease: $1,150

Franchise Disclosure Document and Agreement: $16,650
State Registration Fees Not Included
Review & Advice: $1,950

Ohio Business Opportunity Plan (Disclosure Document & Agreement): $5,550
Review & Update (Firm prepared documents only): $1,850

Investor Offering Document (i.e. Private Placement Memorandum): $5,500
Federal or State Securities Registration Fees Not Included

Investor Agreement: $900
Note: A standalone investor agreement (without an accompanying offering document) is rarely, if ever, appropriate. All securities transactions are subject to the anti-fraud provisions of state and federal securities laws. This means that the business and its principals cannot make any false or misleading statements, whether orally or in writing, about the business, the securities offered, or the offering itself. In addition to government criminal, civil and/or administrative enforcement actions, the investors in a business can bring a private action for securities fraud and potentially recover a refund of their entire investment.
Learn More About Raising Money From Investors
Non-Compete / Non-Disclosure / Proprietary Information Agreements: $850

Personal Guarantee: $250

Promissory Note: $475

SaaS Terms of Service: $3,150

Security Agreement: $475

Strategic Partnership / Joint Venture Agreements: $2,800

Waiver & Release / Limitation of Liability: $325

Website Privacy Policy / Terms of Service / DMCA Policy: $550 each or $1,485 for all 3

Other Contract Review & Advice:
$250 (up to 5 pages) / $375 up to 10 pages
Contract review and advice includes attorney recommendations and counseling. Document editing or re-drafting is not included. Most contract negotiations are billed hourly and require the Firm’s standard replenishing retainer ($1,750 / $875).

Succession Planning

Agreement to Dissolve a Business / Partnership: $925

Buy-Sell / Merger / Consolidation / Membership Interest Transfer / Shareholder Agreements: $1,575

Letter of Intent / Purchases Less than $100,000: $1,550
Capped at 8 hours max; additional time billed hourly and will require the Firm's standard retainer

LLC Certificate of Dissolution: $100
+$50 Secretary of State Fee
Complete Business Purchase / Sale Representation: $5,300
Includes: Asset Purchase Agreement, ancillary documents as needed (including: Bill of Sale & Assignment, Escrow Agreement, Non-Disclosure/Non-Compete Agreement, Personal Guarantee, Promissory Note, Security Agreement and UCC Financing Statement, and Service/Consulting Agreement), and negotiating terms

Asset Purchase Agreement: $3,875
Review & Advice: $1,200 (includes 1 round of attorney edits / redlines)

Bill of Sale & Assignment Agreement: $100

Escrow Agreement: $200

Non-Disclosure / Non-Compete Agreement: $825

Personal Guarantee: $250

Promissory Note: $475

Security Agreement: $475
Includes filing UCC Financing Statement
The Fine Print: All fees and services described on this site are for information purposes only and are subject to change at any time. Until we have both a signed Engagement Agreement and your initial payment, the Firm reserves the right to quote you a new or different fee for services based on the unique legal needs of your business or non-profit organization.

Payment Plans are available for a additional premium of 15%. Payment plans are generally  > $1,000 - 2 payments, > $2,000 - 3 payments, > $4,000 - 4 payments. All payment plans require a credit card authorization and are billed monthly. Payment plans are not available for rush delivery projects. Anticipated expenses are due with your first payment.

Estimated Turnaround Time:
  • Less than $1,000 - 1 to 2 weeks
  • More than $1,000 - 2 to 4 weeks
  • More than $2,000 - 4 to 6 weeks
  • More than $4,000 - 6 to 8 weeks
Our Estimated Turnaround Time is provided to give you an idea of what to expect. It is not a guaranteed delivery date, and does not include additional time that may be required by third parties such as government agencies. Faster turnaround times and/or guaranteed delivery dates may be available for a rush delivery fee of 20%.