Business Transactions

Our transactional and litigation practices complement each other well. Experience gained in one discipline strengthens the knowledge base for the other. We know what to put in our agreements because we have litigated them. The key to our success is understanding the big picture and the all-important details along the way so we can best leverage a client’s position and provide business owners with unique and practical legal solutions. We believe that much perspective is gained by considering the transaction from the viewpoint of the opposing side. Our focus remains on quality services that provide clients with a return on their investment in us. We combine our experience, knowledge base, and approach to any matter with dogged determination and persistence to realize the client’s goals in a wide-range of business transaction services.

Business Start-Up

Lyons Law Group successfully represents entrepreneurs and investors through the business start-up and capitalization process. We counsel clients on doing business as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or series limited liability company. We prepare Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization and advise clients as to the proper provisions and elections to include in their formation documents. Business start-up includes preparation of a shareholder agreement and by-laws to govern the relationship between the officers, directors and shareholders of a corporation, or an operating agreement to govern the relationship between the members and managers of a limited liability company. After formation, we counsel clients on an ongoing basis regarding corporate governance and compliance to maintain a company’s limited liability protection. We understand that business owners have different needs, and that legal counsel must provide business owners with unique and practical legal solutions to conform to a client’s business realities.

Business Purchases and Sales

Lyons Law Group represents businesses and their owners in all types of business sale and acquisition transactions. We assist clients with the preparation of non-disclosure agreements and letters of intent and perform legal due diligence to assist clients with evaluating a potential business purchase. We assist clients in determining the best structure of the transaction, and drafting and negotiating the appropriate asset purchase agreement, stock purchase agreement, recapitalization agreement, redemption agreement, statutory merger or other purchase agreement.

Commercial and Residential Leasing

Lyons Law Group represents Landlords and Tenants in the preparation and negotiation of residential and commercial leases. We have experience drafting and negotiating leases for office, retail, mixed-use and other commercial properties, including leases for retail and restaurant nationwide franchisees.

Capital Raises

We represent business and investors in private placements of debt and equity. Doing so requires the navigation of complicated federal and state securities regulations. We provide private placement legal services at a fraction of what larger law firms typically charge. We consult with clients regarding their specific offering and recommend a structure that makes sense based on the client’s industry, the amount of capital being raised, and the targeted investors.

Business Contracts

We draft, negotiate, revise and advise clients on a wide-variety of contracts including employment agreements, consulting agreements, non-disclosure agreements, non-compete agreements, customer and supplier agreements, loan agreements, mortgage and security agreements, license agreements, and terms and conditions for the sale of goods or services.

Our Business Transaction practice includes taking businesses from start-up and initial fund-raise, into launch, through operation, maintenance and growth, and, ultimately, merger or acquisition. In the start-up and fund-raise stage, we have worked with both entrepreneurs and investors (angels and traditional VCs). Our typical raises range from a few hundred thousand to up to $10 Million. During the launch and initial operations stage, we have worked with companies, employees, and contractors to protect their interests as they work towards profitability. During the growth stage, we have helped companies maintain their business advantage and edge in the marketplace. And we have helped owners and businesses exit their marketplace successfully, whether it be through a merger, acquisition, or a shareholder or membership interest buy-out. Our sweet spot for M&As or buy-outs is between $1 Million and $10 Million; though we have handled smaller deals involving strategic acquisitions and sales.

We often work with, and appear on the other side of the table from, Chicago’s largest law firms in many of our transactions. And we can bring to the table the services of the most qualified accountants, financial advisors and lenders, business valuators, and insurance brokers to meet our clients’ needs for almost any deal for our clients.

We are able to provide exceptional value by providing certain transactional services on an initial flat fee basis, with revisions and follow-up work being billed on hourly rates that are extremely competitive. We do not take a cookie-cutter approach; rather, we tailor our services and work product to meet each client’s needs. Establishing long-term attorney-client relationships flows naturally from the individual attention we give each client. And we are fortunate to be able to state that we sincerely enjoy working with each of our clients.