“We came in thinking we needed a lawyer for one lease. Joelle read it, found the clause making me personally liable, and got it capped at a year of rent.”
Renée D.Owner, a bakery in Lawrenceville
Business law in Pittsburgh
Legal help for the stage your business is in
Pick where you are. Each stage has a lead lawyer, a written scope and a written quote before any work begins.
Four stages
Open, expand, defend, exit
The firm is sorted by what is happening to your company, not by legal category. Find your stage and you have found your lawyer and how the fee is set.
- Quoted in writing
Open
Choose the entity, file it, and write down who owns what before the first customer pays.
The Open stageLLC or corporation, filed
Operating or shareholder agreement
Tax ID and first registrations
- Quoted per contract
Expand
The paperwork that comes with growth: customers, suppliers, a lease, the first employees.
The Expand stageCustomer and supplier terms
Commercial leases
Counsel on a monthly plan
- Written estimate first
Defend
A demand letter, a partner who wants out, a customer who won't pay. We try to settle it before court.
The Defend stageDemand letters and replies
Owner and partner disputes
Contract lawsuits
- Quoted in writing
Exit
Selling the company, merging, or handing it to family or a manager, from letter of intent to closing.
The Exit stageLetters of intent
Purchase agreements
Family succession plans
The firm
Three lawyers above the Strip District
We left larger downtown firms to work for the companies we used to meet only across the table.
Most of our clients have fewer than fifty people: machine shops in the Mon Valley, kitchens on Butler Street, software teams spun out of labs in Oakland. They don't need a floor of associates. They need a lawyer who knows the file and gives a price before starting.
A written scope and price before work starts
One lead lawyer per matter, named on day one
Plain-English summaries of what you sign
Video meetings, or coffee on Smallman Street
From owners
What clients said once it was signed
“Dominic set up our company when it was two of us and a 3D printer. When we sold it, he ran the sale too. Same lawyer, same direct line.”
Tomasz K.Co-founder, a robotics parts maker
“A supplier threatened to sue over a late payment. Lidia wrote one letter, we paid what we actually owed, and that was it.”
Farah N.Owner, a catering company
Sample comments. Every client's matter is different, and what we did in one doesn't promise a result in another.
Questions
Before you book a call
What if I'm not sure which stage I'm in?
Pick the closest one, or none, and book a call. Twenty minutes is usually enough to tell which stage it is and who should lead it.
Is the first call free?
Yes. It doesn't make us your lawyers, and we'll ask for names first so we can check for conflicts.
How do you set your fees?
By the matter: what it involves, how large it is and who is on the other side. Each stage page shows what we cover. We confirm the full fee in writing before any work begins.
Can you take a lawsuit that's already been filed?
Yes, though deadlines run from the day you were served. Call rather than write, and tell us the date you received the papers.
Not sure where you fit?
Tell us what is happening. We'll tell you the stage, who would lead it and what it would cost.
The first call is free. It doesn't make us your lawyers; a signed engagement letter does.