“My brother and I ran the shop on a handshake. Eleni had us write down what happens if one of us leaves. When I did leave, the paper settled it in an afternoon.”
Darren K.Co-owner of an auto-glass shop, Ogden
Flat-fee business law in Salt Lake City, and by video
Every owner has a “what happens if.” Bring us yours.
We’re a three-lawyer firm in Sugar House for people who own small companies. We set them up, write their contracts, step in when partners stop agreeing, and plan for the day the owner steps back. Each job has a flat fee, written down before we start, and most meetings happen by video.
1,140
operating agreements drafted612
contracts read before signing238
buy-sell agreements signed57
businesses passed to a new owner
Counted from our own files. The tally shows the work we did, not a forecast for your company.
Where owners start
Four worries we hear every week
Pick the one that sounds like yours. Each page says what we do about it, what it costs and what you’ll have in hand at the end.
What happens to my house if the business is sued?
Usually very little, if the company is set up and run as its own thing. We form it, write the operating agreement and show you the habits that keep it separate from you.
Setting up the companyWhat happens if a customer won’t pay?
A clear contract settles most of it before it starts. We write the terms you send out, read the ones you’re asked to sign, and answer for you when an invoice sits unpaid.
ContractsWhat happens if my partner wants out?
Then a buy-sell agreement does the talking. If you never signed one, we help the two of you agree on a price and a way out, and put it on paper.
Partner disputesWhat happens to the business when I’m done?
It can go to a son or daughter, a key employee or an outside buyer, on terms you set while you still can. We plan it in steps you can follow.
Succession
The flat fee
How a flat fee works at our office
One number for the whole job, agreed before the work starts.
What does the flat fee cover?
Everything we list in the engagement letter for that job: the meetings, the drafting, the rounds of changes and your questions while the job is open. A phone call about that work is never a separate bill.
What isn’t covered?
Filing fees the state charges, which we pass on at cost, and any dispute that turns into a lawsuit. If a matter heads toward court, we tell you before anything changes and price that part on its own.
Do I have to come downtown?
No. Most owners meet us by video and sign online. The Sugar House office is there for anyone who would rather sit across a table.
How soon do I get a price?
After a short first call. We ask what you need, then email the fee and what it includes. Nothing starts until you say yes.
Sugar House and statewide
A desk on 2100 South, and a video link for everyone else
Our office sits on 2100 South in Sugar House. But a florist in Logan or a contractor in St. George shouldn’t have to drive for hours to sign an operating agreement. So we meet by video, go through drafts together on screen and send everything to sign online.
You keep the same lawyer from the first call to the last signature, and after every meeting you get a short written note of what was decided.
Owners who asked their “what if” early
“I was about to sign a kitchen lease with a personal guarantee buried on page nine. Mele found it, called the landlord’s lawyer and got it capped. The fee was exactly what she quoted.”
Teuila F.Owner of a catering kitchen, West Valley City
“We met Karin by video from the orchard office. She mapped out how our daughter takes over, one piece at a time, and wrote it so we could actually follow it.”
Joan B.Co-owner of a family orchard, Box Elder County
Shared with each client’s permission. Every business, contract and partnership is different, and how these matters went doesn’t predict how yours will.
Tell us the worry. We’ll tell you the fee.
A first call takes about twenty minutes. Afterwards you get the flat fee in writing, with what it includes, and you decide whether to go ahead.