Overview: Business Lawyers
Maybe you are incorporating, bringing a partner into an existing venture, or reading a supply agreement that carries more weight than the last one. A business lawyer handles the transaction side: choosing a federal or provincial incorporation, writing shareholder and partnership agreements, drafting commercial contracts, closing a purchase or sale, and keeping the minute book current. Once a deal has soured and a claim is coming, the file moves to a civil litigation firm.
The gap between practices shows up in deal size and sector. A lawyer who incorporates small companies every week works differently from one who closes financings. Ask which lawyer drafts your documents and which one supervises. Ask whether billing is hourly, fixed per agreement, or a monthly retainer, and get the answer in the engagement letter.
Have your material ready. Articles of incorporation, the shareholders' agreement, the minute book, your share register, signed customer contracts, and a straightforward account of ownership and decision rights. The first meeting normally compares the structure you built against the one your plans now require.
Every listing reflects the corporate work a firm publishes about itself: industries served, transaction types, and the client size it prefers. Move through the province and city lists to find practices within reach. Each city page separates firms with a local address from the ones nearby.
Frequently asked questions
What does a business lawyer handle for a company?
Incorporating federally or in the province and choosing the right vehicle, shareholder and partnership agreements, commercial contracts with customers and suppliers, financing rounds, and the purchase or sale of a business. Corporate maintenance belongs here as well: the minute book, directors' resolutions, and an accurate share register. A claim against you or by you moves to a litigation firm.
How do business law firms usually charge?
Three structures cover most of it. Hourly where the work cannot be scoped in advance, a fixed fee for a defined document or filing, and a monthly retainer for companies wanting a lawyer available. Deals often blend them. Get the arrangement written into the engagement letter, with the rate of each person touching the file and the point at which the estimate is revisited.
What should I bring to a corporate law meeting?
Whatever paper already exists. Articles of incorporation, the shareholders' agreement, the minute book, your share register, bank and loan documents, leases, and signed contracts with customers or suppliers. Write down who owns what share, who has signing authority, and what you intend to do next. A lawyer can scope and price the job properly once the documents are in front of them.
Corporate work or a dispute: which firm do I need?
The test is whether a claim is in play. A business lawyer creates and records the relationship: the corporation, the agreement, the closing. A litigation firm acts once that relationship has broken and a court or arbitrator might have to rule. Many firms house both groups, and a corporate lawyer who sees a fight coming should pass the file to the litigators rather than keep it.
How do I tell whether a corporate firm fits?
Match the practice to your stage. Ask what deals they have closed for companies of your size, who would draft your documents, and how fast they return a contract when the other side is waiting. Ask how you will hear from them. A firm that puts scope, people and fees in writing before starting is showing you how the file will be run.
Do I need a lawyer to incorporate at all?
Registering a corporation online is straightforward, and many founders do it themselves. What no filing portal gives you is the agreement between the owners: how shares vest, what happens when someone leaves or dies, who signs, how a new investor is admitted. That document is where a lawyer earns the fee, not the registration.
