Fees
Every package, with what it leaves out
The fee is set before the work starts and written into the engagement letter. If a matter doesn’t fit a package, we quote it in writing first.
Launch
Forming an LLC or corporation with up to three owners, and the papers that decide who owns and runs what. More owners move the fee. Not in it: tax advice.
Start a companyChoosing the entity, on one call with your accountant
Articles filed with the state
Operating agreement or bylaws written for your owners
EIN, first resolutions and an ownership ledger
Deal
One contract read, marked up and explained: a lease, a supplier agreement, a services contract or a partnership term sheet. Past 25 pages it’s quoted first. Not in it: negotiating face to face with the other side.
Send a contractA redline with a note on each change
A 30-minute call to go through it
One round of revisions after the other side replies
Run
A lawyer on call for a company with a few employees: the questions that come up every week, answered the same week. Billed monthly; cancel with 30 days’ notice. Not in it: lawsuits, or buying or selling the company.
Ask about RunUp to six hours of work each month
Contracts, hiring letters and policies reviewed
A quarterly call on what is coming next
Unused hours, carried over one month
Hand off
Selling or buying a small business, or passing it to a partner or a child: the letter of intent through the closing. Quoted in writing for your deal after the first call, and the size of the deal moves it. Not in it: valuation, accounting, tax returns and title work.
Talk through a saleLetter of intent and the deal terms
Due diligence list and review
Purchase agreement drafted or marked up
Closing documents and the closing itself
Our fee is for the legal work. Government filing fees, registered-agent service and any outside experts are separate; each one is named in the engagement letter, at cost, before you sign.
Outside the packages
Work we quote one matter at a time
Some work can’t be priced before we see it. For these we send a written estimate, and an hourly rate only where the work can’t be scoped.
Business disputes
A partner falling out, an unpaid invoice, a broken contract. Quoted after we read the file; hourly if it goes to court.
Investor rounds
A friends-and-family round or a first outside investor. Quoted once we see the term sheet.
Standard terms
Your own customer or supplier contract, written from scratch. A flat fee, quoted after the first call.
Questions
How the fees work
Is the fee really fixed?
For the work the package lists, yes. If something comes up that it doesn’t cover, we tell you before we do it and quote it in writing; you can say no.
What do the packages leave out?
Government filing fees, registered-agent service, tax advice and anything that goes to court. Each package lists its own exclusions, so you can see them before you call.
Is the first call free?
The first 30-minute call is, and it ends with a package or a written quote. If we aren’t the right firm for the matter, we say so on that call.
Do you bill by the hour at all?
Only for disputes and for work that can’t be scoped in advance, at a rate written into the engagement letter. Most clients never see an hourly bill from us.
Can we pay in parts?
Launch and Hand off are billed in two halves: one at signing, one at delivery or closing. Run is billed monthly, and Deal when the redline arrives.
Do you work with clients outside Asheville?
Yes, by video and e-signature, for companies formed or doing business in the states where our lawyers are admitted. Each lawyer’s page lists them.
Get the fee in writing before anything else
The first 30-minute call ends with a package or a written quote.