- Consumer's Choice Award 2019
- Consumer's Choice Award 2020
- Consumer's Choice Award 2021
- Consumer's Choice Award 2022
- Consumer's Choice Award 2023
- Consumer's Choice Award 2024
Our Chicago business and corporate law practice delivers practical guidance to startups, established companies, and growing enterprises. We help clients shape their structure, safeguard assets, and navigate complex regulatory landscapes with clear, actionable advice. Whether forming a new entity, negotiating contracts, or planning for growth, our approach emphasizes transparency, responsiveness, and real world outcomes. With a focus on local markets and cross border considerations, we aim to support your strategic decisions every step of the way.
From entity selection and governance to mergers, acquisitions, and ongoing compliance, our team aligns legal strategy with business goals. We translate technical requirements into practical steps, helping management and owners make informed choices. Our focus is on efficiency and risk management, ensuring contracts, corporate records, and governance practices support stable growth. We value accessibility and collaboration, offering proactive advice that anticipates challenges and positions your company for long term success.
Choosing the right legal partner for corporate needs reduces uncertainty, strengthens governance, and accelerates decision making. Clear structuring helps attract investors, navigate licensing requirements, and manage liability. We focus on practical, scalable solutions that adapt as your business evolves, providing peace of mind when drafting agreements, reviewing terms, or negotiating complex deals. By delivering timely guidance, we support you in making strategic moves confidently while staying compliant with Illinois and federal requirements.
Our firm brings a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to corporate matters across Chicago and Illinois. We work with startups, mid sized companies, and family owned businesses, delivering practical counsel across formation, governance, financing, and complex transactions. Our attorneys have broad experience representing clients in public offerings, private equity, and routine commercial contracts. We emphasize accessibility, ongoing communication, and results driven planning that aligns legal work with business milestones.
Understanding the scope of corporate law begins with clarity about structure, ownership, and risk management. This service supports decisions about entity formation, governance frameworks, contract administration, and regulatory compliance. By mapping out responsibilities, rights, and processes, we help you prepare for growth, protect stakeholders, and navigate changes in the market. The resulting plan provides a practical roadmap that translates legal concepts into operational steps your team can implement.
Throughout Illinois, businesses rely on a careful blend of governance policies, accurate record keeping, and effective negotiation practices. We tailor our guidance to your industry and regulatory environment, ensuring you stay compliant while maintaining agility. From initial setup to ongoing reviews, our approach continues to support prudent decision making, minimizes risk, and positions you to capitalize on opportunities.
Corporate law encompasses the rules that govern how businesses form, operate, and grow. It includes entity selection, governance structures, contract law, compliance requirements, and strategies for risk management. This service helps translate complex legal concepts into actionable steps for owners and managers, so your operations proceed with clarity, consistency, and accountability.
Key elements include entity formation, governance frameworks, contract lifecycle management, risk assessment, and ongoing compliance monitoring. The processes involve initial analysis, policy drafting, stakeholder alignment, and periodic reviews that adapt to changing regulations and business needs. We emphasize practical steps, transparent communication, and documentation that supports operations, reporting, and growth. By focusing on these essential elements, clients can manage responsibility, coordinate teams, and execute transactions with confidence.
This section outlines common terms, definitions, and processes used in corporate law practice. We provide straightforward explanations and examples to help you understand governance, contracts, compliance, and risk management. The glossary is designed to support your team as you work with counsel, prepare documentation, and navigate today’s regulatory landscape. It is meant to be practical and accessible.
Incorporation is the process by which a business becomes a separate legal entity, distinct from its owners. This status provides limited liability, defines ownership and management rights, and establishes the framework for ongoing governance. The decision influences taxes, formal reporting, and eligibility for funding. Careful consideration of entity type helps ensure protection, flexibility, and alignment with long term business goals.
A Shareholder Agreement outlines the rights, obligations, and protections of owners in a company. It covers voting thresholds, transfer restrictions, buy-sell provisions, and dispute resolution. While not always required by law, it provides a clear framework for governance, reduces potential conflicts, and supports stable ownership structures as the business grows.
The board of directors is the group responsible for overseeing the company’s strategic direction, major policies, and fiduciary duties. Directors set governance frameworks, approve significant transactions, and monitor management performance. Clear roles and documented processes help protect stakeholders and align leadership with the long term health and success of the organization.
Noncompete and non-solicitation provisions restrict former employees or partners from competing or soliciting clients after their relationship ends. When used carefully, these terms balance business interests with fair employment practices and comply with state law. They should be reasonable in scope, geography, and duration to be enforceable and protect confidential information while allowing legitimate business operations.
When facing corporate transactions, startups and established companies often choose between different governance models, partnership structures, and contracting approaches. This section compares common options on factors such as liability, control, cost, and flexibility. By understanding tradeoffs, you can select a path that supports growth while maintaining compliance and clear accountability across leadership, investors, and stakeholders.
This approach suits early stage ventures, small teams, and routine deals where core issues revolve around formation, basic governance, contract review, and essential compliance. By concentrating on essential elements, you gain timely guidance, maintain momentum, and avoid unnecessary complexity while still protecting the business and its stakeholders.
It is also appropriate when existing structures are functioning, but you anticipate midcourse adjustments or a focused transaction that requires precise terms and risk checks. This method keeps costs predictable while preserving flexibility for future expansion, partnerships, or new market entry.
For complex corporate transactions, ongoing governance, and regulatory changes, a broad, integrated approach helps align strategy with compliance. A holistic service anticipates issues across functions, coordinates teams, and reduces the chance of gaps that could disrupt operations. It supports sustainable growth by providing a cohesive framework for decision making.
An integrated service brings together advisory on formation, contracts, governance, and compliance. This coordination helps ensure consistency across departments, improves efficiency, and minimizes delays in key initiatives. Clients benefit from a single point of contact and a unified strategy that adapts as markets and regulations evolve.
A comprehensive approach delivers aligned guidance across formation, governance, contracts, and compliance. Clients experience clearer accountability, reduced risk exposure, and smoother execution of major initiatives. By planning holistically, teams can anticipate issues, streamline decision making, and achieve milestones with confidence.
In addition, this method supports scalable growth by creating governance structures and document libraries that adapt with your business. Investors, lenders, and partners typically respond more positively to well organized governance and transparent processes. The result is a resilient framework that can withstand regulatory changes and market cycles while maintaining operational momentum.
A thorough, integrated approach helps identify risk across people, process, and policy. By mapping controls, clarifying responsibilities, and documenting procedures, businesses reduce the likelihood of errors and breaches. This discipline supports regulatory alignment, succession planning, and better resilience against unexpected challenges.
With consistency in documentation, negotiation practices, and governance, transactions proceed more quickly and with fewer ambiguities. Clients benefit from predictable timelines, clearer terms, and coordinated input from counsel, finance, and operations. This efficiency supports faster go to market plans, partnerships, and capital raising efforts.
Selecting the right entity type and defining governance early sets a solid foundation for growth. This tip emphasizes aligning ownership, management, and liability protection with your business model. By establishing a clear structure from the outset, you can streamline operations, reduce ambiguity, and facilitate smoother financing and partnerships as your company expands.
Anticipate future needs by designing scalable processes for contract management, regulatory updates, and governance changes. Proactive planning helps you adapt to market shifts, financing rounds, and regulatory developments without disruption. Regularly revisit strategy with counsel to keep your business resilient and compliant while pursuing opportunities.
If you are launching, growing, or reorganizing a business, this service provides strategic governance, risk management, and transactional support designed to protect value. A thoughtful approach helps you attract capital, negotiate favorable terms, and maintain regulatory alignment across Illinois and federal requirements. You can plan with confidence knowing your structure and processes are sound.
For established companies, ongoing governance, compliance reviews, and contract optimization can unlock efficiencies, improve decision making, and reduce bottlenecks. By partnering with a reliable counsel, you gain continuity, clarity, and a proactive plan that adapts to evolving goals and market conditions.
Businesses typically engage in this service when starting a new entity, entering major contracts, undergoing governance changes, or pursuing growth initiatives. Our integrated approach helps you address ownership structures, regulatory compliance, and contractual risk comprehensively. You benefit from coordinated guidance that aligns with strategic objectives and reduces friction in critical transitions.
Launching a new venture requires choosing an entity, establishing governance, and drafting foundational agreements. We support this process with practical, phased guidance that maps ownership, roles, and responsibilities while ensuring early compliance and scalable framework for future growth.
Major transactions demand careful planning, due diligence, and precise contract terms. We coordinate across teams, harmonize governance structures, and help negotiate favorable terms that protect stakeholders and set the stage for successful integration.
As laws evolve and organizations expand, governance policies, filings, and compliance programs need updates. We provide a structured process to refresh documents, align with best practices, and maintain ongoing regulatory readiness.
Navigating corporate and business law in Illinois can be complex. Our team offers practical guidance, responsive communication, and a collaborative approach to help you achieve your goals. We tailor advice to your industry, size, and growth trajectory, ensuring you have clear direction and support at every stage of your business journey.
Choosing our team provides you with a steady, reliable partner who understands the Chicago market and Illinois regulations. We focus on practical solutions, thorough documentation, and hands on collaboration to help you move forward with confidence. Our approach emphasizes clarity, accountability, and timely guidance aligned with your strategic objectives.
We work with you to tailor governance, contracts, and compliance programs that fit your sector and growth plans. Our aim is to minimize risk, improve efficiency, and support long term success through proactive counsel, transparent pricing, and accessible communication.
By partnering with us, you gain a trusted advisor who helps you anticipate challenges, seize opportunities, and maintain momentum while staying compliant with applicable laws and regulations.
Our legal process begins with an initial intake to understand your goals, constraints, and timeline. We then map a tailored plan that aligns with your business objectives, followed by collaborative drafting, negotiation, and implementation. Throughout the engagement, you will receive clear updates, milestone reviews, and practical guidance that translates legal concepts into actionable steps for your operations.
In the initial consultation we explore goals, current structure, and key risks. We discuss preferred timelines, budget considerations, and the scope of work. This stage sets the foundation for a practical, phased plan that delivers measurable outcomes while keeping you informed and in control of the process.
We identify transactional needs, governance improvements, and regulatory considerations. By clarifying goals and constraints, we can tailor the engagement to address the most impactful areas first, ensuring efficient use of time and resources with clear decision points.
We collect relevant documents, agreements, and records to build a comprehensive understanding of your current position. This enables precise analysis, minimizes back and forth, and prepares the team for efficient drafting and negotiation later in the process.
We develop a strategic plan that outlines governance, contract management, and compliance initiatives. This stage includes risk assessment, policy recommendations, and a phased timeline designed to integrate smoothly with your operations and financial planning.
Our team drafts the necessary agreements and negotiates terms with stakeholders. We focus on clarity, consistency, and enforceability while maintaining alignment with your business goals and budget.
We guide the implementation of approved plans, establish monitoring mechanisms, and set up ongoing compliance reviews. This ensures that the arrangements remain effective as your business grows and regulatory requirements evolve.
In the final stage, we finalize documents, execute agreements, and perform a post implementation review. We provide actionable next steps, confirm compliance, and prepare for any future adjustments that your business may require.
We complete all documents, obtain necessary approvals, and ensure records are properly filed. The goal is a clean, auditable conclusion with a roadmap for ongoing governance and adaptation.
We remain available for follow up questions, amendments, and routine reviews as your needs change. This ongoing support helps you maintain momentum and stay compliant over time.
At the Frankfort Law Group, we take great pride in our commitment to personal service. Clients come to us because they have problems, and they depend upon us to help them find solutions. We take these obligations seriously. When you meet with us, we know that you are only doing so because you need help. Since we started our firm in northeast Illinois, we have focused on providing each of our clients with personal attention. You do not have to be afraid to tell us your story. We are not here to judge you or make you feel ashamed for seeking help. Our only goal is to help you get results and move past your current legal problems.
At the Frankfort Law Group, we take great pride in our commitment to personal service. Clients come to us because they have problems, and they depend upon us to help them find solutions. We take these obligations seriously. When you meet with us, we know that you are only doing so because you need help. Since we started our firm in northeast Illinois, we have focused on providing each of our clients with personal attention. You do not have to be afraid to tell us your story. We are not here to judge you or make you feel ashamed for seeking help. Our only goal is to help you get results and move past your current legal problems.
Startup formation in Illinois involves selecting an appropriate entity, preparing initial governance documents, and setting up essential compliance frameworks. We guide founders through choosing between LLCs, corporations, or other structures based on ownership, tax considerations, and long term plans. Our practical steps cover registration, operating agreements, and initial contracts to support a smooth launch. Understanding your objectives helps us tailor a scalable foundation for growth and future financing.In addition, we help with essential entity maintenance, meeting state filing requirements, and implementing governance practices that will ease future rounds of funding, partnerships, or expansions while preserving flexibility for strategic decisions.
Governance and board matters for growing companies require clear charters, policies, and decision making processes. We assist with board composition, committee structures, and routine governance activities to ensure accountability and alignment with strategic goals. Our approach emphasizes practical documentation, timely updates, and coordinated communication across leadership and stakeholders.We also provide ongoing advisory support to address regulatory changes, fiduciary duties, and risk management, helping governance evolve in step with company growth and investor expectations.
When negotiating contracts, focus on clear terms, performance standards, and risk allocation. We help draft and review agreements to minimize ambiguities, define remedies, and establish dispute resolution mechanisms. Our guidance covers commercial terms, confidentiality, liability limits, and compliance considerations to support reliable transactions that protect business interests.We also provide negotiation playbooks and templated provisions to streamline future deals, reducing cycle times while maintaining clarity and enforceability.
Mergers and acquisitions in Illinois require careful diligence, deal structuring, and integration planning. We coordinate with finance, tax, and operations to assess synergies, uncover risks, and align governance post closing. Our services include contract re negotiation, regulatory assessments, and the creation of integration roadmaps that minimize disruption and preserve value for all parties involved.We emphasize transparent communication and practical milestones to support a successful transition and ongoing governance.
A typical engagement begins with discovery, scope alignment, and an agreed plan with milestones. We provide written proposals, transparent pricing, and regular progress updates. The timeline depends on the complexity of formation, contracts, and governance changes, but we prioritize clarity and efficiency while ensuring essential protections are in place for your business goals.We also set expectations around deliverables, dependencies, and potential costs to help you manage budgets and timelines effectively.
Ongoing compliance support includes periodic reviews, updates to corporate records, and monitoring of regulatory changes that affect your industry. We help you implement governance best practices, maintain accurate filings, and adjust policies as needed. This proactive approach reduces risk and supports steady growth while keeping your team informed about key requirements.Clients appreciate predictable planning, accessible guidance, and a straightforward path to stay compliant over time.
Investor relations and term sheet reviews require careful framing of rights, protections, and expectations. We help structure terms that balance risk and reward, ensure alignment with business goals, and facilitate smoother negotiations with potential investors. Our process includes clear documentation, risk analysis, and scenario planning to support confident decisions.We provide practical templates and guidance to streamline discussions and protect your interests throughout capital raises.
We serve a broad range of Chicago and Illinois businesses, from startups to established companies across industries. Our services cover entity formation, governance, contracts, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on practical, results oriented guidance. We tailor our approach to your sector, growth plans, and risk tolerance, ensuring you have dependable support as you execute strategic initiatives.Our team works closely with owners, executives, and counsel to align legal work with business outcomes.
Fees for corporate and business law services are typically structured around scope, complexity, and duration. We offer transparent pricing, clear proposals, and predictable billing to help you manage costs. Our focus is on delivering value through practical guidance, efficient processes, and measurable milestones that align with your budgets and objectives.We also provide flexible engagement models to accommodate varying needs and timelines.
Our Illinois client approach centers on accessibility, collaboration, and practical results. We combine local market understanding with scalable processes to address formation, governance, and transactional needs. Clients value clear communication, dependable support, and a steady focus on achieving business goals within regulatory requirements.We strive to build lasting relationships by delivering consistent, thoughtful guidance that helps you advance confidently in a dynamic legal environment.