Nine questions to ask before you sign a commercial lease
Rent is only one line of a lease. These nine questions surface the clauses that quietly decide what a location really costs you.
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Electronic signatures: when a click is as binding as ink
Most business contracts can be signed electronically. A few cannot, and the process around the signature matters more than the tool.
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Seven legal checklists every small business should keep
A short list of lists: the records and routines that keep a company ready for a lender, a buyer or a surprise audit.
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Behind The Guides
Checklists shaped by real client files
The guides in this collection grew out of the checklists I use with clients every week. They are a starting point: bring yours to a consult and we will tailor it to your business.
Julian Pruitt
Founder, Pruitt Law
Reader Notes
Owners who put the guides to use
Illustrative notes from readers who turned a guide into a next step.
“I brought the lease checklist to my renewal meeting and caught two clauses I would have signed without a second thought. The follow-up call took twenty minutes.”
Dana Whitcomb
Illustrative client, bakery owner
“The records checklist sounded dull until a buyer asked for five years of consents. We had them in one folder because of it.”
Walter Hensley
Illustrative client, seller
Put It To Work
Where these guides apply
Business Formation
Entity choice, operating agreements and board records set up so owners know who decides what, and why.
Employment Terms
Offer letters, handbooks, contractor terms and restrictive covenants drafted to fit North Carolina law.
Brands & Copyright
Clearance searches, filings and licensing so the name and the work you built stay yours to use.
Buying a Business
Diligence, purchase agreements and closing checklists for owners buying or selling a company.
Owner Tax Planning
Working beside your CPA on structure, compensation and sale terms before the tax bill is set.
Contract Disputes
Demand letters, negotiation and mediation aimed at settling a broken deal before it reaches court.