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For Established Businesses

A Clearer View of Your Business—and What Needs Attention Next

A structured legal and organizational assessment for established businesses — built to surface what needs attention before it becomes a problem.

The Business Health Check-Up helps owners identify weaknesses, unresolved risks, and opportunities to strengthen the company before those matters interfere with growth, succession, financing, or a future sale.

Complete the Business Health Check-Up Intake

See what the Check-Up covers ↓

20+

Years of Deal Experience

Fixed-Fee

Scope Confirmed Up Front

Attorney, Direct Access

What It Is

A Focused Review, Not an Open-Ended Engagement

The Business Health Check-Up is a focused review of your company's legal and organizational health. It's broader than a review of a single agreement, but more structured and defined than an open-ended legal engagement. The goal is a set of practical priorities — not a long list of technical observations.

Most business problems don't begin as emergencies. They often begin as unresolved ownership questions, outdated agreements, undocumented practices, or risks that no one has stopped to evaluate. The Check-Up is designed to surface those issues while there's still time to address them on your own terms.

The primary audience is owners of established, privately held and family-owned businesses — generally in the range of roughly $5 million to $20 million in annual revenue. That range is a general guide, not a strict qualification, and the sections below can help you gauge whether the Check-Up fits your situation.

This tends to be useful when a business:

Outgrown Its Original Structure

The business has grown beyond its original ownership structure or agreements.

Multiple Owners or Family Involved

Multiple owners or family members are involved in the business.

Key-Person Dependence

The business depends heavily on one or two key people.

Aging Governing Documents

Governing documents haven't been reviewed in several years.

Considering a Major Transition

The company is considering expansion, financing, succession, or a future sale.

Handshake Relationships

Important relationships rely more on history than documentation.

Wants an Independent Read

The owner wants an independent assessment before a problem develops.

Scope

What the Assessment Covers

The scope is tailored to your company. The Check-Up isn't intended to examine every possible legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, or operational issue — it's built to surface what matters most.

Ownership & Governance

Ownership records and governing documents, voting and management authority, buy-sell and transfer restrictions, minority-owner and deadlock issues, and whether the documents reflect how the business actually operates.

Key Agreements

Customer and vendor arrangements, employment and independent-contractor relationships, confidentiality and intellectual-property protections, real estate and material leases, and significant guarantees or contractual obligations.

Risk & Continuity

Dependence on key owners, employees, customers, or vendors; insurance and risk allocation; access to accounts, records, and systems; and what happens if an owner dies, becomes disabled, leaves, or disagrees with the other owners.

Growth, Succession & Transactions

Readiness for financing, investment, acquisition, or sale; succession and leadership transition; obstacles that could reduce value or delay a transaction; and matters to address before approaching a lender, investor, buyer, or successor.

Deliverables

A Written Assessment and a Clear Set of Priorities

The engagement generally includes the following.

Initial Assessment

An initial assessment and information-gathering process.

Document Review

Review of key company documents and business structure.

Executive Summary

A concise executive summary or one-page overview.

Detailed Report

A more detailed written report of findings.

Prioritized Action List

A prioritized action list you can put to work.

Findings Meeting

A meeting to discuss findings and recommendations.

Follow-Up Guidance

Follow-up guidance concerning the highest-priority items.

Not every issue is treated as urgent. The recommendations distinguish among immediate risks, important improvements, and matters that can reasonably wait.

Process

A Four-Step Process

Short Intake

You complete a brief intake form describing the business, ownership, current concerns, and future plans.

Scope & Document Collection

I determine whether the service is a good fit and identify the documents and information needed.

Review & Assessment

I evaluate the company's structure, agreements, practices, and principal risks.

Findings & Action Plan

You receive the written assessment, prioritized recommendations, and a discussion of practical next steps.

This differs from ordinary legal work. It's proactive rather than reactive, looks at the business as a whole rather than one document at a time, connects legal issues to business goals, and is meant to surface problems before they surface during a dispute, a financing round, a succession, or a sale.

About Mike Lang

Why This Perspective Matters

I've spent 20+ years as outside counsel and in-house counsel — including five-plus years in-house at the nation's largest retail REIT — working with privately held businesses, family businesses, owners, and real estate companies. That work has covered transactions, governance, contracts, and risk management, and it's given me a practical understanding of how businesses actually operate.

The Check-Up reflects that experience: an outside-general-counsel perspective on your company as a whole, not a narrow document review.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this an audit?

No. An audit or examination generally applies a specific technical standard to verify compliance or financial accuracy. The Check-Up is a legal and organizational assessment — a structured review of your company's ownership, agreements, and risk exposure, intended to produce practical priorities rather than a technical audit opinion.

Will every company document be reviewed?

Not necessarily. The scope is tailored to your business and the concerns you raise during intake. The Check-Up focuses on the documents and issues most relevant to ownership, governance, key agreements, and risk, rather than an exhaustive review of every file in the company.

What happens if the Check-Up identifies additional legal work?

You'll receive a prioritized list that distinguishes immediate risks from matters that can reasonably wait. Any additional work would be scoped and quoted separately, with nothing further undertaken without your agreement.

Is this only for a business planning to sell?

No. Many owners use the Check-Up well before a sale is on the horizon, to prepare for growth, address succession, clean up ownership questions, or simply get an independent read on where things stand.

How long does the process take?

Timing depends on the company's complexity, the scope of the review, and how quickly requested information is available. A realistic timeline is discussed once the scope is set.

Is the information confidential?

Yes. Information shared as part of the Check-Up is treated as confidential. Submitting the intake form does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship, but information provided is still handled discreetly.

The Business Health Check-Up is offered as a fixed-fee engagement, with the scope and fee confirmed before work begins.

Find Out Whether the Business Health Check-Up Is Right for Your Company

Complete the short intake form with basic information about your business, ownership, current concerns, and future plans. I'll review it and follow up regarding fit and next steps.

Complete the Business Health Check-Up Intake

Submission of the intake form does not create an attorney-client relationship. The firm will review the information and contact the prospective client regarding fit and next steps.