Nashville Startup & Business Lawyers
Get the foundation right the first time.
Our Nashville business lawyers work with founders from formation through financing and exit: choosing the entity, splitting and vesting founder equity, raising money, signing the contracts that matter, and serving as outside general counsel once the company is growing. Formation is a flat fee, and every engagement is shareholder-led.
$1,000 / $2,500
Flat attorney fees for LLC and corporation formation, including the operating agreement or bylaws, founder documents, and organizational resolutions. State filing fees additional.
What we handle
Entity choice and formation
Tennessee LLC or Delaware C-corporation. Venture investors generally expect a Delaware corporation; a services business or holding company may be better as a Tennessee LLC. Either way, a company doing business here registers with the Tennessee Secretary of State and is generally subject to Tennessee franchise and excise tax, so the choice is partly a tax question.
Founder equity
Equity splits, vesting schedules with cliffs, 83(b) elections, and assignment of founder IP to the company — the documents investors look for first in diligence.
Fundraising
SAFEs, convertible notes, and priced seed and Series A rounds, including term sheet negotiation, investor documents, and the federal and state securities filings that go with them.
Commercial contracts
Customer, vendor, SaaS, licensing, and distribution agreements, plus employment and contractor documents, confidentiality agreements, and restrictive covenants.
Outside general counsel
Day-to-day counsel for companies that need a lawyer who knows the business but are not ready for in-house legal: contracts, hires and separations, governance, and early warning on disputes.
Mergers and acquisitions
Asset and stock sales, due diligence, disclosure schedules, and closing mechanics for founders selling a company and buyers acquiring one.
Building a company in Nashville
Nashville's company base runs from healthcare services and health tech to music, hospitality, and consumer brands, and many founders here raise first from regional angels and family offices before institutional money arrives. We structure early rounds so they don't create problems for the next one, and we make sure the brand is cleared and filed before it is on the pitch deck.
Your Nashville team
Attorneys in our Nashville office who handle this work.
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Talk to our Nashville office.
222 Second Ave. South, Suite 1250, Nashville, TN 37201. Shareholder-led from the first call.