Matt’s Legal Services

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Succession Planning

Matt acts as a crucial advisor to clients who are buying or selling a business, and to clients who want to create a succession plan for the future. He prides himself on crafting the right documents for the right deal, from the $32 million purchase of a construction company to the $100,000 sale of an online retailer. As an experienced trial lawyer, Matt’s draws on his litigation experience in drafting documents that protect his clients before, during, and after the deal.

Some of Matt’s recent merger & acquisition deals include:

• $32 million sale of a crawl space encapsulation and repair business

• $10 million sale of a steel manufacturing company, and its proprietary intellectual property, to a private equity-backed conglomerate

• $8.5 million sale of a technology company with top secret government contracts

• $1 million sale of professional engineering company

• $1 million sale of axe throwing business with multiple locations

• $1 million purchase of dog boarding and kennel business

• $425,000 sale of beach-side bar and restaurant

• $250,000 sale of online women’s closing retailer

New Business Start-Up & Contract Drafting

If you’re thinking of starting a business, Matt will act as a key member of your startup team. Whether it’s a simple LLC or a complex corporate structure used to raise capital, Matt handles all aspects of business formation and advising. If you own a business, you probably need a contract with your employees or customers. Matt specializes in drafting clear, concise, and air-tight agreements in just about every industry.

Matt regularly drafts:

• Business ownership, partnership, and joint venture agreements

• Client service agreements

• Employment agreements and independent contractor agreements

• Non-competes and non-solicitations

• Business sale and purchase agreements (stock sale, asset sale, etc.)

• Non-disclosure agreements and intellectual property protection agreements

• Commercial and residential real estate agreements, including residential and commercial leases

• All agreements needed by general contractors and subcontractors, including construction agreements, revolving subcontractor agreements, home warranty agreements, and similar documents

Personal Asset Protection

Protecting your assets from those who want to take them is essential for safeguarding your financial future. With a deep knowledge of business structuring strategies, Matt provides comprehensive counsel to business owners, helping them create and maintain structures that separate and shield personal wealth from business risks. Matt advises business owners on a variety of strategies to protect their personal assets, including:

• Forming and maintaining business entities, ensuring your business structure provides maximum liability protection while staying compliant with ongoing legal requirements.

• Drafting and enforcing business governing documents, establishing clear rules and boundaries to prevent personal exposure in disputes with partners or third parties.

• Risk management planning, identifying potential risks and implementing insurance and contractual safeguards to minimize exposure.

• Asset segregation, strategically organizing business and personal assets to limit exposure to lawsuits or creditors.

• Succession planning, protecting your legacy by crafting tailored plans for transferring ownership and preserving family wealth.

• Personal guarantee analysis, reviewing and renegotiating guarantees to minimize unnecessary exposure tied to business loans or contracts.

Matt’s proactive approach ensures that your personal assets remain secure, leaving you free to focus on growing your business with confidence.

One of the most important assets of any business is its intellectual property. Protecting your business name, logo, tagline, and other intellectual property keeps competitors or copycats from stealing your business.

During a free consultation with Matt, you’ll get all of your important questions answered, like:

• What is a trademark, copyright, or patent?

• Can I trademark a logo, slogan, catch phrase, or tagline?

• Why do I need a trademark, and what’s the advantage of registering my trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office or my state’s registry?

• How long does a trademark last?

• Does my trademark registered in the U.S. protect my intellectual property in other countries?

Making sure you’ve locked down the protection of your intellectual property is a crucial component to your competitive advantage.

Matt’s practice is unique—he handles both business transactions and high-conflict litigation. In the courtroom, Matt’s a tenacious and smart litigator. He regularly represents clients in a range of practice areas, including contract disputes, fraud actions, business owner disputes, and residential & commercial construction lawsuits. Matt was the first attorney to file claims against BP after the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, where he recovered millions from the oil company on behalf of his clients. Since that time, Matt has prosecuted and defended countless lawsuits with millions of dollars at stake. Matt’s a lawyer who isn’t afraid of trial and it shows through the results he obtains for his clients. Matt is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a prestigious group of trial lawyers who are recognized for receiving jury verdicts and arbitration awards over $1,000,000.00.

Some of Matt’s recent litigation experience includes:

• Successfully defended against a $100,000,000.00 lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice against a business owner for violations of whistleblower and anti-kickback statutes

• Regularly represents business owners in claims for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and breach of contract against their business partner(s)

• Regularly Represents business in lawsuits surrounding violation of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, resulting in the issuance of restraining orders and preliminary injunctions that prohibit illegal employee competition

• Regularly represents professionals in defense against regulatory and licensure action, including doctors, licensed mental health counselors, realtors, lawyers, and general contractors

• Represented over 200 families in putative class action litigation against the largest residential solar companies in the U.S., successfully pursuing claims for fraud and unfair & deceptive trade practices

• Defended the largest residential homebuilder in the South-East against Multi-District class action drywall defect claims, successfully settling all claims

• Successfully defended individual and his company against claims for fraud related to real estate transactions

Using his background in both business law and litigation, Matt acts as a certified mediator throughout North Carolina. Whether it’s an in-person or remote mediation via Zoom, Matt has the tools, empathy, and communication skills to settle even the most difficult cases.