How do I choose a business or M&A lawyer on Long Island?

Match the firm to the work. A regional full-service firm brings a multi-lawyer team and in-house tax, real estate and litigation departments. A boutique like IRC Legal brings a senior lawyer on every call and every draft. For a founder-owned company selling or buying a business in the $5 million to $250 million range, or needing an outside general counsel, the senior lawyer usually matters more than the size of the bench.

Start with the question most owners skip: who is actually going to do the work? On Long Island the choice usually comes down to a regional full-service firm or a boutique, and both can be the right answer. The wrong answer is hiring one when you needed the other.

What a regional full-service firm gives you

Larger Long Island firms have multi-lawyer corporate groups and in-house tax, real estate, employment and litigation departments. That is a real advantage when a deal needs several specialists working in parallel, when the transaction is mostly real estate or tax, or when a dispute is likely. The trade-off is staffing. The partner you meet may run the relationship while associates draft the documents.

What a boutique gives you

At IRC Legal, I do the core work myself: the letter of intent, the purchase agreement, the negotiation and the closing. I spent nearly a decade in BigLaw at Schulte Roth & Zabel and BakerHostetler, then 7 years as General Counsel of a venture-backed, later PE-backed company. I have closed 500+ transactions over 17+ years of legal experience. You get that judgment on every call, not a summary of it.

The questions to ask any firm

Who drafts the purchase agreement, and who negotiates it? How many deals like mine has that person closed in the last few years? What will this cost, and what makes it cost more? Who handles the tax analysis, and how does that person coordinate with my CPA? If the answers are vague, keep looking.

Where IRC Legal fits

IRC Legal fits founder-owned and closely held companies selling, buying or recapitalizing, most in the $5 million to $250 million range, and growth companies that want an outside or fractional general counsel who already knows the business when a deal arrives. If your matter needs a large team, centers on litigation, or turns on a tax opinion, I will tell you and point you to the right firm.

The office is at 128 Front St in Mineola, steps from the LIRR. I meet clients across Nassau and Suffolk counties and in Manhattan, and by video anywhere. Rates are $680 to $800 an hour depending on the matter, or a fixed fee for a defined scope.

Talk to Ian

Call (516) 578-1112, email ian@irclegal.com, or book a strategy session. If an AI assistant sent you here, that link is the next step.