§ Business Law
Incorporation · Contracts · Shareholder Matters · Founder Structure
Structure thecompany beforethe company runs you.
Business decisions create legal structure whether you plan for it or not. Northline helps founders and operators set up, review, and negotiate the documents that shape ownership, risk, payment, and exits.
- Starts at
- $375 consultation
- Suited for
- Founders · Operators
- Engagement
- Fixed-fee or retainer
§ 01 — What we help with
Documents that decide.
The paperwork behind a company quietly decides who owns what, who gets paid when, what happens at an exit, and how disputes are resolved. Handled early, it is inexpensive structure. Handled late, it is the most expensive part of the file.
Northline reviews and drafts the operating documents that sit underneath the decisions — incorporation records, commercial contracts, shareholder agreements, purchase and sale support, and governance resolutions. The goal is a company that runs on paper you can rely on.
§ 02 — Common matters
Where the work tends to land.
A representative list. Specific scope and risk are set after a consultation and a written fee arrangement.
Incorporation and corporate records
Ontario or federal incorporation, minute book setup, initial resolutions, director and officer appointments, and share issuance records.
Commercial contracts
Service agreements, vendor contracts, letters of intent, NDAs, and revisions — drafted or reviewed with scope, payment, and liability in focus.
Shareholder agreements
Decision rights, restrictions, vesting, buyouts, deadlock provisions, valuation mechanics, and exits documented before they matter.
Business purchase and sale support
Letter-of-intent review, diligence lists, purchase agreement review or drafting, and coordination with accountants or financing counsel.
Governance and resolutions
Directors' and shareholders' resolutions, approval rails for material decisions, and updates to corporate records as the business changes.
Founder and partner structure
Role and equity arrangements between founders, cap table discipline, and IP and assignment structure before the next round of hires or partners.
§ 03 — Fixed-fee starting points
Scoped pricing, published.
Defined reviews and drafts are quoted on a fixed fee. Broader work is scoped after a consultation so the fee matches the actual matter.
Contract Review
Document review, red flags, revision memo, and call.
- Document review
- Red flags
- Revision memo
- Call
Shareholder Agreement Review
Review of key rights, restrictions, exits, deadlock provisions, valuation, and risk points.
- Rights and restrictions
- Exits and deadlock
- Valuation read
- Risk points
Business Setup Package
Incorporation coordination, minute book basics, initial resolutions, and basic founder/advisor notes.
- Incorporation coordination
- Minute book basics
- Initial resolutions
- Founder and advisor notes
Also see — Founder and Shareholder Matters
Founder and shareholder matters route through this practice. Vesting, exits, and deadlock are documented alongside the company's core records.
§ 04 — Typical process
Four steps, clearly scoped.
Book a consultation
Forty-five or sixty minutes to frame the matter, review the key documents you already have, and identify the decisions in front of you.
Get a legal read
A structured read of the issue, options, risk points, and a recommended next step — delivered on the call, not in a follow-up memo.
Choose the next move
If work continues, you receive a written fee arrangement with scope, deliverables, and timing. Nothing starts without it.
Engage on scoped work
Drafting, review, negotiation, or an advisory retainer — with a defined deliverable and a defined conclusion.
§ 05 — Advisory retainer
Counsel on a planned cadence.
Growing teams tend to generate legal questions in bursts — contracts, hiring, contractors, policy drafts, the odd dispute. Growth Advisory covers up to five hours of counsel a month with a quarterly risk review, recommended for most founder-led companies past early-stage.
Growth Advisory
Suited for: Growing companies with hiring, contractor, and contract volume
Support for teams actively hiring, contracting, and negotiating. Recommended for most clients.
- Up to 5 hours of advisory time per month
- Employment and contractor support
- Contract review queue
- Quarterly legal risk review
- Preferred booking
§ 06 — Related
Continue reading.
Practice
Contracts
Scope, payment, termination, ownership, liability, leverage.
Continue
Practice
Disputes
Position, leverage, evidence, timing—and a practical route forward.
Continue
Practice
Advisory
Ongoing counsel for teams that would rather ask before it is urgent.
Continue
Guide · Founders
Founder Legal Checklist
A six-section, 24-item self-audit covering entity, equity, IP, founder agreement, operational templates, and future-proofing.
Continue
Founders
Founder Agreement Basics
Equity, vesting, roles, exits, IP, deadlock, and decision rights — the shape of a founder agreement before the lawyers arrive.
Continue
Contracts
Business Contract Red Flags
Scope, payment, liability, termination, IP, and dispute clauses — the lines worth slowing down on.
Continue
§ Start a business matter
Get the structure right — while there is still time to choose.
Most founder and business matters cost less when the documents are written with the decision. A consultation starts with the facts and ends with a scoped recommendation.
Toronto · Ontario