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§ Business Law
Incorporation · Contracts · Shareholder Matters · Founder Structure
A company is only as elegant as the paper underneath it. Northline helps founders and operators put ownership, authority, payment, and exit terms in writing before momentum starts making decisions for them.
§ 01: What we help with
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
A representative list. Specific scope and risk are set after a consultation and a written fee arrangement.
Ontario or federal incorporation, minute book setup, initial resolutions, director and officer appointments, and share issuance records.
Service agreements, vendor contracts, letters of intent, NDAs, and revisions, drafted or reviewed with scope, payment, and liability in focus.
Decision rights, restrictions, vesting, buyouts, deadlock provisions, valuation mechanics, and exits documented before they matter.
Letter-of-intent review, diligence lists, purchase agreement review or drafting, and coordination with accountants or financing counsel.
Directors' and shareholders' resolutions, approval rails for material decisions, and updates to corporate records as the business changes.
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
Defined reviews and drafts are quoted on a fixed fee. Broader work is scoped after a consultation so the fee matches the actual matter.
Document review, red flags, revision memo, and call.
Review of key rights, restrictions, exits, deadlock provisions, valuation, and risk points.
Incorporation coordination, minute book basics, initial resolutions, and basic founder/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
Forty-five or sixty minutes to frame the matter, review the key documents you already have, and identify the decisions in front of you.
A structured read of the issue, options, risk points, and a recommended next step, delivered on the call rather than in a follow-up memo.
If work continues, you receive a written fee arrangement with scope, deliverables, and timing. Nothing starts without it.
Drafting, review, negotiation, or an advisory retainer with a defined deliverable and conclusion.
§ 05: Advisory retainer
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.
Suited for: Growing companies with hiring, contractor, and contract volume
For teams hiring, contracting, and negotiating often enough that last-minute counsel has lost its charm. Recommended for most clients.
§ 06: Related
Practice
Scope, payment, termination, ownership, liability, leverage.
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Practice
Noise is not leverage. Build the position first.
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Practice
Ask while the legal question is still boring.
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Guide · Founders
A six-section, 24-item self-audit covering entity, equity, IP, founder agreement, operational templates, and future-proofing.
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Founders
A handshake is charming. It is not governance. Put equity, vesting, roles, IP, exits, and deadlock in writing while everyone still agrees.
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Contracts
The dangerous clause rarely announces itself. Read scope, payment, termination, IP, liability, and disputes before the contract gets leverage.
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§ Start a business matter
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