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A spiral staircase ascending toward the light

02 / 03 Strategy

Growth, with confidence

Ambition gets a company moving. Strategy decides how far it goes. We partner with scaling companies to design and execute the legal strategy behind growth, from raising capital to entering new markets, so every move is faster, sharper, and better defended than the last.

  • Corporate Governance
  • Capital & Financing
  • M&A & Alliances
What we handle Book a Consultation

Scaling multiplies everything you’ve built. It also multiplies everything you’re exposed to.

What we handle

Scale with strategy

Scaling multiplies everything, including your exposure. The systems that got you here start to crack under more people, more capital, and more scrutiny. This is the structure that lets you grow without outgrowing your own foundation.

Corporate Governance

Give investors confidence and founders room to lead.

Scaling companies can’t run on ad-hoc decisions, and investors won’t back a company that does. We build governance that aligns your board, executives, and shareholders, with clear authority and clean process, so decisions get made fast and stand up to scrutiny later.

  • Board structure, mandates, and committee design
  • Delegation-of-authority and decision-rights frameworks
  • Board and shareholder reporting cadences
  • Director onboarding, duties, and conflict policies

Commercial Expansion Agreements

Multiply your reach without multiplying your risk.

Franchising, licensing, and distribution can extend your reach almost overnight, or your liability. We structure expansion agreements that grow the brand, protect what makes it valuable, and open new revenue without opening new exposure.

  • Franchise and licensing agreements with brand controls
  • Distribution, reseller, and channel-partner terms
  • Territory, exclusivity, and performance provisions
  • Quality, IP, and brand-protection standards

Strategic Alliances & Joint Ventures

Reach further together without giving up your independence.

The right partnership reaches markets and capabilities you’d spend years building alone. We design alliances and joint ventures that create real, shared value while keeping your independence, your IP, and your upside protected.

  • JV structuring: incorporated, contractual, or partnership
  • Governance, contribution, and profit-sharing terms
  • IP ownership and licensing between partners
  • Exit, buy-sell, and deadlock provisions

Executive Compensation & Incentive Plans

Attract the leaders you need and tie them to the outcome.

Growth is a talent problem before it’s anything else. We craft compensation and incentive plans that attract and keep the leaders you need, with the equity and performance terms structured so their upside is tied to the company’s, not just to staying employed.

  • Stock option plans (incentive and non-qualified)
  • RSUs, phantom equity, and profit-interest structures
  • Vesting schedules and performance milestones
  • Tax treatment coordinated with your advisors

The Obsidian standard

Offense wins deals. Defense keeps them.

As you scale, the cost of a missed regulation, an unmanaged risk, or a decision made without counsel rises fast. We keep the defense as sharp as the offense, so the growth you earn is growth you keep.

How we work
01 Compliance & Risk AuditsFind the gaps before a regulator, or a buyer, does.

Scale brings scrutiny you didn’t face before. We build the compliance programs and run the risk audits that keep regulators satisfied and the business protected, closing gaps while they’re still cheap to fix.

  • Legal and regulatory compliance audits
  • Securities and continuous-disclosure review
  • Privacy and data-protection assessments
  • Contract and obligation audits
  • Remediation plans and prioritized risk registers
02 Ongoing General Counsel ServicesSenior legal judgment, on tap, the day you need it.

Growth doesn’t wait for a quarterly legal review. Our ongoing counsel model puts senior judgment on tap, so the decisions that can’t wait get made with confidence, without the cost or overhead of an in-house team.

  • Fractional general counsel on a fixed monthly basis
  • Day-to-day contract review and negotiation
  • Board and executive legal advisory
  • Vendor, customer, and employment matters
  • Escalation to specialist counsel when needed
More on fractional general counsel
03 Risk Management for GrowthGrow without the blind spots that come with scale.

More opportunity means more exposure. We identify and contain the risks specific to scaling companies, the ones that don’t exist at formation and can’t be ignored at scale, so growth strengthens the business instead of stretching it thin.

  • Growth-stage risk mapping and mitigation
  • Contractual and operational liability controls
  • Insurance and indemnification structuring
  • Crisis and contingency planning
  • Ongoing risk monitoring as you scale
04 Cross-Border ExpansionLet geography expand your market, not cap your growth.

Crossing a border means crossing into a new legal system. We help you work through international regulation, contracts, and partnerships, coordinating local counsel where needed, so expansion opens markets instead of opening risk.

  • Foreign entity setup and registration
  • Cross-border contract and tax structuring
  • International IP protection and enforcement
  • Local counsel coordination and oversight
  • Regulatory and trade-compliance review
05 Exit & Liquidity PlanningPosition the company for its full value, years early.

The destination shapes the journey. We position the company early for maximum value at sale, IPO, or liquidity event, getting the structure, records, and contracts exit-ready long before a buyer is in the room, so when the moment comes, the work is already done.

  • Exit-readiness assessments and gap remediation
  • Corporate clean-up and cap-table rationalization
  • Tax-efficient pre-sale structuring with advisors
  • Liquidity-event scenario planning
  • Data-room preparation and diligence readiness

Capital, structured

Grow through deals

Capital accelerates everything, in whichever direction you’re already pointed. Structured well, a deal funds the next stage and protects your control. Structured badly, it costs you the company.

  1. Mergers & Acquisitions

    Capture the value the deal promised; avoid the costs in the fine print. We guide you through diligence, structure, and negotiation on the buy side.

    More on mergers & acquisitions

  2. Venture Capital & Private Equity

    Bring the capital in without quietly giving away the company. We negotiate terms that protect your control and your long-term upside.

    More on startup & venture financing

  3. Debt Financing & Credit Facilities

    Fund growth without giving up ownership. We secure and structure facilities that fit your strategy and protect your flexibility.

    More on startup & venture financing

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Start here

Start your strategy session

Your next move deserves more than instinct. In one session we’ll work through your growth goals, surface the risks you can’t see yet, and find the openings you can, then map a clear legal strategy for scaling with confidence.

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One partner, every stage

Strategy turns the foundation into momentum. We work the full arc of a company, from formation to exit.

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