Counsel built for the way you actually operate.
A founder's legal needs look nothing like a hotel group's, which look nothing like a Shopify brand's. We've spent more than a decade learning the operating realities of the industries that drive Austin's economy — so the advice you get is rooted in your business, not a template.
The industries where we move fastest.
Most of our small business work concentrates in these three sectors. We know the contracts, the regulators, the platforms, and the patterns. Pick yours below to see how we work.
Technology & SaaS Startups
From the first SAFE to the priced round, the IP assignment to the acquisition LOI — we are the lawyers Austin tech founders call when something has to be right and it has to be done by Friday.
What we handle
SAFEs & priced equity rounds · SaaS & AI terms of service · IP assignments & trade-secret protection · Texas Data Privacy & Security Act compliance · founder & employee equity · M&A and exits.
Restaurants & Hospitality
Hospitality is an operating business that happens to have legal exposure on every shift. We sit on the same side of the table as the operator — protecting margins, leases, and brand across single units and multi-unit expansions.
What we handle
TABC liquor licensing · commercial leases & build-outs · vendor & supply contracts · tipped-wage & FLSA compliance · franchise & multi-unit structures · brand & trademark protection.
E-Commerce & Retail
Selling online means you live inside other people's platforms and other states' rule books. We give DTC brands, Shopify operators, and Amazon sellers the legal architecture to grow — and the firepower when a platform turns on you.
What we handle
Terms of service & privacy policies · FTC advertising & endorsement compliance · trademark filings & brand enforcement · Amazon / Etsy / Shopify takedown disputes · sales-tax nexus · international shipping.
Other industries we work with every week.
Our practice extends well past the three verticals above. We've built our reputation by being the kind of outside counsel that can quickly get up to speed on any operating business — and then stay with you for the long arc. If your industry is below, we'd like to hear what you're working on.
We brought Sterling & Hayes in because we needed lawyers who understood our economics, not just our paperwork. Three years later, they have negotiated our leases, restructured our entities, and closed two acquisitions for us. They get it.
Generic counsel costs you more than it saves.
A lawyer who has never read a TABC application will burn your time learning on your dime. A lawyer who has never priced a SAFE round will quietly let you over-dilute. A lawyer who has never fought an Amazon takedown will tell you to "sue the seller." Industry fluency isn't a soft skill — it is the work.
When we take a new client, we already know your contracts, your regulators, your platforms, and your most common failure modes. That is what makes the relationship feel like in-house counsel instead of outside law firm.
Don't see your industry? Tell us about it.
We've onboarded clients in everything from craft distilleries to telehealth platforms. If you're running a real operating business in Texas, there's a strong chance we can help — or know exactly who can.