Talking to Potential Buyers?
Get Legal Counsel Before You Agree to Anything
Boutique M&A attorneys helping New York and New Jersey business owners protect their position before a deal is on paper.
What to expect
A Direct Conversation About Where You Stand
Confidential From the First Contact
What to Watch for in Terms & Exclusivity
Buyer Conversation Guidance
About the transaction
You're talking to potential buyers, but you don't have a Letter of Intent yet, and you don't have deal terms set. Before you agree to price, structure, timing, or exclusivity — even informally — the decisions you make in these early conversations shape everything that follows. We work with business owners at exactly this stage, before drafts are exchanged, so you don't create problems before the deal is even formally documented.
Why Business Owners Work With Us
Our New York and New Jersey senior legal team brings deep transactional experience to every engagement, without the overhead or delays of a large firm. We work with business owners across New York and New Jersey, before a deal is on paper, to protect their position from the first buyer conversation forward.
When the deal matters, you need counsel that has done this before.
500+ Business Transactions Supported
Recognized by The Washington Business Journal, Crain's New York, and Black Enterprise
M&A Trusted Advisor for The Eminae Network (exclusive advisory network)
$1B+ in Combined Deal Value Advised.
Senior-level legal team, without large-firm overhead or delays
Expert Panelist and Webinar Presenter on M&A and Succession Planning for Goldman Sachs and NY Business Solutions
Any Questions? Let’s talk
You Don't Need an LOI to Need a Lawyer
Most legal guidance arrives after the terms are already shaped. For New York and New Jersey business owners, Ours Starts Before Buyer Conversations Begin.
Where Sellers Lose Leverage
No Clear Boundaries
Talking to buyers without knowing what should or shouldn't be discussed
Agreeing Too Soon
Informally agreeing to price, structure, timing, or exclusivity too early
Unprotected Information
Sharing sensitive business information without proper protections in place
Buyer-Led Process
Letting a buyer shape the process before you have counsel involved
Waiting Too Long
Waiting until the LOI is drafted, when meaningful leverage may already be lost
Interest Isn't Safety
Confusing buyer interest with a safe or fair path to a deal
Limited Advisory Team
Confining advisory team to brokers and financial experts during early negotiations limits insights on transactional realities
If Any of This Sounds Familiar, Let's Talk Now.
You don't have to navigate this alone — talk to counsel before your next buyer conversation.
How We Help
Once you're talking to potential buyers, small decisions start to matter, what you share, what you agree to, and when. Here's how we step in before any of that gets locked in.
Guidance on what to share, and what to protect, in conversations with potential buyers
Review of any informal terms, exclusivity requests, or preliminary proposals before you agree to anything
Confidentiality and information-sharing protection starting from your first buyer conversation
Support shaping the process on your terms, not the buyer's
Clients and Case Studies
Lenore Horton ( Horton Legal Strategies has been Lyteworx Legal Counsel on and off for several years. She has been an invaluable resource and I trust her completely.
It was such a pleasure working with Lenore and her team at Horton Legal Strategies. Lenore and her staff are highly intelligent and professional. While they handled some business attorney work for my company, I also learned that their firm specializes in helping business owners find buyers. I connected them with a friend who was looking to sell his company, and he was equally impressed with how smoothly everything was handled. Highly recommended!!!
You were the only firm who would have gotten paid even if the deal died, but you ended up being the firm most motivated to get it done. Without Horton Legal Strategies, we wouldn't have closed. That's integrity.
Horton Legal is highly recommended. It is the most ethical services around. They are truly interested in what’s best for you and whatever business you are conducting. “Being ethical means acting in accordance with accepted principles of right and wrong conduct, demonstrating moral virtues like honesty, fairness and compassion, and taking into consideration the well-being of others and society as a whole”. Well done Horton Legal Strategies!
Lenore has assisted me with several matters in my business for many years. She is knowledgeable, communicative and very approachable. Her ability to explain and guide me through changing legalities of my industry puts me at ease in stressful times. I feel incredibly empowered by her and know that, with Lenore and the Horton Legal Strategies team, I have a group of champions in my corner.
Highly recommend Lenore at Horton Legal Strategies! I had a 30-minute consultation with Lenore that was incredibly valuable for my legal business planning. She helped me gain clarity on where to focus my energy for the upcoming year and identified which legal strategies would best support my current business season. What I appreciated most was her ability to pinpoint quick wins I could implement right away while also mapping out longer-term options. If you're looking for strategic legal guidance that's both practical and actionable, she's your person!
Lead Counsel representing OPTIS Consulting Group, Inc. (US entity) in its strategic partnership with private equity firm Shore Capital Partners. Closed September 2025.
Represented owner of a NY government contracting firm in reverse merger after sale of significant stake to non-performing partner. Ongoing engagement.
Lead Counsel representing owner of Lyteworx Automation Systems in acquisition by Edgesource Corporation. (Closed May 2026.)
Preliminary Call Available
Talking to Buyers? Don't Go Further Alone.
Schedule a preliminary call before you agree to terms, exclusivity, or anything else that shapes how this process goes.
Who will actually be working on my deal?
Your matter is handled by a deal team, not a single attorney working alone. The team typically includes Lenore Horton as lead counsel, along with an additional attorney, a paralegal, and a tax advisor — each covering a distinct part of the transaction so nothing gets missed as the deal moves forward.
Isn't it too early to bring in a lawyer if I don't have an LOI yet?
It's not. The earlier you have guidance, the more leverage and clarity you carry into negotiations. Waiting until an LOI is signed often means the key terms are already locked in.
What if I already have a broker or business attorney advising me?
Many owners already have a trusted advisor for day-to-day legal work, or a broker to help them find a buyer. It's typical for a business to choose different counsel specifically for the M&A transaction because of the specific legal needs of that type of deal. And, as every broker agreement will confirm, they do not and cannot provide advice on the legal implications of your negotiating position and how it might affect legal due diligence and your definitive documents. This engagement is structured to work alongside your existing relationships, not replace them. An attorney hired specifically for this stage offers something day-to-day business counsel and brokers cannot.
Do you only work with sellers in New York and New Jersey?
No, our attorneys are admitted in jurisdictions throughout the U.S. While a significant number of transactions are tied to New York and New Jersey, we handle transactional matters nationwide. Reach out and we'll let you know directly whether we're the right fit for your deal.
This website does not establish an attorney-client relationship, which is only formed when you have signed an engagement agreement. Filling out a form on this site or sending us an email does not establish a client-lawyer relationship, and your sending information to us does not indicate that the Horton Legal Strategies PLLC or any lawyer in our firm is willing to consider forming a client-lawyer relationship. Unless the Horton Legal Strategies PLLC agrees to consider representing you, information that you send to this firm will not be kept confidential or privileged.
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