Draft a Contract: 3 Tips & 5 Basic Components

I am a Texas Board Certified specialist in Labor and Employment Law (since 2002) with nearly three decades of experience across private practice, Big Law, in-house counsel, and national civil rights litigation. I currently own and manage Jump Start Legal Justice Center, where I lead nationwide litigation for nonprofit domestic entities, defending free speech and constitutional rights, litigating Title VI and Title VII claims for professors, and representing individuals in No Fly list and watchlist challenges. For nearly a decade, I served as Civil Litigation Department Head at the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (now MLFA), managing a nationwide team of up to 12 attorneys, paralegals, and interns. My docket included religious freedom and religious discrimination cases for Muslim, Jewish, and Native American clients; birthright citizenship challenges; and inmate rights litigation for meal and prayer accommodations. My employment law background includes senior roles at Littler Mendelson, Jackson Walker, Akin Gump, and Jackson Lewis, as well as serving as the Texas state expert for Thomson Reuters Practical Law. I have counseled corporations on wage/hour compliance, non-compete agreements, FMLA, discrimination, retaliation, and workplace investigations. I have first-chaired federal court jury trials and handled appeals across the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits. I also hold a Mediation Certification from the University of Houston and have served as an Associate Hearing Officer for the City of Dallas. I am a multiple-year Texas Super Lawyer (through 2026), Fellow of the Texas Bar College, and Fellow of the American Bar Association. I draft and review employment agreements, severance agreements, non-compete agreements, employee handbooks, independent contractor agreements, and settlement agreements. I also advise on nonprofit compliance, religious accommodations, and constitutional claims. Bar admissions: Texas (1996), U.S. Supreme Court, multiple Circuit Courts of Appeal, and federal district courts in Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, and Illinois (General Bar and Trial Bar).

LeMont leads a corporate and transactional practice with a focus on delivering practical, business-oriented legal solutions. His practice spans corporate law, commercial transactions, and real estate matters, advising clients through entity formation, governance, contract negotiation, acquisitions, and complex deal structuring. In the corporate and transactional space, LeMont counsels closely held businesses, startups, and growth-stage companies on formation strategy, operating agreements, shareholder arrangements, and day-to-day commercial contracting. He is known for structuring deals in a way that balances legal protection with operational flexibility, ensuring that agreements are both enforceable and commercially workable. His real estate practice includes representing clients in residential and commercial transactions, including purchases, sales, leasing arrangements, and hybrid structures such as rent-to-own and option-to-purchase agreements. He regularly works with clients to navigate deal risk, clarify ownership timelines, and document transactions to minimize future disputes.

Richard "Rick" Mortensen has practiced law continuously in Utah since 2006. For most of that time, he worked in-house, including stints at two international mining companies, two direct selling/MLM companies, a large ecommerce retailer, and an accounting/fintech firm. He also has extensive litigation experience, having represented plaintiffs and defendants in every stage of litigation, including jury trials and appeals. His current role is as a fractional general counsel for businesses of all sizes.

Hello, my name is Matt Shelton and I am a transactional attorney with about 3 years of legal experience, mainly consisting of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts. I have a background in real estate, with experience drafting and negotiating a wide range of real estate contracts, including purchase agreements, operating agreements, leases, easements, property management agreements, development agreements, deeds, NDAs, and others. Additionally, I have experience working on a variety of commercial agreements, including sponsorship agreements, shareholder agreements, indemnities, sales contracts, and others, as well as drafting persuasive letters, such as demand letters, cease and desists, and notices.

I am an attorney and U.S. Navy veteran with experience in employment law, workplace investigations, contract review, and regulatory compliance. During law school, I worked at Jackson Lewis P.C., where I supported EEOC matters, workplace investigations, litigation strategy, and employment-related legal matters. Before becoming an attorney, I served over seven years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy, leading teams in high-pressure operational environments. I bring a practical, detail-oriented, and client-focused approach to every matter.

Dual-licensed attorney with expertise in several fields of law. I can help clients from nearly any jurisdiction. Serving both individuals and organizations of all sizes.

I am a New York-admitted securities attorney and regulatory compliance professional with more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including broker-dealers, investment advisers, private funds, and fintech businesses. My background includes legal, regulatory, and compliance leadership roles, including service as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of an SEC-registered investment adviser. I advise clients on securities regulation, private offerings, private fund formation, investment management, broker-dealer and investment adviser regulation, AML, privacy, and related commercial and regulatory matters. My experience includes advising on private offerings under Regulation D with Regulation S considerations, as well as fundraising alternatives under Regulation A and Regulation CF, and drafting and reviewing offering documents, fund documentation, compliance programs, and related agreements. I have extensive experience working with SEC, FINRA, and NFA regulatory frameworks and helping clients navigate complex legal, regulatory, and business challenges. My practice includes: • Broker-dealer and RIA registration, compliance, and regulatory matters • Private fund formation (PPMs, LPAs, operating agreements, subscription documents) • Regulation D, Regulation S, Regulation A, and Regulation CF offerings • Regulatory filings (ADV, BD, U4, U5, 13D, 13G, 13F, Form 4, etc.) • Regulatory examinations, inquiries, investigations, and remediation • Compliance manuals, WSPs, Codes of Ethics, AML programs, and risk assessments • Marketing and advertising compliance reviews • Investment management agreements, advisory agreements, subscription agreements, side letters, and related documents • Commercial agreements, NDAs, service agreements, and privacy policies • Fintech, digital asset, MSB, and money transmission considerations and related regulatory matters I am admitted to practice in New York and hold the CAMS (AML), CIPP/US (privacy), and CCEP (compliance and ethics) certifications.

Offering support services to in-house legal departments and small law firms.

Fractional general counsel and transactional attorney with 25 years of experience serving small and mid-size businesses. Particular depth in AEC, environmental consulting, and professional services industries. Commercial contracts, business formations, corporate governance, M&A support, NDAs, and commercial leases. Admitted in New York and Colorado.

Ryan Darby is a California attorney and commercial real estate developer with more than a decade of civil litigation experience. From 2010 through 2024, he operated the Law Office of Ryan T. Darby. His practice initially focused on landlord-tenant matters and later shifted to defamation defense and First Amendment litigation, including anti-SLAPP motion practice. He served as co-counsel for the plaintiff-appellant in a published Ninth Circuit opinion that reversed the dismissal of First Amendment claims and established precedent protecting speech and press rights against retaliatory government action. Ryan founded Quintessential Capital in 2019 to pursue multifamily acquisitions and later shifted the company’s focus to flex-industrial development. He has since completed a ground-up flex-industrial project in Sparks, Nevada. As a real estate principal, he has negotiated letters of intent, purchase agreements, a loan agreement and related extension, and listing agreements. His legal experience includes drafting and negotiating leases, settlement agreements, and releases, and advising clients on contract disputes. Ryan earned his J.D. from Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, where he served as a Senior Staff Editor of the Chapman Law Review. His current practice focuses on real estate and lease agreements, settlements and releases, and contract-related disputes. His experience as both counsel and client helps him distinguish between theoretical concerns and risks that matter in practice. Ryan lives in San Diego with his wife, young son, dog, and cat.

I handle litigation, trial, and appeal of civil rights, torts, breach of contract, and family law matters.