What is a Vesting Period?

John Mercer is a distinguished corporate counsel who is well-known for turning legal challenges into strategic assets. He possesses a deep understanding and expertise in intellectual property (IP), compliance, and corporate law, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. His proficiency lies in transforming legal complexities into strategic advantages, ensuring operational excellence, and driving innovation forward. John excels at safeguarding an organization's legal interests and integrity, ensuring operations adhere to the law. As a strategic leader, John excels at safeguarding an organization’s legal interests and integrity, ensuring operations adhere to the law. He also brings immense value to his profession through his skills in drafting, negotiating, and managing significant agreements that secure organizational interests with widespread industry impact. His unparalleled expertise in legal advisories significantly enhances compliance and develops risk management frameworks that protect and advance company ambitions. Moreover, John's command over patent and trademark portfolios, alongside his ability to drive innovation initiatives and design incentive schemes, substantially bolsters intellectual property prowess. John's areas of expertise are extensive, covering skills vital to corporate law, legal contract negotiations, material transfer agreements, and more. He is particularly adept in regulatory compliance, legal consulting, clinical trials, biotechnology, patents, and patent portfolio analysis, to name a few. His leadership is complemented by active listening, analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and other soft skills that make him a leader and visionary.

Clear, strategic legal guidance when you need it most—whether you're planning ahead or defending a position. Legal challenges shouldn't feel confusing or overwhelming. Whether you're building an estate plan, structuring a business, or navigating a dispute, my practice is built on clarity, care, and practical strategy. I work with clients who want real solutions—not just paperwork—through planning and advice that truly fits their goals, families, and businesses. Planning & Structure I focus on estate planning, asset protection, and business succession, helping individuals and entrepreneurs organize their assets, reduce risk, and prepare for every stage of life. Whether you're setting up your first living trust, shielding your business from liability, or updating an existing estate plan, you'll receive clear guidance, fixed-fee pricing, and responsive support from start to finish. Each plan I design is tailored to your real-world priorities: preserving wealth, avoiding unnecessary taxes and probate, and ensuring the people you love are protected when it matters most. I also focus on general business matters outlined below. Disputes & Defense When legal conflicts arise—disputed contracts, demand letters, settlement negotiations, or litigation decisions—I provide realistic risk assessment and strategic guidance. I help clients understand their actual exposure (not just best-case scenarios), identify leverage points, and navigate toward efficient resolution. If you're facing a legal claim or need to evaluate your position before responding, I can walk you through the realistic options and their costs. Services: Estate Planning & Asset Protection --Simple wills and powers of attorney --Living trusts for small estates --Buy-sell agreements for family businesses Business Formation & Agreements --LLC or S-Corp formation filings --Operating Agreements / Shareholder Agreements --Founder or Investor Agreements --Bylaws and Minutes templates --Registered agent setup guidance Contracts & Commercial Matters --Service Agreements (consulting, marketing, software, design, etc.) --Independent Contractor Agreements --Employment contracts and offer letters --Non-compete, non-solicitation, or confidentiality agreements --Employee handbooks or HR policy updates --Termination or severance agreements --NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) --Partnership or Joint Venture Agreements --Sales or Vendor Contracts --Licensing or IP Agreements Terms and conditions SaaS Platforms --Terms of Service --Privacy Policy --Independent Contractor Agreements --Customer/User Agreements --Liability Waivers --Cancellation & Refund Policy --Non-Solicitation Clauses --Marketplace compliance documents Real Estate --Commercial lease drafting or review --Residential lease review --Purchase & sale agreements --Short-term rental (Airbnb) contracts --Property management agreements Professional Approach: I leverage modern legal research and writing technologies—including AI-assisted tools—to enhance the quality, speed, and clarity of my analysis. Like many legal professionals today, I use these tools to organize research, improve communication, and catch errors. On research tools: case law and statutory verification runs through a vLex/Fastcase subscription, and drafting and first-pass review is AI-assisted. Every analysis I provide is thoroughly reviewed and reflects my independent professional judgment as a licensed attorney. AI is a tool that supports my work; it does not replace it.

Craig E. Yaris is a Founding Partner at Holon Law Partners, with the experience and drive to handle all your Franchise, General Business Practice, Estate Planning and Mediation needs. As a former small business owner and Chief Operating Officer of a franchisor himself, Mr. Yaris is passionate about promoting business growth. He has experience handling daily operations, employee disputes, and negotiations of pertinent contracts for a franchise company with 100 locations in five states, where he organized and conducted semi- annual meetings to educate and inform franchisees of best practices for improved growth. In addition, Mr. Yaris was responsible for the preparation and filing of the UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular) in several states and is well-versed in business formation. Between his time as Franchisor and Conflict Resolution Specialist, Mr. Yaris was the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of an online company whose goal was to help inform marketers and business owners of the fast-paced and ongoing changes within their specific verticals. This experience helped him hone his research and writing skills and prepared him for the cloud-based aspects of Holon Law Partners. Mr. Yaris also has extensive experience in public speaking, as he has planned and delivered several keynote addresses and educational seminars for many New York-based organizations, and as a Continuing Education Instructor for Hofstra University. Prior to joining Parlatore Law Group, Mr. Yaris worked as a Patient Advocate, and more recently, a Conflict Resolution Specialist, where he mediated and resolved disputes on behalf of patients with insurance companies. In this role, he negotiated for coverage of previously denied medications and medical procedures as well as successfully mediated disputes between individuals and business partners which would have otherwise resulted in protracted litigation. In addition, he has experience mediating employer and employee disputes as well as helping resolve family conflict. He has also studied and attended many Non-Violent Communication (NVC) workshops and strives to bring these tools and methods to all of his mediations. His variety of experiences speak to his ability to handle small business needs at all stages of business growth and development. Mr. Yaris also has experience with business growth and development, as he has worked with several small business on creating and implementing strategies for steady growth. In addition, to spending time with family, Mr. Yaris volunteers his time helping spread the message of the ACLU and he supports many local charities focused on families and children. He is admitted to practice in New York.

Drew is an entrepreneurial business attorney with over twenty years of corporate, compliance and litigation experience. Drew currently has his own firm where he focuses on providing outsourced general counsel and compliance services (including mergers & acquisitions, collections, capital raising, real estate, business litigation, commercial contracts and employment matters). Drew has deep experience counseling clients in healthcare, medical device, pharmaceuticals, information technology, manufacturing, and services.

My clients are often small and medium size technology companies, from the "idea" stage to clients who may have raised a round or three of capital and need to clean up a messy cap table. I help with all legal matters related to growth that keep founders up at night - hiring people, allocating equity, dealing with shareholders and investors, client negotiations and early litigation counseling (before you need a litigator). I've seen a lot, and because I run my own business, I understand the concerns that keep you up at night. I’ve been through, both on my own and through other clients, the “teething” pains that will inevitably arise as you scale-up – and I’m here to help you. I have over 20 years international experience devising and implementing robust corporate legal strategies and governance for large multinationals. I now focus on start-ups and early/medium stage technology companies to enable a sound legal foundation for your successful business operations. Many of my clients are international with US based holding companies or presences. My 17 years abroad helps me "translate" between different regimes and even enabling Civil and Common Law lawyers to come together. Regularly, I handle early stage financings including Convertible Notes, Seed and Series A/B financings; commercial and technology contracts; international transactions; tax; mergers and acquisitions.

I provide practical, plain-English legal guidance to solopreneurs and small businesses who want to build strong foundations and make informed decisions with confidence. With 20+ years of experience—including 16 years in-house advising senior and executive leaders—I bring the insight of a trusted legal partner who understands how legal strategy supports long-term business growth. My clients walk away feeling supported, seen, and empowered. They know I genuinely care about their success and bring more than just legal knowledge—I bring a coach’s mindset, a problem-solver’s lens, and a commitment to helping them protect what they’ve worked hard to build. Whether you’re reviewing contracts, forming your business, protecting your brand, or need ongoing legal support, I’m here to deliver clear, actionable guidance and solutions that fit your business.

My Legal career has focused on representing businesses (corporations and limited liability companies) as general outside counsel. In this capacity, I have drafted a broad range of legal documents as well as analyzed proposed agreements drafted by the other party's attorney to the agreement for the purpose of determining the risks to which my client would be exposed. I maintained the client's minute book if no one in-house was available for that task. Additionally, if requested, I served as a general advisor to the client's executive offers and to its Board of Directors.