SAFE Note Term Sheet Lawyers for Pearland, Texas

Experienced Attorney with an MBA in Finance who provides a business-oriented mindset and thrives in a collaborative environment with a-typical challenges. Possesses exceptional skills in legal research, drafting and enforcing contracts, skillful in negotiations and mediations, drafts extremely persuasive pleadings, attacks depositions with zeal for my clients. Experience includes Business Management and IT Consulting with a successful track record managing outside relationships, associated costs, and optimizing outcomes for client(s). Effectively restructures antiquated business processes and incorporates technology and best practices to effectuate progressive outcomes for business clients. Partners collaboratively with business leaders to advance company objectives while minimizing risk to ensure internal and external compliance, increased profitability, and diverse practices. Dynamic communicator with the interpersonal skills to build trusting relationships with executives, management, and employees of various backgrounds, expertise, and styles.

I am a business attorney and former in-house corporate attorney with more than a decade of experience helping companies navigate contracts, commercial relationships, day-to-day operations, and disputes. My practice includes drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial agreements, licenses, leases, vendor and service agreements, and other business arrangements. Licensed in Nevada, California, New York, and Texas, I also hold an Executive MBA. My goal is to serve as practical, long-term outside counsel to small businesses and entrepreneurs that value responsiveness, sound judgment, and advice grounded in commercial realities - not merely technical legal answers. I handle disputes when necessary, but much of the value I bring lies in identifying issues early, preserving business relationships, and preventing avoidable conflicts. I do not bill separately for routine phone calls. I want clients to feel comfortable calling before a small concern becomes an expensive problem, and I am always happy to have an initial conversation to see if the fit is right for you. www.linkedin.com/in/maxkelner

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).

Forest Hamilton is the founder of ContractsCounsel Law. He is a business and transactional attorney whose practice centers on the contracts companies and entrepreneurs rely on every day. He drafts, reviews, and negotiates operating agreements, asset and membership-interest purchase agreements, master services and supply agreements, NDAs, employment and contractor agreements, and commercial leases. Forest has handled many acquisitions of online businesses, including Amazon FBA brands, Shopify stores, and YouTube channels. He also advises on business formation, capital raising, commercial real estate, oil and gas matters, and estate planning. His clients range from first-time founders to established companies and investors across the U.S. and abroad. On every matter, Forest aims for a clear, practical document that protects the client’s position without creating friction in the deal. He began his career in commercial litigation in Florida and has advised businesses from Nashville since 2005. He is licensed in Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.

Josh Bernstein has been serving real estate and corporate transactional clients since 2002. His experience is varied, and he enjoys working on and puzzling out novel and complex corporate and real estate matters. Josh’s experience includes, among other things, the following: representation of public companies in connection with SEC reporting and compliance work (proxies, 10-K’s; 10-Q’s; 8-K’s, etc.); representation of public and private company securities issuances (including private placements, and other similar offerings); assistance in structuring and drafting joint ventures, both for investors and operating partners, and including both real estate and corporate ventures; handling public and private company mergers and acquisitions; and asset sales and dispositions; assisting clients, big and small, with real estate acquisitions, sales and financings; managing large-scale and multi-state real estate portfolio acquisitions, dispositions and financings; complex condominium creation, structuring and governance work, including: commercial condominiums, use of condominiums as a land planning tool, wholesale condominium property acquisitions and dispositions, and rehabilitating failed or faulty condominium legal structures to make ready for sale; development of restrictive covenants and owners’ association documents for master-planned communities; compliance with federal statutes governing real estate sale and development (including, without limitation, the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, the Housing for Older Persons Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act); representation of real estate lenders, for both improved and unimproved property, and including numerous construction financings secured by real estate; assistance with commercial leasing; from both the landlord and tenant side, and including condominium leasing; training residential home and condominium sales staff for compliance with applicable local and federal law; and workouts of all kinds. When he’s not busy lawyering, Josh may be found watching 80’s commercials, flying a single-engine plane, playing poker, or trying to be a good dad.

I am semi-retired, and I have over 30 years of legal practice. I can assist you with business formation, business acquisition, contract creation, contract review, and modification, estate plan, will, trust, probate, and general legal advice concerning many areas of law.

I specialize in commercial and technology agreements, and general corporate and real estate matters. My passion for transactional and corporate work grew out of helping small and medium sized businesses with agreements of all types and real estate matters. Though I primarily represent large private and publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, I very much enjoy representing new and emerging businesses. From the private family office or new start-up to the rapidly growing and mature company, I have a proven track record of exceeding expectations in helping clients achieve their vision.

I’m a Texas-based business attorney focused on helping companies—from early-stage startups to established enterprises—navigate their legal needs with clarity and confidence. My practice centers on contracts, corporate governance, and international business matters. Whether you're forming a new company, reviewing a commercial agreement, or expanding into new markets, I bring practical, business-minded legal guidance tailored to your goals. Clients appreciate that I don’t just “paper” deals—I help them understand what they’re signing and protect their long-term interests. I believe in clear communication, fair flat fees, and efficient turnarounds, especially when time is money. In addition to domestic clients, I work with a range of foreign individuals and companies doing business in the U.S., and regularly assist with cross-border transactions, regulatory issues, and contract negotiation. If you’re looking for an attorney who values relationships, communicates clearly, and knows how to get deals done—I’d be glad to connect.

I am an attorney practicing in the greater Houston area. I have experience in various fields like personal injury, probate, real estate transactions, criminal defense, and traffic tickets.

I possess vast experience on most if not all commercial real estate transactions from raw land to sales and other dispositions