DEALS. DISPUTES. CONTRACTS. LITIGATION. It doesn’t matter how good your business is. Fail to navigate these hurdles at your peril, because any one of them can send your enterprise crashing down.
That doesn’t mean you need just a business attorney. You want a lawyer whose skills and experience have been honed to the extent that matches your need for effective legal strategies, and who will find the optimum path to a cost-effective solution – without the stodgy trappings and glacial infrastructure of a large traditional law firm.
Meet David M. Anderson: founder of Minnesota’s first virtual business law practice, and your advocate and sherpa.
“My grandfather spent 45 years working for the Milwaukee Road in Mobridge, South Dakota, before retiring and moving into a house next door to my family in Northern New Jersey,” David reminisced. “He grew restless, and began selling houses during an auspicious time for it: the height of the baby boom.
“How did he become one of his agency’s top salesmen despite having arrived so late to the game? Because he would always have a stack of blank purchase agreements and a typewriter in his trunk every time he’d take a couple out to go look at houses.
“My dad gave himself a similar advantage while running his Wheaton Van Line moving and storage business. He’d drive around the New York City suburbs in a black VW Beetle with a CB radio antenna sticking out of its sunroof. Whenever someone phoned his office for an estimate, he’d surprise them minutes later to do an estimate and get a signed contract.
“Those examples were the seed crystals. They inspired me to strike it out on my own, and leverage fast-changing technology to become the first attorney I know of to go totally office-less.
“My first job after law school was a choice judicial law clerkship, and a great opportunity to peek inside the machine. I worked closely with trial judges during many jury trials, getting their candid and sometimes surprising reaction to attorneys, learning their style and arguments, and seeing both great and mediocre trial attorneys in action.
“My next position was at a six-person firm in Eden Prairie in 1983. We mostly did banking, commercial, and municipal law. That job gave me a great deal of trial experience, and confirmed what I’d already secretly known: I am a business lawyer at heart. My family background, plus a desire to find solutions efficiently and cost effectively, rejected the large-firm model of maximizing billable hours. In 45 years, I’ve never had a client call me up and say ‘Dave, I looked at your bill, and there aren’t enough billable hours on it.’
“When I ventured out on my own in 1989, I was armed with a cell phone, a digital pager, a stack of fancy business cards, and no office to weigh me down. Business owner clients don’t care about your office décor or the size of your law library. They want to know that you are accessible, responsive, and have the experience to get the job done in a cost-effective manner. This new model provided just the mobility and responsiveness I needed to resolve my clients’ issues faster than most old-school lawyers, who are typically shielded from clients by layers of secretaries and receptionists.
“As email and the internet advanced and improved, so too did my ability to turn things around quickly. Whenever practicable, I was always tempering and streamlining my practice until it delivered precisely what each client required, exactly when they required it. Big law firms are analogous to the RMS Queen Mary. I am a high-speed cigarette boat.
“Over almost five decades you cover most every type of legal matter, both in the litigation arena and in deals. In 2006 I handled the largest manufacturing and agriculture deal in Minnesota – totally virtually. It was a large and complex sale of my client’s business which made explosive bolts and missile parts for the U.S. Department of Defense, Great Britain, Israel, and other large defense clients. We had five teams of specialty attorneys, but still closed remotely, on time, and with a sale price $30 million over my client’s initial dream price.
“Of course, I also handle more rudimentary and quotidian business deals, too. I just represented a client who had recently been diagnosed with a very serious medical condition. He was about to shut his whole operation down before I explained the informal reorganization that would eliminate his personal liability for multiple loans and claims. I crafted a solution that kept him in business another three years and eliminated most of his personal exposure.
“Successful deals are another of my greater passions. Many of my clients are exiting the corporate world in pursuit of their own entrepreneurial dreams, and leverage my expertise to start their new ventures on the right footing. I shepherd them through the ordeal with as little stress, uncertainty, and headache as possible. Rather than trying to look smart by finding everything wrong with a deal, I look for every opportunity to make the thing work. If the best path forward isn’t immediately apparent, then we’ll make our own.
“Deals, of course, aren’t just of importance to aspiring business owners. Established ones need to traverse a volatile mercantile landscape with confidence, too. Whether they’re a large corporation on the verge of a multi-million dollar transaction – or a small mom-and-pop shop planning an expansion into neighboring real estate – they can count on my acumen.
"I don't engage in litigation lightly. That being said, the New Jersey street kid in me is always ready for it. Business litigation is like surgery in which there are two doctors. One does everything to save the patient. The other does the opposite. I am comfortable on either side of the operating table.
“Whatever clients bring to me, I always endeavor to find the solution which is possible and cost effective, and provides the most financial bang for the legal buck possible. As a fellow business owner, I know we want results that move the business forward – not backward.
“A business doesn’t have to be in the Fortune 500 to benefit from expert legal counsel. Most of my clients are in the $500,000 to $50 million range. Almost all are privately held, with the majority having one shareholder.”
For contracts, commercial collections, sales and acquisitions, employment law issues, and every other business law challenge, you have Anderson Business Law. Call (952) 200-2460, email advokatdma@gmail.com, or visit eBizLaw.com. “I will call you back!” says David.