Revision Legal’s Traverse City business lawyer, John Di Giacomo, advises Northern Michigan companies through the full lifecycle of a business: choosing and forming an entity, negotiating the contracts that run it, protecting its people and confidential information, resolving disputes, and eventually buying or selling it. From our office at 444 Cass Street in downtown Traverse City, we work with founders, family-owned companies, breweries and hospitality businesses, and technology startups across the region.
Business Legal Services From Our Traverse City Office
Whether you are opening your first location or preparing for an exit, a Traverse City business attorney can help you spot problems while they are still inexpensive to fix. Our business practice covers:
- Business formation — Choosing between an LLC, a corporation, or another structure, filing with the state, and drafting the operating agreements, bylaws, and shareholder agreements that govern decisions, ownership transfers, and buyouts.
- Contracts — Drafting and reviewing commercial contracts, including vendor and supply agreements, customer terms, services agreements, licenses, leases, and NDAs, with attention to indemnification, limitation of liability, termination, and choice-of-forum clauses.
- Mergers, acquisitions, and business sales — Representing buyers and sellers in buying and selling a business, from letters of intent and due diligence through purchase agreements and closing, including corporate M&A work structured as asset or stock purchases.
- Non-compete agreements — Drafting, reviewing, and enforcing non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements for employees, contractors, and business sellers.
- Trade secrets — Putting in place the policies and agreements that keep trade secrets protectable, and pursuing or defending misappropriation claims when information walks out the door.
- Business disputes and litigation — Handling breach of contract, partner and shareholder, fiduciary duty, and other commercial disputes through negotiation, mediation, and civil litigation in state and federal court.
- Small business general counsel — Acting as a Traverse City small business lawyer on an ongoing basis for growing companies that need regular legal support without the cost of an in-house legal department.
- Liquor licensing — Helping restaurants, bars, breweries, and wineries with Michigan Liquor Control Commission licensing and with license transfers that come up in business purchases. See our Traverse City liquor license attorney page.
- Intellectual property for local businesses — Clearing and registering brand names and logos and protecting creative work. Our Traverse City trademark attorney page explains how we help Northern Michigan brands.
Your Traverse City Business Lawyer
John Di Giacomo, a founding partner of Revision Legal, works from our Traverse City office. His practice spans corporate law, intellectual property, and internet law, and he has litigated matters in state and federal courts across the United States, including before courts of appeals. He is admitted in the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan and has served as an adjunct professor of trademark and internet law at Michigan State University College of Law.
John has also been involved in the Traverse City business community for years, serving on the boards of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority, the tech incubator 20 Fathoms, and the Traverse City History Center. Our Traverse City clients have included Right Brain Brewery and the National Cherry Festival. On larger transactions and contested matters, John is backed by the firm’s litigation and transactional team.
Business Law for Northern Michigan Industries
The Grand Traverse region’s economy draws on a mix of industries, and each brings its own legal questions:
- Breweries, wineries, and cideries — Entity and ownership structure, liquor licensing, distribution and supply agreements, and brand protection for products that often sell well beyond the region.
- Tourism and hospitality — Leases, vendor and event contracts, seasonal staffing agreements, and purchases and sales of restaurants, lodging, and retail businesses.
- Agriculture and food production — Cherry growers, orchards, farm markets, and specialty food producers dealing with grower and supply contracts, processing and co-packing agreements, and succession planning.
- Manufacturing — Supply and purchase-order terms, confidentiality and non-compete agreements for skilled employees, and equipment and facility transactions.
- Technology startups — Founder agreements, early-stage financing, software and SaaS terms, and protecting code and customer data as trade secrets.
Michigan Law Behind Your Business Documents
Michigan statutes shape many of the documents we prepare. LLCs are governed by the Michigan Limited Liability Company Act, MCL 450.4101 et seq., and corporations by the Business Corporation Act, MCL 450.1101 et seq. New entities are formed through the Corporations Division of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which accepts filings through its MiBusiness Registry Portal. The state filing creates the entity, but the operating agreement or bylaws decide how it actually runs.
Employee non-compete agreements are governed by MCL 445.774a, which permits them when they protect an employer’s reasonable competitive business interests and are reasonable as to duration, geographic area, and the type of employment or line of business. Trade secret claims can arise under Michigan’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, MCL 445.1901 et seq., or the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836. Alcohol sales and production are regulated under the Michigan Liquor Control Code of 1998, MCL 436.1101 et seq.
Business Disputes in Grand Traverse County Courts
Most contract, partnership, and shareholder disputes between Michigan businesses are governed by state law and filed in circuit court. For Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties, that is the 13th Circuit Court, whose main office is at 328 Washington Street in Traverse City. Michigan law also provides for dedicated business court dockets for business and commercial disputes (MCL 600.8031 et seq.), which can affect how a case is assigned.
Some business disputes can be brought in federal court instead, for example claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, or contract disputes between parties from different states that meet federal jurisdictional requirements. Those cases are generally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, whose Southern Division includes Grand Traverse County. As a Traverse City business litigation attorney, John evaluates the merits, likely cost, and realistic range of outcomes with you before recommending whether to negotiate, mediate, or file suit.
How We Work With Traverse City Businesses
Most business matters with our Traverse City office follow a straightforward path:
- Consultation. We learn about your business, your goals, and the decision or problem in front of you, and flag any deadlines or immediate risks.
- Scope and budget. Before work begins, we define what the engagement covers and discuss how it will be billed, so there are no surprises.
- Documents or strategy. We draft or review the agreements, filings, or dispute strategy, and explain the tradeoffs in plain terms.
- Ongoing support. For small businesses that want regular access to counsel, we can continue as outside general counsel as the company grows.
Serving Traverse City and Northern Michigan
From our Traverse City office, we serve businesses throughout Northern Michigan, including Petoskey, Cadillac, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Leland, and the broader Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Leelanau County area. Much business legal work can be handled by phone, video, and email, and we also represent clients throughout Michigan and nationally.
Talk to a Traverse City Business Lawyer
To talk with a Traverse City business lawyer about forming a company, reviewing a contract, buying or selling a business, or resolving a dispute, call our Traverse City office at 231.714.0100 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
Revision Legal
444 Cass Street, Suite D
Traverse City, MI 49684
231.714.0100
Traverse City office information, directions & hours
Business Law FAQ — Traverse City
Should my Traverse City business be an LLC or a corporation?
It depends on ownership plans, tax treatment, investors, and how you want the business managed. Many closely held businesses choose an LLC for its flexibility, while companies planning to raise equity capital sometimes prefer a corporation. Either way, the state filing is only a start; an operating agreement or bylaws and a shareholder agreement define how decisions, transfers, and exits work.
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Michigan?
They can be. Under MCL 445.774a, an employer may obtain a non-compete that protects its reasonable competitive business interests if the agreement is reasonable as to duration, geographic area, and the type of employment or line of business. If a court finds an agreement unreasonable in some respect, it may limit the agreement and enforce it as limited.
Where are business disputes in Grand Traverse County litigated?
State-law disputes, such as breach of contract or fiduciary duty claims, are typically filed in the 13th Circuit Court, which serves Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties. Disputes involving federal claims, or parties from different states with enough at stake, may be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, whose Southern Division includes Grand Traverse County.
What does outside general counsel mean for a small business?
Outside general counsel is an ongoing relationship in which a law firm handles a company’s routine legal needs, such as reviewing contracts, answering employment and compliance questions, and advising on significant decisions, without the company hiring a full-time in-house lawyer. It can suit growing businesses that need regular access to counsel but not a dedicated legal department.
Where is your Traverse City office?
Our Traverse City office is located at 444 Cass Street, Suite D, Traverse City, MI 49684, in downtown Traverse City. You can reach us at 231.714.0100. We work with businesses in Petoskey, Cadillac, Charlevoix, and throughout the Grand Traverse region, and much of our business law work can be handled by phone, video, and email.
More Practice Areas — Traverse City
Our Traverse City office also handles internet and intellectual property law matters for Northern Michigan clients.