Focused on Client Wins when Buying or Selling a Business.
Helping business owners efficiently navigate legal complexities so they can focus on maximizing their business and achieving their goals is why Edgar has enjoyed practicing law for the past 30 years. Contributing to a winning team as a valued member is what drew him to leave his job in finance as a commercial banker and pursue a career in corporate law. Now, as a corporate partner in L&G Law Group’s Florida office, he feels he has found where he can have the greatest impact on the lives of his clients. “Business owners often struggle to find an experienced advisor they can trust to successfully manage the ‘last, great test of entrepreneurship,’ transitioning their business,” he notes. Although Mr. Reilly represents clients on the full spectrum of financial and corporate matters, Edgar sees another level of purpose when he helps someone (or a family) transition a business to a new owner. “For an entrepreneur, selling their business is very personal and the process is almost more transformational for the whole family than merely a business transaction,” he notes.
In 2016, when Edgar moved with his family from Chicago to Orlando, he wasn’t sure how active the Central Florida market was for entrepreneurs and was pleasantly surprised. His mergers and acquisitions practice is split nearly evenly between representing buyers and sellers with transaction valuations spanning a wide range from $1 – $200 million. He has represented numerous owners in Florida selling their businesses to buyers representing large publicly-traded companies, other privately-held businesses, financial investors and next generation entrepreneurs. “Every situation is unique and that’s exciting, but, more importantly, every situation is the same because it involves people working on something extremely important to them – it may be the culmination of their life’s work – and that’s meaningful.” Edgar notes that he truly feels honored when close friends trust him with the transition of their most important financial asset – whether it’s representing his martial arts training partner or his college roommate (both are clients), the personal relationships that are deepened are incredibly rewarding.
There is a planning gap and risk to business owners that Edgar is working to mitigate for clients. Using his unique perspective gained from a varied legal and business background having worked as a commercial lender, large firm corporate attorney
and lead in-house counsel, he helps clients address the difficult issues. Sometimes there is a reality check that needs to take
place by assessing preparation against the risks of unexpected events forcing an urgent (and discounted) sale. In other cases, he points to the study from the Exit Planning Institute that although 76% of private companies plan to transition ownership within 10 years, out of this same group, 83% report that they don’t have a formal plan to accomplish a transition. Also, most owners admit they don’t understand all their exit options, how different alternative transaction structures work or the varying challenges between internal buyers (family, management or co-owners) and external buyers (strategic or private equity). Edgar says, “That is where a good team of advisors makes life much easier for an owner if they work efficiently together. In my experience, when the accountant, lawyer and other professionals understand the business and focus on the needs of the owner, you maximize the after-tax proceeds and minimize stress on the people and business. And that’s how we win.”
Education and Admissions:
Mr. Reilly received his undergraduate business degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and his Juris Doctorate from The Law School at the University of Chicago in 1995. He is admitted to the bar in Illinois and Florida.
280 W Canton Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789
175 W Jackson Blvd., Suite 950, Chicago, Illinois 60604
P: 815-919-0027 | www.lgcounsel.com | ereilly@lgcounsel.com
