How do I choose a lawyer for a business purchase?

The right lawyer for a business purchase is usually one who does this work often, in the province where the business operates, and who will work with your accountant rather than around them. Name recognition matters less than whether the person has closed deals like yours. Three checks narrow the field before you spend time on interviews.

Confirm the licence and the record

Each province regulates its lawyers through a law society, and Quebec through the Barreau du Québec. Several offer a public lookup, such as Alberta’s Find a Lawyer, Manitoba’s Lawyer Lookup and New Brunswick’s Lawyer Search, and Saskatchewan and New Brunswick publish discipline decisions. A short search confirms the person is licensed where you need them and shows whether a public discipline history exists.

Match the lawyer to the work

The Barreau du Québec lists drafting sales agreements, employment contracts and commercial leases, and recommending a business structure, among a lawyer’s roles. A purchase draws on all of those at once. Ask how many business purchases the lawyer has handled recently, whether any were in your industry, and whether the person you meet is the person who will do the work.

Province and conflicts

The law that governs the deal depends on where the business, its lease and its employees are, so look for a lawyer licensed there. If the deal is in Quebec, read our comparison of lawyers and notaries in a Quebec deal first. Your lawyer should act for you alone, so ask directly whether they are acting for anyone else in the transaction.

Questions for the first meeting

• Which parts of the deal will you handle yourself, and which will you hand to someone else?
• How are fees charged, and what is outside the quote, such as searches and registrations?
• How quickly do you answer, and who covers if you are away near the closing date?
• How do you work with my accountant and my lender, and what do you need from each of them?