Flat Fee Lease Representation
for Restaurants & Bars
On Your Side
Your lease is the highest-stakes contract in your business. A bad personal guaranty can put your personal assets at risk. A restrictive transfer clause can put you at your landlord’s mercy if you need to pivot. An overlooked maintenance section can stick you with capital costs that could ruin your financials. And a landlord's attorney who knows you don't have experienced counsel will push every advantage — often serving up outrageous one-sided forms hoping you’ll just naively grin, sign, and swallow. They'll tell you to trust the relationship — right up until the relationship needs to be enforced.
I've spent 22 years negotiating commercial leases — including restaurant and bar leases — at major firms in New York and Los Angeles. I've also created, owned, and operated my own bar and restaurant in LA. I know what lease clauses actually mean to your business, not just what they mean on paper. I know the protections you need, and the areas where you can compromise to get your deal done efficiently. Because balancing protection and efficiency is essential to profitability in the hospitality business.
One Month’s Rent
Flat Fee - Full Negotiation
I know what it's like to open a restaurant. There are a million demands on your hard-raised startup capital. An open-ended legal fee meter puts you in an extremely difficult position — do you spend more to get the protections you need in your lease, or do you skimp to save cash? I don't want you to have to make that choice. You deserve proper representation at a known price that works for your model.
With Prix Fixe Legal you get the full legal tasting menu for a known fair price — from first draft through signed lease — review, markup, negotiation, and execution. No hourly billing, no open-ended invoices, no legal meter running while you're dealing with all of the other costs of getting your restaurant open. You know your cost before we start. You know where it fits in your budget.
Further, I take on clients selectively so that every deal gets my full and prompt attention. Your lease negotiation won't be buried in a pile of deals — it'll be a priority from start to finish.
Daniel W. Finley, Attorney
I started my career in commercial real estate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York City, where I represented institutional landlords and major tenants in complex leasing transactions. I went on to practice at firms in New York and Los Angeles across the full range of commercial leasing — office, retail, industrial, and restaurant/hospitality.
Along the way, I created, built out, and operated a successful bar and restaurant in Los Angeles — an experience that fundamentally changed how I practice law. Negotiating a lease as an attorney is one thing. Signing a personal guaranty with your own money on the line, dealing with a landlord’s quirks, and watching your start-up budget tested in every way imaginable — that's something else entirely.
I built Prix Fixe Legal to bring both sides of that experience together. Sophisticated legal representation from someone who has actually been in your shoes.