Brett Cenkus answers the question what is a corporate lawyer, what do they do and do you need one?
Even in law school, he was unaware of what a corporate lawyer does. As you'll see, Brett describes a corporate lawyer (or transactional lawyer) as a business generalist. No courtroom for us, but the advice of a quality business attorney is invaluable.
In the 20 years since getting his law degree, Brett has spent about half of that in business himself. And, you want your business lawyer to have some sort of business experience. It means they understand the challenges you face, your needs, and concerns because they've been where you are.
So, whether you're figuring out your career path or are researching the attributes to look for in your next corporate attorney, watch the video and let us know what you think.
Brett A. Cenkus has 20+ years of experience in business law, finance, and entrepreneurship. Through Cenkus Law, PC, he provides advice and services for mergers & acquisitions (M&A), securities offerings, founders’ agreements, and other general business law issues.
Through Braaten Woods, LLC, Brett helps business owners in the lower middle market ($2MM - $25MM) position themselves for sale, find buyers, negotiate, and close M&A deals.
Brett also maintains merger-resources.com, a site packed with free articles, videos, checklists, deal diagrams, template contracts, and other tools to help pass M&A knowledge to others.
Brett regularly consults with entrepreneurs and invests his own capital as an angel investor.
From 2010-2013, Brett served as Chief Legal Counsel of a publicly-traded international oilfield services company. From 2001 to 2006, he and a partner founded and built Paragon Residential Mortgage. Bridge Investments acquired Paragon in 2006.
Brett holds a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
Brett lives in Austin with his wife, Cathryn, and two children. He enjoys reading, squash, classic movies, great food and wine, and the New England Patriots.
