Entity formation and structuring
LLCs, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, and not-for-profits — formed and documented to fit how you operate.
Business & Corporate Law
Business Law in Illinois
When you start, grow, invest in, or sell a company, every choice carries real consequences. You are the expert at building your business — our job is to structure and protect it so it is poised for growth, and to advocate for you when something is on the line.
Understanding. Answers. Direction.
Marvel Law serves as a trusted advisor to businesses and business owners, from formation through the disputes that occasionally come with success. We counsel and advocate for companies across their full life cycle — profit and nonprofit alike.
Business moves at the speed of now. Getting clear, timely advice when a decision is in front of you can set the course for success or failure, and we aim to move at the speed of business while still getting the details right. We are based in Bloomington, serve clients across Central Illinois, and offer honest assessments on fees and evening and Saturday hours.
What we do for you
Counsel and advocacy across the full business life cycle.
We counsel and advocate for businesses across their full life cycle — profit and nonprofit alike.
Operating & partnership agreements
Agreements that fit how the business actually runs — who decides what, how profits flow, and what happens when an owner leaves.
Buy-sell agreements
Govern ownership changes — death, disability, divorce, deadlock, and departure — before they become disputes.
Contracts
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the agreements your business runs on, with an eye toward the disputes they are meant to prevent.
Collections
Pursuing unpaid invoices and accounts — the right demand and suit often recover what your business is owed.
Sales, acquisitions & mergers
Valuations, acquisitions, and mergers of businesses — and the litigation that can accompany them.
Business litigation
Partnership, shareholder, and contract disputes — resolved by negotiation where possible, tried in court where necessary.
We also coordinate with our real estate practice when a business owns property — see Commercial & Industrial Real Estate — and with Estate Planning for owner succession.
Built for Illinois law
Business law, built for Illinois
From the entity you choose to the agreements that govern it, the details decide whether your structure protects you or exposes you.
Choosing and forming the right entity
The entity you choose shapes your taxes, your personal liability, and how you raise money and bring in partners. We advise on LLCs, corporations (S and C), partnerships, sole proprietorships, and not-for-profit organizations, then form the entity correctly with the Illinois Secretary of State. An Illinois LLC is formed by filing Articles of Organization with a $150 filing fee ($400 for a series LLC), and most Illinois entities owe an annual report fee each year to stay in good standing. Choosing the structure is only the start — how it is documented is what protects you.
Operating, partnership, and buy-sell agreements
The default rules that come with an entity are rarely the rules you actually want. A well-drafted operating agreement or partnership agreement sets out who decides what, how profits and distributions work, and what happens when an owner wants out, dies, or defaults. A buy-sell agreement answers the hardest questions — death, disability, divorce, deadlock, and departure — before they turn into litigation, and sets the price and terms for a transfer in advance. These documents are the difference between a clean transition and a courtroom. (See our blog on LLC ownership and distributional interests.)
Contracts and collections
Your business runs on its contracts — with customers, vendors, employees, and partners. We draft, review, and negotiate the agreements that matter, with an eye toward the disputes they are meant to prevent. When a customer doesn't pay, we pursue collections, because unpaid invoices are a drag on real businesses and the right demand and suit often recover them. (See our blog: Unpaid Invoices Cost Small Businesses.)
Sales, acquisitions, and mergers
Buying or selling a business is a high-stakes transaction with valuation, diligence, financing, tax, and successor-liability questions baked in. We represent buyers and sellers through valuations, acquisitions, and mergers, document the deal to protect our client, and handle the litigation that sometimes follows a transaction.
Business litigation — the litigator-plus edge
Some disputes can be resolved efficiently through negotiation, and we skillfully reach settlements for clients in a large share of the business matters we handle. But when a matter belongs in court, we are built to be there. We litigate partnership and shareholder disputes, breach-of-contract claims, and construction disputes, and we initiate protective and aggressive action on a client's behalf. That courtroom experience also makes our transactional work sharper — we draft agreements knowing exactly how they get tested when a relationship breaks down. (See: A $10 Million Lesson from Nike and A $69 Million Lesson for Employers.)
The Marvel Law approach
An advisor who can both paper the deal and try the case.
An advisor with a real understanding of how a business grows — in the context of your industry — is critical, and an advisor who can both paper the deal and try the case is rare. We bring both. We help you move at the speed of business without skipping the structure that protects you, and we are ready to advocate hard when protection turns into a fight.
Richard T. Marvel — bio, credentials, and bar admissions appear on the About/Attorney page, including years in practice and experience as both a litigator and a transactional attorney, which shapes how we structure and defend businesses. Richard T. Marvel has practiced law in central Illinois since 2001 — as both a litigator and a transactional attorney, which shapes how he drafts to prevent disputes. Read his full bio →
"We draft transactional documents with the courtroom in mind, and we litigate the disputes those documents are designed to prevent." — The Marvel Law approach
A plan for every stage
What your business may need
| If you are… | We typically handle… |
|---|---|
| Starting out | Entity selection and formation, operating or partnership agreement, core contracts |
| Bringing in a partner or investor | Buy-sell agreement, ownership terms, and governance documents |
| Growing | Contracts, collections, employment agreements, and real estate structuring |
| Buying or selling a business | Valuation, due diligence, the deal documents, and post-closing disputes |
| Planning your exit | Succession coordinated with Estate Planning and a buy-sell |
| In a dispute | Partnership, shareholder, and breach-of-contract litigation |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your liability exposure, how you'll be taxed, and whether you'll bring in partners or investors. An LLC separates your personal assets from the business and offers flexible management, but it has to be formed and documented correctly to deliver that protection. We'll recommend the structure that actually fits your situation, not a default. (See our blog: Should I Form an LLC?)
Because you won't always, and because death, disability, and departure don't wait for a good moment. These agreements set the rules and the price for ownership changes while everyone is still reasonable, which is exactly what keeps a future disagreement out of court.
Often, yes. A clear demand, backed by the contract and a willingness to file suit, recovers more invoices than most owners expect. We'll assess the amount, the paper trail, and the debtor's ability to pay before you spend money chasing it.
Yes — that's the point of how we practice. We draft transactional documents with the courtroom in mind, and we litigate the disputes those documents are designed to prevent. Few firms our size bring both to the same file.
[Each FAQ also published as its own page under /faqs/ and linked here.]
Where we serve
Based in Bloomington. Serving startups and established companies across Central Illinois.
In our office and remotely. Business law help in:
Business Law in McLean County
Business Law in Logan County
Serving startups, established companies, and business owners across central & southern Illinois