Overview
Justin leads the Startup and Business Law and Mergers & Acquisitions practice areas at Spengler & Agans, PLLC. Prior to cofounding the firm, Justin earned an MBA with a focus on marketing strategy and entrepreneurship, and he is a two-time entrepreneur himself. In addition to the law firm, Justin has founded a growing expert witness support and consulting business. Justin’s education and experience enable him to think like a founder and like a lawyer, and his clients appreciate his ability to understand the interplay between business considerations and legal decisions.
Justin serves as outside general counsel to numerous organizations throughout Western North Carolina, and he works with businesses in a variety of industries, from local coffee shops to high-growth technology startups. On a daily basis, Justin advises startups and small to medium-sized businesses on incorporation and formation matters, contracts, commercial leases, hiring and retaining employees and independent contractors, and raising capital. In his capacity as general counsel, Justin is happy to serve as his clients’ first phone call on any matter, even if it is not the type of issue Spengler + Agans will typically handle in-house, and he maintains a robust referral network for the benefit of his clientele.
In recent years, Justin’s practice has focused primarily on the following topics:
Emerging Companies
Corporate Governance
Contracts
Commercial Leases
Raising Capital
Mergers & Acquisitions
In his free time, Justin enjoys spending time with his wife, Lauren, and their four children. They spend as much time as they can enjoying the outdoors – whether it be the Blue Ridge Mountains or the North Carolina barrier islands. He retired early from basketball, but on rare occasions can still be found hiking. Justin enjoys good food, good bourbon, and live music. He also still irrationally cares about Chicago sports.
Experience
Justin is experienced with most, if not all, matters that confront the typical startup or small business, but he particularly enjoys his fundraising and M&A work. Recent representative engagements include the following:
Represented an e-commerce startup in a $2.6 million acquisition;
Represented Charlotte Agenda in its acquisition by Axios;
Represented a hospitality company in joint venture, including a $700,000 capital raise;
Represented a sports club in a sale to regional competitor;
Represented an EdTech startup in a company reorganization and subsequent $500,000 convertible note round;
Represented a healthcare startup in $800,000 convertible note round; and
Represented a hospitality group in multi-restaurant sale.
Insights
Justin regularly writes on general interest topics and on issues pertaining to startups, particularly within the WNC ecosystem. Recent news and insights from Justin include the following:
Justin also maintains the Spengler + Agans newsletter, which you can sign up for on our Contact page.
Professional & Civic Engagement
Justin is grateful for all that he has, and he is committed to helping others around him pursue their own goals in life, whatever their path may be. His professional and civic engagement is oriented towards lending his knowledge and experience to other founders as a mentor, and he is a prime contributor to the Western North Carolina startup ecosystem. Justin is on the leadership team for PitchBreakfast in both Charlotte and Asheville, and he regularly serves as a mentor at startup events like Hatch This! and Startup Weekend. He also volunteers as a guest lecturer for local college and high school entrepreneurship programs.
Areas of Practice
Startup & Business Law
Mergers & Acquisitions
Bar Admissions
State of North Carolina
Education
Indiana University Maurer School of Law (J.D. 2012)
Indiana University Kelley School of Business (M.B.A. 2012)
University of Chicago (B.A. 2006)
Awards & Recognition
North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
Business North Carolina Legal Elite—Business (2018, 2019)
