Setup·Scale·Operate·Impact
Modern Counsel for
Founders, Builders,
and Changemakers
Big-firm deal experience and an operator’s judgment, delivered with the speed and value of a modern boutique.
Built by a Founder
We’ve been in your chair: Founder, CEO, Operator. We’ve built businesses from scratch. We’ve raised capital and negotiated complex deals. We’ve managed 250 people and a dozen facilities. We bring an operator’s perspective to every client engagement.
Elite Firm Experience, Boutique Touch
We cut our teeth at leading national law firms. From quarterbacking seed rounds through $400M+ acquisitions, to negotiating complex supply chain deals and helping large tech companies convert to B Corps. You get deep legal experience with the personal touch and value of a boutique.
Full-Stack Law
We leverage modern tech tools and AI to close deals faster and more efficiently. Big law firms are built on a pyramid of associate billable hours and eye-watering hourly rates. We’re built to deliver value to clients.
Jeff McCourt
Founder & Managing Partner
Our Team
A Seasoned Business Lawyer &
High-Growth Operator
Jeff is a business attorney who trained with elite firms in Boston and Cleveland for nearly a decade. He’s advised a full range of clients — from true startups, to VC & PE funds and publicly traded multinationals — on formation, funding rounds, equity issuances, project finance, board governance, employment agreements, acquisitions, securities compliance, and more.
He left private practice to found a vertically integrated CPG company. Starting as Employee No. 1, he grew that business to a team of more than 250, built and operated a dozen manufacturing and retail assets, and guided the company to B Corp certification.
Jeff founded Southshore Partners in 2024 to fill the gap he experienced from the client side. Big firms were deep but too expensive and slow for high-growth companies. Solo practitioners often lacked experience with the issues founders, investors, developers, and mission-driven organizations face. And most legal shops were behind on using modern technology to deliver work at the pace clients expect.
Southshore Partners delivers sophisticated legal advice with boutique efficiency — and serves as a strategic partner on the problems and transactions that matter most.
Background
- Law firm training
- Nearly a decade at national firms in Boston and Cleveland — venture financings, M&A, and governance.
- Founder & CEO
- Employee No. 1 of a vertically integrated CPG company, grown to a team of 250+.
- Operations
- Built and ran a dozen manufacturing and retail facilities.
- Impact
- Led the company to become the first in its industry to earn B Corp certification.
- Southshore Partners
- Founded 2024 in Lakewood, Ohio.
What We Do
Practice Areas
From startup to exit, and everything in between. Select a stage to see how we help.
Startup Formation & Founder Documents
Entity selection, incorporation, operating agreements, founder equity, IP assignments, and early governance — the decisions that define your company for years to come.
Corporate Law & Governance
Board structure, shareholder agreements, equity incentive plans, and the ongoing governance work that keeps companies compliant and investor-ready.
Contract Drafting & Negotiation
Commercial agreements, NDAs, employment and contractor agreements, licensing, and term sheets — drafted to protect your interests without killing your momentum.
Venture Financing & Capital Raising
SAFEs, convertible notes, seed through Series D — negotiated by someone who has been on both sides of the term sheet. Debt facilities and loan documents too.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Buy-side, sell-side, asset purchases, commercial real estate, joint ventures, and strategic exits — end to end from LOI through close.
Early Stage Company Advisory
Strategic counsel for pre-revenue and early-traction companies on co-founder dynamics, first hires, IP, and getting investor-ready.
Outside General Counsel
Embedded senior legal partnership — direct access, responsive, and aligned with your goals. Senior counsel without the cost of in-house.
Renewable Energy & Project Development
Legal and strategic counsel for energy developers navigating project finance, regulatory approvals, and the political complexity of large-scale deployment.
Cannabis Law
Industry and regulatory counsel built on direct experience founding and scaling one of the sector’s most recognized companies — licensing through exit.
Nonprofit & Social Enterprise
501(c)(3) formation, social enterprise structuring, nonprofit subsidiaries, campaign finance, and ongoing GC for mission-driven organizations.
Sustainability, ESG & B Corp
Practical counsel for growing companies facing customer sustainability questionnaires, supplier codes, and new disclosure rules — one integrated program that brings EHS and sustainability under one roof and grows with you.
Sustainability practice →Cooperative & Employee Ownership
Cooperative formation, employee ownership transitions, ESOP structures, and ownership model design for founder succession and impact.
Go Deeper
Experience, ESG & Insights
Get In Touch
Let’s Talk About
Your Business
No commitment required. Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll figure out together if we’re the right fit.
Address
17415 Northwood Ave, Suite 201
Lakewood, OH 44107