PRIVATE CAPITAL • M&A • CORPORATE COUNSEL
RAETZER PLLC advises established businesses, founders, sponsors and investors on private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and complex corporate transactions.
Led by a corporate and securities lawyer with more than 20 years of transactional experience, we bring institutional deal discipline to businesses that want sophisticated counsel without building an in-house legal department.
New York and Texas licensed attorneys. Remote representation and transactional support subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements.
Joseph J. Raetzer, MBA, JD — Transaction Counsel
Senior legal judgment for consequential business decisions.
20+ YEARS
Corporate, M&A and securities experience
WALL STREET BACKGROUND
Big Law experience in corporate transactions and structured finance
TRANSACTION-FOCUSED
Private capital, acquisitions, dispositions and corporate matters
NEW YORK + TEXAS
Business counsel with remote-first service
Private capital strategy
A private offering should not begin with a document. It should begin with a transaction strategy.
Before approaching investors, an issuer needs to make deliberate decisions about the amount being raised, the issuing entity, the security and economics, the applicable securities exemption, the intended investors, marketing and solicitation, intermediary compensation, financial readiness and the offering timeline.
RAETZER helps businesses structure and execute private offerings with the same transaction discipline expected in institutional capital markets.
Not sure whether you're ready to begin?
The Private Capital Raise Readiness Assessment evaluates your business foundation, offering architecture, investor strategy and execution readiness before you invest in a full offering process.
Take the 3-minute readiness assessmentThe assessment is for educational and screening purposes only and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not submit confidential information.
Readiness review
RAETZERPrivate Capital Raise Readiness Assessment
Which best describes your current capital plan?
Readiness before momentum
Each assessment helps established businesses identify structural, legal, and execution issues before beginning a major transaction or corporate initiative.
01 / Primary assessment
Private capitalEvaluate your business foundation, offering architecture, investor strategy and execution readiness before you invest in a full offering process.
Take the private capital assessment02 / Readiness assessment
Pressure-test the acquisition thesis, target fit, financing, diligence, structure, integration plan and decision authority before pursuing a deal.
Explore this assessment03 / Readiness assessment
Clarify owner objectives, business readiness, diligence materials, deal structure, buyer process and transition planning before going to market.
Explore this assessment04 / Readiness assessment
Surface the strategic, governance, economic and risk-allocation decisions that should be resolved before partners launch a shared venture.
Explore this assessment05 / Readiness assessment
Identify structural and operational legal gaps that could slow growth, financing, a transaction or another major corporate initiative.
Explore this assessment06 / Readiness assessment
Evaluate ownership, economics, governance, transition terms and urgency before a founder, partner, shareholder or member separation.
Explore this assessment07 / Readiness assessment
Evaluate dispute posture, documentation, economics, settlement structure, authority and urgency before pursuing a negotiated business resolution.
Explore this assessmentAssessments are provided for educational, informational and screening purposes only. They are not legal advice and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not submit confidential or privileged information.
Core practice areas
The most important legal needs of an established business tend to occur at inflection points: raising capital, buying or selling a company, restructuring ownership, entering major contracts, or preparing for the next stage of growth.
01 / Private Capital
Structure and execute private offerings with careful exemption analysis, investor materials, subscription mechanics and issuer approvals.
Explore private capital02 / M&A
Navigate buying, selling and combining businesses with disciplined diligence, negotiation, documentation and closing support.
Explore M&A counsel03 / Corporate Counsel
Keep contracts, governance and day-to-day legal decisions aligned with the business you are building and the deals ahead.
Explore corporate counselSPECIAL SITUATIONS
Not every important business transaction begins with growth. Owners may need to separate. A company may need to buy out a founder, resolve a deadlock, unwind a commercial relationship, restructure payment obligations, divide intellectual property or customer relationships, or settle a dispute before it becomes prolonged litigation. RAETZER helps business owners and companies negotiate, structure, document, and close practical business resolutions.
Special situation / ownership
When co-founders, shareholders, LLC members, partners, or owner groups need to separate, the legal structure should address ownership, valuation, payment, control, intellectual property, customers, employees, obligations, transition, and release of claims.
EXPLORE BUSINESS SEPARATIONSpecial situation / commercial disputes
Resolve contract, payment, performance, termination, transition, and other commercial disputes through a documented negotiated process designed to avoid or limit the cost and disruption of litigation.
EXPLORE NEGOTIATED RESOLUTIONSRAETZER represents one party to a business separation or dispute. The firm does not represent both adverse parties and does not act as a neutral mediator through these service packages.
Pricing at a glance
RAETZER offers defined fixed-fee packages for qualifying private-capital, M&A, joint-venture, and corporate-infrastructure matters. The packages are designed to give prospective clients an informed starting point before an attorney reviews the specific transaction.
Final package eligibility, scope, and fee are confirmed only after completion of the applicable readiness assessment, conflicts review, jurisdictional review, attorney consultation, and execution of a written engagement agreement.
RAETZER offers transparent pricing structures so clients can better understand and control ongoing legal spend.
| Practice | Package 1 | Package 2 | Package 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Capital | $14,500 | $19,500 | Starting at $29,500 |
| M&A Buy-Side | $24,500 | $39,500 | Starting at $59,500 |
| M&A Sell-Side | $29,500 | $39,500 | Starting at $59,500 |
| Joint Venture | $12,500 | $22,500 | Starting at $39,500 |
| Corporate Infrastructure | $7,500 | $19,500 | Starting at $34,500 |
| Business Divorce & Owner Separation | $14,500 | $29,500 | Starting at $49,500 |
| Negotiated Business Resolutions | $7,500 | $19,500 | Starting at $39,500 |
For qualifying standard-scope matters.
Final fee confirmed after attorney review.
Transaction value is only one factor in determining scope and price. Complexity, number of parties and entities, financing, diligence volume, governing law, negotiation burden, transaction timeline, and specialty legal issues may affect the final fee.
Business-separation and negotiated-resolution pricing assumes a non-litigation or pre-litigation process. Active lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, emergency matters, discovery, court appearances, trials, appeals, bankruptcy proceedings, and other contested proceedings require a separate scope or appropriate litigation counsel.
View full package scopesNon-contractual note: Formal engagement letters govern and summarize these principles: one transaction/project; defined entities/parties/documents; ordinary negotiation only with material restructuring supplemental; defined revision rounds; exclusions for litigation/tax/accounting/valuation/regulatory/real-estate/environmental/benefits/foreign law unless included; third-party/government fees separate; delay/term changes permit supplemental fee; additional closings/investors/targets/bidders/entities/documents separately priced; fees earned by milestones and not contingent; additional work only after written approval of supplemental fixed fee/hourly scope.
Defined scope. Transaction discipline. Predictable fees.
A focused legal engagement for a qualifying Rule 506(c) offering. We move from structure to review through a defined sequence, with clear decisions, disciplined documentation and a predictable legal fee.
General Solicitation Offering
$19,500
For qualifying standard-scope matters.
Final fee confirmed after attorney review.
01
Offering Structure & Exemption Analysis
02
Offering Documentation
03
Investor Subscription Process
04
Issuer Approvals
05
Form D & Standard Blue Sky Coordination
06
Defined Revision Process
Is your offering a fit?
The offering is designed for an issuer with a defined business, a clear capital objective and a standard-scope Rule 506(c) structure that can move through an efficient legal process. Start with the assessment to identify open questions.
01
Structure
02
Document
03
Prepare
04
File
05
Launch
A clear boundary
RAETZER provides legal counsel for the structure, documentation and execution of a private capital raise. We do not find investors, broker securities, market offerings or promise access to a particular investor network. That distinction helps keep the engagement focused and helps qualifying businesses understand exactly what legal counsel can — and cannot — do.
If you already have relationships, a defined investor strategy or a credible plan to reach prospective investors, we can help you prepare the legal architecture for the conversation.
The engagement
01
Clarify the business, target, timeline, investor strategy and readiness questions.
02
Choose the issuing entity, security, economics and exemption architecture.
03
Build the offering materials and subscription process around the deal.
04
Coordinate approvals, diligence responses, execution details and filing readiness.
05
Move into the offering process with a clear legal record and defined next steps.
Joseph J. Raetzer, MBA, JD
Counsel with a practical point of view.
Why Joe / Why RAETZER
Joseph J. Raetzer, MBA, JD began his transactional career at Thacher Proffitt & Wood in 2004, working on structured finance and corporate transactions before being recruited to Clifford Chance for M&A.
His work has included public and private companies, financial institutions and investment funds, across middle-market and cross-border transactions.
RAETZER was built to bring that experience to established businesses in a practical way: senior judgment, direct communication and counsel calibrated to the realities of running a company.
A longer view
Businesses rarely experience capital, contracts, governance and transactions as separate lanes. Each decision changes what comes next. RAETZER stays close to the business so the legal work can compound into better decisions over time.
Raise Capital →
Operate & Govern →
Acquire →
Raise Again →
Strategic Transactions →
Exit
Private Capital
Plan, structure and execute private offerings with a legal process that respects the business objective and investor strategy.
Corporate Counsel
Keep governance, commercial contracts and day-to-day decisions ready for the next stage of growth.
M&A
Buy, sell or combine companies with counsel that carries context from first conversation through closing.
From the desk
Securities exemption
How the two private offering pathways differ in general solicitation, investor eligibility and execution strategy.
Read the insight →Offering documentation
The practical question is not whether a PPM is a universal requirement, but whether the offering record fits the transaction and risk.
Read the insight →Intermediary compensation
Why finder-fee questions require careful attention to broker-dealer rules, activity and the structure of the relationship.
Read the insight →The next decision
Start with a structured view of your business foundation, offering architecture, investor strategy and execution readiness.
Take the private capital raise readiness assessmentBuying or selling a company? Need ongoing corporate counsel?
Schedule a conversationRAETZER PLLC is a New York and Texas licensed business law firm focused on private capital and securities transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions and ongoing corporate counsel for established businesses, sponsors, investors and entrepreneurs.
A considered first step
Before legal work begins, identify the transaction, urgency, complexity, decision authority, and principal readiness issues.