Briana Cummings

Briana Cummings brings her extensive experience as a law firm founder and outside general counsel to emerging startups and multinational corporations, to her work advising law firms on all aspects of formation and compliance. She has particular expertise guiding California and New York firms through these states’ unique business and regulatory landscape, offering strategic insight and practical solutions tailored to their specific needs and goals.

A PRACTICAL ADVISOR AND Experienced Law Firm Founder

Ms. Cummings counsels lawyers on law firm formation, restructuring, succession planning, partner departures, risk management, and compliance, drawing on over 10 years of experience advising and representing founders and managers in business formation, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, commercial transactions, intellectual property disputes, and regulatory compliance.

Ms. Cummings provides comprehensive counsel across all phases of law firm development and management. Her expertise includes

• structuring and drafting law firm partnership agreements, PLLC operating agreements, and professional corporation shareholder agreements, bylaws, and other governance documents;
• preparing and filing law firm registration documents with relevant state and licensing authorities;
• designing and documenting attorney compensation systems, promotion and retirement frameworks, and succession plans; and
• advising law firms on strategic planning for formation and growth.

Ms. Cummings also leverages her 14 years of experience as a litigator, mediator, and business owner to counsel clients on navigating complicated business relationships and resolving business disputes pragmatically and effectively.

A Commitment to Service

Throughout her career, Ms. Cummings has been dedicated to expanding access to legal services for underrepresented groups. Her low-bono and pro bono work includes advising  tax-exempt and social purpose organizations and minority- and women-owned businesses; representing battered women through the Women’s Bar Foundation Family Law Project and the Journey to Safety program at Jewish Family and Children’s Services; representing parents and children in termination of parental rights proceedings; teaching legal research and writing to law students at New England Law; training and mentoring court-appointed appellate counsel; and providing myriad legal services to indigent clients through Open Door Legal in San Francisco, Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts, Northeast Legal Aid, and Community Legal Aid.

Our Drafting Team

Our drafting team draws on the firm’s extensive experience developing and filing law firm governance documents and registration documents. The large volume of drafting projects we do for law firms each year, and the large volume of partnership disputes we handle, give us a unique perspective on what works and what doesn’t. While each firm is different, this broad-ranging practical experience allows us to customize our recommendations for each client’s particular situation and objectives.

Our tailored drafting and development process—designed to capture the client’s governance intent; advise on implementation of best practices; and document agreements in clear, concise, and understandable language—guides our law firm clients through what could otherwise be the daunting task of planning and developing the right agreement for their firm’s present and future.