Key Takeaways
- Florida business law protects companies from unfair competition, contract breaches, and partner disputes.
- Acting early saves time, money, and business relationships.
- An experienced business attorney helps you assess risk and choose the right legal strategy.
The Law Herald: The Law Behind Better Business Decisions
Matthew Fornaro was profiled by The Law Herald in a feature exploring how legal experience can shape better business decisions — not just respond to problems after they happen.
The piece traces Fornaro’s path from civil litigation at larger firms, including Shutts & Bowen and Greenspoon Marder, to founding his own Coral Springs practice. That combination — courtroom experience plus the reality of running a business himself — shapes how he approaches contracts, disputes, and legal strategy for the entrepreneurs and companies he represents today.
Why Litigation Experience Changes How Contracts Get Written
The article makes the case that seeing how business relationships break down in litigation directly informs how contracts should be drafted in the first place. Provisions that seem routine while a relationship is working — payment terms, termination clauses, who has authority to modify an agreement — are often exactly what becomes contested once it isn’t. The goal isn’t eliminating every possible risk, but identifying which risks actually matter and writing agreements that hold up when circumstances change.
Contracts, Growth, and Staying Current
A recurring theme: businesses often outgrow the agreements that were fine when they were smaller. A customer contract written for one service doesn’t always account for expanded ones. An operating agreement drafted by two founders may not reflect the company’s ownership years later. None of that necessarily signals a legal problem — but it can create real uncertainty if it’s never revisited.
Intellectual Property Ownership Isn’t Always Obvious
The feature also highlights Fornaro’s intellectual property background — a Certificate in IP Law from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, alongside his broader business practice. Work product created by employees, contractors, or outside agencies doesn’t automatically belong to the company by default; ownership depends on the agreements governing that relationship, which becomes especially important during financing, partnerships, or a sale.
Resolving Disputes Without Always Going to Court
The article also points to Fornaro’s credentials as a Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator, a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator, and a FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator — noting that a negotiated resolution can sometimes preserve a business relationship and reduce cost in ways a courtroom outcome can’t. At the same time, the piece is clear that businesses still need to be prepared for litigation when informal resolution isn’t possible, which is where organized records and clear agreements matter most.
