Why I Have Never Wanted to Be Your “Shark” or “Pit Bull” Lawyer

By Matthew Fornaro, Esq.

A note to business owners, entrepreneurs, and clients

A lot of lawyers market themselves as “sharks” or “pit bulls.” I have never liked either term.

I understand why those labels catch attention. Business owners often come to a lawyer when they are under pressure. A deal has gone sideways. A partner is no longer acting like a partner. A contract that seemed fine at the beginning is suddenly a problem. In those moments, people naturally want to know their lawyer can protect them.

But over more than twenty years of practicing business law, I have learned that aggression by itself is not a strategy. In many cases, it is the opposite of strategy. It raises the temperature, hardens positions, runs up expense, and makes resolution more difficult than it needs to be. That may create a certain image. It does not always create the best result for the client.

Business owners do not need theater

What most business owners actually need is not a performance. They need clear thinking. They need judgment. They need somebody who can look at the facts, understand the business realities underneath the legal issue, and decide what course of action is most likely to protect the company and preserve momentum.

That is how I have always tried to approach my work. Whether I am helping with business formation, contract drafting and review, a partnership dispute, a business transaction, or commercial litigation, I am not asking what sounds the toughest. I am asking what makes the most sense. Sometimes that means pushing hard. Sometimes that means slowing the situation down, gathering the right information, and solving the problem in a way that avoids unnecessary damage.

The business question usually matters as much as the legal one

One of the things I have come to appreciate over the years is that business owners are rarely dealing with a legal issue in isolation. A contract dispute is not just a legal dispute. It may also be a cash flow problem, an operational problem, a customer relationship problem, or a distraction that pulls leadership away from the company at exactly the wrong time. A fight between owners is not just an ownership dispute. It may be threatening the future of the company itself.

That is why I do not see my role as simply answering the legal question placed in front of me. I try to answer the business question behind it. What is really at stake here? What is the smartest path forward? What protects the client’s position without creating damage that could have been avoided?

That approach is very much in line with how I have built my practice at Matthew Fornaro, P.A. Through FornaroLegal.com, I try to present myself the same way I try to practice. I provide practical, strategic legal guidance to small businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, and established companies that need clear counsel, responsive communication, and thoughtful decision making.

Thinking it through is not weakness

Sometimes clients worry that if a lawyer is not loud, abrasive, or immediately threatening, the lawyer is somehow being soft. I see it differently. Careful analysis is not weakness. It is discipline.

Before I advise a client to send the hard letter, file the lawsuit, seek the injunction, or take the public position, I want to know the facts, the documents, the leverage points, and the likely consequences. I want to know whether the goal is to win in court, preserve a valuable business relationship, exit efficiently, deter bad behavior, or create leverage for resolution. Different goals call for different strategies.

The reality is that many legal problems can be made much worse by a lawyer who mistakes heat for progress. A lawyer can make noise, create friction, and look aggressive while actually making the client’s position harder to defend. I have no interest in doing that. My job is to help clients make better decisions, not just louder ones.

When decisive action is necessary, I take it

None of this means I am passive. It does not mean I am hesitant when the situation calls for immediate action. There are times when a business needs decisive counsel and a firm response. There are times when litigation is necessary, when an agreement must be enforced, when a partner must be confronted, or when a business owner needs to know that his or her lawyer is prepared to take the matter where it needs to go.

I have handled complex commercial disputes, contract matters, business dissolutions, and other contested matters for a long time. When action is required, I act. The difference is that I want the action to be purposeful. I want it to be tied to the client’s goals, the facts, and the likely business consequences. I do not believe in escalation for its own sake.

Not every client wants the same kind of lawyer

I will say something candidly. Not every client is the right fit for every lawyer, and not every lawyer is the right fit for every client.

If someone wants a lawyer whose first instinct is to threaten, posture, and turn every disagreement into a war, I am probably not the right lawyer for that person. If someone wants a lawyer who listens, analyzes, explains the options clearly, and then moves with purpose, that is a much better fit for how I practice.

The clients I work best with tend to be business owners who understand that a legal issue is rarely just a legal issue. They know it touches operations, finances, reputation, timing, and relationships. They value strategy over spectacle. They want an attorney who will protect them, but who will also tell them the truth, even when the smartest business decision is not the most emotional one.

What this looks like in practice

In business formation, it means helping owners set up the right legal structure and the right agreements before problems take shape.

In contract matters, it means understanding that a well drafted agreement is often the best way to prevent a dispute from becoming expensive.

In business disputes and commercial litigation, it means evaluating not just whether a client can fight, but whether fighting is the smartest move, on what timeline, and toward what end.

In negotiations, it means understanding leverage and timing, not just legal doctrine.

In all of those settings, the point is the same. The legal work should support the business, not derail it.

Why I think this matters in South Florida

South Florida is a fast moving business environment. Deals come together quickly. Companies scale quickly. Disputes can escalate quickly. In a market like this, a business owner is usually better served by counsel that is practical, strategic, and grounded than by somebody performing aggression to make a point.

That is especially true for the kinds of clients I represent in Coral Springs, Parkland, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Miami-Dade County. Many of them are closely held businesses. Many are founder led. Many are making important decisions with limited room for error. They need legal counsel that understands business reality, not just legal theory.

The lawyer I have always tried to be

I did not build this practice to be the loudest lawyer in the room. I built it to be useful to the people I serve.

I want clients to come away from a conversation with me feeling clearer, steadier, and better positioned than they were before. Sometimes that means telling them to be patient. Sometimes it means telling them to document more, negotiate differently, or change course. Sometimes it means telling them it is time to act. But in every case, I want the advice to come from judgment, not image.

If you are looking for a lawyer who thinks things through, understands the business side of legal problems, and is prepared to move decisively when it matters, that is the kind of practice I have spent more than twenty years building.

If that sounds like the kind of counsel you want in your corner, you can learn more about my practice at fornarolegal.comor reach out directly.

Contact Information

Matthew Fornaro, Esq.

Matthew Fornaro, P.A.

11555 Heron Bay Boulevard, Suite 200

Coral Springs, Florida 33076

Office: 954-324-3651

Mobile: 954-461-6475

Email: mfornaro@fornarolegal.com

Website: fornarolegal.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/MatthewFornaro

Instagram: instagram.com/fornaro_legal

Facebook: facebook.com/fornarolegal

X: x.com/FornaroLegal

YouTube: youtube.com/@MatthewFornarop.a.7953