Short answer: there's no legal requirement — and practically, yes, you need one. Not because the law says so, but because of what's in the documents you'll be signing.
A business sale runs on paper: a confidentiality agreement, a letter of intent, a purchase and sale agreement that typically runs 40 to 80 pages, plus employment, lease, and transition documents. Buried in the purchase agreement are the representations and warranties — dozens of statements you make about the business — and the indemnities that say what happens if any of them turn out to be wrong. Those clauses follow you for years after closing. Negotiating them well is most of what "deal lawyer" means.
The lawyer also handles structure (share sale or asset sale — a decision with major tax consequences), legal due diligence, third-party consents like landlord approvals, employee obligations, any non-competition terms, and the mechanics of closing itself.
Deals signed on a buyer's template, with seller-unfriendly indemnities nobody explained. Letters of intent that locked in a structure that cost the seller six figures in unnecessary tax. Sales where employees' accrued entitlements landed on the seller as a surprise. Handshake earn-outs that were never enforceable. None of these problems announce themselves at signing — they surface a year or two later, when it's too late to negotiate.
The traditional objection to lawyers is the hourly meter. It's a fair objection, and it's why we work on flat fees quoted before we start — for most main-street sales, a known number that's a small fraction of the deal, and far smaller than the cost of the problems it prevents. If you already have a buyer, see our flat-fee sale help; if you're listed with a broker, see how we work alongside brokers.
Twenty minutes, no charge — a straight read on where you stand.
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