Starting a company or leveling one up takes clear actionable legal steps. We help form the right entity, align owner roles, and keep paperwork clean. We draft and negotiate the contracts you use every day. We support fundraising, protect your IP, guide permits and alcohol licensing, and review and draft leases. Practical guidance from first filing through growth.
Entrepreneurship and Raising Capital
Ogden Glazer + Schaefer is an entrepreneurial firm. We are entrepreneurs; our attorneys have started, run, and exited their own companies. We are deeply committed to and actively involved in the Madison and Wisconsin entrepreneurial communities. If you need help with formation, angel or venture investment, other financing, IP audits, IP protection, or just a consultation to get you set in the right direction, we can leverage our own background and expertise or make connections with others throughout the community. We have numerous flat-rate fee packages targeted at growing companies.
Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions
The attorneys of Ogden Glazer + Schaefer have led and negotiated multi-million dollar mergers and acquisitions. From a simple asset purchase to complex mergers, Ogden Glazer + Schaefer can make sure the work is done right and that the deal gets done.
Sometimes all you need is to get your corporate books in order and we’re here for that too. Corporate minutes, resolutions, bylaws, Articles of Incorporation/Organization, cap tables, and all the other stuff that you find and tedious is right up our alley!
Municipal Law
Dealing with the city, county or state can be a headache. Paperwork, obscure regulations, and frustrating run-arounds can leave you frustrated for the better part of a day. Rejections, denials, or referrals can set your business plans back months. Our experience in working with the city, our knowledge of state, county and city codes, and our tireless fight before government boards, panels and committees, can help your business get what it needs.
Non-Profits
Organizing non-profits is often a difficult and thankless task. As a board member of numerous non-profits, the attorneys at Ogden Glazer + Schaefer have experience with advising on a wide variety of topics and helping your non-profit achieve its goals. From picking an organizational structure right for your non-profit to obtaining exempt status as a 501(c)(3) to setting up bylaws.
Recent Blog Posts About Business
Minnesota Paid Leave: What about Deadlines and Taxes? - This post is the fourth part in a series on Minnesota Paid Leave. Feel free to check out Parts 1, 2, and 3. The previous post focuses on the calculation of Paid Leave benefits for employees. This next post focuses on two inevitabilities: death deadlines and taxes. Let’s start with the focus on deadlines. In ... Read more
HAPPY, HAPPY, JOY, JOY! - Studies have shown those who win bronze at the Olympics are happier than the silver medal winners. It is because they know their hard work paid off, but they very easily could not have been on the medal stand. Tal Ben-Shahar is a teacher and writer in the areas of happiness, positive psychology, and leadership. In his ... Read more
Grow With Intentionality - I visited the SkyFarm in Houston, Texas. August, the lead farmer on this 5.5-acre green space located on a rooftop downtown, took time on an autumn morning to talk about how they can build a space that gets 10-12 hours of sun and reach temperatures up to 170°F into a green space in a sustainable, regenerative way – all with just ... Read more
Small Firms, Big Ideas; Reflections from the 2025 Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference - Earlier this month, I had the privilege of making my annual trip to Wisconsin Dells to attend the 2025 Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference. As with each year of the conference, it was a reminder that, even as attorneys characterize themselves with independence (solo and small firm attorneys especially so), community is essential. Solo ... Read more
Minnesota Paid Leave: How Big are the Benefits? - This post is the third part in a series on Minnesota Paid Leave. Feel free to check out Parts 1 and 2. The previous post talked about what types of leave are available under the program. This post focuses on the benefits. In other words, if I am an employee, and I am taking leave under the ... Read more
Trademark Trouble in Candyland: Lessons for Growing Brands from Nerds vs. Dweebs - Ferrara Candy Company, the maker of Nerds, recently filed a lawsuit against the maker of Dweebs candy. What looks like a quirky fight between two playful names is actually a cautionary tale for startups and small businesses building their brands. Ferrara has spent decades growing Nerds into a cultural touchstone. In 2024 alone, sales topped ... Read more