Justin Agans

Justin leads the Startup and Business Law and Mergers & Acquisitions practice areas at Spengler & Agans, PLLC. Prior to co-founding the firm, Justin earned an MBA with a focus on marketing strategy and entrepreneurship, and he is a two-time entrepreneur himself. In addition to the law firm, Justin founded a consulting business. Justin’s education and experience enable him to think like both a founder and a lawyer, and his clients appreciate his ability to understand the interplay between business considerations and legal decisions.

Justin serves as outside general counsel to numerous organizations throughout North Carolina, and he works with businesses in a variety of industries, from local coffee shops to high-growth technology startups. On a daily basis, Justin advises startups and small to medium-sized businesses on incorporation and formation matters, contracts, commercial leases, hiring and retaining employees and independent contractors, and raising capital. In his capacity as general counsel, Justin is happy to serve as his clients’ first phone call on any matter, even if it is not the type of issue Spengler + Agans will typically handle in-house, and he maintains a robust referral network for the benefit of his clientele.

In recent years, Justin’s practice has focused primarily on the following topics:

• Emerging Companies

• Corporate Governance

• Contracts

• Commercial Leases

• Raising Capital

• Mergers & Acquisitions

In his free time, Justin enjoys spending time with his wife, Lauren, and their four children. They spend as much time as they can enjoying the outdoors – whether it be the Blue Ridge Mountains or the North Carolina barrier islands. He retired early from basketball but on rare occasions can still be found hiking. Justin enjoys good food, good bourbon, and live music. He also still irrationally cares about Chicago sports.

Justin is experienced with the vast majority of matters that confront the typical startup or small business, but he particularly enjoys his supporting the launch and growth of his clients and M&A work. Representative engagements include the following:

• Represented an e-commerce startup in a $2.6 million acquisition;

• Represented Charlotte Agenda in its acquisition by Axios;

• Represented a hospitality company in joint venture, including a $700,000 capital raise;

• Represented a sports club in a sale to regional competitor;

• Represented an EdTech startup in a company reorganization and subsequent $500,000 convertible note round;

• Represented a healthcare startup in $800,000 convertible note round; and

• Represented a hospitality group in multi-restaurant sale.

Justin writes on general interest topics and on issues pertaining to startups. Recent news and insights from Justin include the following:

• New Startup Checklist: What to Do after Formation

• Do You Need a Co-Founder?

Justin’s professional and civic engagement is oriented towards lending his knowledge and experience to other founders as a mentor. Justin has led the firm’s support of PitchBreakfast, Charlotte’s most consistent startup event over the last decade plus. He has served as a guest lecturer for local college and high school entrepreneurship programs in Charlotte and throughout Western North Carolina.

Areas of Practice

• Startup & Business Law

• Mergers & Acquisitions

Bar Admissions

• State of North Carolina

Education

• Indiana University Maurer School of Law (J.D. 2012)

• Indiana University Kelley School of Business (M.B.A. 2012)

• University of Chicago (B.A. 2006)

Awards & Recognition

• North Carolina Super Lawyers (2019-2024)

• Business North Carolina Legal Elite—Business (2018, 2019, 2023-2024)