From TV Journalist to Civil Litigator to Founding Framework Legal: Juliet Peters on Building a Client-Centered Business Law Firm, Why "You Rarely Hear 'No' From Me," and Helping Entrepreneurs Build Sellable Businesses

Juliet Peters spent a decade as a television journalist before law school, working in Ohio, Corpus Christi, and Milwaukee. She always wanted to be a lawyer, but her love for journalism put that dream on pause. After graduating from Arizona State University College of Law, she worked as a civil litigator at a large law firm, then supervised more than 380 lawyers and staff as Division Chief Counsel for the Child and Family Protection Division at the Arizona Attorney General's Office. She also spent time at Cold Stone Creamery, which she describes as "fun and chaotic," supplying her with the business chops she needed later in her career.

In 2014, Juliet founded Framework Legal in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the mission of building a client-centered business law firm that works in lockstep with entrepreneurs. The original idea was to work exclusively with women founders. Unfortunately, she learned quickly that women's businesses weren't really at the level she needed them to be to serve them exclusively. Only 1.7% of women business owners ever crack seven figures, and so many times they aren't huge and repeat consumers of legal services. That's changed, though, since women are now opening businesses at twice the rate of men.

Framework Legal focuses on helping entrepreneurs strategize entity formation, de-risk their companies, protect intellectual property, navigate M&A deals, and eventually sell their businesses. The firm offers predictable pricing (often a mix of flat and hourly fees) and takes a holistic approach to advising clients, helping them overcome legal challenges while also achieving business objectives. Juliet describes herself as part of clients' extended C-suite team, really learning their business drivers and helping de-risk the business from an inside perspective.

Her approach is shaped by her own experience as a business owner. Because she's both run her own business and worked as a lawyer in a business (as opposed to a firm), she understands that every day business owners have to weigh risks. "You rarely hear 'no' from me," she says, "but you will hear where both the legal and operational impediments might lie." Clients describe her as "steady, thorough, and no-nonsense direct," "the rare attorney who has no ego," and someone who brings "passion, joy, and humor" to her work. One client said working with Juliet taught them that "as you become more successful and your business becomes more complex, all you really have to do is think things through, do what's right, and it will all work out."

Her philosophy on dispute resolution is pragmatic: she almost always thinks mediation or alternative dispute resolution is the way to go. She uses mediation in every single agreement (with carve-outs for injunctive relief, intellectual property disputes, or monies owed) because it sets an expectation from the get-go that you are a business that intends to keep relationships intact and wants to solve problems as they arise. But there are exceptions. When a bad actor is using deep pockets to squeeze a client or behaving unethically from the start, she's not afraid to bring in litigation firepower to stop bad behavior in its tracks.

On building sellable businesses, Juliet is blunt: only about 20% of businesses will ever sell, and what sets those that succeed apart from those that fail is really solid performance, clean financials, and a professional back end (that means contracts). The other thing that will tank your ability to sell? A business that is dependent only on you. You have to build a team, and sometimes that's a tough sell for women entrepreneurs in particular who are scared to build a team because they've had a bad experience or two with their first or second hire. "Don't be afraid to grow," she says. "You need people and infrastructure to build a scalable business."

In this conversation, Juliet shares why the traditional big law firm model wasn't serving entrepreneurs effectively, what "client-centered" actually means in practice when you're structuring complex transactions or resolving disputes, her framework for assessing when to bring in fractional general counsel versus handling legal internally, why she tells clients "get an LLC and some contracts" is at the top of the list (and why you should never operate as a sole proprietor), and her advice on when litigation is worth pursuing versus when mediation makes more sense. For female founders building or scaling businesses, Juliet's insights offer practical, no-nonsense guidance from someone who's lived both sides of the table.

From Litigator to Entrepreneur – Building a Client-Centered Business Law Firm

Q: You spent a decade as a television journalist before law school, then worked as a civil litigator at a large law firm and supervised 380 lawyers and staff as Division Chief Counsel at the Arizona Attorney General's Office. In 2014, you founded Framework Legal with the mission of building a client-centered business law firm that works in lockstep with entrepreneurs. For female founders launching or scaling businesses, what made you realize the traditional big law firm model wasn't serving entrepreneurs effectively? What does "client-centered" actually mean in practice when you're helping businesses structure complex transactions, resolve disputes, or navigate M&A deals—and how does your own experience as a business owner shape the advice you give?

A: When I first started by business back in 2014 the idea was to only work with women founders. Unfortunately, I learned quickly that women’s businesses weren’t really at the level I needed them to be to serve them exclusively. Only 1.7% of women business owners ever crack seven figures and so many times they aren’t really huge and repeat consumers of legal services. That’s changed though since women are opening businesses at twice the rate of men. In terms of the model, for most business legal consumers more cost certainty is really critical, so we try and work on managed fees which often looks like part flat and part hourly. We still need to take into account unpredictability on the other side particularly in buying and selling businesses (M & A). Because I’ve both run my own business and worked as a lawyer in a business (as opposed to a firm) client centered means that I’m part of your extended C suite team. I really learn your business drivers and help you de-risk the business from an inside perspective. Every day business owners have to weigh risks and I understand that—you rarely here “no” from me but you will here where both the legal and operational impediments might lie.

De-Risking Small Businesses – From Entity Formation to Exit Strategy

Q: Framework Legal focuses on helping entrepreneurs strategize entity formation, de-risk their companies, and eventually sell their businesses. For female founders bootstrapping their ventures, what are the most overlooked legal risks that surface as businesses scale—beyond just "get an LLC and some contracts"? Walk us through your approach to fractional general counsel services: when should a founder bring in outside general counsel versus handling legal internally, and what's your framework for assessing legal risk at different revenue stages? How do you help clients build businesses that are actually sellable when the time comes?

A: But…“get an LLC and some contracts” is at the top of the list!! It’s the best place to start honestly. Here’s what you need to do out of the gate: (1) find a CPA and ask her what she recommends from a tax perspective for a structure; (2) do the same with a lawyer—don’t operate as a sole proprietor ever; and (3) protect your brand assets immediately or at least make sure  your name isn’t going to get you a cease and desist letter from another player in your industry. In terms of when you should use a fractional GC—I’ll give you the old lawyer answer because it really does depend. If you can find a lawyer who can do a fractional  start up package which looks like formation, brand, contracts, general employment advice, and online terms that may be a good idea for the first six -9 months but then you likely don’t need to keep a fractional GC until you have 10-20 contracts per month or your in a highly regulated environment (like for example, health care or ed-tech).  Oftentimes start ups that aren’t bootstrapping will access a fractional GC much faster because it helps them land investment. In terms of assessing legal risks for different revenue stages—I don’t really buy into that as a strategy. I think sometimes business owners make real mistakes because they are desperate for revenue and they give away the farm and cut bad deals to get there. Don’t do that. It’s okay to do some beta testing though so that you know what the market will bear. If you alpha or beta test though make sure you have an agreement in place that lets you mine the results from the test.

What you need to do to sell your business could take up about five pages but I would say the number one thing is to keep your financials pristine. Only about 20% of businesses will ever sell and what sets those that succeed apart from those that fail is really solid performance, clean financials and a back end that is professional and put together---that means contracts. Really.  The other thing that will tank your ability to sell is a business that is dependent only on YOU. You have to build a team and sometimes that is a tough sell for women entrepreneurs in particular who are scared to build a team because they have had a bad experience or two with your first or second hire. Don’t be afraid to grow. You need people and infrastructure to build a scalable business.

Legal Strategy Sessions vs. "Just Sue Them" – Resolving Disputes Without Burning Cash

Q: You've said publicly that when a client brings you a lease dispute, you don't immediately tell them to sue—you sit down for a Legal Strategy Session first. For female founders facing contract disputes, bad actors using deep pockets to squeeze them, or commercial conflicts that could drain cash reserves, how do you assess whether litigation is worth pursuing or whether alternative resolution makes more sense? What's your framework for helping clients weigh the costs (financial and emotional) of legal disputes, and when should founders bring in legal counsel early versus trying to resolve issues themselves?

A: Listen if you talk to five lawyers you may get five answers on this but as someone who used to litigate I almost always think mediation or ADR is the way to go. I use mediation  in every single agreement with carve outs for injunctive relief, intellectual property disputes or monies owed—why? Because you are setting an expectation from the get go that you are a business that intends to keep relationships intact and that you want to solve problems as they arise. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. I recently had a situation with a verbal business deal gone awry, it became clear super quickly (like on day 2) that this business was used to getting its way by bullying people. As much as I hated to do it, I sent my client to a litigator who was able to get an emergency order called a TRO to stop the bad behavior in its tracks. That is very rare but I will counsel a business owner that way if the other side is unfairly using leverage or is a real bad actor based on their behavior out of the gate. Sometimes litigation is the cost of doing business—but it’s not usually where I go first. No one likes being sued—and I think women really take it as a personal failure but it isn’t. It’s just how some people operate so put it on the shelf and only take it down to look at when  you have to.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two things here. Please, please get insurance. If you are sued in most cases insurance is going to be your friend. The cost of litigating anything is really high so manage your risk with the right coverage.  Also, I’m going to put in another pitch here for contracts. The time for “doing things with a handshake” has really passed. Don’t leave your business open to that level of risk—there is just no need to.  

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