Steven Scholl is a corporate/transactional lawyer who primarily represents a broad range of closely held and middle market businesses. He serves as outside general counsel to a diverse group of clients, including manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, dealers, financial institutions, hospitals, physicians and other healthcare entities, and professional practices. He also represents marketing, promotion, publishing and entertainment companies.

Steve is experienced in handling a wide range of sophisticated and complex commercial matters, including mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and reorganizations. He structures loan, debt, equity and capital financing and investment transactions, private placements, strategic alliances and joint ventures, and licensing transactions.

Steve also has experience in real estate and leasing transactions, ownership and succession entity planning, employment and employee incentive compensation plans, supply and distribution relations, as well as counseling, consulting, structuring and implementing business, tax, financial and equity strategies and plans.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Represents purchasers and sellers in connection with the disposition and acquisition of assets and equity, redemptions, joint ventures and strategic alliances.

  • Provide strategic, business and tax advice including choice of entity, management and succession planning.

  • Drafts, negotiates and implements preferred investor operating and shareholder agreements with designated class preferred and priority distribution terms, management and voting rights.

  • Prepares equity, employment and deferred compensation agreements and arrangements for accounting, law and other professional service providers.

  • Advises on terms of investment and ownership structure arrangements and liability risks on behalf of investors.

  • Counsels adversarial equity owners in ownership and management disputes.

  • Provides general counsel for clients who provide marketing, promotion, advertising, creative design, publishing and entertainment-related services such as mobile marketing and promotion tours, concert tours, sponsorship programs and celebrity publications and websites.

  • Structures, negotiates and drafts tour sponsorship, artist marketing management, publication and distribution agreements.

  • Manages intellectual property issues and implement general programs.

  • Provides counsel on a wide range of employment, human resource, hiring and employee separation issues.

  • Structures executive compensation and incentive plans, options, phantom equity, bonus plans, employment and noncompetition agreements.

  • Represents financial institutions, companies seeking capital investment, and lenders/borrowers in financing and capital raising transactions, including structuring private placements.

  • Drafts and negotiates contracts and shareholder and operating agreements.

PUBLICATIONS

Steve is co-author of “Valuation,” Chapter 6 in “Disputes Involving Closely Held Companies 2020 Edition.” Published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Feb. 2020, it is the essential guide for Illinois attorneys who represent closely held corporations, partnerships or LLCs.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Steve joined Aronberg Goldgehn as a Member in July 2018. Previously, he was a partner at Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC and a principal with Chuhak & Tecson.

He is a certified public accountant who began his career as a tax consultant with one of the largest public accounting firms.

Steve has been recognized annually since 2005 as a Leading Lawyer in Closely & Privately Held Business Law and Tax Law by Illinois Leading Lawyers.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Past Board of Directors Member, Northbrook Baseball, a not for profit institution.

RELATED NEWS



Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., 1985

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, B.S., 1982



BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS

  • Illinois, 1985

MEMBERSHIPS

  • Chicago Bar Association


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  • Illinois Leading Lawyer in Closely & Privately Held Business Law and Tax Law (2005-2020)

PERSONAL

In his free time, Steve enjoys golfing and bike riding. He is an avid Chicago sports fan.

What is one item on your bucket list? Taking a road trip across the United States to attend a baseball game in every Major League ballpark.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a lawyer? Sports agent.
What is your favorite place in Chicago? The lakefront.
What is the best vacation you’ve ever been on? A family road trip to Cooperstown, Niagra Falls and New York City
What is your favorite restaurant? Joe's Stone Crab.