Founder
Entrepreneur, strategic business advisor and attorney with experience from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Strategic counsel and business advisory
You are building something that matters. The judgment around it should keep up.
Fractional general counsel, M&A and capital, value acceleration and enterprise risk for middle-market companies.
From lawyers who have also been owners, investors and operators in the United States and Mexico. Engagements run monthly or by project. No billable hours.
What is on your desk right now
Start from the problem, not from our org chart
Six things clients usually bring to the first conversation. Each one has a practice area behind it, and the same people across all of them.
We are raising a round and the deal needs to be papered right.
We need a general counsel, not a full-time executive salary.
We are setting up an operation in Mexico and do not know who to trust.
We want to sell in three to five years and the business is not ready.
A supplier contract is exposing us and nobody has read it closely.
New cross-border rules could touch our supply chain and we need to know how.
Four practice areas
Legal and business judgment, organized around what you are trying to do
Whether you are building, growing or transitioning, the questions arrive together. So do we. Each area is staffed by people who have handled it as counsel and lived it as owners.
Outside General Counsel
Proactive legal support built into how you grow, not called in only when something goes wrong. A seasoned attorney who learns your business, sits in your meetings when it matters and handles the legal side of running a company.
See what this includes
M&A and Capital Transactions
Legal structuring and execution for mergers, acquisitions, investments and capital raises, from the first term sheet through closing and integration. Handled by people who have raised capital and closed deals as owners, not only as counsel.
See what this includes
Value Acceleration and Exit Planning
Advisory work on the decisions that increase the value of a company today and prepare it for a strong transition later. The steps that make a business ready for a good sale are the same steps that make it a better business now.
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Enterprise Risk and Intelligence
Compliance, market intelligence and on-the-ground capability for companies doing business in Mexico and Latin America. From regulatory exposure in cross-border transactions to establishing an operation with the right partners, people and protections.
See what this includes
How we work
A model built to invest in the client, not to bill the client
We did not start ELEVO to build another advisory firm. We started it because we believe that business, done right, is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world, and that too many businesses are operating below their potential.
“When you flip the light switch in the morning, you do not care how the electric company generated the electrons. You want the light to come on. That is who you want working for you.”
No billable hours
Engagements are set up on a monthly or project basis. We invest time, energy and judgment in your growth, and we grow with you, instead of charging for every call.
Technology that gives you more of our judgment
We use AI to draft, organize and move the document work faster, so the time you pay for goes to advice, decisions and getting things done.
Lawyers who have sat where you sit
Our team has been owners, investors, directors and operators. We have raised capital, built teams, navigated exits and made the hard calls ourselves.
Built across the US and Mexico
Bilingual, bicultural experience in Mexico and Latin America, with a network of partners on both sides of the border for companies that operate across it.
Why ELEVO
We are not just lawyers. We are not just consultants.
We combine more than 25 years of legal, business and entrepreneurial experience with advanced technologies and a deep network of strategic partners, investors and advisors.
We are entrepreneurs who have sat where our clients sit: made hard calls, built teams, launched ventures, raised capital, navigated exits, and learned what it actually takes to create lasting value.
Fractional counsel means legal support with variable involvement rather than a full-time executive role. Hours and involvement flex as your needs and priorities change, and we integrate with your team to understand the business and give informed, strategic advice.
The team
Lawyers, advisors and entrepreneurs who have run the companies they now counsel
Experience from startups to Fortune 500 companies, across the United States, Mexico and Latin America.
Attorney
Business entrepreneur and attorney with a 25-year career leading complex product liability matters for Fortune 100 companies.
Growth Consultant
Growth consultant and entrepreneur who helps purpose-driven founders align vision, leadership and business infrastructure.
Enterprise Risk Advisor
Executive security and enterprise risk advisor with over 20 years across supply chain security and cross-border operations.
Advisor, Mexico Relations
Bicultural entrepreneur who has launched and advised companies in both the United States and Mexico.
Technology Advisor
Bilingual executive with more than 25 years of international experience with Fortune 500 companies.
Attorney
Attorney advising businesses across manufacturing, healthcare, franchising, construction and agriculture.
Where we work
Cleveland, Mexico City and the rooms in between
Boardrooms, closing tables and plant floors on both sides of the border. Open any photo to view it full screen.
Insights
What we are learning alongside our clients
Questions we hear first
Straight answers to the questions people ask before they call
If yours is not here, the contact form below is the fastest way to ask it.
What does ELEVO Advisors do?
ELEVO Advisors provides fractional general counsel and business advisory. The work is organized in four practice areas: Outside General Counsel, M&A and Capital Transactions, Value Acceleration and Exit Planning, and Enterprise Risk and Intelligence.
What is the difference between Strategic Counsel and Strategic Advisory?
Strategic Counsel is the legal side: formation and structure, contracts and transactions, risk and compliance, and M&A and transition support. Strategic Advisory is the business side: strategy and growth, finance and investment, transition and exit planning, and enterprise risk and intelligence. Most clients use both, because the questions rarely arrive separately.
Who does ELEVO work with?
Business leaders who are building, growing or transitioning a company. In practice that is mostly middle-market and growth companies, including suppliers and operators that are large enough to need sophisticated counsel but do not have an internal legal or compliance team.
Do you bill by the hour?
No. Engagements are structured on a monthly or project basis so you know what you are paying and we are free to spend the time the work actually needs. The scope and terms are agreed in a conversation before any engagement starts.
Do you work across the United States and Mexico?
Yes. The team includes bilingual, bicultural advisors with experience operating in Mexico and Latin America, including customs, supply chain security and cross-border business development. Specific matters are scoped to the jurisdictions and professionals involved.
How do we start?
Contact Nick York by email or phone, or use the form on this page. The first conversation is about your business and what is on your desk, not a sales pitch.
Contact ELEVO
Ready to talk about your business?
The first conversation is about what you are working on, not about us.
nyork@elevo-advisors.com · 440.522.0599
1468 West 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44113