Business Media Advisory

   

overview

Burns & Levinson’s Business Media Advisory Group provides market-leading, tailored, and effective advice for innovative companies that are transforming B2B and B2C engagement and communications. Through meetings, trade shows and events, print and digital publishing, digital media, and fully integrated business media services (or the technology and services supporting them), our clients are helping buyers and sellers connect in meaningful and creative ways.

Our counsel is firmly grounded in three critical business realities: we know your business, we’ve done this before, and we can work with you.

We’ve spent decades in this space — both as lawyers and executives — and have a clear understanding of our clients’ businesses. Our team knows the right questions to ask to focus on strategic objectives, challenges to growth and efficiency, and quantifying risk tolerance. We make it our business to know what’s happening in our clients’ markets that drive their strategic, tactical, and operational decisions. Our attorneys understand the nuances of client relationship systems, lead generation and tracking, social media platforms, and other sophisticated client engagement, conversion, and retention technologies. With a listen-first approach and deep knowledge of industry players and norms, we help our clients identify synergies and gain the upper hand in their business dealings and negotiations.

We have comprehensive experience with the myriad of legal matters that often drive a business media company’s success. Our skilled team has assisted clients in collaborative, creative, and cost-effective ways with entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and other sophisticated business relationships, financing, vendor and supplier contracts, intellectual property protection and licensing, privacy and data security, tax matters, business litigation and dispute resolution, employment, government investigations, and real estate.

More than just service providers, we partner with our clients, providing responsiveness, relevant insight on day-to-day issues, input on long-term planning and strategy, and efficiency. We’ve guided and effectively managed critical transactions for startups and fast-growth companies, established middle-market firms, and global business enterprises. Our long and continuing commitment to the business media industry has prompted several industry trade organizations and private equity firms to rely on our advice.

As trusted advisers, we offer all the legal services you need to build value for your business media company, from launch to exit strategy.

experience

Questex

Advised Questex from its formation, through its growth into one of the world’s leading integrated business marketing companies, to its sale to Shamrock Capital Advisors.

5Net4 Media

Represented 5Net4 Media in the licensing of its Abilities Expo event to Caneast, creating a low-risk entry point to the Canadian market.

Five Star Alliance

Guided Five Star Alliance in its database licensing transaction with Greatest Hotels Group.

Society for Information Display

Helped the Society for Information Display trade association organize a China branch to serve its substantial Asian membership.

Financial Services Business Information Provider

Met a challenging timetable to help a financial services business information provider quickly acquire a company in its sector out of bankruptcy, creating a significant increase in the acquiring company’s value.

Professionals

Professionals

Professionals

Meet the team

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P M A S T R O C O L A @ B U R N S L E V . C O M

September 27, 2024

Statement of Managing Partner Paul Mastrocola Regarding Burns & Levinson LLP

Sixty‐four years ago, Tom Burns and Larry Levinson decided to start their own law firm. It was to be rooted in hard work, smart lawyering and a steadfast commitment to client service. It was to be entrepreneurial, creative and willing to buck some of the exclusionary trends that existed in the Boston legal market at the time. The firm thrived, drawing diverse and remarkable talent to its platform, providing excellent client service and enjoying great stability across the many years.

In fact, in 2023, the firm had its highest revenue year and our partners’ practices soared with major courtroom victories, important corporate deals, and sophisticated intellectual property, real estate and private client work. The year also brought important – if uncomfortable for some ‐ discussions about governance, compensation and support. These inflection moments are not new to legal partnerships; sometimes they are weathered and sometimes they are not. It was in this context and amidst the fast‐moving law firm environment in the Boston market that things changed for the firm in 2024.

Over the years, Burns & Levinson had repeatedly declined to pursue inquiries from national firms about potential mergers. Yet this year, various partners decided to take opportunities to move their practices – and along with them others who supported those practices – to other platforms. This inevitably created an environment in which other firms approached our attorneys. Many felt worried about the future and determined to leave as well. To meet the obligations left to those of us who chose to remain together and to give Burns & Levinson a chance at another chapter, the partnership decided to engage in merger discussions with other firms. Over the past months, we have been honored by the offers of merger we have received from national and regional firms.

Unfortunately, after exhaustive analysis, we have determined that the economics, the timeline and the complexity of deals offered would not work for the remaining partners as a group and for our wonderfully varied practices. Ultimately, as a partnership, we have decided that it is better for our amazing attorneys to move on to different firms where each of our practices can thrive and our clients can – and will – be well served. Burns & Levinson LLP will continue in the short term and then will engage in an orderly wind down of its operations.

Over the coming months, we anticipate that our staunch and extraordinary team of lawyers and staff will announce their next steps. We are proud of each and every one of them, and we feel privileged to have collaborated with this group to explore all options and arrive at the best solution for our clients and our practices. We are sad to bid farewell to this amazing Boston institution; but we know that the lawyers and staff who chose to honor their commitment to one another and remain together throughout this time are the best in the business and will thrive in their new homes.