Business-Minded Legal Solutions

Attorneys

At Stephenson Fournier, our ability to handle the most complex legal needs throughout Texas is a testament to the sophisticated level of skill our attorneys offer in the areas of business transactions, commercial real estate, business law and tax planning, estate planning and probate.

Individually and collectively, we work efficiently to achieve timely results that make sense in each context. We have been doing this for decades and have earned international respect for this work. We are confident in our ability to generate this same value for you as a prospective client.

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James F. Stephenson Jr.

Our founder James F. Stephenson Jr. is a business and commercial transaction attorney and real estate lawyer whose advice to clients is enhanced by his depth of experience in tax planning.

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Juli Fournier

Juli Fournier, our managing partner, represents clients in a broad range of corporate and general business law and finance matters. Her experience includes mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of operating businesses, private offerings of securities, financings and loan transactions, and structuring and re-structuring of various businesses including corporations, limited liability companies and general and limited partnerships. She advises clients regarding partnerships and joint ventures, loan agreements, non-competition covenants, employment relationships, pledge agreements, shareholder agreements, security, escrow, guaranty and complex merger agreements, settlement agreements, promissory notes, secured financings including equipment finance, and many other types of business contracts. Ms. Fournier also represents a variety of non-profit organizations.

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Christopher Hanno

Mr. Hanno handles a wide range of real estate and business transactions, including acquisitions, development, financing, and the disposition of retail, multi-family and office properties. He represents commercial landlords and tenants in all areas of retail and office leasing. Chris also advises clients with regard to the formation and structure of business entities, equipment financing, the purchase and sale of businesses, financing, borrowing and commercial lending, mergers and reorganizations, and other contractual agreements.

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Alison Bloom

Alison Bloom brings a deep-seated work ethic to representing clients and working with them to achieve their goals. Alison’s post-graduate master of laws degree in taxation along with her background in tax accounting enable her to provide strategic advice and to identify issues and opportunities for clients. She excels at working with clients from the ground floor up, taking the time to get to know their businesses and developing creative solutions to help them achieve their objectives. Alison invests time and energy into forging close relationships with clients and finding ways to help their businesses thrive and achieve their goals.

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Michael Cohodes

Michael Cohodes is a Houston native who prides himself on dependability, communication and trust, which makes him an asset to a broad range of clients. His background in real estate combined with his experience working with large and small companies give him a unique perspective that translates into success, regardless of the size of a transaction. Michael has a rare ability to develop strong relationships with people from all backgrounds and to provide understanding for many legal unique issues. As an approachable young practitioner, Michael is a passionate advocate providing sound legal advice and dedicated to achieving the best results in each transaction.

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Jennifer ElskesPartner Emeritus

Ms. Elskes retired from the firm as a partner in 2020. Jennifer advised clients on all phases of estate planning, probate, and trust law. Her practice included preparation of wills, generation-skipping trusts, insurance trusts, bypass trusts, marital property agreements, grantor retained annuity trusts, special needs trusts and related documents. She also represented clients in estate and business planning for small, mid-sized and large closely-held businesses, including family limited partnerships.

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Benjamin David KapilivskyAssociate

Benjamin Kapilivsky, an associate at the firm, practices a broad range of general corporate matters, business transactions, and commercial real estate transactions. He advises clients on entity formation, corporate governance, contract drafting and negotiation, leasing, purchase and sale agreements, and mergers and acquisitions.

We take pride in the strong, long-term relationships our lawyers have established with many of the firm’s clients, and we strive to develop similar bonds with new clients. We accomplish this by first seeking to understand the specific issues, needs and goals of each client, by learning about each business itself, its internal culture and the challenges it faces, and by accounting for other relevant factors such as budget or time constraints.

This enables us to offer complete legal solutions that fully address the issues and objectives in each instance. Over time, it also tends to create strong relationships that enable our attorneys to take proactive measures for each client’s benefit in appropriate circumstances, while continuing to serve as trusted business advisers and advocates on a daily basis.

Schedule an initial consultation by calling our main office in Houston, Texas, at 713-629-9494 or by contacting us online.