Practice Area
Commercial Leasing
Stephen Nault advises on letters of intent, lease drafting, amendments, defaults, guaranties, assignment questions, operating covenants, and exit planning for commercial properties.
A commercial lease is often the most important contract a business signs — and the law it operates under is the contract itself. Tennessee courts assume commercial parties are sophisticated and will enforce one-sided terms as written. A great business can be lost on a bad lease.
The leverage hides in the clauses. Early in his career, Mr. Nault saw how one sentence in a small Boston sub shop's lease likely saved the owner from bankruptcy. That term was an exclusivity right to sell "sub-style sandwiches." As a result of this one sentence, the developer paid the owner $500,000 and gave him an early exit before bringing Panera into the same center. The locally owned shop closed months later, but the owner used the buyout to open two new locations. This one sentence was the difference between an early exit to bankruptcy court, and the ability to negotiate a term that saved his entire livelihood.
In another lease, Mr. Nault represented a landlord who brought rent back to market value during a renewal. The tenant's residential agent missed that the "base tax year" for tax pass-throughs should have been reset as well. The industry practice was clear. Their representation however was not. That oversight cost the tenant nearly a million dollars over the remaining lease term.
That is the nature of commercial leasing. The biggest dollars are often buried in sentences that do not look expensive until it is too late. While most business owners believe they can do it all, the ones that withstand the test of time know, lessons are easier taught than learned. Expertise comes through experience, and you don't have to learn those lessons the hard way.
Who this is for
- Owners and investors acquiring, repositioning, or stabilizing income-producing property.
- Landlords and tenants negotiating retail, office, industrial, flex, and mixed-use space.
- Brokers and property managers who need counsel when lease language, notice issues, or defaults begin affecting the deal.
Common problems
- LOIs that leave critical economics, build-out risk, or guaranty exposure unresolved.
- Default notices, cure periods, CAM disputes, rent escalations, or operating covenant issues.
- Assignment, sublease, exclusive-use, co-tenancy, or estoppel certificate disputes.
- Property sale or refinancing questions that expose outdated leasing documents.
- Negotiations that have become positional and need a practical reset before litigation.
How I approach it
The work starts with the economics of the property, the operational realities of the parties, and the leverage built into the documents. From there, the goal is to tighten risk, preserve optionality, and resolve the dispute or document issue without wasting momentum.
Common mistakes
- Treating a business lease like a form that can be cleaned up later.
- Sending default letters or informal emails without understanding waiver and notice consequences.
- Focusing only on rent while overlooking operating covenants, transfer rights, or personal liability.
- Waiting until financing, renewal, or sale is on the line before asking for a full document review.
If this describes your situation
The intake form takes about three minutes. You'll hear back within one business day if the matter is a fit.
Common questions
Can you review a lease before it is signed, even if the business terms are mostly settled?
Yes. That is often the best time to clean up risk allocation, guaranties, default language, repair obligations, assignment rights, and operating constraints without turning the transaction into a fight.
Do you handle landlord-side and tenant-side leasing matters?
Yes. The focus is on commercial terms, business risk, and real estate operations rather than a one-size-fits-all playbook.
What if the other side is already threatening suit?
The first step is to understand the lease, the notice posture, and the business objective. Some matters call for a measured written response, while others require immediate preservation and a stronger litigation posture.
Focused practice pages
Short, intent-matched intake pages on specific issues within this area:
Related Reading
Articles on this topic.
Commercial Leasing
What to Do When a Commercial Lease Default Notice Arrives
A commercial lease default notice can change cure rights, termination risk, guaranty exposure, possession posture, and later damages arguments. The first real question is what the lease actually says.
Commercial Leasing
Five Commercial Lease Terms Worth Slowing Down For
Some lease fights start because the business team moved too quickly past the exact provisions that later control leverage.
If any of this sounds like your situation
The intake is structured and short — name, contact, opposing party, brief description. You'll hear back within one business day.