Commercial
Commercial Contracts & Transactions for Ontario Businesses
Barbarian Law® is a commercial law firm in Aurora, Ontario, drafting and negotiating custom contracts, commercial leases, supplier and distribution agreements, and employment agreements, closing business purchases and sales, and acting for restaurants, bars, and venues on liquor licensing and acquisitions for clients across the Greater Toronto Area. Contract work and business purchases and sales are billed against a written fee estimate, with no retainer paid up front.
Custom contracts drafted for your deal — not templates with the names changed — plus business purchases and sales, leases, and the agreements your company runs on. One lawyer, written fee estimates, specific retainers, never evergreen.
What the Commercial Practice Covers
If your business signs it, negotiates it, buys it, or sells it, it runs through here. Every document is drafted or reviewed by the same lawyer — in plain language you can actually enforce.
Custom Contract Drafting
Service agreements, master service agreements, terms of engagement, licensing, distribution, and joint ventures — built clause by clause around your deal, your risk, and your industry. Not a template with your name pasted in.
Contract Review & Negotiation
The agreement someone else drafted protects someone else. Before you sign a supplier, client, franchise, or partnership agreement, I flag what it actually says — and negotiate what it should.
Business Purchase & Sale
Asset and share purchases, due diligence, vendor financing, and closings — for buyers and sellers. Planning an exit? Start with the exit strategies guide, then structure it properly.
Commercial Leases
Negotiation, review, renewal, and assignment of commercial leases — the exclusivity, percentage rent, and termination clauses that decide whether your location is an asset or a liability.
Supplier, Distribution & Vendor Agreements
The recurring paperwork that carries most of your operational risk: supply terms, distribution rights, service levels, termination triggers, and liability caps that hold up when tested.
Employment & Contractor Agreements
Employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions — enforceable under Ontario law, which is harder than the templates make it look.
For Restaurants, Bars & Venues
Hospitality margins don’t leave room for legal mistakes. The lease, the licence, and the supplier agreements are the business — and they’re where operators most often get hurt.
Liquor Licensing & Approvals
AGCO liquor licence applications and transfers, municipal approvals, patio permits, and zoning issues — handled so opening day isn’t hostage to paperwork.
Buying & Selling Establishments
Purchase and sale of restaurants, bars, and franchises — due diligence, licence transfers, lease assignments, and closing, handled by the same lawyer who does this for businesses across the GTA.
Restaurant & Venue Leases
The clauses that matter most when you’re running a kitchen: exclusive-use protection, percentage rent, landlord work and fixturing periods, demolition clauses, and assignment rights for when you sell.
Kitchen & Floor Staff
Chef and management agreements, staff contracts, and workplace policies built for an industry with high turnover and tip-pooling rules that trip up operators.
Supplier & Event Agreements
Distribution, catering, entertainment bookings, and event contracts — the recurring paperwork that quietly carries most of your operational risk.
Custom Contracts, Not Templates
A template is the average of a thousand deals that aren’t yours. It works right up until the moment you need it — which is the only moment that matters.
Template contracts
- Drafted for a generic deal in an unknown jurisdiction
- Clauses you don’t need, missing the ones you do
- Unenforceable terms — Ontario courts routinely void off-the-shelf termination and non-compete language
- Nobody accountable when it fails
Custom-drafted contracts
- Built around your deal, your counterparty, and your leverage
- Every clause earns its place — plain language, no boilerplate padding
- Drafted to Ontario law by a lawyer accountable to the Law Society
- Reusable: your master agreement becomes an asset across every future deal
How the Engagement Works
Three steps. No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. No associates you’ve never met billing to your file.
Consultation
We review the deal, the document, or the dispute-in-waiting. You’ll know by the end of the call what the work involves and what it doesn’t.
Written Fee Estimate
You receive a written scope and fee before any work begins. Nothing is paid up front — Barbarian Law runs specific retainers, never evergreen, and you’re invoiced after the work is done.
Drafted, Negotiated, Closed
Contracts drafted and negotiated, transactions closed, and the paper delivered — by the same lawyer you met on the first call. Recurring needs can move to standing general counsel.
Fees
Specific retainers. Never evergreen.
Barbarian Law runs specific retainers — each engagement has a defined scope, a written fee estimate before work starts, and an invoice after the work is delivered.
No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. No top-up emails, no meter running while you decide whether a question is “worth asking.” For contract work, that means you know the cost of the agreement before it’s drafted — the same way your clients will know their costs when they sign it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s wrong with using a contract template?
A template is written for nobody’s deal. It misses the terms that matter in yours, such as payment, liability caps, termination and IP, and often carries clauses that do not fit Ontario law.
Can you review a contract someone sent me before I sign?
Yes. Send the draft and your signing deadline. Review is $350 an hour + HST with a one-hour minimum, against a written estimate. A tenant’s commercial lease review is a flat $750 + HST.
How much does a custom contract cost?
$350 an hour + HST, one-hour minimum, against a written estimate you approve before drafting begins. Landlord-side commercial lease drafting starts at $1,500 + HST. A well-built master agreement is reused for every future customer or supplier.
Do I have to pay anything up front?
No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. You receive a written fee estimate before any work begins.
Do you handle buying or selling a business?
Yes: letters of intent, share and asset purchases, due diligence and closing, at $350 an hour + HST against a written estimate.
What if my business needs contracts regularly?
That is what fractional general counsel is for. There are two monthly plans: $600 a month + HST for 2 hours, or $2,000 a month + HST for 10 hours. Hours beyond your plan are $200 an hour + HST, stated in your written estimate before they are spent.
Do you handle contract disputes?
Barbarian Law® is a transactional firm. It handles contract disputes early, assessing them and negotiating before anything is filed. If a dispute needs court, Karim selects, briefs and manages litigation counsel and reviews their bills on your behalf.
Can you help me get a liquor licence?
Yes. I prepare and file AGCO liquor sales licence applications and transfers, and coordinate the municipal sign-offs and patio approvals that go with them. If you’re buying an existing bar or restaurant, the licence transfer is built into the purchase timeline so you can keep serving from day one.
Google reviews · 5.0 rating
What our business clients say
“…They were courteous, professional, and easy to deal with. Karim was incredibly prompt and quick to reply to any inquiry I had. Thank you!”
“I got referred to the Barbarian Law team through a mutual friend to help improve our existing agreements and contracts. They went above and beyond to help us, and also added nuances I wouldn't have thought of. They were professional during the entire process and made us feel comfortable and taken care of.”
“From the very beginning, the team was professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and truly dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome. They took the time to listen, explained everything clearly, and made what could have been a stressful process feel much more manageable.”
The Contract Is the Business. Draft It Like It Matters.
One consultation will tell you what your deal needs — and you’ll leave with a written fee estimate either way. No deposit, no meter, no layers.