Matthew Fornaro

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

My name is Matthew Fornaro. I was born in Summit, New Jersey, but I grew up in Coral Springs, Florida, where my family moved in 1984, so South Florida has really been home for most of my life. I now live in Parkland, where I have been based since 2014. Professionally, I am a business law attorney, commercial litigator, mediator, arbitrator, and founder of Fornaro Legal, where I work with entrepreneurs, founders, executives, and established businesses on contracts, transactions, disputes, governance, and growth.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

What I love most about Parkland is the sense of community. It has the feel of a close-knit place while still being connected to everything South Florida offers, and after spending most of my life in the Coral Springs and Parkland area, I appreciate the familiarity, the relationships, and the fact that it genuinely feels like home.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

Matthew Fornaro, P.A. is the law firm I founded in 2015 and operates under the name Fornaro Legal. Based in Coral Springs, Florida, Fornaro Legal is a business law practice that helps entrepreneurs, founders, executives, and established companies address the legal issues that arise when starting, operating, growing, and sometimes restructuring a business.

My practice includes contracts, business transactions, formation and governance, ownership and partner disputes, commercial litigation, construction and real estate matters, mediation, and arbitration. I founded the firm after more than a decade practicing law, including experience in larger law-firm environments, because I saw a need for sophisticated legal guidance delivered in a more practical, direct, and business-focused way.

What I try to do through Fornaro Legal is help clients make better business decisions. That may mean structuring an agreement before a problem develops, resolving a dispute before it consumes the company, clarifying ownership or decision-making authority, or helping a client distinguish between risks that truly matter and those that are commercially manageable. The goal is not legal work for its own sake. It is to protect what the client has built, preserve valuable options, and help the business move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

My advice is to start with a clear plan, but understand that the plan will change. Know what problem you are solving, who your customer is, how the business will make money, and what risks could materially affect it. Then execute. Too many people wait for perfect conditions that never arrive.

From a legal standpoint, put the right foundation in place early. Choose the appropriate business structure, document ownership clearly, define who has decision-making authority, protect intellectual property, and put important customer, vendor, employee, and contractor relationships in writing. Those issues are much easier to address before money, expectations, or relationships change.

I would also tell new business owners to be careful about unnecessary long-term commitments. Understand personal guarantees, automatic renewals, exclusivity provisions, equity promises, and contracts that are difficult to exit. You do not need to eliminate every risk, but you should understand which risks are reversible, which can be managed, and which could threaten the business or you personally.

Most importantly, surround yourself with good advisers, ask questions early, protect your credibility, and keep learning. A successful business is rarely built from one brilliant decision. It is usually built from a long series of thoughtful decisions made consistently over time.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

One comment that stayed with me came from a client after I prepared a demand letter for her. She told me the letter was “perfect” and, more importantly, “we got my money back.” I remember that because it captured what I want my work to accomplish: not legal complexity for its own sake, but a clear strategy that solves the client’s problem and gets a practical result.

Where do you see your company in the future?

I see Matthew Fornaro, P.A., doing business as Fornaro Legal, continuing to grow thoughtfully while preserving the direct, practical approach that has defined the firm. I am not interested in growth simply for the sake of becoming larger. I want the firm to become more useful to entrepreneurs, founders, executives, and established businesses as their legal needs become more complex.

I also expect the practice to continue expanding its work with businesses that have connections between Florida and New York, while deepening its focus on contracts, transactions, commercial disputes, governance, AI-related legal issues, and what I think of as legal readiness: making sure a company’s legal structure keeps pace with the business it has become.

Beyond client work, I want to continue writing, speaking, teaching, mentoring, and participating in podcasts and media so that practical business-law guidance is more accessible to entrepreneurs before problems become crises.

The long-term goal is to build a respected, sustainable firm that combines sophisticated legal experience with practical business judgment, strong relationships, and the ability to adapt as business and technology continue to change.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

One of the biggest misconceptions about the legal industry is that the lawyer’s job is simply to fight, say no, or identify every possible risk. Good legal advice should do more than tell a business owner what could go wrong.

The better role is to help the client understand which risks actually matter, what can be managed or negotiated, and how the legal strategy fits the broader business objective. Sometimes that means litigating aggressively. Other times it means negotiating, restructuring a deal, improving a contract, or deciding that a particular risk is commercially acceptable.

I also think people sometimes confuse aggression with effectiveness. The loudest lawyer is not necessarily the strongest one. Preparation, judgment, credibility, civility, and the ability to understand the client’s business usually matter much more.

The best business lawyers are not there to slow the company down. They are there to help it move forward with better information, clearer options, and fewer avoidable surprises.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

One of the biggest challenges was building an independent practice after working in established law firms where much of the infrastructure already existed. Once I started my own firm, I was responsible not only for the legal work, but also for technology, finances, marketing, client development, workflow, reputation, and long-term growth.

I dealt with it by treating the firm the same way I advise clients to treat their businesses: build systems, make decisions, learn from what is not working, and improve continuously. There was no single moment when everything suddenly became easier. Progress came from a long series of smaller improvements, stronger relationships, better processes, and staying disciplined when conditions were uncertain.

That experience taught me that resilience is not simply working harder. It is having the judgment to identify what actually matters, the humility to change course when something is not working, and the persistence to keep improving the business without compromising the quality of the work or the values behind it.

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

Michael Jackson and Ayrton Senna.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

I would first give a shoutout to my family. Their support, patience, and perspective have been essential throughout my career and especially while building my own firm.

I would also recognize my father, whose experience as a successful small-business owner had a major influence on the way I understand entrepreneurship and the responsibilities that come with building something of your own.

Professionally, I am grateful for the mentors, colleagues, clients, referral partners, and other attorneys who have challenged me, trusted me, and helped me grow over the years. I have also benefited greatly from the entrepreneurial communities around SCORE, Kauffman FastTrac, and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. Those relationships have reinforced something I believe strongly: nobody builds a successful career or business entirely alone.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Readers can learn more about me and my work at FornaroLegal.com, where I share information about the firm, business-law services, articles, media appearances, and practical insights for entrepreneurs and business owners.

They can also connect with me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/matthewfornaro and on Instagram at @fornaro_legal.

I always welcome the opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs, founders, executives, fellow attorneys, and other professionals. If someone has a business-law question, is building or growing a company, or simply wants to exchange ideas about business, leadership, or entrepreneurship, I encourage them to reach out and introduce themselves.