Bio

Joel Farrar is a business lawyer with specialties in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), start-up law, and executive compensation planning. He is a shareholder with Foster Swift, current Secretary of the firm's Executive Committee and former co-leader the firm’s Business and Tax Practice Group. In every engagement, Joel seeks to understand his client's business objectives so that he can design solutions to legal challenges that stand in the way of growth. Joel particularly enjoys helping entrepreneurs with start-up businesses and fundraising. He assists start-ups with raising capital through private placements of securities; attracting talent using stock options, restricted stock and other incentive plans; developing relationships with vendors, customers, and partners; and addressing the many other challenges before them. Joel also works with established businesses of all sizes on the issues they face every day. He regularly assists businesses with corporate governance, contract negotiation, dispute resolution, regulatory compliance, and tax and succession planning. Joel has also helped numerous clients buy and sell their businesses, and is skilled at preparing businesses for sale, negotiating letters of intent, performing due diligence, preparing purchase documents, and closing the deal. Through his work with executive teams, Joel has developed particular expertise in the area of executive compensation and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Joel helps clients design compensation programs that align executives’ incentives with the company’s goals, including stock option plans, restricted stock plans, phantom stock plans, stock appreciation rights (SAR) plans, elective deferral and excess benefit plans, split dollar insurance, retiree medical plans, and bonus programs. Joel received his juris doctorate from Michigan State University College of Law summa cum laude and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Ingham County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.