Alaf Equity PLLC · Business & Regulatory Attorney · New York

You build the business, we handle the rest.

Licensing, contracts, compliance, and the grind in between, for founders in burgeoning and highly regulated industries, explained in plain English and priced up front by an attorney who started in legal aid, not a corner office.

First consult is free. No retainer required to talk.

  • Admitted in New York
  • Flat fees on routine matters
  • Free first consultation
  • Plain-English advice
  • Business Formation
  • Trademarks
  • Licensing & Compliance
  • Operating Agreements
  • Contracts
  • Nonprofits
  • 501(c)(3) Formation

Practice areas

Business, regulatory & trademark law in New York.

Every matter gets a clear scope and a price up front: a flat fee for routine work, an honest estimate for anything complex. Here's what goes in the folder.

File: Regulated Industries

From legacy to licensed.

Premier consulting & licensing

New York runs one of the most highly regulated programs in the country, and the application process wasn’t built to be easy. We help you put together every piece the State wants to see, and tell you honestly what your timeline and odds look like.

  • Cultivator
  • Processor
  • Retail Dispensary
  • Microbusiness
  • Delivery
  • + more
  • License applications, every type
  • Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Business plans
  • Compliance audits
  • Criminal background check guidance
  • Safety & security plans

File: Trademark

Your name is the business. Own it.

Trademark & IP registration

  • Knockout searches & clearance reports
  • USPTO applications: word marks
  • Renewals & maintenance filings
  • New York State trademark filings

File: Business

The documents that save you later.

Business law & Transactions

  • Incorporation & LLC formation
  • Operating agreements & by-laws
  • Contracts & transaction agreements
  • Plain-English review of what you’re signing

File: Nonprofit

Built to serve, set up to last.

Nonprofit & 501(c)(3) formation

  • 501(c)(3): Form 1023 applications
  • By-laws & governance documents

How it works

The same three steps, every client.

  1. Step

    Tell us what you’re building

    A free consultation, in normal words. Bring every question you have. You won’t be billed for asking them.

  2. Step

    Get a plan and a price

    You’ll know the scope and the price before you commit: a flat fee for routine work, or a clear estimate for anything complex. No surprise invoices, ever.

  3. Step

    We handle the State

    Filings, applications, follow-ups: done. You get updates you can actually read.

* No question is too basic. Most of our clients have never hired a lawyer before. That’s the point.

Your attorney

Salar Rivani, Esq. — New York business & regulatory attorney

Most lawyers who work in highly regulated industries came from corporate firms and found their way in. Salar came from the other direction: years in legal aid litigation, standing next to New Yorkers the system overlooked. The clients changed. The job didn't: walk in with people facing a process that wasn't built for them, and get them through it.

Today that means licensing, trademarks, and business law for first-time founders, in highly regulated industries, and especially for entrepreneurs from the communities those industries too often leave out.

“I spent the first decade of my career representing people the system wasn’t built for. Now I help them own a piece of it.”

Questions

Common questions, answered.

How do your fees work?

Flat fees for common, well-defined matters, quoted up front so you know the cost, and clear hourly rates for complex or open-ended work. You'll know which before we start.

Is the first consultation really free?

Yes. The first consultation is free, and you won't be billed for asking questions.

What kinds of clients do you work with?

Founders in cannabis and other highly regulated or emerging industries, plus everyday small businesses, nonprofits, and families.

Do you handle business formation and trademarks?

Both. LLC and corporate formation, operating agreements, contracts, and federal (USPTO) and New York State trademark filings.

Can you help with New York cannabis licensing?

Every license type, from application through follow-ups, with an honest read on your timeline and odds.

Do you take nonprofit matters too?

Yes. 501(c)(3) formation, Form 1023 applications, and governance documents.

Free consultation

Talk to a New York business & regulatory lawyer.

Email us directly and you’ll hear back within one business day — from Alaf Equity, not a call center.

Reaching out doesn’t create an attorney–client relationship, it just starts a conversation.