The Messerli Law Firm, PLLC

Focus and practice areas

The firm is a civil practice based in Trophy Club, Texas. It works with clients in Denton County, the Mid-Cities, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The range of matters it takes on is wide for a civil practice of its size.

The named areas include business law, business litigation, corporate law, civil appeals, and federal civil litigation. The firm also handles estate planning, Texas probate, residential real estate, and bankruptcy. In my opinion, that combination fits a practice built to follow a business client through both its deals and the disputes that can come after them.

The attorney who leads it

Matthew G. Messerli is the founding attorney and is licensed to practice law in Texas. He earned his JD from SMU Dedman School of Law.

His background is as much in business as in law. He holds an MBA from Purdue University's Krannert School of Management and a Master's in Finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Before he practiced law, he spent more than a decade as a business operator and consultant, and four years as a financial advisor to individuals and companies.

That mix shapes how the firm reads a matter. A client who brings a contract dispute or a company sale works with someone who has run and advised businesses himself. The firm cites his years as a financial advisor as the basis for its financial planning services.

Business and corporate work

Forming and running a company

Much of the firm's business load is transactional. Messerli handles entity formation, contract drafting, mergers and acquisitions, and business succession planning for entrepreneurs and established companies.

Business formation covers the early choices a company makes about its structure. Entity selection sets how a company is taxed and who carries liability, and it affects later financing. A firm that also litigates can draft those first documents with the later disputes in mind.

Business succession planning is one of the firm's named services. It sets who takes over a company when an owner retires, sells, or dies, and it often ties into the trust and estate work the firm does on the other side of the practice. An owner who plans the handover early can line up the buy-sell terms, the tax treatment, and the estate documents at the same time.

Deals and litigation

Mergers and acquisitions move through several stages. A letter of intent frames the deal, due diligence tests the target's books and contracts, and a purchase agreement leads to closing. Each step turns on documents, and buyer and seller negotiate who carries which risk. As a reviewer, I read the firm's presence in both the deal work and the litigation as a sign it can stay with a company when a transaction later turns into a fight.

Business litigation and federal civil litigation are among the named areas, and the firm lists civil appeals as well. That means it can carry a matter beyond the trial court when a client wants to press on.

Estate planning and probate

On the estate side, the firm prepares wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and powers of attorney. A power of attorney names someone to act for a client on money or health decisions if the client cannot, and it works alongside the will and trust in a full plan.

Probate in Texas runs through the county courts. An executor proves the will and clears the estate's debts before assets pass to the heirs. A revocable trust can keep some property out of that court process, while an irrevocable trust changes who legally owns the assets. These are the tools the firm works with when a client plans how an estate moves to the next generation.

The firm also offers financial planning, and it traces that service to Messerli's four years advising individuals and businesses on their finances. For a client sorting out a will or a trust, having the legal and the financial questions handled in the same office can keep the plan consistent.

Real estate and bankruptcy

The firm's real estate work reaches renters, landlords, and homeowners. It handles deeds, evictions, foreclosures, and purchase and sale agreements. A deed records who holds title to a property, and getting it right protects an owner when the property later sells or passes to heirs.

Eviction and foreclosure matters follow set steps under Texas law, with notice periods and court filings that each side has to meet on time. Purchase and sale agreements turn on the contract terms and a clear title. One firm for both the transaction and any later dispute keeps a property's history in one place.

The firm also files bankruptcy cases for clients facing debt. Bankruptcy runs in federal court, where a filing can pause collection and set a path toward discharge or a repayment plan. For a client whose business and personal finances overlap, a lawyer who already knows the business side brings useful context to the filing.

What a client can expect

The firm pairs one attorney's business and finance training with a civil practice that spans deals, disputes, estates, property, and debt. A client works directly with the founding attorney, who handles the matter personally.

Consultations with the firm are scheduled by phone or online. The site does not list a founding year, though it points to about twenty years of business experience behind the firm.