DEAN STREET LAW
Meet the Team
Dean Street Law is a boutique corporate law firm focused on mergers and acquisitions and the corporate legal work that supports business owners, acquisition entrepreneurs, and investors. We bring Big Law experience and an entrepreneur’s perspective to transactions and corporate projects, with a defined scope of work, a time tested and innovative process, and clear communication.
Laura DiFrancesco, Esq.
FOUNDER | CORPORATE & M&A ATTORNEY
Since founding Dean Street Law, Laura has closed $10B+ in transactions. Specializing in mergers and acquisitions, she speaks at ETA conferences, classes and clubs. She also founded Flourish Coworking Space, Ethereal Farms, Laura DiFrancesco LLC, and authored Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition: A Legal Guide to Buying a Small Business and Acquisition Insights.
Rachel Choi
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Rachel is a junior at Boston College’s Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, leading drafting, due diligence, and document review processes. She also supports firm operations, including team coordination, hiring, and performance tracking, as well as maintaining administrative systems.
.png)
Sarah McCoy Montanez
LEGAL INTERN
Sarah graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration in 2025 and is a rising 2L at Duquesne University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law. She primarily assists with legal research, due diligence, and other tasks in mergers and acquisitions.
Bralyn Curry
LEGAL INTERN
Bralyn is a rising 2L at Delaware Law School. She supports the firm's transactional practice by assisting with due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, while also driving internal operations through project coordination and business development.
.png)
Hannah Hope Lee
LEGAL INTERN
Hannah is a junior at Cornell University, helping with due diligence, contract drafting, and legal research at Dean Street Law.
Sofia Rivero
PR & MARKETING
Sofia graduated Tufts University in 2026 where she majored in Economics and Film & Media Studies. She assits Dean Street Law with content creation, website devoplment, and publicity projects.
Laura Lin
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Laura assists with due diligence across mergers and acquisitions and other corporate matters. She also supports firm operations, including team coordination, hiring and performance tracking.
Jesse Green
LEGAL INTERN
Jesse is a Legal Intern at Dean Street Law. He is a sophomore at Cornell University studying Philosophy and Chemistry.
Elisa Prado
PR & MARKETING
Elisa assists with website development, content creation, email marketing and communications at Dean Street Law.
Jocelyn DiMedio
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Jocelyn assists with business operations at Dean Street Law by managing our calendar as well as systems and processes.
Bear
RETIRED OFFICE SUPPORT DOG
Bear was by our side during it all - undergrad as Laura triple majored, her JD & MBA, working in Big Law, founding Dean Street Law and frolicking around the farm.
Karen Spencer, Esq.
M&A ATTORNEY
Karen co-founded Searchfunder and is now the creator of the VAULT channel for entrepreneurs. She received her Master of Science in Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Karen is a registered patent attorney, receiving her B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Chemical Engineering.
Grace Parach
LAW CLERK
Grace is a rising 2L at Suffolk University Law School. She assists with transactional drafting, due diligence review across mergers and acquisitions, and researching current corporate matters. She also supports firm operations, including team management, document peer reviews, tracking team progress, and client communications.
.png)
Josh Martoccio
LEGAL INTERN
Josh is a rising 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law with an interest in corporate and transactional law. At Dean Street Law, he assists with due diligence, document review, drafting ancillary agreements, taking notes during client calls, and assisting with outreach to potential clients.
Sarah Cobb
LEGAL INTERN
Sarah is a rising Junior at Syracuse University in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She assists with due diligence and legal research across mergers and acquisitions and other corporate matters, as well as upholding internal firm operations.
Zoe Schack
BUSINESS ADMIN
Zoe is a junior at Villanova University, assisting with due diligence, legal drafting, client communication and business administration at Dean Street Law.
Shea Harrison
PODCAST PRODUCTION AND EDITING
Shea is a rising junior at Ithaca College's Roy H. Park School of Communications, helping to create episodes and promotional clips for the Dealmaking with Laura DiFrancesco Podcast at Dean Street Law.
Annalese Earley
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Annalese assists with due diligence, drafting contracts, managing workflow and tracking deadlines. She also supports firm operations, including team coordination and management.
Ella Hannaway
LEGAL INTERN
Ella is a Legal Intern at Dean Street Law. Currently a sophomore studying Political Science and English at Villanova University with an interest in corporate law.
Laura Izzi
PR & MARKETING
Laura is a sophomore at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, assisting with website development, content creation, email marketing, and communications at Dean Street Law.
Genevieve Klein
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Genevieve assists with business operations at Dean Street Law by managing email and inbound inquiries.
Allison Jones
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Allison is a recent Boston College graduate and rising 1L at Washington University School of Law, leading contract drafting, document review, and workflow coordination processes. She supports firm operations with respect to training and developing standard operating procedures.
Catherine Diel
LEGAL INTERN
Catherine is a 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, assisting with transactional document drafting and revising, due diligence and document review/comparison, legal research, client call preparation and review, communications, and other legal issues at Dean Street Law.
Sam Lockwood
LEGAL INTERN
Sam is an incoming 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, assisting with due diligence, contract drafting, client communications, firm operations, and project management. Prior to attending law school, he worked in financial communications and published a novel.
Mary Dorn
LEGAL INTERN
Mary is a rising senior at Villanova University pursuing a degree in Political Science and History, with a minor in Legal Studies. Originally from Minnesota, Mary assists with due diligence in mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. She supports client matters through legal research, drafting, and analysis, and contributes to a broad range of corporate and transactional projects.
.png)
Madeline Wuest
PR & MARKETING
Madeline is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in English and minoring in Legal Studies. She assists with website development, content creation, and publicity projects for Dean Street Law.
Sofia Nanji
PODCAST PRODUCTION AND EDITING
Sofia is a senior Media Arts Production major at Emerson College in Boston. She works on the production and editing of the Dealmaking with Laura DiFrancesco podcast, as well as assisting with the creation of promotional materials for the podcast and Dean Street Law.
Alysse Danyi
LEGAL INTERN
Alysse is a third-year law student studying at Villanova University, Charles Wider School of Law. As a Legal Intern at Dean Street Law, she provides legal support on lower-middle market M&A deals.
Angelina Alias
LEGAL INTERN
Angelina is a sophomore at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business in Manhattan, majoring in Finance on the pre-law track. As a Legal Intern at Dean Street Law, she is passionate about the intersection of business and law.
Maureen Heely
HR & OPERATIONS
Maureen assists with HR & Operations at Dean Street Law. She supports hiring, onboarding, and strengthening team operations.
Molly
OFFICE SUPPORT DOG
Molly cheers everyone on and helps them have a great day. She comes in the office smiling and tail wagging, ready to tackle the day.
Your Deal Team
Most transactions require a coordinated team. We staff matters intentionally to best support our clients and enable our team to enjoy life outside of work.
-
Attorney-led strategy, negotiation, and documentation
-
Coordinated due diligence and closing checklists
-
Clear communication and time tested, innovative processes
Careers at Dean Street Law
We’re building a high-performance corporate law team focused on private-company M&A and corporate law. Take a look at our open postitions and join us today.
SENIOR M&A ATTORNEY
SECURITIES ATTORNEY
EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY
TAX ATTORNEY
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY
CORPORATE LAW PARALEGAL
LEGAL ASSISTANT
CORPORATE LAW INTERNSHIP
PR & MARKETING INTERNSHIP
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION INTERNSHIP
Our Corporate Law Services
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Dean Street Law represents clients buying, selling, and investing in privately held businesses nationwide, with a focus on lower middle market M&A and entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA). We advise on the full transaction lifecycle—from LOI and legal due diligence through definitive agreements and closing.
Typical transactions include:
-
Asset purchases and equity (stock/membership interest) purchases
-
Mergers and reorganization transactions
-
Management buyouts (MBOs) and internal succession planning
-
Carve-outs of business lines or divisions
-
Joint ventures and strategic partnerships
-
Transactions involving seller financing, earnouts, rollover equity, and escrow/holdback structures
CORPORATE LAW
In addition to M&A, we advise owners, operators, and investors on stand-alone corporate matters that support growth and reduce friction in future transactions, including:
-
Entity formation, restructuring, and corporate governance (reformation of corporations, limited liability companies, general support in restructuring)
-
Commercial contracts (customer/vendor agreements, MSAs, licensing, terms)
-
Finance and fundraising (debt, equity, note offerings, investor terms)
-
Real estate (leases, purchase/sale support)
-
Fractional general counsel (support for corporate law needs)
-
Intellectual property (trademark, assignments, licensing, brand protection strategy)
Representative Transactions
BUY SIDE
ACQUISITION OF A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (STOCK PURCHASE, ETA, SBA, FORGIVABLE SELLER NOTE, LEASE)
In this transaction, we helped the buyer navigate purchasing a business with existing litigation, a litigation escrow, and tailored indemnification whereby the parties allocated the risk of this and other matters.
ACQUISITION OF AN INDUSTRIAL HEATING MANUFACTURER (ASSET PURCHASE, ETA, SBA, F-REORGANIZATION)
Here, we helped the buyer acquire their platform company they plan to expand upon. We also completed a post-closing F-Reorganization for tax and intellectual property purposes.
ACQUISITION OF A TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANUFACTURING BUSINESS (ASSET PURCHASE, ETA, SELF-FUNDED, LEASE)
We assisted the buyer in acquiring a distressed business while negotiating the lease for a relocation and indemnification for successor liability on a tight timeline to close due to liquidity needs.
SELL SIDE
SALE OF A REGIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING COMPANY (ASSET SALE, REAL ESTATE SALE, SBA, TRANSITION SERVICES AGREEMENT, SELLER NOTE)
In this sale of the business and associated real estate, we helped our client navigate the change of ownership of a licensed business, which necessitated a post-closing transition services agreement.
SALE OF A TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM (STOCK SALE, LEASE, ROLLOVER EQUITY, F-REORGANIZATION, DEFERRED SALES TRUST)
During this sale, Dean Street Law diligently assisted the client throughout not only the sale of the business, but also completed a pre-closing F-Reorganization and Deferred Sales Trust to minimize the tax burden of the sale
SALE OF AN INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESS (STOCK SALE, SELLER FINANCED)
In this sale to a business associate, we focused on negotiating a fair transaction to preserve the long standing relationship of the parties. In light of the trust between the parties, the seller was the primary lender for the transaction.