Our Team

We are a boutique corporate law firm
built for strategic transactions.

M&A | Venture | Corporate Counsel

Soheil Ebadat

M&A | Venture | General Corporate Advisory | soheil@ebadatlaw.com | Calendly

Soheil is the Managing Partner of Ebadat PLLC. He advises founders, investors, and emerging growth companies on complex business transactions across the corporate lifecycle. Soheil’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and growth equity financings, strategic joint ventures, partnership disputes, and general corporate advisory matters.

Soheil has extensive experience representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, venture financing, and high-impact contract negotiations, advising founders and companies on strategic legal decisions from formation through growth, investment, and exit. His work spans a wide range of sectors, including sports, energy, technology, engineering and construction, finance, healthcare, and aerospace.

Prior Experience

Before founding Ebadat PLLC, Soheil served as General Counsel of Redbud Brands, a venture fund and studio that invests in and scales consumer brands. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP, and held roles at Pritzker Private Capital and Accenture. Soheil is also a General Partner at Aro Ventures, a leading investor in high-growth cybersecurity companies.

Drawing on this combined legal and business background, Soheil delivers practical, investor-minded counsel that helps founders make smart decisions at the intersection of legal risk and business strategy.

Education

J.D., University of Chicago Law School
Doctoroff Fellow, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
B.S., Economics, summa cum laude, Texas A&M University

M&A | Venture | General Corporate Advisory | austin@ebadatlaw.com

Austin Johnson

Austin is a corporate attorney at Ebadat PLLC, where he advises emerging companies, investors, and strategic acquirers on complex business transactions. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, contract drafting and negotiations, and general corporate governance matters.

Austin brings deep experience across a wide range of deal structures, including public and private acquisitions, SPAC transactions, and debt and equity issuances. He regularly represents both institutional and founder-led clients in connection with early-stage investments, strategic exits, and operational legal needs.

Prior Experience

Before joining Ebadat PLLC, Austin was a corporate associate at Latham & Watkins LLP and Polsinelli PC, where he represented buyers, sellers, SPACs, issuers, and underwriters in significant corporate transactions, including initial public offerings and large-cap M&A.

Education

J.D., University of Virginia School of Law
B.S., Finance, summa cum laude, Oklahoma State University

Tax | Reorganization

Mike Baker

Mike Baker is the Managing Partner of Baker Tax Law, LLC, a boutique tax firm that partners closely with Ebadat PLLC. A seasoned tax attorney, Mike advises founders, executives, and investors across the entire lifecycle of a business—from formation through exit. His practice focuses on sophisticated tax structuring, including entity selection and conversion, tax-free reorganizations, and taxable exits. Mike has advised on over 450 M&A transactions, including deals with consideration exceeding $1 billion.

Prior Experience

Before founding Baker Tax Law, Mike spent nearly a decade as a tax attorney at Cooley LLP, and practiced compensation and benefits law in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He was recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2016.

Education

J.D. from Cornell Law School
LL.M. in Taxation from NY
B.S. in Accounting, magna cum laude, from Utah State University

Juan Manuel López Ruiz

Sports Law  | Regulatory | International Sports

Juan Manuel is a leading attorney and leading advisor in international sports law. He counsels clubs, athletes, agents, and federations across a range of sports, with a focus on player contracts, high-stakes disputes, and regulatory matters in global football and combat sports.

His practice includes representing clients before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, as well as before judicial and disciplinary bodies of FIFA and national sports authorities such as the Appeals and Arbitration Commission and the Dispute Resolution and Mediation Commission of the Mexican Football Federation. His work spans advisory and dispute resolution matters for clubs and federations in the United States, Mexico and abroad, with significant experience in Guatemala, Paraguay, and Ecuador.

Juan Manuel is a trusted advisor to athletes in boxing, baseball, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts, offering strategic counsel on contractual, disciplinary, and commercial matters. He has also served as Vice President of Legal Affairs at several Mexican football clubs, including Club América, Atlante, León, Irapuato, and Veracruz.

Juan Manuel is also actively involved in legal education and thought leadership. He is a professor at Johan Cruyff University, where he teaches International Football Law and Club Management across campuses in Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. He has also delivered lectures at leading institutions such as Universidad La Salle and Escuela Libre de Derecho.

He is the only Mexican attorney to have been appointed a FIFA Match Agent, a designation that recognizes his global experience and deep understanding of the football ecosystem.

Education

International Master’s in Football Business and Administration, Johan Cruyff University
Master’s Studies in Tax Law, Universidad de las Américas Puebla
Specialization in Corporate Law, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Law, Universidad Intercontinental de México