“Benesch has been an extremely valuable and vital part of our growth. I wouldn’t have been able to grow our companies without their assistance, their advice, their legal knowledge—I consider them a true business partner.”
Matt Kaulig
Chairman and Founder
Leaf Home Solutions
Leaf Holdings, LLC, sells and installs the patented LeafFilter Gutter Protection System and other products for the home (leaffilter.com). Matt Kaulig is Executive Chairman and Founder of Leaf Home Solutions™, the parent company of LeafFilter™ and Leaf Home Safety Solutions™. Matt has grown the company from one small office in Stow, Ohio, to 64 offices that span North America, and 3,000+ employees. In addition to his role at Leaf, Matt is also the owner and Executive Chairman of The Kaulig Companies, a single-member family office that includes Kaulig Capital, a private equity, real estate, and investment banking firm; Ellsworth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor; Kaulig Media, a full-service marketing, branding and event agency; Kaulig Sports and Entertainment, a globally recognized sports agency that delivers comprehensive athlete and entertainer management as well as strategic marketing services; Kaulig Racing, which fields two cars in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and which won the Daytona 500 in 2019; and The Kaulig Companies Charitable Giving Programs, which seek to assist in solving significant challenges for the lives of children and families through the giving of time and financial assets.
The following is a testimonial from Chairman and Founder of Leaf Home Solutions, Matt Kaulig.
How did you start working with Benesch?
I was looking to expand the business and had heard that Benesch was the best firm for M&A—that Gregg Eisenberg is an expert, and they do a lot of deals, buying and selling companies and working with investment banks. I met Gregg through a mutual friend, Tim Clepper, and got to know him. I met some of the Benesch team, and they were great.
They’ve been phenomenal ever since. Not only do we have LeafFilter, but I also have a number of different companies, and Benesch is our counsel for all of them. It’s quite a team, for example, I work frequently with Mike Marhofer on PE matters and with Risto Pribisich for patents and licensing—we have 28 patents.
What other areas of the law does Benesch help you with?
They do all of it. Employment law, tax law, real estate—we do a lot of real estate and real estate development. That’s a big reason why we use Benesch, too, because they can do everything. Even in California now—we’ve opened up LeafFilter in California and have six locations there. Now that Benesch is in San Francisco, it’s worked out great.
What do you like about working with Benesch?
You need your attorneys to be smart, and the Benesch team is. They are more commonsense than anybody I’ve ever met. Basically they’re a bunch of good people who happen to be crazy-smart and experts in what they do.
I mentioned to you about real estate and tax and employment—they have experts in all those areas. Earlier in my business career, I had my attorney who was one person who would do all of that. The benefit of Benesch is that they have experts in different fields. That’s been really helpful. The tax guy isn’t giving me advice on real estate. Benesch is truly specialized in many areas, and that’s a big benefit.
What about beyond legal matters, from a business perspective?
I consider Gregg a big-time business advisor. Actually I talked to him earlier today just for advice. As an advisor he does big deals—he’s very well respected throughout the country in M&A, and so whenever we’re doing anything, I have Gregg look at it. Basically I have him personally look at everything before I do it. So, Benesch is not only great attorneys, but trusted advisors.
Is Benesch involved in your non-LeafFilter ventures?
Yes, I own a NASCAR team and Benesch handles all the contracts and sponsorship agreements. I have Kaulig Capital, which is our real estate development and private equity, so they handle all that work. And when I start a new company or a new office, they handle all the legal aspects of setting up everything. On the employment side, they handle not only HR matters, but also dealing with employee issues.
As a leader yourself, what value does that give you?
It’s priceless. When you work with somebody so long, they actually get to know you as well. Over the years Benesch has learned how we work and how I work—how I like things and want things run. It’s invaluable—I actually don’t know what I do without them.
Any final thoughts?
Benesch has been an extremely valuable and vital part of our growth. I wouldn’t have been able to grow our companies without their assistance, their advice, their legal knowledge. I look at them as partners, actually, as opposed to ‘I pay you and you give me a service.’ They truly position themselves as partners, and that’s how I consider them—a true business partner.