Staci Griffin

Staci Griffin has built a practice that moves fluidly between commercial lending, commercial real estate and corporate law for Houston area businesses and treats a client’s file as one connected picture rather than three separate areas of law. She represents banks, credit unions and private lenders in structuring and documenting commercial and SBA loans, prepares and reviews commercial leases and purchase agreements representing either party to the transaction, and guides business owners through entity formation, ownership transitions and succession planning.

Commercial lending, including SBA 7(a) and 504 loan packages

Staci is well versed in preparing SBA 7(a) and 504 loan packages for SBA preferred lenders, along with unsecured and secured commercial loan documentation and construction loan packages. She tracks SBA and conventional lending rules that have changed multiple times since the pandemic, along with new eligibility rules affecting foreign nationals in a borrowing entity and recent Texas legislation on foreign ownership and leasing of real property and speaks publicly on these topics to help clients and referral sources stay current. Staci has frequently given presentations at the Mid-America Lenders Conferences, an SBA specific conference for SBA lenders.

Drawing on her real estate and corporate background, she also confirms loan documents are properly and accurately drafted, collateral is properly secured, and SBA guidelines are followed so closings proceed smoothly. In multiple matters, that broader view caught use restrictions on a property before closing that would have prevented the borrower from operating the business it intended to run there.

Commercial real estate transactions

Staci’s commercial real estate work spans purchase and sale agreements, owner financing transactions, easements and curative work on title matters, in addition to leases for both landlord and tenant clients. She takes time to understand what a buyer, seller, landlord or tenant needs from a transaction before papering it, and reviews any title commitment tied to the property for issues that could affect the deal.

Entity formation, ownership transitions and general corporate work

Staci advises on entity choice and formation for limited liability companies, corporations, general and limited partnerships, along with asset and stock purchase and sale agreements, business succession planning, non-disclosure agreements, and other general contract and transactional matters. Her clients range from established, multi-generation businesses to new and growing companies, and she also maintains a limited practice in probate and estate planning.

Title Company representation

Staci, along with her Senior Paralegal Michele Parker, also represent multiple title companies with real estate closing services. These services include deed preparation, curative deeds, lien releases, escrow agreements, and affidavits of heirship, all of which assist title companies in getting their residential and commercial files to closing.

Board leadership

Outside her legal practice, Staci has spent close to sixteen years with Second Chance Pets, an animal rescue nonprofit where she currently serves as board president and has been involved in nearly every aspect of the organization, including fundraising, adoption counseling and foster placement.

She has found that the leadership experience gained through a small nonprofit, working with a wide range of personalities and knowing when an issue needs to be escalated, carries directly into how she manages client relationships. She also notes that animal rescue work and representing family owned businesses share a similar emotional intensity, since clients in both settings are often deeply invested in what they are trying to protect.

Staci is also the vice-president and a board member with the Bay Area A&M Club and is heavily involved with its scholarship selection committee and muster planning committee.