Testimonials

“Dr. Charlotte Lacroix and VBA have been very instrumental in helping me grow this practice after I bought out my partner 2 years ago. She was able to help me hire on many new specialists and assisted with the contract negotiations to achieve a successful and balanced practice. I will continue to utilize Dr. Lacroix and her services as long as I own this practice and when I am ready to sell in the future. She is one of my closest and most trusted advisors.”

Amy A. Shroff, VMD
Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center of New England

“Over my 28 years of being a private practice owner, as well as a specialty practice owner, I have had many occasions to benefit from the advice of an attorney (which has included employment agreements, practice and property buy-sells, legal forms, as well as lease negotiations). Prior to my work with Charlotte, in every case, I lamented the communication void inherent with working with attorneys who did not have a solid understanding of veterinarians and the veterinary profession. With Charlotte, that void is non-existent. Being "one of us", I have found that she not only has an incredible, working knowledge of her primary profession (legal), she also understands the veterinary business at all levels, and the psyche of veterinarians. In addition to her outstanding knowledge, skill, and experience I have always felt her underlying sense of empathy, compassion and fairness. All in all, a combination of great people skills as well as business skills. I will never make another major business decision without her input.”

Thomas P. Chamberlain, DVM, MS, Diplomate American Veterinary Dental College
Animal Dentistry & Oral Surgery, Leesburg, VA

“I was referred to Dr. Lacroix in 2007. I contacted her to assist me with buying a practice and forming a partnership agreement. Not only did she provide great advice, but she helped us make the best deal possible when we bought our practice. Dr. Lacroix gave us confidence right from the beginning.”

Thomas Chlebecek, DVM
Makai Animal Clinic – Kailua, HI

“While I have been a practicing veterinarian for 41 years, it wasn’t until nine years ago that we began considering hiring our first associate. We called our friend, Dr. Jim Wilson, with contract questions and he referred us to Dr. Charlotte Lacroix. She made the hiring procedure smooth and fair for us and for the associate. Now we have four associates on staff, and we still call Dr. Lacroix for help with contracts and for answers to employment questions and contracts. She has also helped us with a practice purchase agreement and maternity leave of absence issues, and she was instrumental in drafting the purchase agreement to buy out my former partner. It is hard to imagine going through these business situations without her professional guidance.”

William V. Callahan, DVM and Peggy Callahan, Practice Manager
La Cumbre Animal Hospital – Santa Barbara, CA

“I would not think of preparing agreements and contracts without legal guidance from Dr. Lacroix. She has helped us prepare legal agreements, contracts, admitting forms and employment contracts. She has overall legal and business knowledge of the veterinary profession and has negotiated fair contracts that benefit both the employer and employee.”

Lloyd S. Meisels, DVM, Hospital Director
Coral Springs Animal Hospital - General, Specialty, & Emergency Hospital - Coral Springs, FL

“I contacted Dr. Lacroix and Veterinary Business Advisors, Inc. when I was a surgical resident, asking her to assist me in the purchase of my practice. I had worked previously with Dr. Lacroix on employee/employer contracts and I chose Dr. Lacroix again because as I wanted to be advised by a lawyer who was an expert in the field of veterinary business and the associated legal issues. Dr. Lacroix helped me through the long and difficult negotiations to come to an agreement with which I was comfortable. Working with Dr. Lacroix was one of the best business decisions I have ever made. I will have no hesitation in working with her in the future, as well as recommending her and VBA to others.”

Greg M. Griffin, MVB, MRCVS, DACVS, DECVS
Potomac Valley Veterinary Surgical Specialists, P.C.

“I first met Dr. Lacroix at the VSIPP meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2004. I originally hired her and Veterinary Business Advisors to draft an agreement with an associate in a veterinary dental practice. Since she is a veterinarian as well as a lawyer, knowing that she understands what I wanted was very important to me. Working with her gave me comfort in knowing I have a satisfactory agreement between me and my associates.”

Chris Visser, DVM, DAVDC, DEVDC
Arizona Veterinary Dental Specialists – Scottsdale, AZ

“As a Hospital Administrator, I handle all the legal work for my specialty and emergency/trauma facility. I met Dr. Lacroix in 2005 at a conference and hired her to draft an employment contract. Charlotte created a contract template, so now I need only plug in the varying items from employee to employee, saving me time and money and providing great peace of mind knowing that I didn’t overlook something. She has created residency contracts, specialized technician contracts, and hospital administrator and doctor contracts both boarded and non-boarded. Thanks to her expertise, I have been able to deal with potential employment hiring hiccups prior to the employee coming aboard, by mapping out expectations of both parties. Charlotte has helped navigate some sticky negotiations with other attorneys. Had we not engaged the services of VBA, we would be far less protected. Fortunately, I feel we have avoided much chaos through our collaboration. Having a fair, thorough, and precise employment contract has helped our business be more solid. Charlotte is invaluable to me and VSDS. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with her and have learned a lot. I have the utmost confidence in Charlotte’s approach, ethics, and knowledge. I always recommend Charlotte! She is the best in the business.”

Brie D. Messier, BA - Hospital Administrator
Veterinary Surgical and Diagnostic Specialists – Clarksburg, NJ

“I was referred to Dr. Lacroix and VBA by Karen Felsted to help me purchase my practice. Dr. Lacroix’s expertise as both a veterinarian and a lawyer was of great value. She has a lot of patience and knowledge, and supported me throughout the entire process. She gave me the tools and confidence to be able to own my own hospital.”

Michelle Coran, DVM
Animal Hospital of Huntington Beach – Huntington Beach, CA

“Dr, Lacroix has led us along the path from a three doctor veterinary General Practice to a regional General/Referral/Emergency twelve veterinarian practice in a 26,000 square foot facility. She directed my partner and I through tough decisions whereby I purchased half of the surgery practice and he purchased half of my real estate. Together, we added an Emergency department. Dr. Lacroix guided us through challenging negotiations with a firm, professional, honest hand. She has consistently cared for us like family! She has taken us to the cutting edge of veterinary business management and philosophy. If we had not engaged her services, we may not have had our partnership and thus our wonderful practices. I would absolutely recommend VBA and their services to others.”

Doug Ayers, VMD
Plains Animal Hospital - Plains, PA

“My wife and I are both veterinarians and had heard Dr. Lacroix speak at several conferences before we engaged her services. She is very knowledgeable in all areas pertaining to the legal, business and financial aspects of a practice exit strategy. She is extremely dedicated to her clients with impeccable attention to detail. Dr. Lacroix is articulate and confident during negotiations.

I certainly would not have been able to accomplish the security necessary for my family without her. No matter how clear and calm the path to a business deal appears, there is always rough water and some turbulence. Dr. Lacroix is essential to assist in navigating these waters. In addition, Dr. Lacroix made me aware of many aspects of the business deal that I had never considered. Also, being a veterinarian, she obviously has keen insight into our profession.”

Jeffrey Salatiello, VMD
Salham Veterinary Services - Edison, NJ

“I have worked with Marty over the past three months on various projects and have found him to be very knowledgeable in the area of human resource management. On every project he has been very responsive to my questions and needs and I look forward to working with Marty on future projects.”

Christine Stafford - Practice Administrator
Bush Veterinary Neurology Service - Leesburg, VA

“Marty Miller recently helped me navigate through a very difficult and volatile employee situation. He went above and beyond by making himself available on evenings and weekends to provide feedback and advice.

Marty also guided my written and verbal correspondence such that I was able to protect my interests while getting my point across in an objective and legal manner. Marty's expertise and counsel was invaluable in resolving this issue and I do not know what I would have done without him. ”

Maureen McElhinny, VMD
Green Valley Veterinary Hospital - New Brighton, PA

“I met Charlotte when I applied for an externship with her during my senior year. I learned a tremendous amount and had a good time. I then retained her services when my wife and I purchased my dad's practice and then when we were looking to hire an associate. While we still have a lot of work to do I know that Charlotte has helped us make good decisions concerning the building of our practice and the only regrets I have are from when I did not listen to her advice!”

Rich Bryant, DVM, CCRP
Salem Animal Hospital - Salem, VA

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