← Our Team
OUR TEAM

Ben Calkins

Founding Partner

Ben Calkins is one of Northeast Ohio's most recognized M&A attorneys, and he has been in the room for hundreds of transactions across the Great Lakes region — four decades of formations, acquisitions, disputes, and exits.

Over that career he has learned what makes a deal succeed and what makes one fall apart, usually long before the parties do. That pattern recognition is what he brings to every FFBA client.

He founded Fast Forward Business Advisors to give business owners and buyers access to the kind of senior, institutional-quality advisory most never get — personal, direct, and grounded in real transaction experience rather than a listing playbook. Ben leads every engagement himself, from the first confidential conversation through closing.

"After forty years advising business owners, I've never met one who regretted taking the time to prepare properly. I've met many who regretted that they didn't."

— BEN CALKINS
CREDENTIALS & RECOGNITION
40+ years of Ohio M&A practice
AV Preeminent (Martindale-Hubbell)
Super Lawyer — multiple years
Co-founder, Center for Free Enterprise
Former President, Ohio Venture Association
Hundreds of transactions "in the room"
Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award — top 1%
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
Co-founder, North Coast Angel Fund

Work with Ben.