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Our Areas of Practice
BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LAW:
EMPLOYER REPRESENTATION:
EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION:
BANKRUPTCY
REAL ESTATE
FEDERAL and CIVIL LITIGATION
General
For many small business owners, using a lawyer is akin to calling a fireman
or plumber: one does it only when there's a problem.
Especially for new businesses, needs such as marketing, sales, staffing and
just getting the business off the ground can easily take priority over legal
issues, particularly ones that don't seem to be of immediate concern. But
smart business planning also includes preventing problems and making sure
the business is protected against potential trouble.
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Corporate Governance
While most corporations will use an attorney to help with the process of
incorporation, new businesses sometimes neglect the on-going legal
requirements to maintain their corporation status. Annual shareholder,
director and partner meetings need to be held, and recording of minutes and
election of officers must conform with state requirements. Failure to do so
could jeopardize corporate status and result in "piercing of the corporate
veil" in the event of a lawsuit or other legal action, exposing corporate
officers to personal liability or other legal problems.
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Intellectual Property
Many intangible assets of a business should be legally protected. A
company's name, logo, brand name and distinctive goods and services are
entitled to copyright protection. Proprietary computer software,
semiconductor chip mask designs, vessel hull designs and many other
creations may be eligible for trademark registration. Patents are often
thought to cover only machines and other manufactured products, but can also
protect processes, such as a method for refining petroleum, or new
compositions of matter, such as chemical compounds or mixtures. Trademark,
copyright and patent registrations can help a business protect the things
that give it a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
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Employment Agreements
Many companies, especially technology companies, count the knowledge of
their employees as some of their most important assets. Yet they fail to
protect those assets through non-disclosure and non-compete agreements with
their employees. Inevitably, some employees will leave the company, and it's
important to protect your business against their taking their knowledge of
trade secrets with them over to the competition.
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Incorporation
There are many different ways to structure your business. Just starting out
and aren’t sure what would be best for your circumstances, or have been in
business for awhile and need to restructure? We can help you decide which
structure would be best for your specific circumstances.
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- Corporation
- Professional Corporation
- Limited Liability Company
- Limited Partnership
- Limited Liability Partnership
- Non-Profit
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EMPLOYER REPRESENTATION
Sometimes it makes sense to hire an attorney.
Even the most conscientious employer occasionally needs help from a lawyer.
Although you can handle many employment matters on your own, some issues are
particularly tricky and will require some legal expertise. Employment law
can change rapidly. Courts and government agencies issue new opinions
interpreting these laws every day, sometimes completely overturning what
everyone thought the law meant. When you also factor in that lawsuits
brought by former employees can end in huge damages awards against the
employer, it's easy to see why you should seek legal advice when you get in
over your head.
On the other hand, you don't need to talk to a lawyer every time you
evaluate, discipline, or even fire a worker. After all, lawyers don't come
cheap -- if you run to a lawyer every time you have to make an
employment-related decision, you will quickly go broke.
The trick is to figure out which situations require some expert help and
which you can handle on your own. Here are a few tasks for which you should
consider bringing in a lawyer.
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Reviewing Documents
A lawyer can quickly review and troubleshoot any employment-related
agreements you routinely use with your workers, such as employment
contracts, severance agreements, or releases. A lawyer can check your
contracts to make sure that they contain all the necessary legal terms and
will be enforced by a court. If you have included any language that might
cause problems later, or if you have gone beyond what the law requires of
you, a lawyer can draw these issues to your attention. And a lawyer can give
you advice about when to use these contracts -- for example, you may not
want to give severance to every departing employee or enter into an
employment contract with every new worker.
You can also ask a lawyer to give your employee handbook or personnel
policies a thorough legal review. First and foremost, a lawyer can make sure
that your policies don't violate laws regarding overtime pay, family leave,
final paychecks, or occupational safety and health, to name a few. A lawyer
can also check for language that might create unintended obligations towards
your employees. And a lawyer might advise you to consider additional
policies. (For help creating an employee handbook -- including sample
language you can modify to fit your workplace.
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Advice on Employment Decisions
A lawyer can help you make difficult decisions about your employees.
Particularly if you are worried that an employee might sue, you should
consider getting legal advice before firing an employee for misconduct,
performance problems, or other bad behavior. A lawyer can tell you not only
whether terminating the worker will be legal, but also what steps you can
take to minimize the risk of a lawsuit.
Here are a few situations when you should consider asking a lawyer to review
your decision to fire:
- the worker has a written or oral employment contract that limits your right
to fire (see Written Employment Contracts: Pros and Cons for more on
employment contracts)
- the employee may believe that he or she has an implied employment contract
limiting your right to fire
- the employee is due to vest benefits, stock options, or retirement money
shortly
- the employee recently filed a complaint or claim with a government agency,
or complained to you of illegal or unethical activity in the workplace
- the employee recently filed a complaint of discrimination or harassment
- firing the employee would dramatically change your workplace demographics
- the employee recently revealed that he or she is in a protected class --
for example, is pregnant, has a disability, or practices a particular
religion
- you are concerned about the worker's potential for violence, vandalism, or
sabotage
- the worker has access to your company's high-level trade secrets or
competitive information
- you are firing the worker for excessive absences, if you are concerned that
the absences may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act or the
Americans with Disabilities Act
- the employee denies committing the acts for which you are firing him or
her, even after an investigation, or
- the employee has hired a lawyer to represent him or her in dealing with
you.
You may also wish to have a lawyer review any employment decision that will
affect a large number of employees. For example, if you are planning to lay
off some workers, change your pension plan, or discontinue an employee
benefit, it would be smart to run your plans by a lawyer before you take
action. The lawyer can tell you about any potential legal pitfalls you might
be facing -- and give you advice on avoiding them.
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Representation in Legal or Administrative Proceedings
If a current or former employee sues you, speak to a lawyer right away.
Employment lawsuits can be very complex. You have to take certain actions
immediately to make sure that your rights are protected -- and to preserve
evidence that might be used in court. The time limits for taking action are
very short -- many courts require you to file a formal, legal response to a
lawsuit within just a few weeks. As soon as your receive notice of a lawsuit
against you, begin looking for a lawyer.
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EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION
Employment law deals with the relationship between employers and employees
and covers a broad range of issues. We can advise on the legal rights and
responsibilities of the employer and the employee with regard to work
related disputes.
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Wage and Hour
Employers are required to fairly compensate employees for
time worked; this includes overtime, adequate pay for time worked, and
legally mandated time off for breaks
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Sexual Harassment
Employees have a right to work in an environment free
from harassment.
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Discrimination
When job performance and experience are not the sole
criteria for career advancement, discrimination may have taken place.
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Wrongful Dismissal
Wrongful dismissal occurs when a person loses his or
her job in a way that breaches the terms of his or her contract.
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Workplace Safety
When workplaces fail to comply with OSHA regulations
putting employees at risk of undue harm, they may be held legally
responsible.
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BANKRUPTCY
If you're dealing with spiraling debt, looming foreclosure, fear of property
repossession, creditor harassment or other financial problems, filing
bankruptcy may be an option. In California there are numerous and subtle
bankruptcy laws on the books. We have the experience to understand the laws
and process rules applicable to your type of case. We take the time to
explain how bankruptcy may affect your life and help you understand the
process for filing.
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Construction Defect and Insurance Defense
We represent construction corporations, contractors of all sizes,
subcontractors of many trades, employers and their insurers. Construction
specialty areas in our practice background include electrical, grading,
drainage, concrete, roofing, welding, synthetic building systems,
remediation, framing, and manufacturing of glass, floor and window
materials. We have amassed a wealth of knowledge in the technical and
medical issues underlying liability claims in these areas of construction.
We recognize that litigation is a drain on our clients’ resources and we
continually build upon our cost-effective litigation frameworks. Our record
of achieving early dismissal of cases at summary judgment helps contain
clients’ expenditures. In the course of litigation, our attorneys
aggressively pursue indemnification protection when appropriate and
efficiently manage a network of experts. And we apply our extensive
construction knowledge to advise clients on best practices and preventive
measures to reduce future litigation threats.
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Federal Civil Litigation
We have extensive experience in litigation under
- Title VII
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- The Equal Pay Act (EPA)
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Other civil rights statutes
We appear before state and federal trial and appellate courts and
administrative agencies such as the
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
- California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
- California Employment Development Department
- California Merit Systems Protection Board
We are involved in the litigation of a broad spectrum of employment
discrimination issues, including class allegations, affirmative action,
sexual harassment, disabilities and accommodation, free speech, equal
protection, and due process. Our firm has successfully represented
clients in employment discrimination and civil rights suits and regularly
produces judgments in favor of employers at both the summary judgment and
jury verdict stages.
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