Corporate & Civil Litigation

In a lot of ways, a dispute among business partners is the near equivalent to a divorce. That is especially true if you and your co-owners have invested years and thousands or even millions of dollars. We regularly help clients in all phases of this process with the objective of preserving and equitably accounting for the value of the business. If you face such a split-up, we recommend getting advice as early as possible – before you have discussions or float any ideas in writing that could work to your disadvantage as negotiations get underway.

Yes, there are. The rules are very, very strict, the time limits are measured in days, and those vary from state to state. If you are a contractor or material supplier who’s not been paid due to a construction project gone bad, it’s wise for you to inquire about your options the moment you suspect a problem. Depending on your circumstances, we may be able to propose alternatives. With a clear heads-up, we can seriously improve the likelihood that the lien will be filed on time and succeed in generating payment.

Yes, although it used to be uncommon for employees to sue their employer, that’s not true anymore. Many employees believe that legitimate business decisions are the equivalent of discrimination. They file claims that have merit in their own minds, but not necessarily any legal basis. We recently defended a small business that was sued by a person that they did not even consider to be an employee, although legally speaking he probably was. We were ultimately able to successfully resolve the matter.

If you required that person to sign an employment agreement at the time of hiring that included a “covenant not to compete,” the answer is probably “yes.” The rules for enforcing those agreements vary widely from state to state. Courts don’t like to keep people from working, so they look for loopholes. Our attorneys have experience in making the best arguments to protect your rights, whether you are the employer or the employee. If you’re the employer, you may also be able to prevent a departing employee from taking sensitive, confidential information with them, such as customer lists.