Our broad and significant securities experience allows us to effectively aid companies in raising seed rounds and early-stage capital, structuring more significant investments in your businesses, structuring debt financing without commercial or individual lender and/or exploring other financing options. We are also focused and efficient when it comes to proper disclosure and documentation of private placements and work with clients to ensure that the fees for raising needed cash do not consume the amount raised.

With over 20 years of legal experience, our litigation attorneys have provided efficient, result-oriented litigation and dispute resolution services in state and federal courts throughout California and other states on a pro hac vice basis. We have substantial experience litigating a wide range of disputes involving commercial and business contracts, construction and real estate matters, trade secrets, employment, trademarks and technology-related license agreements. We are also well-versed in the skills required to resolve matters prior to litigation through the use of mediation. In addition, we have also been retained as arbitrators and mediators to resolve private disputes between litigants.

We assist companies with employee (and independent contractor) related issues, including employee training and the preparation of employee offer letters and agreements, employment and policy manuals, confidentiality agreements, and severance agreements and with compensation-related matters, such as stock option and profit-sharing plans.

We offer vast legal services as general/corporate counsel to a diverse client base that includes non-profit corporations, public corporations, venture capitalists, emerging companies, partnerships, small businesses, community-based enterprises, municipal entities as well as private individuals such as investors, founders, and inventors. We advise clients on the myriad of business and legal issues that often impact the life of a business enterprise, including the selection, structuring and maintenance of corporate, partnership or limited liability entities, the drafting of a variety of contracts and agreements, and the negotiation of equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder buy-outs, strategic alliances, joint ventures and asset purchases and sales. We also counsel directors and officers on issues related to change of control, personnel and management, indemnification rights, accountability, privacy and other general policy and practice issues, including the legal ramifications of proposed business endeavors.

We assist businesses and investors in their efforts to protect and capitalize on their unique intellectual property ideas and assets. We advise clients on strategies for protection of valuable property through trade secret, trademark and copyright procedures. We further advise companies on the design and implementation of licenses, strategic alliances and joint ventures to develop and market intellectual property.

Our firm has substantial expertise in developing operational plans to assist companies in organizing new businesses as well as executing transactions ranging from mergers and stock or asset acquisitions to joint ventures, strategic alliances, franchising or the establishment of subsidiary entities. Taking into account your business’s organization, capital structure, regulatory and taxation concerns, we work with our clients to structure a transaction that best enables them to accomplish their objectives in the most effective and efficient fashion.

Broker-dealers face a host of regulatory issues arising under federal law, California law and FINRA rules. We assist our broker-dealer clients in the NASD application process as well as with maintenance, disclosure and other regulatory issues that arise in the course of a broker-dealer’s business.

We have a broad securities practice focusing on Federal and State securities offerings and compliance matters, including significant experience in preparing and filing secondary offering registration statements.

We provide timely and efficient counsel to SEC reporting companies and are experienced in a broad range of disclosure, timing and other issues that arise in the course of filing 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other periodic reports as well as annual meetings and proxy statements. We are also accustomed to working closely with auditors and in-house accounting staff to properly address questions that touch on both legal and accounting issues.

The San Francisco Bay Area has become one of the country’s major hubs for fashion and design. Our boutique law firm, through the diversity and depth of experience of its attorneys, is uniquely positioned to assist fashion designers, as well as individuals or companies that manufacture and sell fashion related products, such as clothing and footwear, handbags, jewelry, textiles, perfume, and cosmetics.

The firm represents a wide range of fashion industry clients, from high profile designers to those just starting out. Two of our clients have been contestants on Project Runway. We particularly enjoy meeting new designers and evolving fashion industry companies and helping them grow to their full potential. Understanding the economic pressures new designers and evolving fashion companies face, our firm structures its rates realistically to meet our clients’ needs.

We assist client with all trademark and copyright services including, clearance, filing (worldwide), counseling, and enforcement, and developing trademark strategies while working with clients to develop an approach to the protection of their names in the most cost-effective manner. We advise clients regarding all forms of fashion related agreements, including license and distribution agreements, non-disclosure agreements, work for hire agreements, design development agreements and employment agreements. We further advise client regarding all forms of fashion related litigation matters, when necessary.

With over 30 years of experience, we handle w handle compliance, planning, transactions, audit defense and litigation with all Federal and California authorities.

Our attorneys are experienced in:

• Individual, Fiduciary,  Partnership, LLC and Corporation return preparation and planning
• Audits, Appeals, and Tax Court Litigation
• Offers in Compromise, Installment Payment Arrangements, and Collections
• Estate and Gift Tax Planning and Return Preparation
• Sales Tax Compliance and Audits
• Employment / Payroll Tax Compliance and Audits
• Real Estate Tax
• Deferred Exchanges
• Non-Profits
• Mergers
• Valuations
• Offshore Disclosure and Reporting

Our Estate Planning and Probate attorneys have provided planning and drafting services to a broad and diverse clientele.  Such services include, among others:

• Wills
• Revocable Living Trusts
• Irrevocable Trusts
• Life Insurance Trusts
• GRIT, GRAT, and GRUNT
• Powers of Attorney
• Health Care Directives
• Special Interest Trusts
• Advanced Gifting and Estate Planning Techniques

We also handle Probate and Probate related Litigation and Appeals such as:

• Will Contest
• Trust Litigation
• Apportionment Issues
• Distribution Disputes
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Terminations and Appointments

We assist owners, buyers, sellers, brokers, developers, contractors and investors in all of their real estate related needs.  Real estate encompass a wide variety of matters: from general advice to drafting purchase agreements, leases, or construction documents; to obtaining entitlements; to resolving property line disputes and encroachments; to litigating construction defects, broker disputes, homeowner association matters, and disclosure issues; to syndication of real estate offerings.  One of our attorneys is a licensed real estate broker with experience both in sales and lending.

Opportunity Zone investments provide a unique chance to couple tax deferment with tax elimination.