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Charities and Nonprofit Organizations Construction law Contract law Corporate and Business Formation law Criminal Law Employment Law Estate Planning Family Law Health Care Law Internal investigations

Litigation Litigation of health care law Mergers and Acquisitions Personal Injury Real Estate Law Restaurants and Liquor Licenses Tax Law White collar crime Worker's Compensation laws

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Charities and Nonprofit Organizations are organized and regulated under state law and compliance with each state’s law is mandatory. A nonprofit organization is typically created to support a group interest or public need, and the nature of the organization and the rules applicable to it will vary accordingly. These may be set up as trusts or associations, but typically are nonprofit corporations without shareholders. None of the organization's income is distributed as dividends, and it is generally exempt from income tax. Tax exemption and nonprofit status generally overlap, but they are separate concepts and recognition of tax exempt status has to be undertaken in addition to organization as a nonprofit corporation. Nonprofit and charitable organizations include religious organizations, educational organizations, human and social service organizations, and arts and cultural organizations. Additionally there are state laws governing fundraising by nonprofit organizations that must be observed. The issues relating to nonprofit and charitable organizations include formation, management, ongoing operations, fund raising, and dissolution.
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Construction law varies by state, and there are a number of terms used to describe a project that is under construction, including erection, construction, moving, conversion, alteration, remodeling, and addition. Your community's building inspection department, office of planning and zoning, or department of permits will have a listing of the necessary construction law permits, construction and contract law regulations, and inspections related to building and zoning codes for new construction or remodeling.

Litigation in construction law disputes takes on many forms, as at each construction site there are owners, general contractors and subcontractors. Typically, payment bonds or other types of bonds that help insure that the companies that work on the construction projects will get paid are the source of the funds sought to be collected upon in construction litigation. Some construction disputes are resolved by filing a mechanic's lien.
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Contract law helps determine the enforceability of promises. The fundamental requirements when forming a binding contract are an offer, acceptance, and consideration. To be enforceable, a contract must be formed by competent parties, who give their consent to an agreement. When attempting to draft an enforceable contract, you should retain counsel to ensure the document will bind the other party to the obligations set forth in the agreement and can be legally enforced in a court of law. When the terms of a contract become disputed, litigation often develops. A party may be excused from performing under a contract by proving a defense to breach of contract. Such defenses include duress, fraud and misrepresentation, mistake, lack of consideration, and the statute of frauds. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and its state law derivatives govern the sale of goods. There are many other state laws that can affect a party’s rights under a contract.
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Corporate and Business Formation law varies by state. Corporations are legal entities that are separate from their owners (“shareholders”). They are formed by filing certificates or articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State where the business will operate. State corporate law governs the duties of corporate shareholders, as do the corporation’s bylaws. The bylaws are the rules and regulations by which the corporation will operate. These bylaws are typically carried out by the officers and directors of the corporation. Corporations are governed by the shareholders, who elect the directors, who in turn elect the officers who actually run the corporation. The corporation exists separate from its shareholders, directors, and officers, and survives even if something happens to the people who own and operate it. There are many types of corporations, such as close corporations, professional corporations, S corporations, and nonprofit corporations.

There are also a number of legal entities that are not corporations or LLCs, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships and joint ventures. Before choosing to operate as a corporation, you should discuss with your attorney all types of legal entities to determine which type of business structure is right for you and what you want to do.

Limited Liability Companies are also creatures of state law and offer another, very flexible, form of doing business which many owners prefer due to the favorable tax treatment accorded most LLCs.
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Criminal Law involves an individual’s (adult and juvenile) relationship to the state or federal government. It includes the definitions of criminal offenses, which are usually established by Congress or state legislatures. Criminal law covers the rights of an accused and the criminal process, including arrest, bond or bail arraignment, grand juries, pleas, discovery, pretrial hearings, trials, jury selection, evidence, motions, and post-trial remedies. Criminal law also sets forth the punishment for criminal offenses. In order to prove any crime, no matter how serious, the government must prove that the accused committed an accused act beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Employment law involves the laws and regulations governing labor relations and employment issues, such as collective bargaining, discrimination in the workplace, sexual harassment, occupational safety, wage and hour requirements, and workers' compensation. Federal statutes, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as well as state laws protect employees from discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Family and Medical Leave Act, another federal statute, allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons, without having to worry about losing their jobs. This area of the law also deals with employment contracts and the rights of a person to compete with his or her former employer.
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Estate Planning helps a person arrange their financial affairs so that when he/she dies or becomes incapacitated, their assets and relationships will be passed down to those persons or charities that he/she wishes to have them. Through the use of wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and health care directives, a person may be assured that his or her estate is going to be handled with the least possible difficulty and expense to his or her heirs. This can be a complex or simple arrangement depending on the person’s desires and situation. Advance planning is usually rewarded by substantial savings in probate fees, taxes and the delays that can occur where there is not enough advance planning. In many cases, it is necessary to integrate this planning with the person’s business affairs to insure continuity in that critical area as well.
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Family law includes the legal relationships among family and former family members, including husbands, wives, parents, children, and domestic partners and encompasses adoption, child custody, visitation rights, domestic violence, divorce, juvenile dependency and delinquency, marital property rights, support obligations, and paternity. These personal relationships are governed by state law and what constitutes family law will vary from state to state.
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Health Care Law deals with the relationships between health care providers and their patients, other businesses and governmental entities. This field encompasses the laws and regulations governing hospital and healthcare administration, which includes management of staff and physicians and billing. An understanding of these healthcare laws and regulations and health insurance is integral to compliance. There are significant differences in the types and amount of coverage provided by various private insurance policies, such as HMOs, PPOs, disability insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance, just as there are important differences in the cost to you. There are also public healthcare insurance programs. Elderly and disabled persons may be eligible for coverage through the federal Medicare program. The joint state-federal Medicaid program helps certain individuals, including disabled persons and low-income elderly persons, pay for long-term care and in-home healthcare. Compliance with these federal programs can be complex and confusing. Recoupment of overpayments is one area where the state and federal governments are very active at this time.
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Internal investigations should be handled by your attorney and, many times, involve conducting interviews of current and former personnel, auditing and use of other investigative methods to gather the facts of the situation.
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Litigation is the process of prosecuting or defending against a claim for a legal remedy in a court of law. Business Litigation and Commercial Litigation are judicial contests on behalf of or against a business. To protect yourself from a business lawsuit, shield yourself from personal and business liability exposure (see business formation), make sure you have a comprehensive general business liability policy, and have well-drafted company policies and procedures, such as an employee handbook, in place. If your business is sued, contact an attorney. Allow your lawyer to speak for you, investigate the allegations, help the business assess potential liability exposure, and formulate a plan of defense.

Another important aspect to Business Litigation and defending allegations of violations of state and federal law is investigation of the allegations, both before and after civil lawsuits and/or criminal charges are filed. An internal investigation of allegations of improper or illegal conduct by officers, directors and/or employees of a company can be critical to a company’s ability to adequately address the allegations.
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Litigation of health care law issues has become more and more prevalent during the last decade. Individuals can bring a private law suit, called a qui tam claim, if they believe false or fraudulent information, among other things, has been provided to the government. State governments, through their Attorney General’s Office, have developed Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MFCU”) specifically designed to investigate and prosecute physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, among others, for allegations of wrongdoing. Special units within the United States Attorney’s Offices throughout the country have been created for the same purpose. Private litigation between health care providers has also increased.
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Mergers and Acquisitions are strategic alliances that can vary in nature. A strategic alliance often will be structured either as an acquisition, a joint venture or as a merger. Acquisitions can be asset purchases, where the buyer purchases the seller's assets, or stock purchases, where the buyer purchases the business's stock and actually takes over the business, instead of just buying the assets (see Buying and selling a business). A business merger, or the "marriage" of two businesses, shares many characteristics of an asset purchase and a stock purchase, but at the end of the transaction two businesses are combined as one.
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Personal injury covers any wrong or damage done to another in his person, property, rights, or reputation. A personal injury can happen at work (see worker’s compensation), because of a faulty product or a faulty repair, because your car was struck in an automobile collision, or because you slipped and fell on a wet floor or pavement. The personal injury can be physical or psychological but, to be considered actionable, it must occur due to the negligence or unreasonably unsafe actions of your employer, a manufacturer, your landlord, or some other person or organization who owes you a duty of ordinary care. Examples of personal injury law causes of action include professional malpractice, auto accidents, wrongful death, liable, slander, trespass, and nuisance.
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Real Estate Law incorporates the right to possess, use, and enjoy land and the permanent manmade additions attached to it. This includes the capacity to own and lease real estate, relations between owners, zoning, landlord and tenant relations, the transfer of interests in real property, and financing (including deeds of trust and mortgages, both commercial and residential). Real estate transactions, such as purchases, sales, and leases, are governed by a wide body of federal and state law, and the requirements established by state law often differ. Whether you are buying a building, leasing a farm or granting a utility easement, you should consult counsel.
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Restaurants and Liquor Licenses The laws and regulations applicable to restaurants and liquor licensing can be complex. Restaurants, like other business, deal with areas involving employment law, leases and other contractual issues, but restaurants have additional issues dealing with health departments and related concerns, as well as liquor license requirements for both the entity and the staff. The rules and regulations for liquor licensing vary between the states. The complexity and differentiation in the laws for restaurants and liquor licensing between the states necessitates contacting counsel that are knowledgeable in these areas.
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Tax The laws and regulations applicable to taxation are incorporated into divisions of business formation, probate and estate planning, buying and selling businesses, real estate and/or personal property, charitable giving, business accounting and bookkeeping, business litigation, even criminal defense. Tax law also involves all aspects related to tax return preparation. Reducing your chance of being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) depends on a number of factors. Our team of tax lawyers can guide you through the maze of the Tax Code, or local property tax issues, no matter what stage of the tax process you are in.
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White collar crime encompasses offenses charged in federal or state court that are generally business-related financial crimes. White collar crimes include antitrust violations, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, bribery, computer/internet fraud, credit card fraud, counterfeiting, economic espionage, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, fraud of financial institutions, health care fraud, insurance fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, physician billing (Medicare and/or Medicaid) fraud, securities fraud, tax evasion and wire fraud. Penalties for white collar offenses may include fines, prison time, restitution, forfeiture, supervised release, and home detention. Investigation into allegations of wrongdoing before charges are filed can be critical to learning of improper activity and effective representation. Finding an attorney with experience in investigating alleged wrongdoing is imperative in white collar crime cases.
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Worker's Compensation laws entitle employees to certain benefits when they suffer an injury arising out of and in the context of their employment and vary from state to state. Whether an employer is required to carry workers' compensation insurance is dependent upon state law, but generally, most, if not all, employees are covered. Benefits may include temporary total disability benefits while you are unable to work, payment of medical bills, permanent partial disability benefits, or total disability benefits.
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