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Business Attorney

An Attorney Can Stand By Your Side

Making a decision on behalf of your business can be intimidating because one poor choice can affect the future of your entire company. But you do not have to go it alone.

A business attorney can advise you on various decisions you might face including agreements, disputes, and mergers and acquisitions.

How can your business benefit from representation from Bowles & Verna LLP?

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Contact us today at 925-478-5763 to see how we can help your business.

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Business Law Attorneys Provide Clarity For The Future Of Your Business

Our business law attorneys in Walnut Creek, California, will work with you to achieve your business’s goals by providing clear answers to your questions and strong contracts for your business. Bowles & Verna LLP offers complimentary corporate calendaring service that takes the guesswork out of California and federal filings, while our transaction attorneys draft contracts with the terms and conditions necessary to protect your business.

Our comprehensive business law practice is built around the needs of businesses at all stages of development, whether they are forming start-ups or selling their businesses through acquisition or IPO.

Assistance In Business Transactions

All businesses have legal issues they need to deal with from time to time. Many of them involve complying with state and federal regulations or drafting agreements with other companies or entities. To do this, your business needs a lawyer with experience handling business transactions for companies of your size and industry.

Although Bowles & Verna LLP is well known for its litigation expertise, we have developed and expanded our corporate and business practice considerably since 1988. Our role in transnational practice is to help accomplish strategic objectives – to launch new ventures, structure acquisitions and reorganizations, manage operations and preserve assets for ultimate disposition. We serve as general counsel to a number of small and mid-size companies in a variety of industries, and we provide a full spectrum of advice and counsel, including:

Entity Formation And Structural Planning

The variety of structures available for new businesses – C and S corporations, general and limited partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures – creates both challenge and opportunity. The structural decision has a wide-ranging impact on taxes, co-ownership relationships, insurance requirements, and landlord-tenant relationships, to name a few. We guide you through the maze to help you make the optimal decision; then we prepare all appropriate documentation to ensure that your decisions are implemented and all applicable laws are observed.

Real Property

Our clients include developers, owner-operators, financial institutions, and brokers. Recently, the firm has handled an increasing number of matters relating to problem loans, workouts, bankruptcies, and refinancing. We have considerable expertise in:

  • Acquisitions, sales, and exchanges
  • Formation and operation of partnerships, limited liability companies, and joint ventures
  • Retail, commercial and industrial leasing
  • Real estate development and land use

Mergers, Acquisitions, Reorganizations And Sales

Efficient and effective growth is imperative to business success. Productivity may be enhanced by business combinations and acquisitions. Success is sometimes measured by the timely disposition of assets. We have considerable experience in strategizing and structuring these landmark events.

Employment And Personnel Policies

Staffing is no longer merely a matter of signing a union contract or shaking hands. Employment discrimination, accommodations for persons with disabilities, wage and hour rules, harassment, workplace violence, and employee privacy are only a few of the issues employers face. We provide counsel in all aspects of personnel practices, including employee, consultant, and independent contractor relationships.

Trade Secrets, Trademarks And Technology

The most valuable assets of a business are often intangible – confidential information, proprietary technology, trademark/trade name, customer/client lists, and goodwill. At Bowles & Verna, we advise our clients in developing strategies to protect and enhance the value of their intellectual property. We also provide advice and documentation for technology licensing and transfers.

Service And Equipment Contracts

The day-to-day operation of a business is sometimes the most vulnerable to dispute. We know your business or we learn it quickly. Your relationships with customers, suppliers, service contractors, and others are less likely to end in expensive conflict if contracts are reviewed before signing. We are committed to forging productive long-term alliances with our clients, keeping in mind that a brief time spent at the start saves a prolonged or expensive proceeding later.

Estate And Business Succession Planning

Many of our clients are family-owned enterprises. Wealth accumulation and business success depend on long-range planning. We work in evaluating investment strategies, planning and documenting vehicles (such as living trusts, buy-sell agreements, and family limited partnerships), with your team of financial planning and insurance professionals, for retention or sharing of asset control, and ultimately providing for family or beneficiaries

International Business Disputes

When your company performs on the world stage, disputes may arise regarding everything from international trade regulations to product liability issues. An experienced international business lawyer can helpOur attorneys understand international business disputes and know the intricacies of the U.S. legal system, as well as the many international treaties your business may encounter. Bowles & Verna LLP frequently serves as general counsel for the U.S. to many major multinational corporations as well as startup companies looking to make their entry into the American market.

Protecting Your Company And Preventing Future Problems

Our firm is made up of experienced trial lawyers. We have taken more than 200 cases to trial and verdict. We have intimate knowledge of federal and state laws regarding international business transactions as well as many other issues your business may encounter. We seek the most efficient approaches to resolving your conflict, including negotiation and arbitration, to save you time, money and stress. If your case does end up in a U.S. court, we have the experience and skill necessary to resolve it effectively.

In addition, we endeavor to put your company in the best position possible to avoid these conflicts in the future. Our firm has extensive experience in minimizing liability for international businesses. Many of our attorneys have lectured on this subject around the world.

Proposition 65 Defense

As you may well know, Proposition 65 is a California state law also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This law is intended to protect the environment to prevent birth defects, cancer and other harmful effects of dangerous chemicals in water and soil. Proposition 65 is supposed to allow consumers to know about chemicals present in “the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment,” according to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Your business with 10 or more employees may face legal action based on allegations that it failed to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning before exposing people to certain chemicals. A Proposition 65 violation may also mean that a business discharged chemicals into sources of drinking water. There are now hundreds of chemicals on the government’s list.

Businesses are required to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed chemical. This warning can be given by a variety of means, such as by labeling a consumer product, posting signs at the workplace, distributing notices at a rental housing complex or publishing notices in a newspaper. Once a chemical is listed, businesses have 12 months to comply with warning requirements.

Bowles & Verna LLP, in Walnut Creek, has successfully defended construction companies and other businesses charged as their prop 65 lawyer.

Consult with one of our attorneys regarding strategic defenses that may apply in your case, such as:

  • The allegedly missing warning was not, in fact, required by law for some reason.
  • No causal connection has been established between a required warning and consumer behavior.
  • The alleged violation did not occur within a time frame as specified in the law.

There is no time to waste if your construction company has been accused of a Proposition 65 violation. Talk to a prop 65 lawyer sooner rather than later and learn how to protect your rights in the face of such accusations.

A Partnership You Can Rely On

Our attorneys partner with you in your business venture, advising on the best legal strategies for growth as well as how to avoid potential difficulties. We help your company meet all regulatory requirements and position it for success. As trial lawyers, we have seen the complications that can arise when a business is faced with litigation. We do everything possible to help you stay out of that situation. Put our expertise to work for your business.