It is a fact of life. As a business owner dealing with customers, suppliers, employees, partners, investors, shareholders, and competitors, you will be involved in a business dispute at some point in your business career. Resolving a dispute effectively in a way that protects your rights as well as your bottom line — especially if that dispute results in litigation — can mean the difference between profitability and peril.
Effective Solutions for Complex Business Disputes
At Cohen Law Firm, I believe that the cost of doing business and the cost of exceptional representation should not include inflated legal fees, but only those fees absolutely necessary under the circumstances. I work to ensure that the businesspeople I represent have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their lawyer has the skill to advance their objectives in the courtroom, at the negotiating table, or through mediations, and the judgment to do so in a cost-effective, practical, and fair way.
Sophisticated Representation and Tailored Strategies
Every business is different, and every business dispute has its own complications, nuances, and challenges. Cookie-cutter counsel and generic approaches may be a fact of life for large law firms with hundreds of lawyers and thousands of clients, but that often leads to strategies that are ill-equipped to resolve the dispute at hand. If you believe that impersonal service, one-size-fits-all advice, high hourly rates, and a long drive to a far-away law office is the price you have to pay for sophisticated business representation, I’d like to prove you wrong.
With decades of complex business litigation experience handling all manner of disputes, I provide my clients with big-firm expertise without the big-firm fees. I take the time to get to know my clients and their businesses and to understand the unique dynamics, motivations, and goals that can be both the cause of, and the solution to, contentious disputes. I appreciate the financial investments and personal sacrifices that go into building your business and pride myself on delivering sound counsel and personalized service designed to suit your individual needs.
Efficient and Proactive Dispute Resolution
Litigation is rarely in the best interests of my clients. And trial is an expensive, time-consuming process that may result in a pyrrhic victory. “Winning” doesn’t mean much if you lose time, productivity and a small fortune to get there. I have yet to meet a client who enjoyed the litigation process! When I meet with you to discuss your dispute, we will explore all available avenues and tactics as we develop the most suitable approach that allows you to put the dispute behind you as quickly as possible. These days, most disputes, even the most highly contested cases, settle out of court through mediation, arbitration or other dispute resolution procedures. But when negotiations fail, or quick and decisive legal action to protect your business is required, I take an aggressive and thorough, but respectful, approach to defending and asserting your rights in the courtroom, all the way through trial and appeal if necessary.
Types of Business Disputes
I have decades of experience representing California businesses in both state and federal courts in a wide range of business disputes. I provide exceptional representation for all disputes, including:
- Breach of Contract. Breach of contract cases appear in all shapes and sizes. They can include disputes with customers, vendors, investors, shareholders, or any others with whom you do business. In the absence of an amicable resolution, such cases may require taking affirmative action to enforce your rights by filing a lawsuit or defending yourself against claims that may or may not have merit. I handle all cases involving contracts, including a basic failure to fulfill the obligations of the contract, as well as contract interpretation, fraud, misrepresentation, and concealment. I also represent clients in claims involving an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by a partner, board member, or corporate officer.
- Business Dissolution. Whether your business is large or small, when it comes time to wind up the business, or transition into a new or different structure, that process can be challenging, and often contentious, particularly where there are others involved who may not share your views as to how the dissolution should be accomplished. The process of winding up a business requires skill, knowledge, and an appreciation that sometimes, business can be very personal. I help shareholders, partners, and families involved in all kinds of businesses and entities wrap up their affairs, navigate through any related litigation, and move on with their lives.
- Employment Disputes. Good employees are the life blood of your business. That is why it is important to have well-drafted, comprehensive employment agreements that address all areas of later potential dispute. But even with good agreements, sometimes disputes between employees or former employees arise. I have experience with all kinds of employment disputes, including claims for breach of the employment contract, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
- Insurance Matters. All businesspeople know that comprehensive insurance is essential to protect the business from the wide range of insurable risks that can put your business in peril. But how do you know if your coverage is sufficient? And what happens if you think you have adequate coverage, but when the risk actually occurs, your insurance company denies that coverage exists for that risk? Not only can I evaluate your coverage to determine if there are gaps or insufficiencies, but I handle disputes between businesses and their insurance companies when disputes arise over coverage.
Cohen Law Firm: Your Westlake Village Business Litigation Attorney
Whatever your dispute, I welcome the opportunity to work with you to find a tailored solution that will allow you to invest your time and money in your business, not on litigation. Please call my Westlake Village office today at (805) 267-7147 or send me an email to discuss your case or to set up an appointment.