An Interdisciplinary
Law Firm You Can Trust with proven results
Partner with the Law Office of John P. Schmitz to protect your assets. Outside our practice areas, as an interdisciplinary firm, we have the resources and top qualified associate counsel to handle everything from tax, probate, estate planning, multiparty litigation, SEC placements, criminal defense, divorce, real estate, and personal injury.
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COMMON ISSUES ADDRESSED BY OUR FIRM
General Business Law/Business Formation/Litigation
We support all legal solutions for our clients. Following assessment and recommendations, solutions include agreements and contracts in areas such as:
- Corporate Governance Documents (Bylaws, LLC Operating Agreements, Partnership Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, and other. business ownership agreements).
- Buy-Sell agreements
- Business ownership disputes matters
- Intellectual Property registration and Intellectual Property litigation
- Independent Contractors
- Outside Vendors
- Employment
- Non-compete
- Debt and Equity Financing and Investment
- Non-disclosure Agreements
- Ownership and Contributions to the Entity
We provide all the above, considering state and federal statutory and regulatory requirements.
Once in place, enforcement is provided through methods including:
- Advocacy with opposing regulators and other legal entities
- Negotiations
- Settlement Agreements
- Mediation
- Arbitration
- Litigation
- Protection of Intellectual property through agreement or litigation
Whether you are a startup company or an established company, it is prudent that you obtain advice on the company’s structure from a skilled attorney. Our firm has the knowledge and experience to guide our clients in these complex matters.
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Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Closing a Business
M & A
Selling or buying companies is complex. It requires executive time and the involvement of a variety of skills, including legal. Mergers and acquisitions and other equity or debt transactions are designed to benefit both parties usually financial, market share, transfer of intellectual property (computer systems, trademarks, know-how, etc.). We strongly advise that each party has competent legal counsel before entering or considering an agreement. Such counsel is usually required in the offer, counter offers and closing stages. Attention includes financial considerations: equity, debt or cash. Obligations that survive the transaction must be clearly agreed upon. We have a history of effectively and efficiently participating in mergers and acquisitions, successfully concluding numerous transactions. These include divestitures, mergers, acquisitions and legal representation and opinions totaling more than half a billion dollars on the equity side and around two billion dollars in gross sales. We also have access to professional resources such as financial analysts to ensure our due diligence.
Closures
During the recent pandemic, a number of our clients were forced to cease business due to the impact of the pandemic on business. We were able to facilitate issues with clients, vendors and staff. This was a difficult process for all parties. Our counsel supported these processes with a minimum of disruption of the affected entities.
General Counsel
A General Counsel is the chief lawyer for an organization and the head of the legal function. In prevention of unknown risks, they are responsible for providing relevant, accurate, and on-point legal guidance to company executives. Generally, they attend all executive meetings related to mergers, participate in acquisitions, changes in policy, or any change in the direction of the organization. Absent this advice, organizations can find themselves in unexpected costly litigation.
We serve as general counsel to small, medium, and large companies. Each has unique characteristics. We take the time to learn about your business so we can appropriately advise and represent you.
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Protecting Your Intellectual Property Assets At Home and Abroad
Intellectual Property (IP) is defined as “a commercially valuable product of the human intellect, in a concrete or abstract form such as a copyrightable work, a protectable trademark, a patentable invention, or a trade secret.” Intellectual property is a set of intangibles owned and legally protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent. If you do not protect your intellectual property, you will most likely lose your intellectual property rights.
We frequently appear in Federal Courts, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and foreign courts to vigorously register and protect our clients’ IP in the United States and abroad. In fact, we have prosecuted and defended trademarks in almost every developed country. With our extensive network of international law firms, we support and prosecute your intellectual property in the United States and abroad.
We have also helped monetize IP through licensing, partnerships and co-ventures.
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Fine Art Law & Intellectual Property
We continue to serve the needs of artists, art buyers, and dealers. Art is a growing field with evolving issues. Art law is a unique subset of intellectual property law. Artists and art galleries often run afoul of copyright law and find themselves on the losing end of a costly legal battle. We advise artists and galleries on how to avoid these legal battles.
Avoid a costly intellectual property law entanglement by contacting us today for sound advice.
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