The best business lawyer is not the one who will schedule you for an office visit when things are going wrong. The type of lawyer who is most likely to promote the success of your business is the one who will help you prevent problems, as well as handle them when they do occur.

That is the kind of solid, proactive and effective legal guidance I provide to a wide range of Colorado businesses. After almost two decades working for Fortune 100 companies in various management and executive roles, I'd grown tired of attorneys telling me, "Just come to me when you have a problem." Resolving to become part of the solution, I enrolled in law school, with the goal of becoming the type of lawyer I knew businesses wanted and needed -- an active partner who would help companies avoid legal pitfalls and costly litigation.

I opened my business consulting company, Performance 2000, in 1990 while I was finishing law school, and then opened my own law firm in 2002. Since that time, I have used the combination of my business and legal experience to assist my clients with issues that require solid executive decision-making founded in the law. I’ve counseled clients through many business negotiations, and when litigation has become necessary, I fight to win.

As an experienced Denver Business Lawyer, I provide proven legal guidance in a wide range of business law practice areas, including:

• Business and Corporate Services
  • Business Formation
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Joint Ventures
  • Contracts
  • Torts (i.e., Fraud, Civil Theft, Unjust Enrichment, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Defamation and Disparagement, Negligence)
  • Employment law
  • Employment Handbooks and Policy Manuals
• Intellectual Property Rights
  • Trade Secrets
  • Trademarks / Service Marks
  • Copyrights
  • Patents
  • Licenses
• Disputes
  • Negotiation
  • Mediation
  • Arbitration
  • Litigation, Trials and Appeals

Here as some examples of my business consulting expertise:

• Counseled Intellectual Property Law departments re: provision of better international corporation service.
• Guided changes made in package design and labeling processes to meet requirements of court decree.
• Written and implemented numerous strategic and operational plans; provided practical and legal guidance to internal reorganizations and international expansions.
• Assembled and led high performance teams at management and executive levels.

I serve each of my clients with a combination of practical business knowledge, legal expertise, and hard work. Small to large, local to national, entrepreneurs to established corporations – each client receives equal care. As a respected Denver Business Attorney, I will listen, investigate and analyze your unique issues, and provide representation to help you achieve your objectives. The benefits of my expertise include:

• Solid guidance for businesses deals involving legal complexities. I can assist in resolving complicated business matters at the outset of formation, during business growth and recession periods, during business restructuring (downsizing and expansion), and upon dissolution of the business entity.
  
• When businesses want to merge and form a new entity, or when they want to keep their identity but work together more closely to accomplish a joint goal, they require effective legal counseling to assist them with these complex transactions. As a respected Denver Business Lawyer, I will work with you during a merger, acquisition, or joint venture and prepare the necessary contracts and documents that clearly reflect your rights and obligations. At all times, I will take great care to keep you fully informed of the legal ramifications of your business choices.
  
• I can assist you in setting up employment policies and procedures that will help you build your business and avoid employment claims.
  
• I am adept at drafting a broad range of business agreements and can assist you in the negotiation of and preparation of appropriate contracts as you work your way through a transaction.
  
• I can tackle the complex, overlapping issues that are often present in a single case.
  
• In transactional work, I take the time to identify potential legal issues so that litigation might be prevented through careful drafting and documentation.
  
• When litigation is involved, I am result-oriented and client-focused. At every stage of litgation, I am in service to the client's needs and objectives

When you contact my office, you can be confident that you will receive professional, knowledgeable representation. As a skilled Denver Business Lawyer, I understand that disputes arise in every area of human endeavor; business and personal financial affairs are no exception. I work hard to resolve disputes for clients without litigation, but if necessary, I have the experience, ability and training to provide an outstanding level of representation in court.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced Denver Business Lawyer, call Attorney Jan Cleveland today at 866-781-6208, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Business and Corporate Services
Good legal representation for businesses includes good planning and good protections, from the inception through the life of any business.  The legal support you retain, to help you build your business and to defend it, will impact the future of your business and your bottom line.

Business Formation – Businesses can and do take many forms.  Sole proprietorships, partnerships of all kinds, limited liability companies, and corporations are the ones most common in America.  The type of business form you choose depends upon the type and size of business you envision, the legal protections you desire, the tax structure that is most beneficial, and the number of people involved, their roles, and their contributions (both monetary and time).  Charter documents and all kinds of different agreements go into the underpinnings of any business when it is formed.  Good legal advice is necessary to help you make good choices. 

Mergers and Acquisitions – The phrase “mergers and acquisitions” (often seen abbreviated M&A) refers to the buying, selling and combining of different companies. The reason this happens is most likely financial, with the bottom line goal being that everyone involved makes money.  Such transactions are complex and time consuming.   Legal help is needed from the point of initial negotiation, through drafting of the appropriate documents, to completion of the deal.

Joint Ventures – A “joint venture” (often abbreviated as JV) is an actual entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties create the new entity (partnership, limited liability company, or corporation) by both contributing equity, and both sharing in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise. The venture can be for one specific project only, or a continuing business relationship.  Structuring the initial parameters of the venture as well as the agreements governing revenue/expense sharing and the ongoing operations of the venture itself require good legal counsel.

Contracts – A contract is simply an exchange of promises between parties, i.e. an agreement, that is legally binding and enforceable.  Contracts are a key foundation of American life, and the part of our system of laws that most directly affects every citizen.  A business operating agreement, a mortgage, a bicycle purchase, a stock sale, a loan, a warranty, a non-compete agreement, a commission sales agreement, etc. are all forms of contracts.  It is vital that your legal counsel makes sure that your contracts clearly reflect your actual agreement, nothing more or different, and that they comply with the requirements of the law to ensure enforceability and protection for you.

Torts – A “tort” simply means a ‘wrong” – a violation of a duty fixed by law or equity, not by contract or by the will of the parties.  Common types of torts include fraud, civil theft, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, defamation and disparagement.  Legal assistance is often needed to help you recover just compensation for an injury or loss you or your business has suffered due to the wrongful acts of another.

Employment Law – This body of laws, administrative rulings and precedents addresses the interplay of legal rights and responsibilities of companies and their employees.  Protections exist for both, and it is the application of this body of laws to any one factual circumstance that governs the outcome in any employer / employee dispute. Your business lawyer should be able to represent you in any such dispute as well as assist you in writing employment handbooks and policies that will help you build your business and avoid most employment claims.

Intellectual Property (IP)
“Intellectual Property” refers to creations of the mind.  In this high tech world, protecting such creations is a rapidly expanding and multifaceted area of law.  Trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, patents and licenses are all “intellectual property rights” that assure protection of the exclusive rights to ones’ works.  Specialized legal counseling and expertise is needed to assure compliance with the legal requirements that will make these protections enforceable.

Trade Secrets – Trade secrets, also known as confidential or proprietary information, can be anything not known or readily ascertainable that gives a business a competitive advantage.  The formula for Coca-Cola, a manufacturing process, and details of a company’s vendor contracts are all examples of trade secrets.  Businesses often require their employees to sign Non-Disclosure Agreement to assure that trade secrets are not shared with anyone outside the company.

Trademarks – A trademark is a distinctive symbol that identifies businesses’ products/services and distinguishes them from those of competitors.  Registration of your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) assures a trademark owner of certain federally granted rights that aid in enforcement against infringers.

Copyrights – Copyrights give the creator of an original “written” work (book, composition, painting, sculpture, software program, industrial designs, business method, etc.) exclusive rights to it.  The copyright holder is credited for the work and determines who may adapt, perform, financially benefit from, and use the work in any way.  Businesses often employ individuals who create original works but who, as a condition of their employment, have assigned any rights that they have in such a work over to their employer.  Registration of a copyright with the USPTO also assures a copyright holder of certain federally granted rights that aid in enforcement against infringers.

Patents – A patent is a set of rights for exclusive use of an invention granted to an inventor by a nation for a fixed period of time in exchange for full disclosure about the invention.  In the U.S., an inventor must apply to the USPTO for a patent and the application must include one or more claims that define how the invention is unique.  When a patent application is granted, the inventor is given the exclusive rights to use it and to prevent others from using, making, or selling it. (I do not write patents, however I do litigate to protect your patents).

Licenses – A license is a special kind of contract whereby an owner of an item that is trademarked, copyrighted or patented grants the right to use that item under certain conditions for a fee.  Mass distributed software is used on personal computers under licenses from the developer of that software.  As further examples, a licensor may grant permission to a licensee to copy and distribute copyrighted works, commercialize trademarked products, or use a patented formula in a drug compound without fear of a claim of infringement.


Disputes
Any time two parties interact on any subject disputes can arise.  Happily, parties often can negotiate their way through disputes on their own.  When this isn’t possible, attorneys enter to perform a variety of roles in assisting their clients.

Negotiation – Engaging in a dialog with the intention of preventing or resolve a dispute is a negotiation.  Business agreement negotiations are common arenas for good legal counsel to assure, as much as possible, that no misunderstandings exist to cause friction between the parties in the future.  Lawyers skilled at negotiating the end of disputes often save their clients extensive amounts of time and money in litigation.

Mediation – Mediation differs from negotiation only in that an objective third party provides unbiased assistance to the two disputing parties in negotiation a resolution to their dispute.  Each party, in this instance, usually retains his/her/its own separate legal counsel to help in clearly understanding options. 

Arbitration – Arbitration is much like litigation in that an Arbitrator acts like a judge and, after hearing evidence presented by lawyers for each party, issues a decision. Unlike litigation, the parameters for the arbitration and the Arbitrator him/herself is selected by joint agreement of the parties, the evidence submitted is guided by the requirements of the Arbitrator, and the decision may be binding or non-binding as decided by the parties prior to the arbitration.  If the decision is non-binding, an unsatisfied party may choose proceed to court to litigate the matter.  If the decision is binding, and unsatisfied party may or may not (depending upon prior agreement of the parties) appeal the decision to the appropriate court of law.  (I do not act as an Arbitrator, however, I do represent clients through the arbitration process.)

Litigation; Trials and Appeals – With the exception of Small Claims Court cases, lawyers predominantly handle matters for their clients in court.  Civil court cases are governed by Rules of Civil Procedure.  Judges make their decisions based upon state and federals laws as well as decisions made by other courts in similar cases as applied to the facts presented to them.  Appeals are allowed only if the trial court judge has made an error during the case, or if some issue of law in the case is unique and deserving of appellate court review.  Skilled brief writing, litigation preparation, and courtroom experience is vital for any party engaged in a lawsuit.

If you or someone you know in Colorado needs the assistance of an experienced Denver Business Lawyer, call Attorney Jan Cleveland today at 866-781-6208, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

If you or someone you know in Colorado needs the assistance of an experienced Denver Business Lawyer, call Attorney Jan Cleveland today at 866-781-6208, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Scheid, Cleveland & Fein
2300 15th Street, Suite 320
Denver, CO 80202
Telephone: 866-781-6208
Fax: 303-534-5039

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

S. Jan Cleveland

EDUCATION:

• University of Denver College of Law, J.D., 1992
• West Texas State University, B.A., Liberal Arts, 1974

JURISDICTIONS:

• Colorado
• U.S. District Courts

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• Special Award of Appreciation, The Retired Enlisted Association, 2001
• American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Practice, 1992
• Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, Executive Director, 2002-2004
• Phillip J. Steele Foundation, Co-Chairperson, 2002 - 2006
• Colorado Theatre Guild, Board Member, 2005-2007
• Performance 200, Inc., President, 1991 - Present