In today's fast-paced business environment, where a single mouse-click can instantly transfer millions of dollars, a warehouse full of merchandise, or simply a copy of the latest best-selling novel, you and your fellow business owners might feel understandably overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude and speed of the transformation in virtually every aspect of doing business in the 21st century.

The exponentially-expanding global marketplace, fostering innovations in everything from technology to management practices to idea processes, brings with it new challenges that make it imperative for businesses of every kind, no matter how large or small, to have trusted, experienced legal advisors who understand your unique legal circumstances and who know how to help you navigate the increasingly complex legal climate in the world of business.

As experienced Los Angeles Business Attorneys, we have represented a diverse array of clients, both in the U.S. and abroad. While representing clients on construction projects, real estate acquisitions, and corporate litigation, we have collaborated extensively with a variety of professionals, including architects, engineers, appraisers, and public accountants. This has enabled us to achieve an outstanding breadth and depth of expertise in business and real estate law, and we are dedicated to providing our thorough, comprehensive understanding of the needs of both corporate and individual clients in a wide range of areas, including:

• Real Estate
• Corporate Formation
• Breach of Contract
• Product Liability
• Business law
• Buying and Selling of Businesses
• Limited Liability Company Law
• Corporate Law

Our Firm was founded with the intent of providing clients with competent, effective legal representation at reasonable rates. With over thirty years’ experience, we are able to provide clients with not only the appropriate legal solutions to problems, but also with a common-sense approach to deal with each client’s issues.

We regularly handle cases in Southern, Northern and Central California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Texas, and New York. Our attorneys have handled cases in state and federal courts in each of the above jurisdictions. We also take advantage, where possible, of alternate dispute forums, including mediation and arbitration.

As skilled Los Angeles Business Attorneys, we handle cases in the areas of business litigation, real estate, product liability defense, insurance defense and coverage, contract, general liability, entertainment, admiralty, management employment, and aviation. We are able to provide clients with a wide range of legal experience and can draw upon that experience and our other resources to provide clients with sound judgment and competent advice.

Fees are competitive with Los Angeles firms practicing in our field of expertise.

The client comes first at Robinson & Schmidt. Our client relationships are mutually beneficial and productive. Our aim is always to serve our clients’ best interests as we identify them working together. We are fully committed to providing top quality legal representation at reasonable rates to assist our clients in reaching their business and legal goals.

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

If you or someone you know in Southern California needs the assistance of an experienced Los Angeles Business Law Attorney, call Robinson & Schmidt today at 866-292-9497, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Business litigation:
Business litigation is the area of law that provides assistance in the preparation and presentation of a lawsuit or other resort to the courts to determine a legal question or matter in business situations.  Business can be any activity or enterprise entered into for profit, usually a company, a corporation, partnership or any such formal organization.  Business lawyers advise and represent businesses and financial institutions in such areas as business torts, class actions, complex contracts, financial forensics, government investigations, international dispute resolution, professional relations, real estate disputes, securities and antitrust, technology and intellectual property, professional malpractice, shareholder and corporate governance and telecommunications.  Business lawyers place an emphasis on achieving or defending against pre-judgment remedies, including pre-judgment orders for writs of possession, attachments, temporary restraining orders, and injunctions, as well as arbitration or mediation settlements and monetary compensation resulting from lawsuits.  Transactional business lawyers represent clients in matters relating to, but not limited to, organizational, operational and contractual documents for corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, commercial transactions, mergers, real estate acquisitions, leasing and development and commercial financing.

Real Estate Litigation:
Typically, as they expand, growing businesses become more and more involved in real estate transactions, ranging from office space to retail store properties to warehouses and shopping mall syndication.  A qualified business lawyer can provide valuable assistance in traditional real estate purchase, sale and leasing transactions, and in dealing with environmental and various other issues arising out of industrial and agricultural redevelopment projects.

Business contracts:
Business contracts are written agreements spanning a broad range of the business relationships that occur in the life of a typical company.  They can include non-compete agreements, non-piracy agreements, non-disclosure agreements, restrictive covenants, employment agreements, producer agreements, sales representative agreements, consulting agreements, management agreements, franchise agreements, licensing agreements, deferred compensation agreements and independent contractor agreements.

Mergers and acquisitions:
The phrase "Mergers and Acquisitions" refers to corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as other assets.  Usually mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies participate in a due diligence process to ensure a successful combination of all parts.  Corporate mergers are often aimed at reducing market competition.  On other occasions, acquisitions can occur through hostile takeover by a "corporate raider" purchasing the majority of outstanding shares of a company in the open market.  In the United States, business laws vary from state to state whereby some companies have limited protection against hostile takeovers.

Technically, what differentiates a merger from an acquisition is how it is financed.  Simply put, a merger is a combination of two companies into one larger company.  A "merger" or "merger of equals" is often financed by an all-stock deal (a stock swap).  An all-stock deal occurs when all of the owners of stocks of either company get the same amount of stock in the new combined company.  The term "demerger" is sometimes used to indicate the effective opposite of a merger, where one company splits into two, the second often being a separately listed stock company if the parent was a stock company.  An acquisition (a larger company buying out a smaller company) can involve a cash and debt combination, or just cash, or a combination of cash and stock of the purchasing entity, or just stock.  In addition, the acquisition can take the form of a purchase of the stock or other equity interests of the target entity, or the acquisition of all or substantially all of its assets.

Bankruptcy:
Bankruptcy is a process authorized under the federal Bankruptcy Act under which a debtor who is unable to pay his or her creditors may petition the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for relief.  Depending upon the factual circumstances of the case and the particular Chapter of the Bankruptcy Act under which relief is sought, the Court may grant varying forms of relief, ranging from an order granting full discharge of the debts to the establishment or an arrangement under which the debtor is given additional time to pay the debts.  As long as the debtor complies with the terms of that arrangement the creditors will be barred by court order from taking any further collection actions against the debtor.  There is a special type of Bankruptcy proceeding authorized under Chapter 11 of the Act.  It is called "business reorganization," and it is designed to enable a business debtor to remain in business while reorganizing the debt under a plan providing for the creditors to be paid.

Fraud:
This is an area of law that often overlaps with criminal law.  In the civil business litigation arena, the proof requires a showing that the defendant made a false statement, intending that the plaintiff rely upon it.  There must also be a showing that the plaintiff did, in fact, rely upon it, and that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result.  Punitive damages are commonly awarded to successful plaintiffs in fraud cases.

Franchises and other types of business marketing:
A great many small businesses in the marketplace today are operated not as purely independent businesses, but as franchises, distributorships, or any of various types of licensing arrangements.  All of these businesses are created through written agreements containing express and implied warranties, and it is not uncommon for issues to arise resulting in litigation.

Defamation:
Defamation is the communication of a false and unprivileged statement that exposes another to hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or which causes him or her to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him or her in his or her trade or occupation.  The defamatory statement must be communicated to someone other than the person to whom it refers, and it must refer to a living person.  Defamation communicated verbally it is called Slander, but if it is communicated in writing, it is called Libel.  Most defamation litigation in the business arena concerns the employer’s “qualified privilege” to defame.  Under this concept, employers and former employers are often protected from liability for defaming employees or former employers.  By its very definition, however, the privilege is “qualified,” and not absolute.  It is generally limited to situations in which the employer or former employer is making a good faith communication of information to someone who has a legitimate interest in receiving it.

Breach of fiduciary duty:
The formation of a "fiduciary relationship" begins when someone places special confidence and trust in another who has substantially superior knowledge and training, and also relies on that person to act in his or her best interest.  If this trust is knowingly and voluntarily accepted, a “fiduciary” relationship is said to exist.  This places a legal duty on the stronger of the two to act diligently in the best interest of the weaker party and never, under any circumstances to secure any advantage at the weaker party’s expense.  There are a limited number of circumstances in business transactions where a fiduciary relationship comes into play.  Courts tend to rigorously enforce fiduciary duties, and in the event of a willful breach often award punitive damages as well as compensatory damages.  Some common examples of fiduciary relationships are a trustee-beneficiary relationship, a doctor-patient relationship, a lawyer-client relationship and a corporate officer-stockholder relationship.

Licensing and commercial contracts:
Business services attorneys counsel clients in a wide range of commercial and intellectual property (IP) transactions.  They provide assistance in structuring, drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial and IP agreements related to the development, acquisition and commercialization of technology, IP, goods or services.  The types of agreements involved in these transactions include:

• Software license, maintenance and support, source code escrow, end user license, patent and other technology license agreements
• Development agreements
• Purchase and supply agreements
• Manufacturing agreements
• Distribution, reseller, value-added reseller (VAR) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreements
• Referral, marketing agreements
• Employment, consulting, technical services and outsourcing agreements
• Joint venture, strategic partner, technology transfer agreements
• E-commerce and Internet-related agreements (including web-based hosting agreements, application service provider (ASP) agreements, web site development, privacy policies and website terms of use)
• Non-disclosure agreements

Sales commission disputes:
In avoiding sales commission litigation there is no substitute for an artfully drafted agreement spelling out precisely how and at what rate sales representatives are to receive commissions.  Common usage and custom are also taken into consideration by courts in determining the issues, even where there is a written agreement.

Trade secrets:
A trade secret is any information that can be used in the operation of a business or other enterprise and that is sufficiently valuable and secret to afford an actual or potential economic advantage over others.  Trade secret difficulties can be eliminated or, at least, minimized by effective legal language in employment and/or severance agreements, but situations will still arise from time to time where litigation presents the only viable solution.

Litigation and dispute resolution:
Commercial disputes often become legal disputes, the resolution of which typically proceeds along an escalating scale of confrontation ranging from informal settlement negotiation to hardball litigation.  An effective business litigation attorney must have complete mastery of this complex and challenging field of law, but more than that, he or she must also have the patience and personal skills to operate on an informal level, and the aggressive forensic ability and tenacity to claim victory in the courtroom.

Contract remedies:
Contracts are the very stuff upon which the marketplace is founded, and they provide the basis for a large share of business litigation.  The remedies for breach of contract include money damages and injunctive relief expressly directing one of the parties to perform a contractual obligation.  This remedy involves a form of injunction called a “specific performance” decree.  The remedy of specific performance is often called an “extraordinary” equitable remedy, in that courts will not grant specific performance except in a sharply limited number of circumstances.  Punitive damages are not an available remedy in a contract lawsuit.

Alternative dispute resolution:
Business disputes can be resolved traditionally, by way of litigation.  This involves the filing of a lawsuit in court that is then answered by the defendant.  Over a period of months and sometimes even years, a lawsuit makes its way through the system, ultimately to be decided by a judge sitting alone, or by a jury, presided over by a judge.  It is an expensive, tedious and time-consuming process.  The modern trend in the economic world is away from the courthouse in favor of one or the other of two less formal, less expensive, faster and more efficient methods of conflict resolution, called "mediation" and "arbitration".

Business and corporate services:
Business and corporate services involves advising companies and investors in the purchase, sale and mergers of businesses.  The services provided include forming and funding start-up companies, buying and selling practices, assets, divisions and companies, engaging in private stock offerings and re-sales, structuring venture capital financing, forming off-shore sales and sourcing entities, structuring commercial and partnering transactions and syndicating real property acquisitions.

If you or someone you know in Southern California needs the assistance of an experienced Los Angeles Business Law Attorney, call Robinson & Schmidt today at 866-292-9497, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

If you or someone you know in Southern California needs the assistance of an experienced Los Angeles Business Law Attorney, call Robinson & Schmidt today at 866-292-9497, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Robinson & Schmidt
12121 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1201
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Telephone: 866-292-9497
Fax: 310-873-9549

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

David M. Robinson
David Robinson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 5, 1967. He attended the University of Utah where he received two bachelor's degrees in Political Science and English. David graduated from Pepperdine School of Law in 1994 and passed the California Bar exam in that year.

His practice has centered mainly on litigation, focusing on issues dealing with business disputes, real estate, insurance issues, product liability and entertainment. David's practice has also encompassed business entity formation, asset protection and liability avoidance, and general counsel for over 50 small to mid-cap companies.

Some of the clients he has represented are Willis Insurance Brokerage, Bank of Commerce (Nevada Las Vegas), AIG, Morley Builders, Bender Machine, California National Bank, The Rados Companies, Murray Company, Namco Financial, and other manufacturers, developers and contractors.

David formed Robinson & Schmidt in 1999.


James R. Schmidt
James Schmidt was born in Hartford Connecticut on April 17, 1960. Mr. Schmidt is a co-founder of Robinson & Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt is an Entertainment Attorney specializing in Contracts, Business Law and Pre-litigation Settlement Negotiations. Mr. Schmidt negotiates and drafts domestic and international film distribution agreements, licensing agreements, loan-out agreements, production finance contracts, investment trusts, deal memos, locations leases and other production related contracts.

Mr. Schmidt also provides business/legal counsel to a select Entertainment clientele on matters concerning: new business development, corporate compliance issues, partnerships/joint ventures, real estate investment, project acquisition, licensing and intellectual property rights, clearance issues, trademark and copyright infringement, distribution rights and risk management. Legal clients have included: an Academy Award winning Director/Producer, a Golden Globe winning Actress, a celebrated Supermodel, a Magazine Publishing Company, a world renowned Composer, celebrated Musicians and Professional Athletes.

In addition to managing a private legal practice and providing security consulting services, Mr. Schmidt has been featured as a legal/security analyst on: "The NBC Nightly News," "The Today Show," "The Travel Channel" and "Americas Most Wanted."

Mr. Schmidt was the Valedictorian and Student Commencement Speaker of Southwest Texas State in 1990. Mr. Schmidt earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Southwest Texas State in 1990. He graduated from Pepperdine Law School in 1994 and passed the California Bar exam in that year. Mr. Schmidt is a former U.S. Marine Corp. sniper and is proud to have been awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for a life saving act, Navy Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, Special Achievement Award from the Marine Corps Development and Educational Command - Quantico, Virginia, and the Leatherneck Award.


Linda MacAllister
Linda MacAllister joined Robinson & Schmidt as an associate in January 2008. She focuses her practice in the areas of business litigation, real estate litigation, employment law and immigration law. Prior to joining Robinson & Schmidt, Ms. MacAllister was with the California State University system for 29 years, starting there Office of General Counsel as their first paralegal. While working full-time as a paralegal, Ms. MacAllister attended law school full-time at night and became an attorney in the Office of General Counsel in July 1989. While in the Office of General Counsel, Ms. MacAllister was the system-wide expert in immigration law, residency law and the California Public Records Act. In June 2000, Ms. MacAllister accepted the position of Special Assistant to the President at California State University, Dominguez Hills and later was made the Director of Equity & Internal Affairs on the campus. While at CSUDH, Ms. MacAllister conducted all employment investigations, handled all employee discipline matters, drafted various policies and procedures, handled all immigration matters, conducted training on various employment issues and was on the negotiating team for the Home Depot Center. Ms. MacAllister has been asked to be a speaker at numerous conferences and seminars on employment matters and various immigration issues. She received her paralegal education from the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC’s paralegal program, she was asked to meet with the state accreditation officials for USC’s paralegal program. She obtained her Juris Doctorate in 1988 from Pacific Coast University in Long Beach where she was student bar president in her senior year. She is a member of the State Bar of California.


Jeff Lasley
Jeff is a proven trial attorney, with over 15 years experience dealing with a variety of litigation issues from both a legal and a business owner’s perspective. Jeff has worked with established law firms and owned and operated a successful audiovisual contracting firm for 9 years. As an attorney, he has handled a broad range of commercial matters --- from breach of contract, products liability, and premises liability --- to insurance subrogation, real estate litigation, construction disputes, personal injury and mass tort litigation. Mr. Lasley has been responsible for all aspects of the litigation process, from jury trials and law and motion work to appellate briefs and arguments before the Courts of Appeal.


Education:

• UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES SCHOOL OF LAW Juris Doctorate
• VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Petersburg, Virginia Bachelor of Science: Economics (cum laude)

Experience:

• Law Offices of Oliver P. Lasley
• Acromedia Systems Inc.
• Daniels, Baratta & Fine, LLP
• Arnelle & Hastie, LLP
• Board of Veteran’s Appeals. Washington DC

Bar Admissions:

• California
• Washington, DC (inactive)
• U.S. District Court Central District of California
• U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals