Services
Business Litigation + Business Transactions
A lot of law firms keep business litigation and business transactions in two separate categories, and perhaps that is because attorneys like to separate transactional matters, like contracts and agreements, from business disputes, like arbitration and litigation. However, the two are very intertwined, and separating the two is a very antiquated interpretation, and in fact does not best serve clients. This is because transactions and litigation should not be viewed as independent of each other and separated to such a large degree, or really any degree for that matter; transactions should be structured and drafted with how a court would view or enforce those transactions, and litigation, where there is a contract involved, is necessarily dependent, or at least derives from, the language of the transaction documents. This is why The Lawyer James is effective in both areas: our attorneys have extensive experience in both drafting and structuring transactions, and in enforcing and interpreting them.
Real Estate Transactions + Real Estate Litigation
The world of real estate, particularly in New York, is massive. On the residential side, there are transactions that involve single family homes, multi-family homes, condominiums, and cooperatives. The Lawyer James can assist you with advising you on the purchase or sale of your residential real property. Our attorneys can also assist you with all commercial real estate transactions, including sales, purchases, and leases. We can also help you with subletting. In terms of real estate litigation, we can do it all; for example, we have worked on cases involving commercial and residential foreclosures, ejectment, breach of lease, mortgages, and real estate commission agreements and disputes.
Landlord Tenant
Landlord tenant law, particularly in New York, is quite adventurous, to say the least. As with a general legal real estate practice, there are both residential and commercial landlord tenant issues. These types of cases are similar in the sense that there is usually a landlord tenant relationship (whether written or unwritten but by operation of law), and failure to pay rent can lead to an eviction. They are different in the sense that different rules apply to different situations involving commercial tenants versus residential tenants. Despite having similarities, residential and commercial landlord tenant laws have their differences, for instance, security deposits are heavily regulated in residential real estate leases (1 month cap, 14 day return requirement, and trust requirements) while not as much, or less so, for commercial real estate leases, duty to mitigate only applies to residential real estate landlord tenant relationships, and typically not to commercial landlord tenant transactions. Also, residential real estate leases have an implied warranty of habitability, while commercial leases do not.
Bankruptcy
For some reason the word “bankruptcy” makes people cringe, and perhaps this is because it is associated with financial failure, business failure, inability to manage funds, having come upon hard times, and so on. However, while there may be some truth to those statements, it’s not the whole truth. And what whole truth can mean here is that not everything is bad all the time. There are some good points, good experiences; they may be hard to find, but they exist, in the past. They simply have to exist, no matter how brief, you can extract something positive. But, even if you cannot, and your life is full of financial despair, there is an out, and it’s bankruptcy. It’s known as a fresh start, to shed your debt, to give you a second bite at the apple. This is both from a personal, individual perspective, and the attorneys at The Lawyer James can help you with individual and business bankruptcies.
Family + Domestic Partnership
INTRO ON SERVICES PAGE: This is a challenging area of the law, and it takes an attorney with very thick skin to muddle through human experiences and relationships at their worst: when they split. As you can imagine, this gets exacerbated when there are children, and assets to divide. The best of course is when the romantic split is amicable, and if it is not amicable, it can get quite messy. Given the sensitive nature of these types of proceedings, they are often closed, and demand a bit of care to be addressed. The issues that we primarily deal with are prenuptials, divorces, and custody disputes, and everything in between.
Liquor License
The liquor license process in New York is quite involved, and it requires an attorney who has an unmatched and rigorous attention to detail. There are different types of licenses, one for on premises (like restaurants and bars), and another one for off premises (like grocery stores, liquor stores, and delis). One of the most critical aspects of the liquor license process is the community board; this where, depending on the type of license and establishment, and the concentration of liquor-serving establishments in the area (among other things), representatives of the community, and community members themselves, can become quite involved. Another important thing to note is that to have the best chances of getting or maintaining a liquor license, you need to have a clean track record with New York State, which means being in good standing with the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.
MCA Debt Evaluation + Defense
Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) cases typically arise when a business borrows funds from a financing company, and then defaults. The financing companies are currently able to get away with charging substantial funds to businesses (which is a very high cost of capital) in New York because they are able to structure these transactions as receivables purchases, and not loans. When they are loans, New York’s usury rates apply (i.e., loans about 15%-25% are considered improper, depending on the precise circumstances). The Lawyer James attorneys have lots of experience in navigating through the complexities and nuances of MCA cases, in many of New York’s counties.
Credit Card Debt Evaluation + Defense
The Lawyer James attorneys usually deal with complex cases in court. That is not to say that credit card defense cases are by any means easy. However, The Lawyer James has developed a system to address credit card cases, represent borrowers in debt from credit card debt, and pave a way forward to repair what can at times feel like financial turmoil. We have found a way to do this efficiently and for very low cost; now, if you have credit card debt, and expect to fight these credit card companies head on, then that’s an entirely different story, and you would be talking about a full blown litigation. If, instead, you want to resolve your credit card debt, we can help you do that. In the typical credit card defense case, we arrange for a settlement between you and the credit card company, where you pay over time; sometimes there is a discount, other times there is not. However, regardless, the lawsuits, under those circumstances, are always resolved as long as the borrowers are able to make their agreed settlement payments.
Construction Accidents
Construction in New York City is prevalent, sustained, and there is always a project going on in one of the five boroughs. It’s fair to say that there are many construction projects at any given time in any one borough, never mind all of them. Of course, the construction projects are typically for office buildings, apartments, or retail, or any combination of office buildings, apartments, and retail. There are many stages to construction, from site selection, planning, permitting, digging (if there is a foundation), coordinating with utilities, and all of the workers and different tasks they are performing (structural, finish, plumbing, and electrical, to name a few). WIth all of these different constituents, and at construction sites generally, there is risk of accident. And, we can help if there is an accident.
Truck Accidents
Everyone who drives knows that, generally speaking, the more cars on the road, the higher the likelihood of accidents. This is just human nature. This is true for anywhere in the world: the more people involved, the more congestion, the higher the rate of mishaps. Of course, there are some mitigating factors and practices, including speed limits, traffic lights, and stop and yield signs, as well as traffic circles, that help, or are designed to help, reduce harm to the citizenry. In New York City, as you can imagine, despite all of the designs created and implemented to reduce harm, truck accidents do happen, and The Lawyer James attorneys can help you.
Motorcycle Accidents
Congestion, “dooring,” pedestrians, potholes, erratic drivers, sudden lane changes, frequent stop-and-go traffic, and many other issues wreak havoc on motorcyclists. And one of the biggest issues motorcyclists face is the lake of empathy or even awareness from other drivers. Not only is there a level of etiquette that’s often breached, it can also lead to very serious consequences, including bodily harm to everyone involved, particularly the motorcyclist, who, second only to the pedestrian, is the most physically exposed. We have attorneys on staff at The Lawyer James, who are ready to hear your case, and who are ready to help assist in representing you if it is something that we will be able to assist you with.
Wrongful Death
The only thing more tragic than an unexpected death, is the unexpected death of a young person who has his or her life ahead of them cut short by some wrongful act. All of us are faced with tragedy at one time or another in our lives, and it is all relative. Some have the misfortune of the most severe loss of all, and that is the loss of life of a loved one. This is one of the places the law got it right: to hold the person or persons responsible for the wrongful death to compensate the remaining family members for the loss. And in pursuing that recovery, The Lawyer James attorneys are available to assist you every step of the way.
Slip + Fall Accidents
In going about our day to day activities, we need to be sure that we are on sound footing, both literally and figuratively. The law recognizes this, and has put systems and standards in place to encourage that sound footing. How? This is done by putting laws in place holding the appropriate business and people responsible for compensating those who are injured as a result of a slip and fall where another business or person is or should be held responsible. This is a very popular area of law, and The Lawyer James attorneys are here for you to help. We will do what it takes to help you.
MTA Accidents
New York City has one of the largest and most complicated transit systems in the world, and it is run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. And it’s with good reason: It serves the many millions of commuters and other people who use it every day. The main methods of public transportation in NYC include the subway, the buses, and the ferries. The subways are limited to New York State, and the PATH train is the train that takes you to New Jersey. Depending on the particular bus or ferry, the bus or ferry may cross state lines, or may stay within its designated state. With the amount of volume that the MTA does, there are numerous accidents that occur. At The Lawyer James, we have attorneys standing by to assist you with your accident.