SERVICES

Litigation

Unfortunately, sometimes even with the best planning, preparation, advice and intentions, disputes will arise which necessitate litigation. Even more unfortunately, litigation can be expensive. With the costs and the stakes being what they are, participants on all sides of litigation deserve quality representation combined with the highest standards of customer service. Truitt Law Group’s dedication to the customer’s experience extends fully to those matters in which we must represent our clients in a court of law. You will know what your lawyer is doing, why, what it’s likely to cost, and you will have as realistic an expectation as to the outcome as we can offer. As with all areas of our practice, we are determined to provide unmatched customer service, best possible outcomes and rational pricing. We are experienced in both business and civil litigation.

Please click here for a comprehensive listing of cases we litigate.

Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

The term “Personal Injury” is commonly referred to injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents. However, it encompasses injury to the body, mind or emotions of a person.  The injury is usually due to the negligence of another person or entity.  Although, there can be an element of an intentional act in the claim.  These types of cases include injuries caused by truck accidents, taxi cab accidents, boating accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, assault claims, product defects, pedestrian accidents and commercial vehicle accident.  If the actions of another person result in the death of a person, the case is commonly referred to as “wrongful death.”  A claim or case can include a request for compensation for medical expenses, property damage, emotional distress and lost wages.  Usually, these cases are complex and highly contested since the negligent party or insurance company is motivated to pay an injured party the least amount of money.  We have years of experience in prosecuting and resolving these type of cases.

Civil & Business Torts

Refers to a wide range of type of cases where one party caused injury to another.  The injury can be caused intentionally or negligently and usually results in monetary, bodily, mental and/or emotional injury.  Personal injury is a type of civil tort.  Other common civil torts are defamation (making untruthful statements about another), assault and battery, fraud, conversion (a type of theft), damage to property and misrepresentation.  Business torts would include breach of contract, breach of the good faith and fair dealing, conversion, fraud, misrepresentation and interference with contractual relations.  There are many different types of torts, but the essential elements are similar.  Truitt Law Group is experienced in prosecuting civil

Contract Drafting / Contract Review

It’s impossible to do business without contracts, but their language can be confusing, confounding and downright frustrating.  Whether you’re receiving a contract that you need to know whether or not to sign or you need to deliver a contract for your own business there is no substitute for having a professional contracts attorney help you.

Drafting. There are a lot of self-help options out there; websites that promise, for just a few dollars, a form that is “lawyer approved,” “legally compliant,” “guaranteed” – but you’re buying a couple of yards of fabric and hoping it turns out as a suit. There are a few simple circumstances under which a basic form agreement is all you need – but chances are, your situation is much more complicated. If it matters enough to you to have it covered by a contract, it should matter enough to make sure that contract is right.  The wrong contract is often worse than no contract at all – and can cost you a whole lot more than the legal fees you’ll spend to make sure you get it right. We start from forms we know work, work with you to fully understand your circumstances, and then customize your contract to make sure it will work for you. And in those circumstances where you don’t need that level of work, we’ll let you know, and even give you the form.

Review.  It’s a simple question with a complex answer: “Should I sign this?”  But after having read thousands of contracts, we have the experience and skill to help you answer it.  Most lawyers stop well short of giving you their real, legal opinion – but we won’t. We will take the time to understand your business situation, and we’ll dig deep into the contract – pointing out its strengths and weaknesses, and giving you straight answers on what it does and what it doesn’t do.  Most importantly, we’ll give you real-world examples so you can understand and even negotiate your own changes.  There’s nothing better to go into a contract negotiation with than a detailed memo from your own lawyer – and we can provide it more accurately and less expensively than anyone.

Contracts.  It’s what we do.

Business Formation

You think it might be time to start up a company, but you don’t know where to start.  The options are confusing, and the advice, conflicting.  We’re here to help.  We have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and other professionals, and we can help you navigate the minefield of business formation with confidence.

From advice on appropriate business structures, to filing the necessary papers, to helping you draft the vital foundation documents for that business, Truitt Law Group is your one-stop shop for the answers and assistance you need to focus on what’s really important to you: making your business successful, and leave the details to us.

We do not undertake a business formation without a consultation where we develop an understanding of who you are, what your business needs to succeed, and how best to accomplish those objectives within your budget.  Doing this the wrong way can not only be expensive, it can be fatal to your enterprise.  Getting the legal help you need at this critical juncture is essential - and we take this part of our practice seriously, and not just like ancillary busy-work.

Business Dissolution

You now have a company, corporation or partnership, but you need to dissolve it, divide it or remove a member or owner, but you don’t know where to start.  Just as in the formation of businesses, the options for dissolving them are confusing, and the advice is even more confusing.  We’re here to help.  We have worked with hundreds of business owners, professionals and even couples who are divorcing, and we can help you navigate the minefield of business dissolution with confidence.

From advice on appropriate procedures, to filing the necessary papers, to helping you draft the vital dissolution documents for your business, Truitt Law Group is your one-stop shop for the answers and assistance you need to focus on what’s really important to you: making sure the dissolution of your business is proper, and leave the details to us.

Business dissolutions are undertaken with a thorough consultation with you where we develop an understanding of who you are, what your business dissolution needs to accomplish, and how best to accomplish those objectives within your budget.  Doing this the wrong way cannot only be expensive, but can have lasting negative consequences.  Getting the legal help you need at this critical juncture is essential - and we take this part of our practice seriously, and not just like ancillary busy-work.

Sports & Entertainment Law

Sports and Entertainment law is a term that refers to legal services relating to the entertainment or sports industry.  This type of practice focuses heavily on intellectual property law, but will encompass all areas of the law: employment law, contracts, torts, privacy laws, first amendment law and business law.  These types of cases can involve players, agents, TV, Film, music, publishing, internet, news media, etc.

Family Law

Everyone is familiar with a type of family law.  It encompasses that area of law that deals with family related matters and domestic relations.  Gary Huntsman, Esq., of Counsel to Truitt Law Group, has extensive experience handling and litigation in the area of family law including divorce, domestic partnerships, adoption, annulments, property settlements, alimony, child custody and visitation, child support and paternity disputes.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Buying or selling a business can be a harrying undertaking. The process can be so stressful that you’re willing to pay just about anything to have someone handle it for you.  But having an experienced attorney help you navigate these processes doesn’t need to cost you a fortune.

We have experience on both sides of these transactions, and we can help you from start to finish.  We can also provide preliminary advice at a fraction of the cost of the big firms, and we can let you know when/if it’s time to bring in those kinds of “big guns” in your own transaction.

Business Consulting / Outside General Counsel

Much of the advice that lawyers give out isn’t all the “legal” after all.  Smart businesspeople know that their lawyer is an excellent business resource as well as an expert on the law.  It’s no accident that most Fortune 500 companies have an attorney somewhere in their “C-suite” (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.).

Most companies could benefit greatly from having “general counsel” an attorney that knows their business, inside and out, and who can counsel them on everything from hiring/firing employees, to regulatory compliance.  But this is often a cost-prohibitive step, and most companies don’t have enough work to keep a full-time lawyer occupied.  However, engaging an attorney as “outside general counsel” will allow you to have someone you can call regarding just about anything without the needless expense of “getting them up to speed” every time.  This can be done on an hourly basis, or subscription (monthly) plans are available.

At the Truitt Law Group, we take great pride in being as good at business as we are at the law.  We strive to be experts on the local business community and endeavor to never provide our advice in a vacuum, not taking into account the business world in which it operates.

Pre-Litigation Advocacy

No one likes litigation; not even litigation attorneys.  It’s expensive, it’s tedious, it’s acrimonious and it’s just plain awful.  But it can sometimes seem like the only alternative remaining.

At Truitt Law Group, we know just how much you don’t want to or can’t afford to litigate, and we also know that you’ve got plenty of options before you get there.  A detailed understanding of the law surrounding your claim, no matter which side you’re on, can give you the leverage you need to reach a resolution without going to court.  Additionally, engaging Truitt Law Group as your pre-litigation advocate sends a clear signal to the opposing party that you’re serious about reaching that resolution.

We provide a cost-effective alternative to the early engagement of litigation specialists, and can generate the correspondence you need to get the negotiating table, and the tools to use once you get there.  We’re also not afraid to tell when you don’t have a claim, or when you’re chances aren’t too good: saving you the time and money associated with pursuing a losing case.

Sometimes the best lawyer to help you with litigation isn’t a litigator at all.

Insurance Disputes

We have all had to deal with an insurance company, usually in the form of an automobile insurance policy.  As we know, there seems to be an insurance policy for everything: theft insurance, renters’ insurance, home owners’ insurance, motorcycle insurance, recreational vehicles, health insurance and disability insurance.  You may not realize that what you have signed with an insurance company is a contract.  The insurance company has obligations under the contract, just as you do.  As you also may have realized, you do not have any power to change the contract: it is a take it, or leave it deal.  This means the insurance company has a heightened duty to deal with you fairly.  What happens when the insurance company does not deal with you fairly?  What happens when the insurance company is more concerned with its bottom line profits, than it is with your rights under the contract?  Such actions could result in a claim commonly referred to as “insurance bad faith,” which includes a claim for the breach of the contract of insurance and a tort for the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”  Truitt Law Group has experience in evaluating and pursuing claims against insurance companies to enforce your rights under the contract.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property is a broad term that encompasses various laws that protect a person for their creative ideas and their business logos and trade names.  It includes copyrights (protecting authors of books and songs), patents (protecting ideas and creations), trademarks (protecting logos, business names and slogans) and trade secrets (protecting a business’ formulas or recipes such as the Coke formula).  The nature of what you want to protect and your goals for protecting it, will determine the best avenue of intellectual property protection pursued.

Regulatory Compliance / Admin Law

It’s the simplest question you have for your lawyer, and it’s often times the ones they’re least qualified to help you with: is this legal?

Black-letter law is difficult to navigate for everyone, including counsel, and it takes experience to know how to interpret what’s there, especially in the context of client concerns.  No matter how black-and-white the relevant law may seem, its interpretation is as nuanced as your business itself.  Compliance is more than simply telling what the law says.  It’s about risk management, understanding a client’s business, and navigating the regulatory environment around them in a manner consistent with that client’s appetite for risk.

Creativity and dedication are essential when helping business clients ensure their ongoing success in the face of changing and challenging regulations.  It’s not the most glamorous part of the practice, but at Truitt Law Group, we are proud of our compliance ability, and know that the peace of mind that successful compliance practice can bring is never overpriced.

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