Newport Beach California Business Litigation Law Blog

It takes a specific set of skills and characteristics to find success in a legal malpractice case. First, there are California state requirements for the right to practice this area of law, and then there are the personality traits most attorneys in the field share. Klein & Wilson is composed of many legal professionals, and we each have a unique focus or set of skills that we bring to the table a legal malpractice case.

Even if we would want to do so, we could not simply declare that we practice a certain area of law: Before an attorney begins to practice specialist law, such as legal malpractice, he or she must often take additional examinations and perform other certifying tasks. The State Bar of California lists all of the technical requirements to hold a certificate to practice this area of law:

• Active and legitimate practice in the state
• Sufficient experience, educational background and work history
• Continuing education specific to legal malpractice
• Evidence of a good reputation
• Periodic recertification as required

Arguing with your business partner in California could have some serious consequences for everyone involved-- from you and your partner to corollary stakeholders, such as investors and employees. At Klein & Wilson, we know that litigation is always in the back of business owners' minds when disagreements come up as to the meaning of a contract, ethical standards or even simple policy decisions.

We are by no means reticent to take things to the courtroom if necessary, but we often urge our clients to take every step possible before pursuing a business law issue formally. This typically means jointly developing a de-escalation plan with our client, ideally bringing the other parties to the table during the process. Unfortunately, the opposing partner is not always willing to see past personal issues and focus on our discussion of the business. We tend to proceed to litigation only if it seems we must go to court to end the partner dispute satisfactorily.

It's frustrating to think that an attorney your company pays for representation would act in a way that does not serve the firm's best interests. Unfortunately, it happens. Businesses in California and across the country face this kind of risk every day. Violations of trust can occur in any number of ways – overbilling for services, a conflict of interest, or breach of fiduciary duty.

In one recent case outside of California, the claim made by plaintiffs of a family held company was that an attorney hired to draft an operating agreement in connection with a firm management dispute. Because of the actions he took, plaintiffs alleged that he helped a corporate manager in a scheme that saw the manager secretly pay himself $1.5 million. That manager, who happened to be a member of the family, then left the company.

The stock market took a beating last week. It appears that fears of a burgeoning economy may lead to interest rate hikes. This effectively led to the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing a considerable amount of points this week. This week’s losses mark a third consecutive week where value has been lost. It appears that the gains realized from the beginning of the year have been wiped out.

If there is one industry that is definitely gaining steam, it is the marijuana industry. With California allowing recreational use and additional states considering such laws, more businesses and entrepreneurs are entering the “pot marketplace.” Indeed, not everyone is growing their own form of marijuana and hoping to cash in on the popularity. After all, growing marijuana is highly regulated and only a few are able to enter the field in this manner.