We Help People and Business in Times of Crisis

Increasingly, the firm is retained to represent people and companies in crisis, during paradigm shifts, and during moments of uncertainty. In other words, at times when the stakes could not be higher:

  • A business owner learns that a trusted employee set up a competing business, moving all of that businesses’ customers, employees and suppliers to the new company in the dead of night.
  • An employer unfairly seeks an injunction against a former employee, keeping her from working in support of her family, at tremendous emotional and financial cost.
  • Suit is threatened against a respected community member that may lead to irreversible injury to reputation.
  • A high school athletic association wrongly denies eligibility to a promising football player, threatening the athlete’s scholarship opportunities at the very time that college scouts would make final decisions effecting his future – prejudicing what is likely his best ticket to a lucrative degree and to lift himself beyond his modest upbringing.
  • An election must be challenged within 10 days of its certification.
  • A business professional receives an administrative complaint against her license, threatening suspension or revocation potentially resulting in professional and reputational ruin.
  • A business’ trade secrets are to be exposed by subpoenas issued in an unrelated dispute between two business rivals in a tangential line of work.
  • Husband-and-wife business partners see both their marriage and business prospects crumble simultaneously, with the soon-to-be ex-husband resorting to financial hijinks to “maintain control” over the soon-to-be ex-wife.
  • A public official is wrongfully included in litigation in the midst of a re-election campaign, requiring forceful response followed by immediate, discrete resolution. Property or bank accounts must be immediately seized to prevent fraudulent transfers or dissipation of assets.
  • A family burdened by costly estate litigation finds itself victimized by an unreasonable sibling’s meritless, retributive legal challenges.
  • A record label filed bankruptcy, and the purchaser of its assets is seeking to void or materially change financial obligations to the artist.
  • A former business partner disables a business’ email domain and website, threatening to interrupt and potentially halt lucrative and necessary business operations.
  • A nursing school receives an administrative complaint which threatens to close the school down, displacing young soon-to-be nurses when our communities need them the most.An applicant for an administrative business license receives a notice of intent to deny, potentially preventing implementation of years of strategic planning and investment. potentially preventing implementation of years of strategic planning and investment.

The stakes of these important David vs. Goliath and “bet the company” contests led us toward law school in the first place, and they still cause our brains to race and our feet to hit the ground running each morning before day-break. In other words: this is what we train and prepare for.

The nature of our work requires the ability to file quality legal petitions, often in the course of just a morning, in order to quickly get the matter before a court for emergency rulings in the blink of an eye. We purposefully maintain extra bandwidth amongst our legal team in order to be able to routinely deliver “thread the needle” legal excellence under tight time deadlines.

At the same time, despite the urgent nature of these contests, sound strategic planning remains the foundation for all our successful legal challenges. We recognize not only the importance of a well thought out “Plan A,” but also the ability to nimbly respond to any potential development with carefully considered alternative courses of action, mapped out in advance. We believe that the best outcomes also occur when we partner effectively with our clients, including them in our inner circle of decision-making and preparation so they can also pay attention to even the smallest detail.

The Covid-19 crisis made it more challenging to enforce legal rights, at least in part because of the suspension of jury trials and other limits on the function of the court system. The conduct of nearly all legal proceedings through video raises the emphasis on compelling story-telling and use of the latest in electronic presentation tools – our forte. We make it a point to be fair and honest with our adversaries, and respectful and helpful to our presiding judges as they labor with difficult decisions.

Most important: we play to win. In our business, winning is paramount, and in this arena, winning favors the litigant with the most compelling story, represented by the legal advocate best able to tell that story most convincingly.

Dave Markarian