CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL LAW
Business Litigation and Transactions for California Companies and Owners
Business decisions and business disputes call for different legal work. This overview connects you to our two business practices: Business Litigation for active or threatened disputes, and Business Transactions for agreements, ownership arrangements, and purchases or sales.
Matter Fit: Business litigation is handled on a retainer basis. We do not accept contingency-fee matters, and we do not handle civil rights, prisoner-rights, Section 1983, or constitutional-rights claims.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PRACTICE
Does Your Business Need Dispute Counsel or Transaction Counsel?
Business Litigation addresses an existing or threatened dispute: a broken agreement, ownership conflict, misuse of company assets, or a claim against your business. Counsel evaluates the evidence, deadlines, remedies, and options for negotiation or proceedings.
Business Transactions focuses on the terms of a business relationship or deal. Counsel helps document responsibilities, ownership rights, payment terms, and closing requirements before commitments are made.
Some matters involve both. A negotiated ownership exit may resolve litigation while also requiring a buyout agreement. Describe the business objective and any pending deadline when you contact our team, and we can assess the appropriate scope.
GETTING STARTED
How We Approach a Business Matter
Understand the Objective
Identify the business decision or dispute, the parties involved, and the outcome you need to evaluate.
Identify Timing
Review any hearing, response deadline, negotiation timetable, or proposed closing date.
Review Key Documents
Gather agreements, ownership records, communications, notices, and financial information relevant to the matter.
Define the Scope
Discuss whether the work involves a dispute, a transaction, or a coordinated approach to both.
Evaluate the Options
Consider practical alternatives, legal exposure, business continuity, and the cost of proceeding.
Agree on Next Steps
Establish the agreed engagement and priorities before substantive work begins.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Finding the Right Starting Point
Existing Dispute
Visit Business Litigation if a claim, demand, lawsuit, or ownership conflict already exists.
New Agreement or Deal
Visit Business Transactions for business contracts, ownership agreements, and purchases or sales.
Documents Matter
Bring the operative agreements and recent communications so the review starts with the actual terms.
Deadlines Come First
Disclose any scheduled hearing, response date, or closing deadline at the outset.
OUR APPROACH
Counsel Guided by Your Business Priorities
Focused Assessment
We review the matter in its business context, including the parties, agreements, timing, and practical stakes.
Defined Priorities
The strategy should reflect your objectives and the issues that need attention first.
Direct Communication
We explain available options and developments so you can make informed decisions.
Coordinated Work
Dispute and transaction work can be coordinated when an agreement, ownership change, or negotiated resolution requires both.
The Business Issue Determines the Legal Work
An agreement has broken down
Start with the operative contract and proof of performance. Payment, termination and warranty disputes can turn on conditions, notices and changes rather than a single isolated clause. The available remedy must be tied to a supported claim and loss.
Owners disagree about authority or money
Identify the entity, governing documents and client before acting. A shareholder, LLC member, partner and company manager can have different information rights and duties. A company’s loss may require a different claim from a personal injury to an owner.
Information or operations are at risk
Trade-secret and emergency-relief questions require specific evidence: the information or asset involved, existing protections and the threatened conduct. A concern about competition or a difficult commercial deadline does not alone establish entitlement to an injunction.
The business is facing a workplace claim
Employment-related representation is employer-side. The employer’s response should address the actual forum and allegations, preserve relevant records and examine policies alongside practice. Contractor labels and arbitration clauses do not automatically resolve every issue.
Bring the Records That Inform the Decision
- The demand, complaint, proposed agreement or ownership notice that triggered the need for advice.
- The complete operative documents, including amendments, policies or recorded interests relevant to the dispute.
- A dated chronology and original communications, financial records or performance evidence.
- Any hearing, response, transaction or notice deadline, with information about how legal papers were delivered.
Fictional California Examples
These fictional examples illustrate questions counsel may evaluate. They are not firm cases or results. A county is a factual setting, not a statement about venue, local rules or a firm office.
San Mateo County — ownership and a proposed exit
An owner disputes distributions while considering a buyout. Counsel would evaluate information rights and the company’s records before connecting the disputed claims to valuation, payment and release provisions.
Los Angeles County — a supplier dispute during expansion
A company receives a demand from a supplier while negotiating replacement supply terms. Review would address the existing agreement, response requirements and evidence of loss alongside the new contract’s operational needs.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I start if my company has been sued?
Start with Business Litigation and provide the complaint, service information, and any pending deadlines.
Where do I start for a contract or business purchase?
Our Business Transactions practice covers business contracts, ownership and operating agreements, and business purchases and sales.
What types of cases are outside your practice?
No. RV Litigation Group PC does not handle civil-rights, prisoner-rights, Section 1983, or constitutional-rights claims.
Does a county example mean the firm has an office there?
No. County examples are fictional factual settings. The firm is based in San Francisco and serves clients throughout California; venue and local procedure depend on the actual matter.
Do you represent employees in workplace disputes?
No. The employment practice represents employers and businesses, not individual employees seeking personal employment claims.
Ready to Discuss Your Case?
Share the business issue, the parties involved and any pending deadline so the firm can assess the appropriate scope of representation.
INQUIRE NOW