A wide variety of legal matters exist outside the parameters of either criminal law or family law. The attorneys at The Myerson Law Group, P.C. have long represented individuals and businesses in a variety of civil disputes. This experience encompasses resolution of such matters through negotiation, through mediation or arbitration, or when necessary, through litigation. Examples of such matters include the following:
Contracts
Do-it-yourself contracts or downloading form contracts from some on-line service can cause lasting damage to your legal claim. Each situation and each client are unique. You want someone experienced in contract law, such as the team at The Myerson Law Group, P.C., to make sure your proposed contract will in fact both fulfill your expectations and protect you in the event of a dispute. With that in mind, we work collaboratively with you to determine your goals and expectations and we draft contracts tailored to your specific needs. Common oversights in drafting contracts include failing to include proper terms enabling recovery of legal fees and costs, failing to specify precisely how and where disputes will be resolved, as well as failing to fully state all elements of what was discussed as to be included within the performance of the contract.
For businesses, another contracts issue that arises is when a business must enforce collection of sums owed by an individual. Federal law places strict limitations upon where you can pursue collection enforcement of your contract. If your contract was not properly drafted or if you were not properly advised as to how your contract is to be signed, those could be costly errors when you have to seek enforcement. Our team has considerable experience guiding businesses through these issues.
We also assist clients with existing contracts in resolving disputes when they arise. Not only do we assist in trying to get our clients through the existing dispute with the least possible disruption and cost, we also provide advice for the future so that the risk of recurrence may be greatly reduced.
Business Law
Our team regularly assists businesses with a wide variety of legal needs. We assist people interested in basic business formation including advice and guidance as to other professional services that are often needed in starting a business, such as tax advice, financial planning, and insurance coverage. For new and established businesses, we conduct “audits” of your forms. As part of such audits, we look at your forms, contracts, policy manuals, employee handbooks, etc. to make sure all are drafted to best meet your company’s expectations, to best reduce the risk of dispute, and to best protect you in the event of dispute. Critical factors for businesses these days are protection of intellectual property and data breaches. We help you ensure that your forms are drafted to meet your interests and obligations in these important areas.
When disputes do arise, either between individuals and businesses or between businesses, we have more than thirty years’ experience representing both individuals and businesses in such disputes. As part of that experience, we have handled such matters in court, in arbitration, and in mediation. David A. Hirsch has considerable experience handling matters such as violations of covenants, theft of customer data, and misappropriation of company property and opportunity. This experience includes seeking both monetary damages and injunctive relief.
Wills
Elanna Weinstein leads this part of our firm’s practice. Elanna regularly assists clients in preparation of basic planning documents such as wills, powers of attorney (“POA”) and advanced medical directives (“AMD”). The importance of having such basic documents both properly drafted and in place cannot be overstated. Without a will, the government and not your family, will dictate how your assets are to be distributed. Without an AMD, a doctor and not a loved one will make all decisions regarding your medical care should you be unable to decide. As emotionally difficult as it is to face issues of death or disability, the consequences of not facing them are far more devastating to your loved ones and potentially to you.
Construction and Renovation Disputes
Approximately thirty years ago, a client came to David Hirsch regarding a woefully defective wood floor installation. That launched this aspect of David’s practice. He went from handling defective floor installation cases to cases involving defective construction and renovation. In one instance, David eventually got a builder to sign a seven-page consent decree stating in specific detail each repair the builder was to make to correct its work, agreeing to pay financial damages to the homeowners, agreeing to a strict timeline enforceable by daily liquidated damages if not met, and agreeing to be held in contempt of court should the builder miss on any obligation. Over time, David has represented both owners and builders in such disputes, and he has handled disputes in both residential and commercial projects. David has also occasionally represented owners seeking recovery from the Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund and he has also occasionally represented contractors facing disciplinary charges by the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.
Administrative Law
For thirty years, David has been a leading advocate for public school students in disciplinary hearings. Besides David’s work in public school disciplinary hearings, David has also represented individuals, companies, and governmental organizations in administrative proceedings before agencies such as the Virginia Employment Commission, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.