The Scenario: A professional couple in their 30s in Portland, Oregon, with two young children and a recently purchased home. They know they need a will, but they are overwhelmed by the process and concerned about who would care for their children if something happened to them. They want a foundational plan that is clear, comprehensive, and can grow with their family.

How We Help: We provide peace of mind by moving beyond a simple will. We work with the family to create a trust-based estate plan that not only nominates trusted guardians for their children but also establishes a financial framework to provide for the children's health, education, and welfare. By placing their home and other assets into a trust, we help them bypass the public and costly probate process, ensuring their children are protected and cared for without delay.

The Scenario: The founder of a successful tech startup in Denver, Colorado, is facing a contract dispute with a key vendor. The vendor failed to deliver on their promises, causing significant financial loss and project delays. The founder needs an assertive litigator who can protect their company's rights and recover damages without derailing the business.

How We Help: We immediately step in to manage the dispute, allowing the owner to focus on their business. Leveraging our deep experience in commercial litigation, we analyze the contract, quantify the damages, and pursue a vigorous strategy that may include aggressive pre-suit negotiation, mediation, or filing a lawsuit for breach of contract. Our goal is to achieve the best possible business outcome, whether through a favorable settlement or a decisive victory in court.

The Scenario: A retired couple from Traverse City, Michigan, spends their winters in Naples, Florida. They have a complex portfolio of assets, including their primary home, a vacation property, and retirement accounts. They are concerned about Florida’s unique homestead laws, minimizing estate taxes, and ensuring their assets are distributed efficiently to their children and grandchildren who live in different states.

How We Help: We provide sophisticated, multi-state tax and estate planning solutions. We design a comprehensive plan that accounts for Florida's specific homestead and elective share rules, utilizes trusts to minimize potential estate tax liability, and streamlines the future administration of their assets. We ensure their plan is cohesive, legally sound across all relevant jurisdictions, and precisely reflects their wishes for their legacy.

The Scenario: A person is seriously injured in a car accident in Tillamook County, Oregon, caused by a distracted driver. They are facing mounting medical bills, lost wages from being unable to work, and an insurance company that is offering a low-ball settlement that doesn't come close to covering their losses. They need a strong advocate to fight for fair compensation.

How We Help: We step in to handle all communication with the insurance companies, allowing our client to focus on their recovery. As experienced personal injury litigators, we meticulously build the case by gathering evidence, consulting with medical experts to document the full extent of the injuries, and calculating all economic and non-economic damages. We are prepared to take the case to trial to ensure our client receives the maximum compensation they deserve.

The Scenario: An adult daughter living in White Salmon, Washington, has just lost her last surviving parent, who lived in Oregon. She has been named the successor trustee of her parent's living trust and feels an immense weight of responsibility. She is grieving and unsure of her legal duties, from notifying beneficiaries and valuing assets to paying final bills and distributing the inheritance.

How We Help: We provide compassionate and structured guidance throughout the entire trust and estate administration process. We act as the trustee's legal counsel, outlining her fiduciary duties in clear terms, preparing all necessary legal notices, and helping her navigate the complexities of asset collection, creditor claims, and tax filings. We shoulder the legal burden so she can focus on her family during a difficult time.

The Scenario: An investor in Seattle, Washington, owns several commercial properties, including a retail space with a difficult tenant who has breached their lease agreement. The investor has tried to resolve the issue amicably but now faces a significant loss of rental income and potential property damage.

How We Help: We bring our experience in both real estate litigation and landlord/tenant law to bear. We analyze the lease agreement, document the breaches, and take decisive action, which could range from sending a formal notice of default to initiating an eviction proceeding and filing a lawsuit to recover unpaid rent and damages. We act to protect the value of our client's investment and enforce their rights as a property owner.

The Scenario: A retired couple living in Bend, Oregon, is getting married. They both have children from previous marriages and distinct, separate assets. They want to create a fair and legally sound estate plan that provides for the new spouse while ensuring their respective children's inheritances are protected.

How We Help: We specialize in crafting customized estate plans that address the unique complexities of blended families. We utilize carefully structured trusts and other planning tools, like prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, to create a clear roadmap. Our plan ensures the surviving spouse is financially secure while preserving the assets each partner intended to pass to their own children, preventing potential future conflicts and family discord.

The Scenario: A couple buys their dream home in Winter Park, Florida, only to discover months later that a contractor has filed a lien against the property for unpaid work commissioned by the previous owner. Their title insurance policy was supposed to protect them from this, but the insurer is delaying and questioning coverage.

How We Help: We advocate for our clients in complex title insurance disputes. We analyze the title policy, document the claim, and formally demand that the insurance company honor its obligation to defend our clients' title and clear the lien. If the insurer refuses to act in good faith, we are prepared to litigate to enforce the policy and protect our clients' most valuable investment.

The Scenario: An individual living in Arizona is a beneficiary of his late uncle's will, which is being probated in Colorado. He has concerns about the executor's actions, the slow pace of the process, and a lack of communication. He feels powerless being so far away and needs a local advocate to protect his interests.

How We Help: We serve as local counsel to protect the rights of out-of-state beneficiaries. We can appear in the Colorado probate court on our client's behalf, demand a formal accounting from the executor, and challenge any actions that seem improper or detrimental to the beneficiaries.

The Scenario: A small construction company in Vancouver, Washington, is sued by a homeowner alleging defective work. The company has liability insurance, and the insurer has agreed to provide a defense. The business owner is concerned about the lawsuit's impact on their reputation and needs to ensure the legal team defending them is skilled, aggressive, and aligned with their interests.

How We Help: As experienced insurance defense counsel, we are adept at being retained by insurance carriers to defend their policyholders. We provide a vigorous, cost-effective defense, managing all aspects of the litigation from discovery through trial. We work closely with both the insured business and the insurer to ensure clear communication and a strategic approach aimed at dismissing the claims or mitigating liability.

The Scenario: A family-owned brewery in Durango, Colorado, finds that a larger competitor is engaging in false advertising and making defamatory statements about their products, directly impacting their sales and reputation. They need to stop these illegal practices and recover their losses.

How We Help: We leverage state and federal laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive trade practices to protect our clients. We can initiate action by sending a cease-and-desist letter, seeking an injunction to immediately stop the harmful conduct, and filing a lawsuit to recover damages for lost profits and harm to the business's reputation. We act decisively to level the playing field and hold unethical competitors accountable.