BUSINESS PRACTICE GROUP

Overview
Cummins & White, LLP’s Business Practice Group offers innovative transactional and litigation services to domestic and foreign clients, from start-ups to highly-compensated executives to multinational companies. Always in tune with financial and economic indicators, we advise clients in all phases of business creation, operation and transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance, workouts and restructurings. Our lawyers handle all aspects related to the establishment and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

At Cummins & White, we bring depth of understanding in handling client matters born out of our attorneys’ own experience in the business world. Our appreciation of the competitive challenges facing our clients better enables us to guide and assist them in the development of real-world strategic business plans. When business disputes arise, our litigators are at the ready to analyze the problem and determine the most efficient and cost-effective route to resolution. We are solidly committed to being responsive to the needs of our clients.

Business Transactions
Cummins & White lawyers advise clients on a wide array of business decisions and draw on the firm’s other disciplines when appropriate to guide clients through complex and diverse transactions. We work creatively with clients to form new companies, select the appropriate entity, and handle all phases of negotiation through actual implementation of a business plan. Our lawyers take care in helping clients to hone their business expectations within a legal context. We emphasize shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements, options, executive and key employee compensation, employment contracts, non-compete agreements, and recapitalizations, as well as corporate and tax advice.

We consider industry experience and understanding of the changing marketscape an important aspect of our service, especially in handling mergers, acquisitions and dispositions involving sales of stocks, assets, and mergers for cash and securities. Our lawyers handle both simple and complex transactions in such areas as information technology, manufacturing, real estate, health care, and agriculture.

Business Litigation
Our lawyers appreciate that litigation is usually not the best solution to a business problem. In business litigation, we take a pragmatic approach which considers the short and long term ramifications of such an action and, importantly, the potential damage to ongoing and future business relationships.

We bring our considerable dispute resolution skills to the table, and are experienced at mediating, arbitrating or litigating a wide range of business-related matters, including antitrust, unfair competition, directors and officers liability, tax disputes, wrongful termination, discrimination, securities, tax fraud, commercial bad faith and insurance-related problems. Significantly, we keep abreast of trends, including the use of federal RICO statutes in business litigation.

Cummins & White represents professionals with respect to licensing, professional privileges and liability claims against them, including lawyers, accountants, architects, doctors, engineers, insurance and real estate brokers and agents, officers and directors of corporations and other professionals. We offer preventative legal counsel to clients in an effort to remedy a situation before it becomes a malfeasance claim, and also offer guidance to change or mitigate behavior or conduct leading to professional errors. If a matter must be litigated, we are sensitive to its complexities, and will look to see if there is an underlying case which must also be resolved because we appreciate that careers and reputations are often on the line.

Bankruptcy
Cummins & White lawyers have extensive experience in the representation of creditors and trustees in all aspects of bankruptcy law. To better handle the entire range of legal and business issues encountered by creditors’ committees, our lawyers integrate their work with other firm lawyers who are knowledgeable in real estate, insurance, intellectual property, corporate and partnership law, and environmental law.

We have the experience and expertise to represent creditors’ committees to assure a worthwhile distribution to the committee’s creditor constituency and, if possible, a successful reorganization of the debtor’s business. Our lawyers are diligent in the review of Chapter 11 disclosure statements and reorganization plans, including classification, optional treatment within classes, subordination issues, confirmation, cram-down, discharge and investments in Chapter 11 debtors.

Cummins & White lawyers are experienced in bankruptcy litigation, on both trial and appellate levels, and represent creditors in the reorganization process. We have expertise in resolving environmental problems as they relate to bankruptcy reorganization. Our goal is always to work with clients to identify and minimize the adverse effects of an insolvency on the parties to the transaction.

A Final Word
Cummins & White’s Business Practice Group takes pride in working with individuals and companies to create and build business enterprises ranging from single-owner companies to complex corporations. We understand and appreciate the nuances of business, and work with our clients at all levels to insure their advantage and protect their interests in any type of transaction or litigation matter. Our goal is to keep our clients ahead of the game, and to actively foster their continued success.