Month: November 2017

Commercial Litigation Options for Protecting the Rights of Your Business

Why does my business need an attorney

When it comes to protecting your rights, there is little that should stand in your way. Of course, we do not live in a perfect society, and there are times when it would probably make sense to give your lawyer a call in order to avoid the damage of an ugly dispute that has the ability to tear apart families and friendships. And then there is the corporate level. Commercial litigation can be an even trickier thing to navigate, and for that reason, should you find your company in some sort of legal issue, you will want to be able to rest assured that you have the best commercial litigation attorney of the highest quality.

Construction and employment law firms

There is a vast number of different types of businesses, all with their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their specialties and potential disputes that can arise. In the construction industry alone, there are such wide opportunities to get into legal issues, from problems with hiring and employees, to dangerous worksite situations that can, and too often do, result in serious injury or even death. The thing to remember here is that there is not always some evil culprit that people are trying to get out from under by suing, rather commercial litigation addresses the need for rights to be protected.

In the construction industry alone, the number of claims and counterclaims made over the course of just one year was estimated to be valued at around $5.5 billion. Over that same year, there were more than 500 cases in the construction field with claims that were at least $500,000. The largest of those cases, when mediation was the course of action taken, ended up being for $2.6 billion, and the biggest arbitration case was for $96 million.

Moving forward from resolved legal issues

The ADR, which stands for the American Arbitration Association, is the method of choice when it comes to conflict management in construction. The best way to truly ensure that it is resolved is to move forward from whatever issue had presented itself in the first place in order to continue with business and build up something better. Legal issues don’t have to mean headaches or trouble, especially when you have the right team on your side.
More research here.

The Dangers of Drunk Driving

Drunk driving

In the United States, there is nothing more dangerous than driving in a car. Now, obviously, there are some extreme scenarios that anyone can think up that could be more dangerous like being trapped in a burning house or having to deal with a gun that is loaded. However, in terms of the average life of an America, being in a car is a dangerous place to be as you can get into an accident at any turn or place.

First and foremost it is important to understand that driving in and of itself is dangerous without any distractions or alcohol. However, once alcohol, drugs, and distractions are placed into this mix it instantly jumps in terms of danger. People driving sober can lead to a car crash from simply speeding, not paying attention, or using a cellphone but obviously, drunk driving makes everything inherently more dangerous. Here are the facts on drunk driving.

Before there is even a discussion as to why drunk driving is so dangerous it is important to lay out the facts. Right now, over 37,000 people in the United States will die in road crashes each year according to the Association for Safe International Road Travel. Across the globe as well there are more than half of all road traffic deaths that involve someone amongst the young adult’s ages of 15 and 44.

In the year of 2015 in the United States, there are more than 30,000 fatal motor vehicle crashes. In 2014, there were about 92,000 motorcyclists injured and this number managed to decrease by the year of 2015 when only 88,000 motorcyclists were injured. In the year of 2013, just about 14% of all traffic deaths and nearly 4% of all people injured were comprised of motorcyclists as well. This does not even really get into the idea of how many people are hurt by drunk driving.

All pedestrians over the age of 65 managed to comprise for just about 20% of all pedestrian deaths and an estimated percentage of 13% of all pedestrians injuries in the year of 2015. Drunk driving laws do not change from state to state but traffic laws do. Keep in mind that in Oregon, traffic laws have stated that if a vehicle is moving in traffic then a turn signal must be used at least 100 feet before a turn or a lane change.

It is also important to know that driving distracted is believed to be just as dangerous as drunk driving. In order to understand this concept, there is no need to look any further than the new laws being drafted and implemented every year in which police officers are trying to crack down on distracted driving. There are now officers that are driving in unmarked cars just to try and spot people who are texting and driving.

These types of efforts have truly helped cut down the dangers of distracted driving. In 2015, nearly 3.8% of all drivers were using smartphones or other electronic devices while driving but by the year of 2016, that number was cut down to 3.3%. However, cracking down on drunk driving has been a little more difficult for law enforcement officers. It is important to know this if you need a wrongful death lawsuit, a personal injury lawyer, or personal injury attorneys.

In the year of 2015, almost 1 million drivers were arrested because they were drunk driving or were driving under the influence of dangerous narcotics. It is important to know as well that drugs other than alcohol were involved in nearly 16% of all car crashes. So not only is drunk driving dangerous, but there are even dangers that stem from people who are on drugs and distracted while driving.

In Conclusion

More often than not accidents that involve drunk driving result in personal injury cases. Understand that 95% of all personal injury cases are settled before they even go to trial. It is important to keep this mind because if anyone is injured in an accident caused by drunk driving, they could get a large sum of money from a settlement before it goes to trial.

Are You Facing a Divorce This Holiday Season?

Filing uncontested divorce

You never imagined that you would be looking for a low cost divorce lawyer over Christmas vacation, but that appears to be the case. After the last three months of trying to make things work between you and your husband, you are now certain that there are no real solutions. Your husband was a financial mess when you met him, and while he was tried to show better control during the three years since your wedding, his problems are too great for you to solve. You fear that if you stay in this marriage any longer, your credit will suffer and you will be part of a financial mess that you cannot recover from.
You have decided that you need to cut all of your ties and get back to handling your own life, your own finances, and your own future. A low cost divorce is certainly not a great Christmas present, but you willing to take the time to make sure that you are able to reclaim your financial freedom.
Facing a Divorce During the Holidays Can be Difficult
Whether you have been married for one or ten years, the end of a marriage is rarely fun. In fact, if you are facing a challenging divorce, it is sometimes tempting to keep ignoring the problems. If you want to fact the problem and begin moving on, however, you might want to find a divorce law firm to help you start the process. Consider some of these reasons why many people need a divorce lawyer, even during the upcoming holiday season:

  • In 66% of the cases, women are the ones filing for a divorce.
  • Although it can vary from state to state, there is an average zero to six month waiting period after the initial divorce petition is filed and served on the other spouse before a divorce becomes final.
  • 19.2% of couples indicate that they divorced due to incompatibility, according to a study published in the Journal of Family Issues.
  • 10.6% of couples indicate that they divorced due to drinking or drug abuse, according to a study published in the Journal of Family Issues.
  • As recently as 2004, the median age for marriage was 27 for men and 26 for women. This is an increase from the averages in the 1950s that were 23 for men and 20 for women.
  • Infidelity was the leading cause of divorce for 21.6% of respondents who said that this problem ended their marriage, according to a study published in the Journal of Family Issues.

Facing the fact that your marriage is no longer a good thing can be both sad and difficult. Finding a low cost divorce attorney, however, may provide you the chance to understand your options.

What You Should Know About Buying a Timeshare

Timeshares are an easy option if you want to buy a vacation space, but they do require cash to buy. When it comes to the cancel timeshare options, this may be a bit more difficult. There are also average maintenance fee for timeshare that you have to consider.

Each timeshare does come with the initial cost of the property, any membership fees you might have, as well as potential timeshare dues and other fees to keep the timeshare looking great and working properly. When considering timeshares and how they work, a timeshare is a property that you purchase the rights to use during a certain season. The reason it is called a timeshare is that you share the time in the property with other buyers.
If you are thinking about buying a timeshare, you might want to know how to buy timeshare from owner, you can do this by first contacting the owner, potentially going through various purchase networks, or even going through a timeshare developer. Timeshares are great, they can give you a fantastic vacation home or vacation space without your having to outright buy and maintain a home. When thinking about buying a timeshare, you can always take the time to talk with a professional.


In some cases, people can have a lot of fun with a timeshare. They can go there once a year, and they can enjoy their time in a place that they like to go on vacation with family or friends. However, for a lot of other people, a timeshare is nothing but a headache. Sometimes, people are pressured into purchasing timeshares, as they end up taking a deal that involves going to a presentation, and then they end up roped into something that they do not necessarily want long-term. In some cases, they are able to get out of this, and in others, they are not. It is generally all about being able to find something in the contract that will be able to help you.

If you need help canceling a timeshare purchase, there are timeshare cancel services that may be able to assist you. You might wonder, is it possible for me to advertise my timeshare? What about affordable timeshare rentals that I can give to other people? If you are actually interested in getting a timeshare for yourself, you might want to look at available timeshares in places that you like, such as beach timeshare rentals.

In the United States, there is a strong sense of consumerism that can be found throughout the country. People believe that they should buy items that they see in advertisements and marketing because they are told to do so. However, this sort of thinking can be incredibly problematic and more often than not, leads to a lot of people making big mistakes when making purchases.

One of the biggest mistakes that most people will make is buying a timeshare. Now, maybe you have heard of a timeshare and maybe you have not. A timeshare is basically when someone buys a resort in a nice area. While this is quite common in the United States, it is also something that many people will regret upon buying and this leads to a timeshare cancellation which is quite difficult and they may need a lawyer to help them sort through the issues.

People who have bought a timeshare should not be left alone on an island to deal with their mistakes. These people should get the help they deserve throughout their process of attempting timeshare cancellation. Here are all the facts that someone should know about timeshare sales, timeshare scams, timeshare cancellation attorneys, and everything in between.

A report was released in 2016 from the United States Shared Vacation Ownership Consolidated Owners and this report revealed that just about 7% of all United States households own one or more types of a shared vacation ownership product. As of right now, data suggests that just about 3% of all households throughout the United States own a timeshare.

Keep in mind that there are a total of 1,547 timeshare resorts located throughout the country and the average age of people who own a timeshare in teh United States is right at 46. So while it may seem rare for someone to buy a timeshare it is pretty common, even though more often than not it leads to a timeshare cancellation.

Nearly 85% of all people who buy timeshares will end up regretting their decision shortly thereafter. A survey was conducted to find out why people were so quick to regret this decision and it revealed that many cited money, confusion, intimidation, fear, and even distrust as some of their main reasons. So this alone should show why the process of timeshare cancellation should be avoided by just not buying a timeshare in the first place.

The timeshare industry is estimated to be worth almost $70 billion and the average price of a brand new timeshare is believed to be as high as $20,040. Seeing as how a large portion of the people who actually have bought a timeshare seem to quickly regret their decision and also including how high the prices are, it seems like this is a decision that is not well advised.

A survey was conducted in 2016 that revealed that 66% timeshare owners believe that high maintenance fees are a prime reason as to why they want to exit their timeshare contract. Almost half of them cited that these overwhelming fees for maintenance were the number one reason why they wanted to leave. Understand that just about 25% of all timeshares in the United States are located right in Florida.

Another reason that many people to have a timeshare cancellation is that of financial hardships. Not everything in life is set and sometimes crazy shake-ups can happen in industries across the United States. This can lead to layoffs and people losing their jobs which will result in them immediately having to change their lifestyle and spending habits so that they can make adjustments to their loss of wages.

In Conclusion

Many of the people who have had to get involved in timeshare cancellation seem to loathe and hate the process. This is reason enough for the average consumer in America to steer absolutely clear of wasting their money on this type of arrangement.

Mortar and Bricks Litigation in Construction Firms

Commercial real estate law

Mortar. Cement. Drywall. Insulation.

The building of buildings.

Construction is big business. According to a national statistics website, the construction industry rakes in $1.7 trillion in annual revenue. The construction of buildings itself is a $750 billion industry, with over 211 thousand companies competing, some on a local, some on a national level.

California is home to the most construction companies with a little over 70,000. Florida is next with over 51,000 and New York comes in third with over 43,000. They are three of the most populous states, with strong economies and an influx of new residents every year.

However, in spite of this much revenue, the construction industry had shrunk considerably during the Great Recession. In fact, between April 2006 and January 2011, the construction industry laid off about 40% of its workforce. This is in large part due to the economic recession, where much less capital was being invested into new buildings.

In large part, the recession was due to the collapse of mortgages and the defaulting on banking institutions.

Construction is hard work. Its members perform mechanical tasks every day, sometimes with extreme regularity. Its stands to reason then, that this work sometimes leads to accidents. A slip, a fall. The wrong tool used here or there. Or something so outside of worker’s power that it seems almost silly to find him or her at fault.

Some insurances, however, are as forgiving as a block of granite.

Fortunately, there are some lawyers willing to fight for the rights of construction workers.

In 2015, the American Arbitration Association administered 551 construction industry cases with claims of $500,000 or more. The largest mediated construction case was for $2.6 billion, while the largest arbitration case was for $96 billion. The total value for all claims and counterclaims in 2015 was $5.5 billion.

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution where two parties make their case to an independent person or groups of persons to resolve the conflict. In arbitration, the parties agree to be bound by an arbitrator’s decision. Arbitration as a form of conflict resolution removes it from the court system.

Arbitration is the preferred conflict management resolution in the construction industry. The median resolution time for arbitration cases for the construction industry was 232 days or a little less than eight months.

For construction companies, employing the right insurance company can save on money and time. Builders risk coverage is coverage that protects against the damage or destruction of materials deemed necessary by the building company for the construction of a property. Builders risk coverage is often written for a period of one year for a minimum period of one year for the construction of a new property or alterations to an established one.

But even with builders risk coverage and other forms of insurance overage, conflicts do arise between construction companies and insurance providers. In these cases, a construction law firm will step in.

A construction law firm is a law firm that specializes in construction law–which is not the kind of law that is most popular or well traversed. A construction law firm has lawyers who represent construction companies when they have a dispute with the insurance company.

Lawyers for construction companies often represent construction companies in court or in even more common cases, in arbitration. It’s important for construction companies to be well-represented, as their cases often involve millions or even billions of dollars. Some questions to ask if you believe you need a construction lawyer include:

  • Has the insurance company failed to support a legitimate claim?
  • Have I lost millions of dollars for an issue the insurance, I believe, should have covered?
  • Has the insurance company attempted to harass me through letters or phone calls?
  • Have the losses on an accident site exceeded what was reasonable and why didn’t insurance cover it?

A construction law firm in this case will be helpful in discerning what is an actionable case and what may not work in an arbitration setting. They also will prep your team for any interviews you have to give, prepare a case that can be presented to the arbitrator, and lead to positive result for your construction company.

4 Steps to Follow After Being in a Car Accident

car accident lawyerUnfortunately, car accidents are all too common in the United States, with the top causes of accidents being from drunk drivers, distracted driving, and speeding. These accidents can range from mild fender benders to accidents that cause injuries, and one thing is for sure — no matter what kind of accident you are in, it is crucial you follow a series of steps afterward.

From calling a law office to reporting your accident with your insurance company, here are some steps you need to take after being a victim of a car accident.

Step one: Call 911
Before you even step out of your car, it is crucial you call for help. This goes even if you may not be injured because it is incredibly important to have both drivers and all passengers assessed for injuries at the scene. Not only is it a good idea to bring a neutral third party in to assess the status of everyone involved, it can be used as evidence by your car accident lawyer and insurance companies if a battle ensues.

Step two: Get a police report and the other driver’s insurance information
Always exchange information, as you will need a concrete way to identify the other person involved. A written down police report will also determine who is at fault for the accident, something that can be especially helpful down the line if you have to settle a dispute.

Step three: Check with the Department of Motor Vehicles
Even if there was minimal damage to your car, it is always wise to let the DMV know you have been in an accident. There may be a need to file a report.

Step four: If injured, contact a car accident lawyer
You will need legal advice if you plan on filing a suit against the other driver. This is especially important if you have sustained injuries, and considering that 52% of personal injuries cases relate to motor vehicle accidents, you may need some extra help in advocating for your rights.

If you have been in a car accident, make sure to follow these specific steps to ensure your safety and well-being.

For additional legal advice and counsel when it comes to car accidents, contact our experienced car accident lawyers today with any questions.