Matthew Kane Named to Best Lawyers in America

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Matthew Kane was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 24th edition of theThe Best Lawyers in America© for his work in Commercial Litigation.

Matthew represents banks and other financial institutions, businesses and individuals in an array of business law matters and disputes concerning consumer finance, employment, construction, real estate and general litigation as part of the firm’s business litigation practice. He also has considerable experience in consumer financial services litigation, including mortgage and title litigation, civil check fraud, and fair debt collection matters.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. 83,000 industry leading attorneys are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received almost 10 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2018 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 58,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Starting Your Own Business- The Franchise Model, Part II

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While the purchase of a franchise affords a business owner many crucial advantages in the marketplace over a traditional, non-franchise business, a prospective franchisee’s failure to properly conduct its due diligence, both independently and with the assistance of experienced advisors, can prove fatal to the business’s success. There are four important areas of due diligence. Read more in this month’s newsletter.

Newsletter_June 2017

Starting Your Own Business- The Franchise Model, Part 1

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Franchising is a popular avenue to entrepreneurship where the business owner is able to take advantage of the brand, systems and experience of a larger, more established enterprise. What makes franchising attractive to entrepreneurs is the ability to go into business for themselves but not by themselves. At its essence, franchising is a way to sell goods and services that involves a relationship between an entity that has an established brand and system (the franchisor) and an independent business owner (the franchisee).

Newsletter_May 2017

Marc Laredo Chairs CLE Program on Disputes in Closely-Held Service Businesses

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Marc Laredo served as the program chair for a recent CLE at the Massachusetts Bar Association on January 25, 2017.  The CLE was titled, “Disputes Among the Owners of Closely Held-Service Businesses.”  It covered how disputes among the owners of closely-held service businesses threaten the daily operations and future viability of professional service firms.  The distinguished panel discussed the duties of owners to each other and the entity, as well as the accounting perspective both for planning and breaking up service businesses. Finally, the panel discussed remedies for resolving disputes when they do arise, with a particular focus on the benefits of mediation.

Disputes Among Owners of Closely-Held Service Businesses

 

 

Chapter 93A Claims Against Corporate “Outsiders” Who Aid-and-Abet Insiders

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Massachusetts businesses and their owners are by now familiar with the rule that General Laws chapter 93A, a statute that bars unfair competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices and provides for the possibility of double or triple damages plus attorneys’ fees, is inapplicable to intra-corporate and employment disputes. But could a claim under chapter 93A be brought against an outsider who aids and abets an insider’s breach of fiduciary duties? Read our newsletter for more information.

Newsletter_January 2017

Marc Laredo & Mark Smith Named to New England Edition of Super Lawyers

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Marc Laredo and Mark Smith have been named to the New England edition of the 2016 Super Lawyers listing again this year. Marc is recognized in the area of business litigation and Mark Smith has been recognized for his work with white collar crime. Both attorneys are long-standing Super Lawyers for New England and Massachusetts.

Laredo & Smith Attorneys Named Super Lawyers 2016

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Laredo & Smith is pleased to announce that Marc Laredo, Mark Smith and Matthew Kane have been named to the 2016 Massachusetts Super Lawyers.  Marc Laredo was named to the Business Litigation list, Mark Smith has been recognized for his work in the White Collar Crime category and Matt Kane was honored as a Rising Star in Business Litigation.

Super Lawyers is a rating service for lawyers from more than 70 practice areas. To be included in the list, attorneys must attain a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Rising Stars are selected using the same criteria as Super Lawyers, but each attorney must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less. This recognition is awarded to no more than 5% of lawyers in the state.

To Arbitrate or Not to Arbitrate– That is the Question

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Arbitration – the private means of resolving a dispute – is a well- accepted and often encouraged alternative to the court system. Whether arbitration is the right choice for your business contract, however, is a more nuanced question.  As a starting point, all contracts should contain language regarding the resolution of disputes, including which state and/or country’s law will apply, where disputes will be resolved (a particularly important issue when parties are located in different states or countries) and whether arbitration or the court system will be used. It is this last choice that is the focus of this article.

Newsletter_March 2016

Newsletter: A Reminder of the Importance of Written Agreements

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A recent ruling of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, while reaching the fair and just result, serves as a cautionary tale of the importance of written agreements and a reminder of the adage that no good deed goes unpunished. Learn more about this case study:  A couple lent money to their son-in-law’s business after the son-in-law promised to provide personal guarantees for the loans. Despite his promises, he never signed written personal guarantees and never repaid his in-laws. Was the promise enforceable? Barrie-Chivian v. Lepler, 87 Mass. App. Ct 683 (2015).

Newsletter_October 2015

Newsletter: Court Rules Mortgage Borrowers Can’t Use “Try-Title” to Stop Foreclosure

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Following a sharp increase in mortgage foreclosures, in the wake of a steep decline in the housing market, growing numbers of defaulted mortgage borrowers (typically homeowners) and their attorneys seized on the so-called “try-title statute,” G.L. c. 240, §§1-5, as a simple and low-cost way of forestalling foreclosure.

Newsletter_April 2015