Practice Areas

Administrative Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Bankruptcy Law
Business and Commercial Law:

• Business Organizations
• Family Business Organizations
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Business and Non-Profit Organizations Maintenance
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Commercial
• Business Litigation

Civil Litigation
Employment and Labor Law
Estate Planning
Family Law
Real Estate, Land Use, and Construction

• Real Estate
• Land Use and Environmental Law
• Construction Law
• Litigation

Taxation

• Administrative Law

  Administrative Proceedings: We Represent clients in all aspects of federal, state and local regulation including administrative appeals and litigation before the courts. We also counsel our clients regarding administrative hearings and adjudications, administrative investigations, administrative officers and agents, administrative rulemaking, licensing, and regulatory enforcement with respect to business, real estate, land use, environmental, and economic regulation, industry restructuring and deregulation, contracting and project development, and trade regulation.

  
  

• Alternative Dispute Resolution

  Alternative Dispute Resolution: Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") can be a cost effective and time saving means of resolving disputes. Clayton & McEvoy utilizes the expertise of seasoned arbitrators to judge complex technical issues that a court or jury might not fully understand. We counsel our clients regarding the benefits and potential drawbacks of ADR and provide advice concerning the appropriateness of ADR methods in particular circumstances.

  
  

• Bankruptcy Law

  Bankruptcy: Clayton & McEvoy represents creditors, debtors, committees and other interested parties in all aspects of insolvency and bankruptcy, including litigation, debt workout, reorganizations, debtor in possession arrangements, foreclosures, relief from stay, receiverships, repossessions, liquidations, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and proceedings under Chapters 7, 11 and 13.

  
  

• Business and Commercial Law:

  Business Organizations: The form of business chosen for a business entity potentially affects every aspect of its operations. Clayton & McEvoy assists with the formation, capitalization, funding, reorganization, operation, contractual relations and transactions, acquisition and merger, divestiture, and dissolution of business entities including corporations, limited liability companies, general and limited partnerships, and proprietorships. We also provide counsel and representation regarding compliance with regulatory requirements concerning taxation, human resources, and trade practices.

  Family Business Organizations: Clayton & McEvoy counsels and advises family owned enterprises with a focus on the unique requirements of family businesses. We provide advice on the creative approaches to capital structures, enterprise governance, ownership rights, profit allocations, incentive compensation, deferred compensation, retirement planning, equity realization, ownership transition plans, labor policies, and employee incentives. We also assist our clients in implementing strategies for the development, growth, management, preservation, and ultimate disposition or divestiture of the enterprise.

  Non-Profit Organizations: We advise and assist in the formation, qualification, funding, and operation of public benefit, mutual benefit, and religious non-profit organizations. We secure the proper recognition of non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service, the California Franchise Tax Board, and local tax authorities.

  Business and Non-Profit Organizations Maintenance: Clayton & McEvoy ensures that enterprises and organizations, their subsidiaries and affiliates are validly formed, duly organized, and in good standing in all jurisdictions in which they are required to be qualified as domestic or foreign entities. Our attorneys assess and analyze securities issues, taxation matters, corporate minutes and documents. We also maintain internal business records and assure reporting and filing compliance with federal, state and local regulatory agencies and tax authorities.

  Mergers & Acquisitions: We represent clients in a variety of merger and acquisition structures including tax-free stock transactions, taxable transactions, leveraged acquisitions, management buy-outs, "going private" transactions, spin-offs, repurchases of equity securities, asset purchase-and-sale, reorganizations, and other forms of business acquisitions and divestitures. Our attorneys advise clients on operational issues pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, including labor and employment matters, pensions issues, environmental issues, real estate issues, and tax planning.

  Commercial: We represent clients in commercial transactions including franchising, technology licensing, development agreements, royalties, distribution agreements, import-export arrangements, secured and unsecured financing, equipment leases, advertising and marketing, and sales.

  Business Litigation: Our experienced attorneys litigate disputes involving contracts, corporate and partnership law, venture capital transactions, dissolutions and liquidations, employment disputes, asset acquisitions, and environmental concerns.

  
  

• Civil Litigartion

  
  

• Employment and Labor Law

  Employment and Labor: Clayton & McEvoy represents clients in all aspects of labor and employment mediation, arbitration, litigation, counseling and administrative proceedings, including employment handbooks, personnel policies, employment and compensation agreements, labor-management relations, unemployment compensation claims, workers' compensation claims, wage and hour laws, employment relationship regulation, terminations, layoffs, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, workplace violence, ERISA and other employment benefit claims, OSHA citations, hazard communication and workplace safety training, unfair competition claims such as employee raiding, misappropriation of trade secrets, and customer solicitation.

  
  

• Estate Planning

  Estate Planning: We provide counsel, advice and representation concerning living trusts, charitable trusts, insurance trusts, and other revocable and irrevocable trusts, private foundations, wills, durable powers of attorney, health care directives, guardianships, conservatorships, and other estate planning arrangements directed toward multiple objectives including lifetime preservation and retention of wealth, tax-efficient succession of wealth to future generations, and disposition of social capital in support of charitable institutions.

  
  

• Family Law

  Family Law: Clayton & McEvoy provides individuals with counsel, advice, and representation of in a wide range of family law matters that include adoption, guardianships, conservatorships, Probate and Probate litigation, premarital agreements, mediation of family law disputes, proceedings for legal separation and dissolution of marriage, and litigation of "Marvin" or cohabitation claims.

  
  

• Real Estate, Land Use, and Construction

  Real Estate: We represent clients involved in such diverse real estate matters as the purchase and sale of real estate interests, easements and licenses, development agreements, construction, architect's and engineer's contracts, industrial and commercial leasing, financing, title insurance coverage, workouts of troubled projects, tax-deferred exchanges, equity sharing arrangements, unlawful detainer, adverse possession, CC&R's, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

  Land Use and Environmental Law: Clayton & McEvoy represents landowners, developers, and contractors before planning commissions, city councils, county boards, the California Coastal Commission and other local, regional, state and federal administrative and legislative bodies. We obtain permits and entitlements necessary for property development, including general and specific plan amendments, zone changes, annexations, variances, conditional use permits, and subdivision maps. Our attorneys also assist in the preparation of environmental documents and technical studies pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), municipal and county environmental guidelines, the California Coastal Zone Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other environmental statutes and regulatory compliance procedures.

  Construction Law: We counsel and advise landowners, contractors and developers regarding purchase contracts, owner participation agreements, exclusive negotiation agreements, disposition and development agreements, "build-out" arrangements, annexation and pre-annexation agreements, construction contracts, subcontractor agreements, construction disputes, mechanics' liens, stop notices, bonds, claims, and insurance.

  Real Estate, Construction, and Land Use Litigation: Our experienced trial attorneys litigate issues involving developer and contractor liability, construction defects, ownership disputes, boundary disputes, breach of contract, easements, land use entitlements, general plans, zoning ordinances, eminent domain, partition actions, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), mechanics' liens, change orders, collection, unlawful detainer, condemnation, receiverships, foreclosures, and lis pendens.

  
  

• Taxation

  Tax Law: We counsel individuals, commercial enterprises, and non-profit organizations regarding matters involving state and federal income, capital gains, and excise tax issues. We structure transactions to avoid or minimize federal, state and local taxes. We provide representation before federal, state and local tax authorities with regard to tax audits, assessments, and penalties. Our skilled attorneys appear before the U.S. Tax Court, Court of Claims, U.S. District Court, the California Superior Court, and applicable courts of appeal.