- Adoption
- FraudGrellas Shah has a robust white collar defense practice and has extensive experience addressing criminal investigations and prosecutions in the areas of securities and accounting fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), perjury and false statements, and obstruction. Grellas Shah attorneys also have substantial experience conducting internal investigations on a wide variety of subjects, including employment investigations, as well as investigations of fraud, foreign corrupt practices, accounting irregularities or other malfeasance as company counsel or as independent counsel on behalf of the Board. Grellas Shah attorneys have also been called upon to provide independent representation to employees that are the subjects of internal investigations. The firm’s lawyers have particular experience coordinating responses to parallel civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings.
- ExtortionPrior to joining Grellas Shah, Seth worked in the New York and San Francisco offices of Duane Morris, LLP. Seth is a Silicon Valley native, and a lifetime of exposure to the Valley has given him an enthusiasm for work with startups and their founders. Seth is a strategic thinker who specializes in outflanking the opposition, but also brings a broad range of experience to his matters. Although Seth’s work is often focused on issues pertaining to the governance of corporations and other business entities, these disputes usually extend well beyond the basic question of who is entitled to control a company or its assets. Seth has extensive experience dealing with issues stemming from breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, mishandling and misappropriation of IP and trade secrets, real estate issues, civil extortion, defamation, emotional distress, and tortious interference. Seth is licensed to practice in California and New York and has appeared in both state and federal courts on both coasts. Seth began his career in New York working on SEC and FINRA investigations, internal investigations for corporations and government agencies, and large-scale government contract disputes. Since returning to California in 2015, he has expanded his practice to the broad range of commercial disputes he now handles.
- Corporate LawVivi Lee is an associate attorney at Grellas Shah, where she focuses on commercial litigation. Ms. Lee has handled a wide range of complex litigation matters, including complex contract, corporate governance, fraud and other matters.
- Mergers and AcquisitionsGrellas Shah’s litigators have represented numerous companies and their officers and directors in shareholder class actions and derivative actions, as well as litigation arising out of mergers and acquisitions. The firm’s lead litigation partner, Dhaivat Shah, is a former SEC staff attorney and has extensive experience with SEC investigations, as well as both civil actions filed by the SEC in court and actions filed before the SEC’s administrative law judges (ALJs). Grellas Shah also has experience in breach of fiduciary actions arising from founder disputes and majority/minority shareholder disputes.
- Business DisputesWhen you are talking about business litigation, many people think of high-profile labor or contract disputes. And while these cases are certainly a part of business litigation, they aren’t always an...
- Business TransactionsWhen we act as corporate lawyers or corporate attorneys, we represent many types of corporate entities – California and Delaware, C-corps, S-corps, statutory close corporations, and the like. In such a role, a corporate attorney is simply a business lawyer serving the needs of a particular type of business entity. Because corporate transactions often involve federal and state securities laws more so than do those of other business entities, a business lawyer handling corporate matters may be practicing in a more specialized area than is an attorney handling transactions relating to other business entities. Our attorneys act both as business lawyers and corporate attorneys in the various business transactions we handle.
- Limited Liability CompaniesA business lawyer or business attorney refers to a lawyer who represents business entities or who represents individuals who act in a business capacity. Thus, a business lawyer or business attorney will represent corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), general partnerships, limited partnerships, sole proprietorships, joint ventures, and the like, as well as founder groups, owners, proprietors, partners, directors, officers, managers shareholders, and entrepreneurs.
- Trade Secrets
- Intellectual PropertyFor over 25 years, George has practiced business, corporate, commercial, and intellectual property law in Silicon Valley and has served as a business and corporate lawyer for a broad range of startup and business clients, from sole proprietorships to leading companies in the high tech field.
- Unfair CompetitionErin Adrian is an associate attorney at Grellas Shah, where she focuses on commercial litigation. Ms. Adrian has handled a wide range of complex litigation matters, including complex contract, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, defamation, and other matters.
- Wrongful TerminationGrellas Shah has experience representing employers in dispute with employees asserting claims for unpaid wages, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour disputes, and claims brought under the Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”). Grellas Shah can also provide valuable pre-litigation counseling, either on behalf of employers or employees, in disputes over equity and compensation in early stage companies.
- Employment LitigationDhaivat’s areas of specialty include securities and class action litigation, m&a litigation, derivative actions, breach of fiduciary duty actions, regulatory investigations, internal investigations, trade secret litigation and employment litigation. Dhaivat also has a thriving appellate practice. He has litigated cases in California, New York, Utah, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico and Nevada. He has conducted internal investigations in the U.S. and in China. Dhaivat’s list of clients in litigation or investigation matters include the following companies and/or their executives and directors: Apple, SanDisk, The PMI Group, VeriSign, Babcock & Brown, KPMG, Sirna Therapeutics, Powerwave Technologies, Mohr Davidow Ventures, SDL, Rackable Systems, Vishay Intertechnologies, Exodus Communications, Vast Systems, Fortify Software, Safety-Kleen, Mercury Interactive, Magma Automated Design, Esurance, Saxton, Quizno’s, Ensuant, Zed-3, Ravisent, Commtouch, pCom, VeriPic, Zoran and Merck. Prior to entering the private sector, Dhaivat was a staff attorney in the Washington, DC office of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and brings considerable expertise to representing clients in connection with SEC investigations.
- Non-compete AgreementMost businesses are sold with a premium placed on good will, consisting generally of the going concern value of having a particular customer base, a recognizable name, and so on. Most buyers then will want a non-compete agreement from the seller or, if the seller won’t give it, at least a non-solicitation agreement relating to existing customers.
- Premises LiabilityConstruction & Real Estate: Disputes can consist of items related to property defects, contract disputes, failure to disclose, negligence, insurance, premises liability, and more.
- Citizenship and Naturalization
- Business Immigration
- Investor Visas
- Personal InjuryIf you need to bring a lawsuit, make sure you are very sure of the merits of your case before launching. Count the cost as well. Cost is not a one-sided thing, after all. If you are in the right and have a strong case with a lot at stake, it will be worth funding a needed fight if there are no other good alternatives. The party on the other side will incur costs as well. And that party will need to assess whether those costs are worth it if, in the end, there may be a fat judgment awaiting him. In certain cases, you might even find a good business lawyer willing to take your case under a contingency-fee arrangement, though this is far less common with business cases than it is in other areas such as personal injury.
- Bankruptcy
- ForeclosureWatch out especially for distress sales. Unless a distress sale proceeds by UCC foreclosure, or out of bankruptcy, any buyer of a business overwhelmed with debt can potentially inherit all or part of that debt even if the contract specifies that the buyer is not assuming any liabilities. Given the risks, distress sales are typically radioactive for a buyer.
- Tax LawHolly is of counsel with the firm. With 25 years of experience serving multinational clients. Holly has extensive experience in corporate international tax, including advising on business acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, foreign tax planning, and tax-efficient intangible property management.