Our Services
Entertainment
Our firm’s entertainment practice focuses on representing clients in the entertainment, interactive and licensing industries. We have an international clientele, particularly in connection with children’s programming and video games. We have developed a formidable reputation assisting independent video game developers and publishers with all aspects of their respective businesses, ranging from rights deals, development deals, publishing and distribution deals to mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, and other corporate matters. In the motion picture and animation space, we represent our clients in connection with film, television and new media projects, including literary options, life story rights, co-productions, producer deals, and distribution deals. We are well-known for our expertise in the licensing world, and we work closely with creators to help them develop and implement their merchandising and licensing strategy and programs, as well as with licensing agents on numerous aspects of their businesses. We also work with authors and illustrators in many different areas, including publishing deals, agency deals, licensing, and corporate matters.
Real Estate
The complexities of property law require the expertise of legal counsel with specialized knowledge and extensive practice experience to ensure successful closings and positive outcomes. Our firm’s real estate lawyers have decades of combined experience dedicating a substantial portion of their practices to representing developers, lenders, buyers and sellers in a wide range of commercial and residential real estate matters.
Our practice includes advice and representation from contract negotiation through closing in transactions ranging from routine residential purchases and sales (for which we assist approximately 200 buyers and sellers per year) to more complex commercial real estate acquisitions, mortgage financing, and construction loans, including for-profit and non-profit development projects. Our firm is also a leader in providing counsel for the development of non-profit affordable housing in the Pioneer Valley and beyond, having represented developers who have created or rehabilitated over 1,000 affordable housing units. This work has included closing revenue bond financing and both state and federal low-income housing tax credit financing for projects with development budgets between $1 million and $80 million.
Our lawyers are approved agents for several of the leading regional and national title insurers, and our lawyers regularly work with leading local, regional, and national residential and commercial lenders. The mutual trust and familiarity established in these working relationships ensure that transactions close in a smooth and efficient manner.
Our practice also includes the formation of condominiums and advice with respect to condominium governance (including enforcement of delinquent common charges and assessments), as well as negotiation of and advice regarding commercial leases.
Intellectual Property
Our firm’s intellectual property team brings decades of experience in representing the copyright and trademark interests of a wide array of clients, ranging from children’s book authors to local start-up businesses to publicly-listed, international video game companies. We are actively involved in the coordination and implementation of our clients’ worldwide intellectual property registration and enforcement programs, including trademark clearance and prosecution, copyright counseling and registration, and dispute resolution. Our practice is global in scope, and we work in close coordination with a team of trusted local counsel in foreign jurisdictions to service our clients’ needs. We have developed particular expertise in the entertainment world helping clients work with old, venerable intellectual properties that face myriad challenges such as online piracy, chain of title investigations, and public domain considerations. We take a pragmatic approach, and we work in close collaboration with our clients to provide customized solutions to protect and enhance our clients’ interests.
Corporate and Business
Our firm’s business and corporate team applies decades of experience to handling matters of all types, from simple entity formations to sophisticated transactions. We routinely handle complex projects ordinarily managed by large law firms, with the same level of skill and results. Our lawyers and legal assistants work in tandem with our clients to determine their business needs and develop practical and cost-effective solutions.
Our areas of expertise include:
Entity formation and maintenance (corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships)
Management and governance issues
Contract preparation, review and negotiation
Commercial Leasing
Purchases and sales of businesses
Reorganization, consolidation and merger of entities
Business succession planning
Employment and independent contractor advice and agreements
Commercial lending
Litigation
Sound agreements and policies help clients avoid disputes which result in legal actions. However, lawsuits and other litigated claims are sometimes unavoidable. Our litigation attorneys are all experienced in prosecuting and defending cases in state and federal courts and in alternative dispute resolution forums, including local, national and international arbitrations. We have excellent legal assistants to support our litigation practice.
We have broad experience representing individuals and entities, small and large, in matters including commercial and contract disputes, copyright, trademark and antitrust matters, commercial and residential landlord/tenant cases, civil rights claims, creditor’s rights and general civil litigation. And, while settlement is always part of the discussion, our lawyers stand ready to aggressively bring the matter to a decision through trial or hearing, when appropriate.
Landlord/Tenant
As part of our extensive real estate practice, the firm maintains a robust landlord/tenant practice. Focused on the rights of residential and commercial property owners, we assist individuals and businesses with evictions, leasing, and guidance about and defense of Fair Housing matters. Our landlord/tenant team helps clients navigate the labyrinth of rules and regulations covering commercial and residential landlords in Massachusetts.
We understand that all tenant disputes affect our clients, and we strive to resolve all matters quickly and efficiently. When disputes cannot be resolved through negotiation and mediation, our team has extensive experience in aggressively enforcing our client’s rights through litigation and trial.
Estate Administration & Probate Litigation
Our estate and tax planning, administration, and litigation department’s objectives go beyond creating the framework for a smooth, organized transfer of wealth from clients to their beneficiaries. We create a path forward that minimizes taxes and other expenses and also work to curtail, if not eliminate, the turmoil that can arise among family members when settling an estate. The preparation of integrated estate plan may include preparing Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, and Advanced Care Directives, as well as consideration of the uses of Trusts and Gifting plans.
Our knowledge of corporate matters, taxation, estate administration, probate litigation and related areas gives us a unique insight into the planning process. By getting to know clients and their circumstances, we are able to help clients avoid problems before they arise.