Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

  • A breach of contract occurs when a binding agreement or bargained-for-exchange is not honored by one or more parties to the contract. Blakeley LC specializes in issues relating to contracts involving mergers and acquisitions, purchases and sales of securities, transactions in real estate and other business assets, and agreements to provide goods or services. The firm astutely pursues all legal options in order to rectify the wrong and to ensure our clients receive the best possible outcome.

  • Allowing a debt payment to become stale or failing to enforce a court judgment can result in uncollected funds that a company duly deserves. The attorneys at Blakeley LC are highly skilled in recovering on a client's unpaid account through litigation or out-of-court settlements.

    In the event that an account debtor becomes delinquent, Blakeley LC has the experience and the resources to stabilize the situation and commence appropriate legal action, where necessary, to compel payment from the debtor.

    If your company has obtained a judgment but has been unable to collect payment from the judgment debtor, our lawyers have the ability to assist in uncovering any hidden assets of the debtor or recovering fraudulent transfers, as well as pursuing all other available avenues to enforce the judgment.

    Our attorneys always strive to maintain a high level of professionalism and efficiency, which limit the clients' fees during the course of our representation. In the event Blakeley LC is employed on an hourly basis our attorneys are mindful of fees and make every effort to keep them at a minimum. The firm may also be employed on a contingency-fee basis to collect on a delinquent account of enforce a judgment.

  • The firm specializes in uncovering fraud and deceptive trade practices in business-to-business transactions ranging from sole proprietors to large corporate companies. As part of comprehensive strategy to collect against all available assets, the firm often pursues officers, shareholders and/or affiliates as alter egos of the debtor and pursues third parties recover fraudulent conveyances.

    The firm often times will pursue a newly formed company for purposes of successor liability, which can occur when a new company takes over the assets of a debtor, occupies the same location, continues the same type of business, and retains officers or shareholders as alter egos of the debtor.

  • Disputes can arise between corporate officers, directors and shareholders. These disputes can upset or impair a business' ongoing operations. Shareholder disputes usually arise when a corporate officer or a shareholder has committed fraud, illegality, or abuse, or has failed to protect the company's interests.

    A fiduciary duty is a legal or ethical relationship of confidence or trust regarding the management of some property or money. Corporate officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to, or a duty to serve the best interests of, the shareholders. A breach of this duty occurs when one party commits negligent or intentional acts that harm those to whom the duty is owed.

    Blakeley LC has experienced lawyers who are committed to resolving these issues resourcefully and effectively so that the operations of the business can become seamless again.

  • The firm has represents construction contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who have special rights and unique forms of security. State laws allow for unpaid contractors and materialmen to record a mechanic's lien against the real property pertaining to that specific private works project. A mechanic's lien represents a security interest in the real property which will be used to attempt to satisfy the unfulfilled payments the contractor or materialman is owed. In addition to recording and enforcing mechanic's liens for its clients, Blakeley LC regularly handles stop notices and demands on payment bonds, which are most often used in public works projects.

  • Commercial real estate law, specifically landlord and tenant relationships, can produce both lengthy and complex problems. Issues frequently arise when a commercial tenant has held over the expiration of his lease, the landlord has prematurely terminated the tenancy because of a breach or violation of the lease, or the landlord has breached a duty owed to the tenant, and as a result the tenant is being adversely affected. Blakeley LC is equipped with the know-how to help address these often difficult issues and successfully represent and advocate on behalf of either commercial landlords or tenants.

Bankruptcy

  • Official unsecured creditors' committees are established in most chapter 11 cases to represent and protect the interests of trade creditors, bondholders, and other holders of unsecured debt. A creditors' committee is a group generally composed of the largest creditors of the debtor who have formed a committee to pursue their joint interests against the debtor. This is often the most effective way for an individual company to maximize their return. The debtor has more incentive to cooperate with a committee rather than an individual creditor. In addition, the fees and costs incurred by the committee's professionals are paid by the debtor, not the individual creditors.

    Blakeley LC has vast experience and a successful record in representing committees. The firm has been selected over many other competing firms to represent dozens of committees in large and small bankruptcy cases. 

  • In a bankruptcy case, the debtor, the trustee or other party assigned the bankruptcy estate's avoidance powers, often seek to avoid and recover transfers made by the debtor within 90 days prior to the petition date. This 90-day period is labeled the preference period. If a transfer made to a creditor during the preference period is deemed preferential, then the debtor is entitled to a return of the transfer, unless the creditor can establish a defense. Blakeley LC works on behalf of the creditors who have received such transfers to establish their defenses. The firm is highly knowledgeable and skilled in this area and our clients usually pay less than 10 percent of what is actually sought by the debtor. In fact, over the last five years, the firm has saved its preference clients over $50 million.

  • Out-of-court workouts are akin to your standard settlement negotiations in any civil matter. Out-of-court workouts are in lieu of filing for bankruptcy and taking the matter before a court. If the Out-of-court workout does not succeed, then moving forward with bankruptcy is always an option. Out-of-court workouts have their advantages. They are private, smoother in function, less adversarial, and cheaper then pursuing judicial intervention. Blakeley LC has represented both debtors and creditors in out-of-court workouts. The firm actively facilitates negotiations with the other party so that plans can be approved and agreements can be reached that benefit those involved.

  • When a debtor files for bankruptcy, a creditor is often left with a prepetition claim for payment against the debtor. Blakeley LC represents creditors to make sure that proofs of claim are filed in order to preserve the rights of the creditor. The firm also pursues additional, more complex claims like administrative expenses in order to further protect the creditors' rights and ensure prompt payment when possible.