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Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Our litigation team combines years of trial and negotiation experience with invaluable business judgment to provide Mazzola Lindstrom clients with peerless representation. We handle all manner of high-stakes, business litigation for clients in the diverse sectors we serve. We have prosecuted and defended a wide variety of complex commercial claims, involving, among other matters, fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, business torts, bankruptcy claims, intellectual property disputes, banking and financial instruments, securities law, bad-faith insurance actions, professional malpractice, and contracts disputes of all types.

Owner Disputes and Business Divorces

Mazzola Lindstrom regularly represents privately held companies and their owners. These clients range from successful family-owned businesses that are growing, maturing, and formalizing their structure and operational processes to privately held companies with an independent board of directors.

We draft our clients’ agreements (shareholder, partnership, and operating agreements) to ensure efficient operations, the best governance practices, and amicable resolution of disagreements. Certainly, there are instances when disputes among owners or between a company and an owner are unavoidable. We are experienced in representing companies and owners in these disputes, in all industries. Based on the governing agreements and the circumstances at issue, we will proceed in the best and most appropriate manner to effectively achieve the best result for our clients, whether through direct negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation. Our attorneys are especially attuned to the goals of private companies. Therefore, we focus on cost-effective, practical resolutions, working in tandem with tax accountants, forensic accountants, and valuation experts as needed.

If a negotiated or mediated resolution is not possible and a “business divorce” is the only option, we represent our clients vigorously to achieve the best results possible, so that the owners can separate and move on with other business and ventures.

Our attorneys also have deep experience with private company disputes that may arise from claimed wrongful conduct by one or more company owners. For example, an owner may have breached a fiduciary duty owed to the company, violated a non-competition obligation, or other restrictive covenants. We represent the company or the owner in either instance.


Banking and Securities Litigation

Our firm handles disputes in the banking, private equity, and securities industries. We are experienced in the statutory and regulatory law at issue, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the rules promulgated thereunder by the Securities Exchange Commission. Our attorneys have litigated high-dollar cases involving debentures and other financial instruments. We handle class actions, institutional actions, and individual investor actions involving publicly sold and privately offered securities. Finally, we represent clients in securities arbitrations before FINRA, both on the customer side and the broker-dealer side.


Non-Solicitations, Non-Competes, and Trade Secrets

In today’s world, critical business information can be shared with almost anyone, anywhere, by just a few keystrokes or the press of a button. Such sensitive information includes client and customer data, proprietary business plans and service procedures, manufacturing processes, formulas, computer source code, and other materials. Sophisticated businesses understand that protecting and policing their trade secrets and sensitive information in the digital age is essential to profitability and success.

Our firm works with clients at every level of their corporate structure to craft agreements and outline policies to protect against the theft of key data. However, many businesses or individuals may be faced with having to prosecute corporate trade secret and intellectually propriety theft or defend against lawsuits alleging such violations. The Mazzola Lindstrom litigation team has experience working closely with clients to ensure that valuable assets are identified and protected, and, if necessary, to pursue remedies available under the recently enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act and/or various state law Uniform Trade Practices Acts. Whether you are a key employee seeking to continue working in the same field, or an employer who may face competition from a departing employee, your interests deserve the protection that our attorneys can provide should a courtroom battle be unavoidable.


Receivables Management

Receivables management and debt collection are complex and time-consuming. We help clients make the process as efficient and effective as possible.

We represent our creditor clients in a variety of business contexts and circumstances, advising them on issues involving collection disputes, in-house collection operations, debt purchases, and third-party debt collectors. Through our diverse business and legal experience, we provide a unique perspective on risk mitigation options and a practical understanding of both what regulators and enforcement agencies expect from the industry, and current issues in high-stakes collection litigation.

We handle a variety of regulatory, transactional, litigation, and enforcement matters related to first- and third-party collections. Employing our knowledge of state and federal law, we draft corporate policies and procedures tailored to each client’s specific circumstance, conduct risk assessments, and assist with designing, reviewing, and implementing vendor management guidelines.

We also represent private equity and strategic investors who buy and sell collection companies and debt portfolios. We have advised on and performed due diligence for parties involved in transactions in the receivables management space in recent years, as well as resulting licensing and change-in-control filings with state licensing authorities.