Business Disputes Law Firm Headquartered in New York City

We help businesses across multiple industries in New York and around the country and globe find innovative and cost-effective solutions to business disputes. Our unique perspective in helping our clients succeed stems, in part, from Justin’s extensive experience as a start-up entrepreneur, business owner, and investor. Justin’s understanding of accounting, business, corporate strategy, economics, and finance equips him with a lens that separates him from the pack. He brings this understanding to bear in representing plaintiffs or defendants. Demonstrating Justin’s passion for entrepreneurship, he has launched and managed businesses and investment vehicles. These experiences have heavily influenced Justin to represent companies or investors in business disputes and commercial litigation and have equipped him with a perspective that many clients have appreciated and admired. His ability to decipher business operations, financial information, and elaborate business disclosures and filings have enabled him to possess savviness in dealing with experts, economists, and accountants. He is able to distill complicated facts into captivating stories in advocating before judges, juries, arbitrators, mediators, and adversaries.

This unique experience—indeed, our mindset—equips us to help you either resolve issues quickly, quietly, and with excellent results through negotiations, mediations, or other types of alternative dispute resolution, or push through trials, appeals, or arbitrations, all in order to help you succeed. In fact, we have helped potential adversaries resolve issues through mutually beneficial results and enabled them to continue their long-term business relationships, to the benefit of everyone—their companies, directors, executives, other employees, vendors, and customers. Our legal—and business—perspective will help you find creative, cost-effective solutions.

Actions speak louder than words; results speak the loudest. The Firm’s growth since its launch has been explosive. Nematzadeh PLLC has represented businesses in two confidential investigations and negotiations that resulted in efficient, effective recoveries without the need to launch formal litigation. One was on behalf of a financial institution in India against a U.S.-based publicly listed company, for which the Firm’s client received a significant majority of its alleged losses, all without having to formally launch an action. Another was on behalf of a ticket broker against a festival company, for which the Firm’s client received a significant majority of its alleged losses, all without having to formally launch an action.

On the defense side, the Firm has represented a rug manufacturer and distributor in a potential dispute with a trademark holder, a real-estate developer in confidential arbitration against a counter-party to a terminated real-estate transaction, and an entrepreneur in confidential negotiations against an equity and debt holder in a private company.

We handle a wide range of disputes involving businesses across multiple industries.

Contracts and other types of agreements are the lifeblood of business: they are intended to provide security to the parties, guide transactions, and establish long-term relationships. But business often does not work out as planned. A breach of contract occurs when a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance, bad faith, or interference with the other party’s performance. Issues arise that the contract drafter never anticipated, new opportunities require a breach of an agreement, or a party violates an agreement to end a relationship. A breach of contract claim may arise when a party to a contract makes misrepresentations or fails to fulfill its obligations to the other party. Contract disputes typically involve elements of contract formation and may even hinge on the interpretation of a single provision. Other times, disputes stem from breaches of covenants of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with agreements or business relationships, or unjust enrichment. Given these and other complexities, it is crucial to have an experienced, sophisticated commercial litigator at your side. We have such experience and sophistication; we are here for you.

In essence, fraud can cause financial harm to a business if a party involved in a business transaction knowingly or intentionally makes false statements to the other party or omits important information regarding the transaction. Our firm is experienced in prosecuting and defending fraud claims.

One of the challenges in intellectual property litigation is translating complex subject matter to a judge, jury, arbitrator, mediator, and adversary. Distilling such complex subject matter into a compelling, persuasive story is one of the areas in which we thrive. We pursue and defend intellectual property litigation—whether representing plaintiffs or defendants—focusing on copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing disputes, and other disputes arising from alleged unfair competition.

The Lanham Act of 1946 (“Lanham Act”) provides for litigation concerning false or misleading advertising by businesses and competitors. To prevail on a false-advertising claim under the Lanham Act, a claimant must satisfy the following elements: (i) a false or misleading statement of fact; (ii) that is used in a commercial advertisement or promotion; (iii) that deceives or is likely to deceive in a material way; (iv) in interstate commerce; and (v) has caused or is likely to cause competitive or commercial injury. We have experience in representing plaintiffs and defendants in actions under the Lanham Act or other federal or state laws concerning false advertising or unfair competition.

When a corporation and one of its directors, executives, or other employees end their relationship, the split all too often becomes acrimonious. High stakes, intense personal feelings, and the risk of significant injury to reputations on both sides make for highly charged disputes. We are equipped to handle severance disputes involving corporate directors, executives, or other employees and corporate funders. And we do not limit ourselves to representing either plaintiffs or defendants in such disputes.

Business opportunities often come from entrepreneurs, individuals, and companies teaming up to achieve a mutually beneficial goal. But sometimes, one party decides to take advantage of the other party; other times, the parties just disagree. Disputes among partners may involve the control, authority, and ownership interests of the individual partners, the direction of the partnership, financial problems, or other issues. Partnership disputes may arise from partners being frozen out of affairs, partners needing to be expelled because of not contributing, and dissolution. Material issues between partners entail experienced litigators to help resolve a matter through settlement—before any type of litigation and potentially preserving the partnership—or through litigation, arbitration, or other type of adjudication. We have experience representing partnerships or individual partners in such disputes.

Tortious interference claims can arise in a variety of contexts and often involve large-scale, multi-party contracts. If your business has suffered financial losses because another party unlawfully interfered with your contractual or business relationships or potential relationships, we have the know-how to hold that party liable for tortious interference. And we have experience defending companies against such claims.

Litigation parties who are awarded a “judgment” for monetary damages may need to “enforce” the judgment to collect money from the adversary—and more often, its assets, bank accounts, real property, personal property, securities, corporate entities, related parties, and other avenues. Courts do not award money; rather, they award a judgment of monetary damages. Monetary judgments are ordered through a variety of results, including, without limitation, a jury verdict, a default judgment, affirmative summary judgment, restitution, or sanctions. Being awarded the judgment is often only part of the strategic battle. We can help you find and seize assets in order for you to collect on a judgment.

Judgment enforcement can be accomplished through a variety of federal or state laws. For example, the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) equips parties with a robust set of laws for asset investigation and judgment enforcement. Examples of these tools include sending subpoenas, taking depositions, garnishing wages, freezing bank accounts, and sending a sheriff to seize property. The New York CPLR even enables a judgment obtained in another U.S. state or abroad, also known as a “foreign judgment,” to be “domesticated” and rapidly enforced on assets located in New York.

Knowing that business disputes can be costly, may interfere with your operations, and may damage your company’s reputation in the marketplace, we often work to resolve disputes through negotiated settlements. However, we prepare each case for trial and are always ready to litigate to achieve the best possible outcome.

Our legal team also advises business clients about steps that they can take to mitigate the risk of disputes, such as the following, without limitation:

• Putting in place well-conceived operating agreements, partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, employment agreements, and other types of agreements;
• Establishing and implementing company policies and procedures; and
• Obtaining releases and waivers of liability from clients, customers, and vendors.

Above all, we will work to protect your interests and your bottom line in and out of the courtroom. Contact Nematzadeh PLLC  by calling 646-417-8424 or emailing lawyer@nematlawyers.com for a confidential, free consultation. We can creatively formulate hybrid legal fees, including, without limitation, contingency fees, hourly fees, fixed fees, phased fees, success fees, and a combination thereof, to best align and partner long-term with our clients.