Many business leaders have learned that consulting a lawyer first can avoid problems later.  Many clients look to us for general support of their business endeavors, which we provide in the form of ongoing corporate counseling or embark on complex commercial transactions.  Others turn to us for specific assistance when they need an experienced lawyer to represent their interests in Court.

Corporate Counsel

     We strive to become our clients' "legal partner and trusted advisor." Similar to the in-house legal counsel of large corporations, we become familiar with the business methods and objectives of our clients. Accordingly, when our clients make business decisions, they often seek our legal counsel to proactively consider possible legal and business ramifications. Our attorneys also assist clients with regulatory and governmental matters, ranging from ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations, obtaining appropriate licenses for their businesses to resolving disputes with government entities. We are often called upon to not only negotiate contracts and close deals but to spearhead projects involving joint ventures with other entities, acquisitions of other companies, technology upgrades and planning for future needs of the company.

Business Law and Transactions

     We advise clients on the planning, organizing and restructuring of new or existing businesses and assist in documenting the relationship between, and among, the business entity and its owners. We provide guidance in entity selection, attend to formation, assist in state business registration processes and prepare organizational and governing documents.  We structure, negotiate and draft agreements for shareholder buyouts, retirements, buy-sell arrangements, and operating agreements.  For the client who wishes to purchase or sell a business, our team handles all aspects of the transaction from contract negotiation through due diligence to closing.  We provide our clients with a comprehensive approach to the various and unique legal issues in each transaction. Corporate officers and directors, executives and business leaders seek our legal advice and services in matters concerning the ongoing operation of their businesses, including the review of vendor contracts, preparation of employment agreements, policies and manuals, and advice on applicable governmental regulations, as well as continuing surveillance of relevant new developments in the law at both the state and federal levels.

Commercial Litigation

    Our firm is routinely involved in complex commercial litigation. Our approach to complex commercial cases is always to protect the client's overall business interests. There are occasions when it may make better business sense to settle a claim than run the risk of adverse publicity that could result from a public trial. Conversely, there are times when it makes better business sense to defend a small claim to avoid setting a precedent and inviting additional claims. The firm's concentration in complex commercial cases is not confined to particular substantive areas of the law, but to the litigation practice itself. As such, many of the firm's attorneys have gained recognition by handling cutting-edge cases in a wide variety of substantive legal fields. The Shanker Law Firm, P.C. has proven time and again that the well-honed skills of its litigators may be universally applied to forge profitable resolutions of disputes in any area of law or any area of commercial enterprise

     Although the trial and forensic abilities of The Shanker Law Firm, P.C. litigators are unparalleled, these tools are often used as strategic deterrents rather than as implements of first resort. Thus, a substantial portion of the firm's practice is preventative counseling and problem solving. The firm recognizes that in many instances its clients' objectives are best served by successfully avoiding litigation and that success is measured by the advice and counsel we provide to achieve this end. However, if full-scale litigation is in the client's best interest, no law firm understands and successfully galvanizes the process as well as The Shanker Law Firm, P.C.

Employment Law   

      Much of our practice is devoted to proactive counseling on employment and labor law matters, including affirmative action, discipline and discharge, human resources policies and practices, wage and hour audits and other matters, workplace safety, and managing the day to day employment matters of our clients. We also draft and review employment, separation and non-competition agreements, employee handbooks, and employer policies and procedures. We also represent employers before administrative agencies as well as federal and state courts and arbitral forums.  We provide representation during all stages of an employment dispute, from providing employers with assistance in drafting and submitting position statements to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to representing them in court.  In addition we represent our clients' interests in enforcing non-compete agreements and seeking redress in trade secret misappropriation matters. Our timely, efficient and aggressive approach to handling employment-related litigation for our clients is evident in all phases of representation.

Personal Injury Defense

      The most common type of personal injury damage claim is motor vehicle-related accidents that occur was transporting persons or goods. Regardless of the type of accident, you can depend on us for a knowledgeable and aggressive defense of your best interests. Success in these cases often involves proving that the damages involved are not severe enough to be considered a serious injury or showing that another party is liable for the damages. Our office will analyze the facts of each case and move quickly to secure important evidence necessary for the defense of the case We build a solid defense strategy designed to reach your goals as quickly and cost effectively as possible. While vehicle accident claims are common, we do not take a cookie-cutter approach to automobile liability defense. We custom-tailor our services to meet the specific challenges of each and every case.

Workers' Compensation Defense

     We represents a wide range of insurance carriers and self-insured employers in Workers' Compensation matters. We provide our clients with proactive Workers' Compensation advice and help implement risk management policies to protect the interests of our clients in the long run. If and when a claim is filed, we actively represent our clients by litigating and defending their interests at the Workers’ Compensation Board. We handle all aspects of our clients cases from inception through trial. We handle all of our own appeals and have and unparalleled track record in representing mid-size companies and uninsured employers in the metropolitan area.

Unemployment Defense

      Most employers in New York are unaware of their rights, obligations and remedies relating to unemployment insurance matters. We advise and represent our clients relative to the whole gamut of unemployment matters. We represent businesses when they are audited to ensure that the proper unemployment insurance has been paid. We also defend our clients when claims of employee misclassification is alleged. We also represent businesses when claims for unemployment benefits are made by former employees. If a former employee is no longer employed and has been separated from their job due to non-qualifying circumstances, we are sure to vigorously defend our clients interests in all administrative proceedings at the Department of Labor. Our ability to defend and win these cases are often largely dependent upon our client being able to proceed the necessary business documents to support our legal position. This is why we are often called upon to counsel businesses on how what records to keep and how to properly maintain them. We go to great lengths to explain the entire process to our clients in a proactive manner so as to enable them to focus on building their business rather than defending claims. 

Intellectual Property

     Intellectual property and related assets can be valuable business assets used by companies to distinguish themselves from competitors. In today's high tech society, companies are becoming increasingly reliant on information assets and intangibles. We regularly advise clients on all aspects of trademark availability, clearance and right-to-use, and registration in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including due diligence in selecting marks, applying for and obtaining registrations, and policing and enforcing such registrations. We routinely advise clients in developing strategies to integrate business names and trademark portfolios. Our office supports our clients in asserting their intellectual property rights offensively to pursue infringers and others who misappropriate their rights. We also provide support and counsel to our clients when a third-party makes allegations of potential infringement or claim are made relative to commercial conflicts in the use of intellectual property. Our litigation activities also encompass unfair competition claims and trade protection matters under both state and federal law.

Transportation Law

The firm’s transportation practice focuses on not just representing transportation entities, but also providing counsel on transportation related matters including but not limited to, transportation/ motor vehicle insurance defense, transportation regulations, technology, administrative law, general litigation, and banking/finance.

Secured Transactions and Negotiable Instruments 

      Secured transactions and negotiable instruments are two important areas of commercial and business law. In a secured transaction a borrower agrees that the lender may take property owned by the borrower as collateral should the borrower default on a loan; in other words, it is a way to secure a loan. A negotiable instrument is a writing that promises the payment of a fixed amount of money. Both of these areas are essential to modern business loans and everyday transactions.  Lenders often require more than just promises of repayment in order to extend credit to borrowers. The law of secured transactions deals with the collateral interests formed between a lender and borrower. The collateral interests secure the loan by allowing property to act as security for the borrower's obligation to repay the loan. A "security interest" is created by an agreement ("security agreement") authorizing the lender to take specific collateral property owned by the borrower in the event the borrower defaults on the loan. A lender does not take the security interest out of a desire to own the property but rather as protection in case of a default. For example, if a bank lends one of its customers a sum of money in exchange for a security interest in the customer's motor vehicle, then upon the customer's default the bank is entitled to take possession of the customer's motor vehicle as payment for all or part of the customer's debts owed to the bank.

What We've Achieved