Recent News

Always have an attorney’s fee provision in your controlling documents.  It seems like a simple concept to understand.  Repeat it now:  Always have a fee provision.  Without a fee provision, the party contemplating litigation only has to answer the question: “How am I going to pay my lawyer to pursue my claims in this case?”… Read More

A power of attorney authorizes a person (the attorney-in-fact) to act on behalf of another person (the principal).  Sometimes the power of attorney authorizes the attorney-in-fact to make decisions on behalf of the principal relating to the principal’s health care as well as to the principal’s non-health care, or financial, matters.  Sometimes the power may… Read More

In the recent case Summerhill Vill. Homeowners Ass'n v. Roughley, the Washington Court of Appeals decided the foreclosure redemption statute does not allow a first position lender to redeem following a judicial foreclosure by a condominium association.  This means the following easily-envisioned scenario is possible: Person P buys a condo for $250,000, owns it for… Read More

I regularly represent small business owners that share ownership interest with a small group of owners. What many of those business owners fail to recognize is that they need the cooperation of the other owners and cannot act unilaterally. When you are a minority owner in a small business you lack any authority to manage… Read More

Beresford Booth , in connection with the Edmonds-based Operation Military Family's MVP program,  is offering a 10% discount on legal services to military personnel and Veterans. Read More

             The answer to that question may not be as simple as you might think.  Usually, you know if someone owes you money or some other obligation such as a personal guaranty of a third party’s debt.  But, what if the obligation is not yet due and payable when that person dies?  You might think… Read More

Sellers of real property sign a Statutory Warranty Deed (“SWD”) at the closing of the vast majority of residential real estate transactions.  This is the document that actually transfers title from seller to buyer.  If you sell a piece of real estate and give your buyer a SWD, you are promising a lot more than… Read More

A common misconception by employees is that there is an expectation of some level of privacy in e-mail or instant message communications on workplace systems.  The truth is exactly the opposite.  As a general matter, employees have no expectation of privacy in e-mails or instant messages sent through workplace systems.  Most employers have policies expressly… Read More

A common failure of many businesses is the “business divorce”. When shareholders, partners or members can no longer get along, the business fails. In an effort to avoid a “business divorce” five steps should be followed: 1) establish the expectations of the parties; 2) measure performance; 3) identify the consequences of failure; 4) establish dispute… Read More