Recent News

             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

Many of us send and receive recommendations on social media sites, such as LinkedIn, from co-workers, vendors, and clients about our work performance or services. Recently, employers have realized that these may be inconsistent with the employer’s policies on neutral references. Worse yet, these recommendation may even be providing false or fraudulent information. Employers need… 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

In two recent Court of Appeals decisions, two different courts have ruled that limited liability companies in Washington must be represented by an attorney. In the both the Marina Condo Association and Dutch Village Mall LLC cases Washington’s Courts of Appeal have ruled that an LLC must be represented by a lawyer in litigation and… Read More

Small and closely held corporations routinely neglect to maintain corporate formalities such as conducting an annual shareholder meeting. An annual shareholder meeting is required by the Washington Business Corporation Act. Many times annual meetings are not held simply because the owners of the business lack the experience necessary to conduct a satisfactory shareholder meeting. Many… Read More

When it comes to situations where you think you might need legal representation, sometimes hiring a lawyer is not always the answer.  However, sometimes it takes an initial consultation with an experienced lawyer to make the threshold determination of whether legal representation is necessary and/or the best course of action.  For example, a number of… Read More

Most people do not like the idea of the government taking their money after they die.  But many people are unaware that: (a) if they died today, their heirs would be forced to pay state and federal estate taxes (“death taxes”), even if the deceased person is far from the typical definition of “wealthy;” and… Read More