Services

Contract Litigation and Arbitration

Resolution of disputes arising from, or related to, contacts is one of the cornerstones of commercial litigation and arbitration. We have resolved hundreds of such disputes on a broad range of topics in a variety of contexts, including the purchase and sale of real estate, businesses and various goods and services; licenses, insurance products, homeowners’ associations, partnerships, joint ventures and other profit-sharing arrangements and rental and lease arrangements. As a result, we bring a wealth of expertise to bear our clients’ needs—from counseling to the courtroom.

Mergers & Acquisitions

When you want to get a deal done, you need to make informed decisions with all of the pertinent information after proper due diligence is performed. Questions that often arise are the risks involved and which strategy is the most efficient. To effectively navigate these issues, You need problem solvers. BLG assists in providing advice to solve those problems. Despite BLG small staff as a boutique firm, BLG strives to provide timely and comprehensive answers to your questions. BLG counsels clients ranging in all sizes. We advise on transaction structuring and implementation, securities matters, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. BLG handles a broad range of domestic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, complex carve-out transactions, leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. Some of the largest private equity firms, venture capital funds, financial institutions, and other private investors rely on us in all aspects of the investment cycle. BLG’s attorneys live and breathe these deals. When you need a deal done on time, on budget and with a practical, focused approach to your business goals, BLG has you covered.

Business Divorce &
Shareholder Relations

One of the most painful events any business owner can experience is business divorce. Like marital partners, business partners can have disputes leading to the dissolution of their union, whether a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or some other form of business entity. Such disputes can arise in a variety of scenarios, such as when a key partner dies, a closely-held corporation with only two shareholders deadlocks or when a principal departs with the company’s confidential information of trade secrets. Further, like a divorce, a business divorce can be highly emotional and immensely complex. BLG assists companies, individual shareholders, general and limited partners and LLC members from the inception of such disputes to their resolution—often through negotiation and, if necessary, through contested litigation. Business divorce litigation involves a wide variety of issues and requires attorneys with knowledge of the relevant legal issues, including: the internal affairs doctrine, the duties of care and loyalty owned by directors and officers, the corporate waste doctrine, direct versus derivate actions, limitations on liability in articles of incorporation, indemnification, D&O insurance, buy-sell agreements, piercing the corporate veil and receiverships. In addition, business divorce litigation involves sophisticated financial issues. BLG’s attorneys understand accounting basics and valuation methodologies and bring that knowledge to bear on behalf of our clients.

General & Complex Litigation

Aside from the other areas specifically mentioned, BLG is well equipped to handle other cases that do not fall into the category of those described herein. This includes a simple case with one claim and one Plaintiff and one Defendant to a complex case with multiple defendants, multiple claims, and complex legal issues.

Employment Law

Disputes between an employer and employee can arise in a variety of contexts under various federal, state and local laws. BLG helps protect and defend its clients from claims brought by employees that can include, but are not limited to, issues surrounding wrongful termination, family and medical leave act claims (“FMLA”), retaliation in the workplace, sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, labor and wage disputes, severance package disputes, denied employment, age discrimination, gender discrimination, and hostile work environment claims. Often times, these claims are brought by disgruntled employees as retaliation for termination or other general unhappiness with their employment. BLG assists its clients in defending these claims either through settlement, EEOC hearings, or litigation.

Commercial Collections

BLG assists its clients in collecting outstanding debts owed to the client that are delinquent and unpaid. This process involves collection calls and/or correspondence in a fast paced goal oriented collections department, as well as providing customer service regarding collection issues, processing customer refunds, processing and reviewing account adjustments, resolving client discrepancies and short payments. BLG also maintains responsibility for monitoring and maintaining assigned accounts through frequent updates to the client, account adjustments, small balance write offs, customer reconciliations and processing credit memos. BLG also performs other assigned tasks and duties necessary to support the client’s accounts receivable department and enlist the efforts of sales and senior management when necessary to accelerate the collection process. BLG communicates and follows up effectively with the client’s accounts on a timely basis.

Tort Law

Torts are wrongdoings that are done by one party against another. As a result of the wrongdoing, the injured person may take civil action against the other party. To simplify this, let’s say while walking down the aisle of a grocery store, you slip on a banana that had fallen from a shelf. You become the plaintiff, or injured party, and the grocery store is considered the tortfeasor or defendant, the negligent party. Simply said, you would probably take civil action against the grocery store to recoup compensation for pain, suffering, medical bills and expenses incurred as a result of the fall. Negligence is just one tort category. There are three general categories of torts. Regardless of the tort action, three elements must be present: Tortfeasor, or defendant, had a duty to act or behave in a certain way. Plaintiff must prove that the behavior demonstrated by the tortfeasor did not conform to the duty owed to the plaintiff. The plaintiff suffered an injury or loss as a result. Because torts are a civil action involving private parties, punishment does not include a fine or incarceration. The punishment for tortious acts usually involves restoring the injured party monetarily. Think trespassing, defamation or slander. Torts can either be intentional or negligent. BLG has experience in pursuing both intentional and negligent tort claims and resolving them through settlement or litigation.

Appellate Law

Although all cases are initially tried at the trial court level, the losing party may appeal his case to higher courts known as appellate courts. At BLG, a portion of our practice concentrates the practice of advocating cases before state and federal appellate courts, including state supreme courts and the United States Supreme Court. BLG strives to correct errors of trial court judges and change the law by persuading appellate courts to overturn lower court decisions or to expand or change the interpretation of statutory law. The challenging part of appellate law is that you start with a case that has already been unsuccessful once in the lower courts. Our job at BLG as your counsel is to come from behind and earn something for you as the client, whether it is a new trial or something in between. In order to do so, BLG’s attorneys review and analyze trial records and other documents, research and analyze case law, draft persuasive briefs and appellate documents, advocate in appellate courts before appellate judges, and using this knowledge at trial to preserve the record for appeal. Because of the unique nature of appellate law, research is done on a very regular basis, as appellate attorneys have to dig into the past to find new information regarding their cases. To succeed, BLG’s utilizes its attorney’s exceptional research, analytical and writing skills to write concise and persuasive briefs, legal memoranda, and other documents. BLG’s attorneys also utilize their broad and practical knowledge of numerous substantive areas of law, familiarity with appellate practice, excellent interpersonal skills, and superior oral advocacy skills.

Georgia Non-compete Agreements

The laws in the state of Georgia mean that it is often less challenging for businesses in the state to enforce a non-compete agreement. That being said, Georgia laws do put some limitations on the enforceability of a non-compete agreement in the state. The first restriction is that a non-compete agreement has to be reasonable in the geographic area, time, and scope of the activities that it prohibits. Georgia employment law also means that businesses can only enforce a non-compete agreement against certain kinds of employees.

Georgia residents should consult Barnwell Law Group P.C. if they need legal guidance regarding a non-compete agreement. We can help you understand the employment laws about non-compete agreements in the state and help you if you are facing a lawsuit due to violating a non-compete agreement. We even offer a free consultation for your convenience.

Slips and Fall Injuries

One of the most frequent kinds of personal injury occurrences is slips and falls. This is largely due to numerous property owners being negligent and failing to ensure safe conditions for individuals on their premises. Despite their commonality, not all slip-and-fall accidents result in favorable legal outcomes. In order to be successful, it’s crucial to enlist the services of a skilled attorney who can demonstrate the property owner’s legal negligence and its direct contribution to your injury. If this can be proven, you may be eligible for both economic and non-economic damages, even if you share partial responsibility for the incident.