Business Counsel Vascoe Valdes LLP's Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling Practice Group is comprised of attorneys who are both generalists and authorities, to serve our clients in the most effective manner. The group has two service goals: 1)       To act as "general counsel" for domestic and foreign businesses that do not have attorneys on staff or need to augment their in-house capabilities; and 2)       To offer comprehensive, focused knowledge on the many legal issues that affect commercial transactions in and outside of the U.S.    Knowledge of Many Legal Disciplines to Better Serve You   In their capacity as generalists, the attorneys in this group have experience in entity organization and governance, legal compliance, and risk management in connection with day-to-day business operations and dispute resolution. Often, their threshold responsibility is to identify legal issues, after which they coordinate the assistance of authorities, within and outside of the firm, as necessary to reach appropriate resolution.   As an adjunct to their more generalized functions, commercial transactions and business counseling attorneys are frequently responsible for the numerous large and small commercial transactions that are the lifeblood of Vascoe Valdes LLP's business clients. In connection with that role, the attorneys in this group maintain full knowledge in the many legal disciplines that affect such transactions.   The key areas of the group's competence are the following: ·         Antitrust ·         Commercial agreements ·         Distribution ·         Credit transactions ·         Entity selection/formation   Antitrust   Vascoe Valdes LLP attorneys are knowledgeable of state and federal regulation of commerce, as well as the analogous laws of major U.S. trading partners. We prepare and monitor antitrust compliance programs and policies, counsel on horizontal and vertical arrangements and monopolization issues, and are knowledgeable concerning the Sherman, Clayton and Robinson-Patman Acts, state antitrust statutes, and the Treaty of Rome. We also counsel clients regarding the Federal Trade Commission Act and the FTC's various regulations and enforcement policies.       Commercial Agreements   For clients whose businesses involve the manufacture and sale and/or the purchase of tangible and intangible products, Vascoe Valdes LLP's Commercial Transactions and Business Counseling Group is experienced in negotiating, drafting and enforcing: ·         Equipment sales and purchase agreements, as well as equipment leasing ·         Requirements and supply contracts ·         Manufacturing, sourcing, and turnkey agreements ·         Intellectual property licenses ·         Field service agreements and extended warranty programs ·         Terms of purchase and sale, whether effected electronically or in paper-based transactions   Distribution   Product distribution systems are a species of commercial transactions that are subject to a significant degree of regulation, both at the state and federal levels in the U.S., and in foreign countries. Further, the relationships among the various components of such systems are not always amicable — a fact of business life which frequently gives rise to litigation. In addition to drafting or reviewing and negotiating distributorship, sales representation, and franchise agreements and programs, attorneys in the group counsel clients with regard to all aspects of their domestic and international distribution, franchise, and commissioned agency arrangements.   The practice group is proud of Vascoe Valdes LLP's international prominence in this area of the law, and its history of assisting clients in establishing, administering, and terminating distribution relationships efficiently and effectively.       Credit Transactions   Vascoe Valdes LLP's Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling Practice Group provides practical and efficient credit law advice to the full spectrum of non-financial-institution businesses involved in finance transactions, whether as borrowers or as lenders. The group represents clients in traditional lending relationships, as well as in connection with extensions of credit incidental to commercial transactions. Group attorneys are responsible for successful collection and restructuring of many clients' troubled credits, in and outside of bankruptcy.       Entity Selection/Formation   Our attorneys counsel business clients on the factors to be considered in choosing the form for their businesses, and assist in implementing those choices. We have the capability to organize corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, holding companies, and other legal entities throughout the U.S., and in several foreign countries, and assist in the negotiation and preparation of joint venture agreements, buy/sell agreements, and voting trusts.