Business & Real Estate Transactions

Today's competitive marketplace requires businesses to provide a wide range of products and services efficiently, and to adapt quickly to changing laws and regulations. To achieve success in this environment, a business needs reliable, skilled legal support. Williams Kastner's Business & Real Estate Transactions Group offers attorneys with the experience necessary to provide this support.

The group takes a multidisciplinary approach, combining the talents of lawyers in corporate, business, tax, litigation, real estate, corporate finance, antitrust, environmental, international, employee benefits law and other practice areas. It also provides representation tailored for smaller businesses, and quality personalized legal services for individuals in such areas as tax, real estate and estate planning.

The Business & Real Estate Transactions Group assists private businesses, banks, and other financial institutions and public sector entities, advising on a broad range of legal subjects related to the organization, financing and strategic planning of their business affairs. Whether large or small, our business clients receive the same practical, cost-conscious service from a team of highly experienced attorneys. Cost-consciousness does not mean a compromise in quality; our business and financial services attorneys are known for work that is thorough, meticulous and conscientious, but never excessive. The group is significant in numbers, and can provide a considerable team when required.

The Business & Real Estate Transactions Group meets regularly to share ideas, exchange information and discuss issues and legal developments. These meetings help the firm ensure that each client is receiving the efficient and skilled legal support it requires.

Business Formation, Acquisition and Regulation

The group's attorneys have considerable experience advising private businesses, banks, and other financial institutions and public sector entities regarding federal and state regulations affecting them, including capital requirements, managerial capabilities and permissible activities. They are particularly well versed in the federal and state regulations governing the formation and acquisition of banks, bank holding companies, savings associations, insurance companies and insurance holding company systems. In addition, our attorneys have frequently represented businesses before federal and state regulators and administrative agencies.

Capital Financing , Mergers and Acquisitions

The Business & Real Estate Transactions Group has a strong practice in the acquisition area, representing both sellers and purchasers of businesses in taxable and nontaxable transactions. In addition, we have been involved with the acquisition and disposition of banks, bank holding companies, insurance companies, savings associations and other financial institutions. These acquisitions and dispositions involved both healthy and in-distress situations.

Real Estate Financing

The firm has substantial experience negotiating and documenting real estate financing transactions, including construction and permanent financing. Firm attorneys regularly prepare loan agreements, deeds of trust, subordination agreements, assignments of contracts, assignments of leases and rents and other documents necessary to protect the interest of the lender or borrower in real estate transactions.

For more information, please visit our Real Estate page.

Business Credit

Our attorneys are proficient at representing borrowers and lenders in secured and unsecured business credit transactions, such as working capital loans, inventory financing letters of credit, capital asset financing, and operating lines of credit. They regularly assist clients with the documentation of credit transactions and with the creation and perfection of security interests in a variety of tangible and intangible collateral.

Federal and State Taxation

The firm has a sophisticated federal and state taxation practice that includes corporate formation, planning and reorganizations; liquidations; partnership and real estate matters; creation of trusts (testamentary, living and life insurance); installment sales; tax shelter programs; nonprofit and deferred compensation. The firm also has dealt extensively in such Washington state taxation matters as the business and occupation tax, real property conveyance excise tax, real and personal property tax, and the leasehold excise tax.

Collections, Foreclosures and Replevins

The firm has considerable experience in the judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure of security interests in real and personal property. We have attorneys who are proficient at realizing upon secured collateral for lenders through the use of judicial procedures such as replevin actions. In the case of unsecured or undersecured loans, the firm can assist lenders to collect debts effectively.

Work-Outs and Credit Terminations

Members of the Business & Real Estate Transactions Group regularly analyze troubled loans and assist lenders to structure reasonable and realistic work-out plans. The group's attorneys are familiar with the liability risks a lender faces in a troubled loan situation and can assist the lender to reduce this risk. This assistance can be provided not only in work-out situations, but whenever a lender decides that it is necessary to modify or terminate an existing credit relationship. This same knowledge can be brought to bear on behalf of business clients who need help restructuring their loan obligations.

Bankruptcy

The firm has extensive experience representing the interests of secured and unsecured creditors as well as business debtors in bankruptcy court. Our attorneys regularly represent lenders in relief from stay and cash collateral proceedings. In addition, the firm has designed and implemented a comprehensive program for internal processing of consumer bankruptcies by a major consumer lender. Our representation of lenders also involves negotiating operating agreements, prosecuting and defending preference and fraudulent conveyance actions, defending lender liability claims, and protecting the lender's interest in Chapter 11 cases during the confirmation process. We also have significant experience in assisting clients to buy assets and businesses out of a bankruptcy case.