By Preston R. Polk When starting a business, determining which business entity structure is right for your venture can seem daunting. Limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation or a professional entity; each serves a purpose, but which one is right for you? This article is intended to explain each entity structure and be a tool …
FORT WORTH, TX.– Greg Westfall, a long-time State and Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer and Civil Litigator, has joined Cantey Hanger as a Partner in its Litigation Section. His practice will focus on White Collar Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation. “Greg has had an impactful presence in Tarrant County legal matters,” said Brian Newby, the firm’s Managing …
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Cantey Hanger’s combination of legal and political expertise is unusual among law firms. We help our clients with their environmental issues, not only in the courtroom, but also within the state and federal agencies, and at the Texas Capitol. We have credibility and strong contacts within EPA, TCEQ, and the Texas legislature. Our environmental attorneys have extensive experience in defending clients against civil and criminal enforcement actions brought by EPA, OSHA, and TCEQ, and in environmental lawsuits. We have negotiated and structured scores of complex commercial transactions, conducted internal investigations, and pursued environmental insurance coverage. Our team includes attorneys with expertise in:
Cantey Hanger’s environmental attorneys have counseled clients in the following industries, among others:
Cantey Hanger LLP’s Eminent Domain / Property Rights practice group focuses in an area that has become much more active in the last few years.
We represent people whose properties are being condemned for various public purposes. We also represent governments and utilities possessing the power of eminent domain. Among our clients are many individual landowners with properties located in all parts of Texas as well as such entities as Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, the City of Fort Worth, and Trinity River Authority of Texas.
Our attorneys have decades of experience in advising clients on all aspects of eminent domain law including highway condemnations, gas pipelines, electric transmission lines, water and sanitary sewer lines, inverse condemnation, and virtually every type of easement. We have tried many lawsuits before juries in most counties in North and West Texas. Cantey Hanger LLP attorneys have extensive experience regarding boundary disputes, land titles, trespass, damage to real property, and just about any dispute involving “dirt.”
When Judges and juries make erroneous decisions, our clients can turn to seasoned, experienced appellate lawyers whose job it is to make sure the law is correctly applied in resolution of their disputes. When a trial results in a vindication of our client’s position, those same lawyers work to preserve that result.
But the job doesn’t start there. Our appellate practitioners also work closely with our litigation attorneys before and during trials to assure that issues that will have implications before appellate courts are developed and presented to trial courts so that they may be reviewed if necessary. We are also engaged to work with other firms who have had results in trial courts that need to be preserved or corrected.
Appellate lawyers are generalists. Our Appellate Group consists of lawyers who have spent years representing clients before Courts of Appeal in all of Texas’ Appellate districts, Texas Supreme Court, and in Federal Appellate Courts across the United States. They have worked on state and federal legal issues of all kinds. Regardless of the Court or the need, Cantey Hanger’s accomplished appellate attorneys can bring years of experience to any appeal.
Our litigators analyze, prepare and present cases for resolution before state and federal courts, administrative law judges and arbitrators. We explore with our clients the appropriate use of out-of-court solutions through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. When litigation is the only solution, our attorneys are highly experienced and effective in courtrooms, guiding clients through the complex steps of a trial and an appeal.
Cantey Hanger has significant practice experience in:
Cantey Hanger attorneys counsel and appear in court on behalf of an impressive array of clients in the public and private sectors, both for-profit and non-profit organizations. We represent clients in many industries, including:
Our knowledge from actual litigation and resolution of controversies provides a strong foundation for counseling our clients in the early identification and pro-active handling of potential disputes. Our attorneys practice early intervention and management of disputes, acting as soon as our clients become aware of them. In an effort to identify and remedy potential problems, we offer litigation audits and seminars on litigation prevention. Cantey Hanger collaborates with clients to build practices and procedures to better prepare our clients, and ultimately to prevent them from becoming objects of lawsuits.
Cantey Hanger handles a full spectrum of health related legal matters, including civil litigation, administrative litigation, transactional health care, and statutory and regulatory compliance.
The firm has a long history of representation of physicians, hospitals, nurses, nursing homes, and other health care providers in medical negligence lawsuits. The firm also handles mass tort, drug liability, and medical device liability litigation. Our health care liability team incorporates knowledge of statutory and common law authorities with medical
and nursing concepts to provide a comprehensive defense to our health care clients in civil claims and lawsuits. Cantey Hanger represents physicians in contested proceedings and license revocation hearings before the Texas Medical Board, as well as nurses before the Texas Board of Nursing and other providers before their respective boards in Austin. Firm attorneys have comprehensive knowledge and experience in the practice of administrative litigation before multiple health care regulatory boards in Austin, including litigation before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Cantey Hanger’s transactional attorneys frequently represent health care clients in connection with a variety of business transactions. Matters regularly handled by these attorneys include entity formation and capitalization, private placements, recapitalizations, financings and re-financings, acquisitions, dispositions, and other liquidity transactions. The firm also prepares and negotiates contracts for physicians and other providers and their employers. Cantey Hanger advises hospitals and other health care entities regarding credentialing and peer review matters. In addition, Cantey Hanger regularly consults with health care clients in connection with various laws and rules, including HIPAA, the STARK law, the False Claims Act, and both the federal and state Anti-Kickback rules. The firm has decades of experience in providing hospitals, physicians, and physician groups clear and straightforward answers to the complex issues that arise in today’s regulatory climate.
The defining sector of the Texas economy, energy is an exciting and unpredictable business. Cantey Hanger is proud to have represented clients across bothtraditional and emerging areas within the industry. We help address all things energy: transactions, disputes, restructurings, regulatory compliance, and policy considerations.
We’ve handled both domestic and international matters, working with established players and innovative startups.
On the transactions side, our attorneys provide counsel in:
We’ve also arbitrated and tried cases involving almost every kind of dispute known to the industry, including those related to:
In the regulatory area, our attorneys represent clients in filings, administrative processes, and hearings in before state and regulatory agencies, as well as in appeals in regulatory decisions and orders. We address regulations related to oil and gas production, clean air and water, utility licensing, and toxic spills and clean up, with deep experience interacting
with agencies including the:
Business owners, entrepreneurs and executives each need sound legal strategies to protect their assets and plan for their family’s future.
Every client is unique and their legal documents should reflect their individual needs. Yet each has the same ultimate goal – to develop the best possible plan for protecting their family today and in the future. At Cantey Hanger, we provide a custom product for each and every client, tailoring our services to fit our clients’ unique personal and business situations.
The attorneys within Cantey Hanger’s Trusts & Estate Planning practice are seasoned professionals with proven legal skills, complemented by their business and financial backgrounds. Our attorneys have a wealth of experience and a diversity of backgrounds to draw upon, including roles within international accounting firms, federal tax courts, universities and Fortune 100 companies. As a team, we have the ability to structure and implement a variety of wealth formation and protection transactions and devices, as well as to effectively facilitate dispute resolution.
Cantey Hanger attorneys are experienced in a wide variety of estate planning and probate matters including:
Our attorneys counsel and appear in court on behalf of an array of clients, from high-wealth, multi-generational families to individual entrepreneurs. We are experienced in guiding clients throughout the entire wealth continuum, from the “shoestring” start-up and organization phase through significant wealth creating exit strategies. Cantey Hanger works with clients to proactively identify potential areas of risk or controversy, and to develop the most effective solutions for addressing their individual circumstances and reaching their goal.
Business owners, entrepreneurs and executives each need sound legal strategies to protect their assets and plan for their family’s future.
Every client is unique and their legal documents should reflect their individual needs. Yet each has the same ultimate goal – to develop the best possible plan for protecting their family today and in the future. At Cantey Hanger, we provide a custom product for each and every client, tailoring our services to fit our clients’ unique personal and
business situations.
The attorneys within Cantey Hanger’s Estate Planning & Probate practice are seasoned professionals with proven legal skills, complemented by their business and financial backgrounds. Our attorneys have a wealth of experience and a diversity of backgrounds to draw upon, including roles within international accounting firms, federal tax courts, universities and Fortune 100 companies. As a team, we have the ability to structure and implement a variety of wealth formation and protection transactions and devices, as well as to effectively facilitate dispute resolution.
Cantey Hanger attorneys are experienced in a wide variety of estate planning and probate matters including:
Our attorneys counsel and appear in court on behalf of an array of clients, from high-wealth, multi-generational families to individual entrepreneurs. We are experienced in guiding clients throughout the entire wealth continuum, from the “shoestring” start-up and organization phase through significant wealth creating exit strategies. Cantey Hanger works with clients to proactively identify potential areas of risk or controversy, and to develop the most effective solutions for addressing their individual circumstances and reaching their goal.
Insurance is an essential part of modern life, but disputes over coverage often arise. For companies engaged in subrogation and other contentious matters, experienced counsel can assist in guiding the way to resolution.
Cantey Hanger attorneys work regularly with insurance companies to protect their interests and reach favorable solutions.
Employers of all sizes and in all industries today face challenges in Texas and across the nation.
The attorneys within Cantey Hanger’s labor and employment law practice work hand-in-hand with clients to address the complex legal relationship between an employer and its employees.
Our attorneys draw from a remarkable depth of experience to proactively help clients avoid problems in the employment arena, and to effectively arbitrate, settle or litigate issues that do arise. In fact, some of Cantey Hanger’s attorneys have spent their entire careers focusing almost exclusively on labor and employment law. We work diligently with employers to build safe environments and thorough procedures that benefit both the organization and their employees.
Cantey Hanger attorneys represent and counsel with management on a wide variety of essential labor and employment law matters such as:
Cantey Hanger attorneys counsel with and appear in court on behalf of an impressive array of clients in the public and private sectors, both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. We are experienced in representing clients within the following industries:
White Collar crime covers the full range of alleged frauds and criminal regulatory violations. There is a large – and growing – number of White Collar offenses that are being prosecuted at the state level. Allegations include money laundering; fraud in mortgages, mail, wire, healthcare, bank, bankruptcy, general contractor, insurance, and tax; gambling; anti-kickback, import/export, EPA, OSHA, bribery and public integrity violations; and hiring undocumented aliens.
Our attorneys assist clients at every stage of a criminal investigation, including search warrants, grand juries, trials and appeals, and seizures and asset forfeiture.
Cantey Hanger has been an active part of the Texas banking community for more than 70 years. In the highly-regulated, ever-changing industry of banking, it is imperative that key advisors bring a high degree of experience and expertise to the table. Cantey Hanger’s attorneys have both historical perspective and a clear understanding of the current environment, enabling them to provide banking clients with relevant, effective l egal strategies and tactics.
Our firm has long been regarded as leaders in the field of banking law. In fact, a Cantey Hanger partner was instrumental in founding the Texas Association of Bank Council, the principal organization in the state for continuing legal education in this complex field.
The attorneys within Cantey Hanger’s Banking practice are seasoned professionals with proven legal skills, complemented by their business and financial backgrounds. Our attorneys draw upon a wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds. The Banking practice often collaborates with our colleagues within the firm’s business law, litigation, taxation and public/regulatory practices to address related legal issues for our banking clients. Cantey Hanger has significant practice experience in a wide variety of banking industry matters including:
Our clients include banks and financial institutions of all sizes, from smal l, family-owned local banks to multi-national banking institutions. Cantey Hanger represents lenders, borrowers, commercial banks and holding companies. The firm is registered in the Bond Buyer’s “Red Book.”
Attorneys in the Business Law Section of Cantey Hanger LLP assist local, national and international clients of all sizes in a wide variety of business industries with regard to forming, financing, buying and selling business entities (corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, professional corporations, and professional associations).
Our attorneys routinely advise our clients on the day-to-day legal issues that arise in the operation and governance of their business entities. We handle mergers and acquisitions and public and private offerings of debt and equity securities for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to public companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ or the over-the-counter market.
Our clients include small start-up companies, medical practices, hospitals, operating companies, financial institutions and other lenders, venture capital and other investment funds, individual investors, entrepreneurs, franchisors and franchisees, boards of directors and board committees, shareholders, business executives, joint ventures and syndicates. We provide legal services in virtually all areas involving business matters, including:
Our industry experience includes, among other industries, health care, computer software, Internet and technology companies, manufacturing, bottling, food processing, retailing, venture capital, media, logistics, oil and gas, and energy services.
Real estate remains one of the most valuable and complex assets an individual, family or business can own.
Cantey Hanger recognizes the importance of staying on top of the changing landscape of real estate transactions, particularly in connection with the Dodd-Frank Act and the emergence of new approaches towards obtaining financing for real estate transactions. Our Real Estate practice group is comprised of seasoned professionals who can consistently navigate changes to real estate practices and procedures to facilitate routine or complex real estate transactions, including mixed-use developments, multi-family residential projects, commercial leases, oil and gas issues, and the multi-faceted financing issues surrounding transactions of this nature.
Our Real Estate practice group is proud to have some of the most experienced attorneys in the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex in the unique fields of title insurance defense, eminent domain/condemnation actions, and environmental law. When real estate disputes occur, our trial lawyers have significant experience in representing commercial real estate developers, institutional and private lenders, title insurance companies, municipalities and utility companies, landlords, tenants, and corporate and private investors.
Our transactional and litigation attorneys remain active in providing our clients with services relating to loan workouts and restructuring, secured collateral realization, and related remedial matters, including deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions, and judicial and non-judicial foreclosures.
As a full service law firm, our Real Estate practice group is positioned well to proactively address related legal issues by collaborating with our colleagues within the firm’s business law, banking, energy, environmental, litigation, taxation, bankruptcy and public/regulatory practices. In addition to our offices in 2 convenient locations within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, our affiliation with Meritas® Law Firms Worldwide allows us to assist clients with the consummation of real estate transactions and the resolution of real estate issues anywhere in the State of Texas and other States and countries.
Areas of focus within our Real Estate practice group include
Cantey Hanger attorneys counsel with and appear in court on behalf of an impressive array of clients in the public and private sectors, including commercial real estate development firms, financial institutions and public entities.
Getting a call or letter from the Department of Justice or a local prosecutor is a serious matter. When the government comes knocking, it’s critical to have a trusted guide who understands how enforcement officials strategize. Our white collar defense team is made up of seasoned former prosecutors. The group brings these prosecutorial insights to state and federal courts, defending companies and individuals facing white-collar criminal charges.
We place a priority on discretion and limiting exposure by tracking down specifics and maintaining open lines of communication with our clients. We have supported clients in high risk and high-profile matters, including environmental violations, sexual harassment allegations, and even kickbacks from suppliers. Clients turn to us to conduct internal investigations designed to root out unethical and illegal behavior. Post-investigation, we are often called upon to make recommendations on ways to prevent a recurrence through compliance and training programs.
Accidents can have tragic implications for victims and their families. In some cases, legal action can help provide a measure of comfort and justice.
Cantey Hanger attorneys approach every case with sensitivity and integrity, leaving no stone unturned and achieving the best possible outcome for every client.
The insurance industry is known to be complex. Cantey Hanger attorneys keep pace with the evolving standards in the business as well as in the laws surrounding it. We help companies maximize recoveries from their policies, engaging in insurance program risk assessments, claims negotiation, arbitration, and litigation, including trials and appeals.
We’ve advised policyholders across a range of industries, handling disputes in both traditional and innovative insurance products, working to ensure their policies do what they are designed to do: -protect their business.
Architects, engineers, contractors, owners and government entities need tested experience when legal issues arise in relation to complex construction projects.
For decades, Cantey Hanger attorneys have made it their business to know the construction industry. An ounce of prevention in the construction industry is often worth metric tons of cure. Preliminary contract analysis and negotiation, from any side of a construction project, can govern expensive future disputes. Cantey Hanger attorneys focus in on critical contract language for their clients and help them manage risks in advance. When disputes do arise, the members of Cantey Hanger’s Construction Litigation Practice Gro up are seasoned by years of experience, not only in the courtroom, but also in the field and work aggressively with clients to resolve the disputes.
If the dispute rises to litigation, arbitration or even hearings before government panels, Cantey Hanger attorneys work closely with clients in pursuit of success.
Firm clients include contractors, engineers, architects, consultants, surveyors, program managers, owners, developers and governments.
The litigation practice group has experience in major construction projects down to home remodeling disputes. Cantey Hanger attorneys are experienced in a wide array of disputes, including:
Cantey Hanger attorneys work to stay abreast of legal developments in the construction arena and are frequent authors and speakers on construction and design related topics.
Cantey Hanger’s experienced family law attorneys provide a broad range of services to clients, including divorce, complex property settlements, premarital and post-marital agreements, child custody, visitation, child support, paternity, and modifications and enforcements.
Our attorneys are committed to aggressive, but nuanced representation of our clients to achieve the best possible results through trial and appellate work, as well as through alternatives to litigation such as settlement conferences, mediation, and collaborative law.
Cantey Hanger is dedicated to resolving each client’s family law matter with courtesy, honesty, and professionalism.
Cantey Hanger’s OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) attorneys are well versed in all aspects of OSHA law. We offer assistance to employers with regard to all safety and health issues under the law including citations and compliance.
Water is an increasingly sought-after resource, with more and more stakeholders fighting for rights to access. Companies seeking to build and develop land with adequate water rights must contend with a thorny and often contentious regulatory structure.
Our attorneys have spent decades working on issues related to ownership, safety, and laws related to water. We help ensure developers and landowners can protect and maintain their rights to collect and distribute water.
It’s not just who you know. It’s what you know—and how you do your business.
When it comes to solving client problems in the legislative or regulatory arenas, the lawyers in the Public & Regulatory practice of Cantey Hanger LLP can pick up the phone and call the right people. But simply having contacts is not enough in today’s political environment. To be effective and successful in a legislative or regulatory matter, you have to know the law, the public policy implications of changing the law, and the process involved in reaching the client’s objective.
Cantey Hanger’s combination of legal, political and public affairs expertise is unusual among firms with more focused lobbying capabilities. We can provide a full spectrum of client services with respect to public policy in an integrated, cost-effective manner. This package of services includes the inhouse capability to coordinate legal, political, media relations and public affairs through a unique relationship with a public affairs partnership. Sometimes “damage control” is just as important as doing something proactive, and we can help with both.
Cantey Hanger’s Public & Regulatory practice represents clients before the Texas Legislature and administrative agencies, as well as local, county and federal government agencies. Our team possesses more than 140 years of collective experience at all levels of government—federal, state, and local—and has longstanding relationships on both sides of the political aisle. We can tackle client problems on multiple fronts at the same time at a reasonable cost, without the necessity of calling in outside resources.
Our team has substantial expertise in the following industries and issues:
Cantey Hanger has the necessary resources to devote full time attention to meeting each client’s needs. Our strict adherence to conflict-of-interest standards assures that we can zealously represent our clients’ interests. What’s more, when needed, we can draw from a pool of colleagues within our firm that is deep with both experience and talent.
Our long history as a homegrown Texas law firm with strong ties to the Texas business, governmental, and legal communities has generated an immense fund of goodwill across the state. The firm is widely known and deeply respected for its commitment to a high quality, principled, and ethical practice.
Decisions about the ways employees and senior management are compensated have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line. They can also affect the public perception of a brand and have legal implications going far into the future. We cover every aspect of how pay and benefits are handled, bringing in attorneys from a span of practices, including labor and employment, tax, corporate, and, when necessary, litigation.
The employment landscape gets more complicated by the day, and regulators are moving quickly to keep up. An intricate understanding of wage and hour laws can prevent serious issues from arising now and down the road.
We assist employers with sensitive matters around compensation and help to establish firm boundaries and clear workplace rules on wages and company policies in line with current regulations.
Cantey Hanger’s lawyers have conducted independent investigations of some of the most critical areas a client may face. Whether investigating allegations of sexual harassment or abuse, trade secret misappropriation, or regulatory compliance, we will put together the right team of lawyers and outside forensic and other professionals called for by the particular situation.
Our experience includes investigations of:
While maritime law-also known as admiralty law-predates the U.S. Constitution, it remains an intrinsic part of modern commerce. This body of law governs torts, injuries, and other offenses that take place near, on, or in a body of water.
Insurance companies have developed products designed to address the specific issues surrounding maritime law. Cantey Hanger represents defendants in cases involving the shipment of goods across bodies of water in both domestic and international waters, drawing on our knowledge of this unique area of law to minimize clients’ exposure and damages.
Cantey Hanger handles a full spectrum of health related legal matters, including civil litigation, administrative litigation, transactional health care, and statutory and regulatory compliance.
The firm has a long history of representation of physicians, hospitals, nurses, nursing homes, and other health care providers in medical negligence lawsuits. The firm also handles mass tort, drug liability, and medical device liability litigation. Our health care liability team incorporates knowledge of statutory and common law authorities with medical and nursing concepts to provide a comprehensive defense to our health care clients in civil claims and lawsuits.
Cantey Hanger represents physicians in contested proceedings and license revocation hearings before the Texas Medical Board, as well as nurses before the Texas Board of Nursing and other providers before their respective boards in Austin. Firm attorneys have comprehensive knowledge and experience in the practice of administrative litigation before multiple health care regulatory boards in Austin, including litigation before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Cantey Hanger’s transactional attorneys frequently represent health care clients in connection with a variety of business transactions. Matters regularly handled by these attorneys include entity formation and capitalization, private placements, recapitalizations, financings and re-financings, acquisitions, dispositions, and other liquidity transactions. The firm also prepares and negotiates contracts for physicians and other providers and their employers.
Cantey Hanger advises hospitals and other health care entities regarding credentialing and peer review matters. In addition, Cantey Hanger regularly consults with health care clients in connection with various laws and rules, including HIPAA, the STARK law, the False Claims Act, and both the federal and state Anti-Kickback rules. The firm has decades of experience in providing hospitals, physicians, and physician groups clear and straightforward answers to the complex issues that arise in today’s regulatory climate.
Cantey Hanger has a history of representing School Districts through decades of complex school law issues. Today’s issues call for innovative counsel to deal with urban, suburban and rural schools.
Cantey Hanger attorneys bring decades of experience to assist in counseling their school law clients. An ounce of prevention in the education industry is often worth more than spending tax dollars on a cure. Our work with school districts involves analysis and negotiation to resolve expensive future disputes. Cantey Hanger attorneys have served as former classroom teachers, outside general counsel and sat on and led governing boards, giving them an understanding of the proper focus for our education clients as they manage risks.
Whether a school district needs to negotiate administrator contracts, review Chapter 21 contract employees, negotiate for land purchases or oil and gas leases, investigate civil rights allegations or counsel on the next bond issuance, Cantey Hanger attorneys are seasoned by years of experience not only in the boardroom, but also in the courtroom to support the needs of our superintendent, administrator and school district clients.
Cantey Hanger attorneys are experienced in a wide array of school law issues, including:
The litigation practice of Cantey Hanger operates in seamless cooperation with each of the firm’s other practice areas to promote a comprehensive and thorough approach to resolving disputes. Our attorneys’ skills are honed to the courtroom, but we view ourselves as strategic partners for our clients, evaluating legal matters that could lead to or have developed into actual litigation and advising on the best course of action. We bring both a diversity of experience and a wealth of knowledge to this process.
Our litigators analyze, prepare and present cases for resolution before state and federal courts, administrative law judges and arbitrators. We explore with our clients the appropriate use of out-of-court solutions through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. When litigation is the only solution, our attorneys are highly experienced and effective in courtrooms, guiding clients through the complex steps of a trial and an appeal.
Cantey Hanger has significant practice experience in:
Cantey Hanger attorneys counsel and appear in court on behalf of an impressive array of clients in the public and private sectors, both for-profit and non-profit organizations. We represent clients in many industries, including:
Our knowledge from actual litigation and resolution of controversies provides a strong foundation for counseling our clients in the early identification and pro-active handling of potential disputes. Our attorneys practice early intervention and management of disputes, acting as soon as our clients become aware of them. In an effort to identify and remedy potential problems, we offer litigation audits and seminars on litigation prevention. Cantey Hanger collaborates with clients to build practices and procedures to better prepare our clients, and ultimately to prevent them from becoming objects of lawsuits.
Every day thousands of people in the US are safely vaccinated against diseases and illnesses. However, sometimes rare, severe, and debilitating reactions to vaccinations can happen.
Luckily, there is a little-known federal program set up specifically to help people that have an adverse reaction to a vaccine at NO COST to the victim. That program is the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), more commonly referred to as the Vaccine Program.
Scharli Branch is admitted to practice in the National Vaccine Court and have represented clients in all types of legal-medical settings. Prior to joining Cantey Hanger in April 2021, Ms. Branch spent two-years at the United States Court of Federal Claims where she analyzed and drafted decisions on hundreds of vaccine claims. Please do not hesitate to call or email Scharli Branch if you or a loved one has suffered from an adverse reaction to a vaccine.
The government’s Vaccine Program was developed in 1986 in response to a noticeable rise in lawsuits brought against vaccine manufacturers. The basis for those lawsuits was that the vaccine manufacturer failed to warn about the potential side effects. The increasing number of lawsuits continued causing the price of vaccine production to soar, which forced some vaccine manufacturers to stop production. This began to create a vaccine shortage in the United States.
The shortage came at a time when the United States was beginning to see the eradication – because of vaccinations – of serious, highly contagious conditions such as polio and measles. Wanting to continue this positive trend and provide support for research and development of vaccines, Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act in 1986. Part of the Act established the Vaccine Program. Its sole purpose was to provide an avenue to compensate individuals who experience a rare adverse reaction to a covered vaccine.
Funding for the Vaccine Program comes from a $.75 excise tax taken from each administered vaccine in the United States. That small tax goes to a fund, which is used to pay damages to individuals who make a claim in the Vaccine Program. Since its implementation in 1988, 24,084 claims have been filed and $4.5 billion has been paid in damages. To receive compensation from the Vaccine Program, a claim must be filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Among other requirements, an individual who wants to make a claim in the Vaccine Program must have received a covered vaccine and been injured thereafter. An attorney from the Department of Justice is responsible for responding to the claim and defending the fund. All the proceedings for the claim are heard and decided by a Special Master (functioning as a Judge).
To help remove barriers to entry and make the Vaccine Program accessible, attorney’s fees are paid by the fund regardless of the outcome, assuming the case is brought in good faith. Any attorney who has been admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims can bring a claim on behalf of an injured party. Even with all of these benefits, the Vaccine Program remains relatively unknown, even amongst physicians who treat patients with vaccine -related injuries. While the Vaccine Program covers the most common vaccines administered in the United States, such as measles, seasonal flu, and whooping cough (DTaP or Tdap), the COVID-19 vaccines are not included yet because of their emergency approval status. Congress can add the COVID-19 vaccines as covered vaccines if and when they receive full approval from the FDA.
Individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations each face unique taxation issues that require strategic planning and proactive resolution of controversies.
The Taxation practice of Cantey Hanger is one of the largest and most experienced planning and dispute resolution groups in Texas. Our seasoned team of attorneys is highly experienced in all aspects of estate, gift and income taxation. We have proven legal skills, complemented by a diversity of business and financial backgrounds, including roles within international accounting firms, federal tax courts, universities and Fortune 100 companies.
We provide relevant, timely guidance to clients with regard to individual, business and estate tax planning. When controversies arise, we swiftly and effectively advocate our clients’ causes before state and federal taxing authorities. We often collaborate with our colleagues in the firm’s business law and corporate/securities practices to address business issues related to taxes, including capital formation, business transactions, compensation plans, and business organization and reorganization. We also work closely with Cantey Hanger’s Public & Regulatory practice to represent our clients’ interests before state and federal law makers, and to track and interpret tax legislation and rules. Recently, Cantey Hanger attorneys have developed an intricate understanding of the significance of the new Texas Margin Tax, and its potential impact upon countless business owners and professionals.
Specifically, Cantey Hanger has deep practice experience in:
Cantey Hanger attorneys counsel with an impressive array of both closely held and publicly held entities; for-profit and non-profit organizations; and high-wealth individuals and families. We represent a spectrum of clients, from start-ups to publicly held international companies, in many industries, including:
Protecting a company’s investments and other business interests includes restrictive covenant agreements, including those around non-competition, non-solicitation, and matters related to confidential information. As employees grow increasingly mobile, having solid measures in place can help safeguard intellectual property and other valuable assets.
Cantey Hanger attorneys have established a reputation for establishing proactive measures, commercial pragmatism, and an understanding of state statutes governing restrictive covenants at the hiring, employment and post-employment phases.
Our practice group leader has extensive experience in handling employment based and family-based immigration and naturalization processes. She has assisted client employers, large and small, including technology companies, universities, banks, and churches in finding immigration solutions and paths to successful legal employment for qualified employees.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website www.uscis.gov
Retrieve I-94 record and travel history www.cbp.gov/I94
Monthly Visa Bulletin https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html
AR-11 link for change of address https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/addressChange.do
Physician link for medical exams for permanent residence https://my.uscis.gov/findadoctor
Government Relations and Public Policy. A dedication to serving the public and interests that contribute to it form the foundation of Cantey Hanger’s government relations and public policy practice. We have forged relationships with key agencies and officials in Texas so we can serve our clients and advance their interests with integrity and transparency. With a clear understanding of the pressing issues before state and local governments, our professionals work tirelessly with clients to bring matters to successful resolution through rule-making, policy interpretation and legislation.
A fiduciary acts on behalf of another person or persons and is legally bound to act in their best interests. Disputes and maintenance issues around fiduciary responsibility can be contentious and sometimes personal. Having counsel who can analyze relevant legal considerations and maintain a calm professionalism can tip the legal balance.
Our attorneys handle probate, trust, and conservatorship administration and litigation. In the context of administration, remedial proceedings, and disputes, we represent individuals in both fiduciary and beneficiary roles, advising in trust and probate petitions, alternative dispute resolution including mediation, and court actions.
Entering Chapter 11 presents many challenges to a business. As an alternative, out-of-court settlements to reduce debt can make the process much more cost effective and efficient—but doing so requires exploring every legal option available. To successfully restructure financial obligations and work with the large number of parties involved in these matters requires legal professionals who are skilled in both disputes and transactions. Cantey Hanger attorneys work closely with companies to carefully manage negotiations with creditors, hammering out agreements to preserve value for all involved.
Cantey Hanger’s Intellectual Property lawyers help clients secure, protect and defend their valuable intellectual property. Our business lawyers can assist in the registration of copyrights and trademarks, draft licensing agreements, and determine the best ways for you to protect your confidential information and trade se crets. Our trial lawyers will fight to protect your intellectual property both in and out of the courtroom — from seeking monetary redress for infringement, to securing court orders preventing the disclosure or misappropriation of your intellectual assets.
Our IP practice group has experience in the following areas:
The broad base of experience in our practice group enables us to handle almost any matter that can arise in the arenas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, financial workouts and restructuring, judicial and statutory foreclosures, receiverships, and rights and remedies of creditors under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The attorneys in our practice group have extensive experience and are a recognized voice in the legal community. This ena bles us to promptly assess client needs within the framework of a variety of disciplines, including banking, corporate, environmental, finance, real estate, employment, tax, and litigation. We have handled countless matters in state, federal and administrative courts, trial and appellate, throughout the country. Our goal is to develop an effective and efficient approach to meet our client needs.
We Have A Broad-Base Of Business And Legal Experience
Our attorneys have a broad range of experience representing creditors, debtors, financial institutions, creditors’ committees, trusts and trustees, buyers and sellers of assets, investors, and others in chapter 7 (liquidation), 11 (reorganization) and 13 (wage earner) bankruptcy cases throughout the United States. We understand the legal and business issues that confront our clients on a daily basis.
The experience of the attorneys in our group includes representing the interests of secured and unsecured creditors, lessors and lessees, agents for lending groups, prebankruptcy planning, reorganizations, liquidations, and other bankruptcy ternatives; insolvency planning and loan workouts, including advice regarding potential preferential and fraudulent transfers and lender liability; mortgage company insolvencies; com mercial mortgage foreclosures; receiverships over real estate and business entities; enforcement of notes and guarantees and realization of collateral; and litigation in bankruptcy and nonbankruptcy forums.
Our attorneys are experienced in cases involving fraudulent transfers, including analyzing and litigating issues related to leveraged buyouts and subordination of claims, and with environmental issues, where it is necessary to balance the conflicting interests of governmental and private entities in order to produce consensual results. We are frequently called upon to counsel both borrowers and lenders in restructuring complex credit relationships, from inception to resolution.
Attorneys in the Corporate/Securities practice assist clients with forming, financing, buying and selling bus iness entities. We handle mergers and acquisitions and public and private offerings of debt and equity securities for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to public companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ or the over-the-counter market. Our clients include operating companies, financial institutions and other lenders, venture capital and other investment funds, individual investors, entrepreneurs, franchisors and franchisees, board of directors and board committees, shareholders, business executives, joint ventures and syndicates.
We provide legal services in virtually all areas involving corporate and securities matters, including:
Our industry experience includes, among other industries, health care, computer software, Internet and technology companies, manufacturing, bottling, food processing, retailing, venture capital, media, logistics, oil and gas, and energy services.
With over three decades of extensive involvement in the aviation field, Cantey Hanger’s Aviation practice group provides comprehensive litigation, business and regulatory representation to our aviation clients. Aviation poses industry participants with some of the greatest legal challenges—highly complex regulations, fierce competition, and significant litigation exposure. To operate successfully in this arena, clients need attorneys with industry -specific knowledge of aviation law and industry standards.
Cantey Hanger’s Aviation practice group has experience representing products manufacturers, training organizations, maintenance and overhaul facilities, air carriers and general aviation clients in company critical litigation, including wrongful death, personal injury, products liability, warranty and product recalls as well as aircraft property damage and airport facilities claims. Several of these cases involve federal multidistrict litigation, Government/Military contracts, statutory and contractual indemnity issues, pre-emption issues, insurance coverage issues and the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA).
Aviation-related legal claims can be especially complex, often involving catastrophic losses, technical investigations, numerous governmental authorities, and significant liabilities. Cantey Hanger’s Aviation p ractice group has tried many aviation cases to verdict. Our clients have the benefit that our attorneys’ strategic advice is based on an accurate understanding of how facts and arguments are likely to be perceived at trial regardless of how they may look a t mediation or pre-trial.
Cantey Hanger’s Aviation practice group also has experience in matters affecting aircraft-related business activities and transactions including having represented parties in aircraft and engine purchases, sales, financings, and o perating leases.
Cantey Hanger’s clients include:
Cantey Hanger’s Transportation Law section represents a broad cross-section of transportation clients who face numerous legal challenges in the course of their daily operations. Because our attorneys have a tremendous range of experience and such diverse backgrounds, the firm is able to assist transport clients with essentially all of their legal matters, including personal injury claims, employment and labor disputes, corporate and business transactions and safety and regulatory matters. In addition to providing our clients high quality legal representation in a vari ety of areas, we assist our transportation clients in compliance with the many Federal and state rules and laws that regulate the industry.
Cantey Hanger’s clients include public and private transportation companies and common carriers, such as:
Cantey Hanger attorneys have significant practice experience in:
Distressed transactions and complex financial restructurings are known to be stressful and fast moving. Cantey Hanger LLP’s team of attorneys have the experience to make swift calculations and advise clients under pressure in complex commercial chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to preserve value of the bankruptcy estate and creditor claim s. Our bankruptcy attorneys have restructuring experience in healthcare, energy, aerospace, construction, e-commerce, and light manufacturing industries.
We ably analyze and formulate complicated restructuring plans, advocate vigorously in contested hearings and trials, and, when necessary, expedite appeals for our clients, whether corporate debtor, lender, or creditors’ committee. Our attorneys have argued successfully before bankruptcy courts and district courts to get the best possible outcome for creditors and debtors in chapter 11 proceedings.
Aside from financial restructuring, our attorneys have also litigated and secured relief in bankruptcy adversary proceedings (related bankruptcy lawsuits) and Texas state courts on behalf of creditors.
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