Whenever possible, we help clients anticipate legal disputes and act in order to avoid protracted litigation. When push comes to shove, however, you will find that our trial attorneys have the ability and experience to handle all types of complicated litigation. Areas of practice include the following:

• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Breach of Contract
• Business Counseling / Litigation
• Business Organizations
• Construction Defect
• Homeowner's Association Law
• Insurance / Bad Faith Litigation
• Legal Malpractice
• Litigation and Appeals
• Professional Liability
• Real Estate Litigation

• Business and Commercial Litigation It's a fact of business life that lawsuits sometimes go with the territory. When they do, it's important to have a law firm that offers both broad business litigation experience and the ability to assess the unique characteristics of a case and help custom-tailor an approach. The bottom line is effective, efficient representation. Our attorneys have handled litigation matters of all kinds, in state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout California. Typical cases involve:
  
  • Commercial Transactions
  • Contracts
  • Employment and Agency Contracts
  • Real Estate
  • Construction Contracts
  • Professional Malpractice
  • Non-Competition Agreements
  • Fraud
  • Conversion
  • Insurance Coverage
  • Business Disputes
  • Vendor Issues
  • Unfair Competition
    
• Breach of Contract - Whether you need legal representation in connection with a lawsuit involving breach of contract, contract disputes or assistance in drafting an agreement, we can assist you.
• Business Counseling / Litigation Avoidance Proactive businesses can increase their control over risk, loss, and litigation through careful planning. In addition to litigation, we provide risk management, business counseling, litigation avoidance, and other preventive advice to businesses throughout California. We help business avoid litigation whenever possible and provide counsel in the following areas:
  
  • Risk Management
  • Damage Control
  • Reorganization and Business Turnaround
  • Insurance Planning
  • Business Audits and Recommendations
  • Training and Development
• Business Organizations The form of entity selected for the conduct of a business greatly impacts the daily operations of the business and the income tax consequences to both the business and its owners. We assist clients with this step of business formation by reviewing the goals and individual facts present in each situation to recommend the best entity-selecting from limited/general partnerships, limited liability companies, or corporations, and the different elections or options available under each. We advise our clients about:
  
  • Directors' and officers' liability
  • Formation
  • Dissolution
  • Franchising
  • Reorganization
  • Trade association membership and activity
  • Joint ventures
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Divestitures
  • Business succession planning
  • Shareholders' rights
• Construction Defect In the area of construction defect litigation, we represent homeowners exclusively. With more than 20 years experience, Mr. Freedman has represented several homeowners resolve claims of defective construction. Mr. Freedman has been successful in using mediation in lieu of litigation to resolve construction defect, and is personally involved in working closely with experts, attending site inspections, mediations and trials of claims.
• Homeowner's Association Law Our firm provides legal representation to homeowner's associations throughout California on a myriad of topics affecting condominiums, townhomes, and single family associations. We are known as problem solvers able to handle issues involving:
  
  • Internal Disputes
  • Interpretation of Governing Documents
  • Insurance
  • Liability
  • Common Areas and Improvements
• Insurance / Bad Faith Litigation The tort of bad faith has grown out of an appreciation of the fact that an insurance contract is not an ordinary agreement and that general principles of contract law are entirely inadequate in protecting a consumer from the wrongful denial of insurance claims, or the failure of an insurer to provide other benefits provided by an insurance policy. In an effort to deter unconscionable and unfair claims practices, the State of California relies on contemporary tort law in imposing a duty on insurance companies to deal fairly and in good faith with policyholders.
  
  
• Legal Malpractice A legal malpractice lawsuit is based on an allegation that a lawyer negligently performed legal services on behalf of a client in an underlying claim or legal matter. Some of the most common ways a lawyer might mishandle a case is by missing a statute of limitations deadline, failing to properly advise a client about the details of a settlement, failing to prosecute a case and having it dismissed, and through a conflict of interest between the lawyer and the client. If the lawyer's mistake caused the client harm, a lawsuit or claim is often filed to recover damages. We prosecute and defense legal malpractice cases through a team approach, with the client being an integral member of the team. Working closely with the client, we analyze the merits of the claim, evaluate the underlying facts and law, and develop a strategy. Prompt resolution or, when necessary, quick trial preparation is our goal.
  
  
• Litigation and Appeals In addition to the recognized skills of our attorneys at trial, we possess equal proficiency in California state federal appellate court proceedings, handling appeals with the same teamwork applied to our trial practice. Because every matter handled at the trial level may be appealed, our team provides litigation support and legal analysis on procedural and substantive issues that may arise during the course of representation. Our attorneys closely follow current developments in the law and evaluate the effects of those changes for our clients.
  
  
• Professional Liability In today's business environment, companies and individuals that provide professional services increasingly are exposed to lawsuits based upon claimed errors or deficiencies in the provision of those services. Similarly, as business and society becomes more complex, the need for professional services increases, exposing companies and individuals that hire professionals to damages where these professionals do not properly discharge their functions. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Jerry L. Freedman have experience handling professional liability claims involving lawyers, doctors, insurance agents, and engineers. Our lawyers recognize that the litigation of professional liability claims requires aggressiveness and sensitivity, in that victims of professional negligence often have suffered damages caused by professionals in whom they've reposed trust and professionals that have rendered valuable services often confront claims that are unfounded and involve not only money, but professional reputation. We strive to balance those competing approaches, doggedly pursuing claims or defenses where necessary and actively encouraging early resolution of disputes where appropriate.
  
  
• Real Estate Litigation Real estate developers, investors and lenders come to us when a transaction leads to litigation. We handle all real estate litigation disputes, from the negotiating table to the courtroom.