
At Coppersmith Brockelman, we believe that law firms have too many rules. Here are ours: Work at the highest level of our profession. Think creatively and find practical solutions. Do the right thing. Maintain our sense of humor. Build community – with clients, with other lawyers, and with each other. And if anyone forgets these few rules, remind them. As it turns out, you can build and maintain a terrific law firm like this.
Practice areas
Business
Coppersmith Brockelman’s corporate and transactional law practice is well-known in the business community. Providing a full spectrum of counsel, we continuously strive to be creative in our approach and responsive to clients’ needs. Refusing to “over-lawyer” any deal, our goal is to provide well-informed advice that fits the client, the transaction, and the budget.
The depth and breadth of our corporate and transactional practice is dedicated to helping clients establish and operate their businesses. From advising clients to helping complete transactions, our work is far-reaching. One of our partners served as the general counsel for a billion-dollar retail company, personally overseeing public filings and supervising several corporate acquisitions and merger and recapitalization transactions.
We have worked steadfastly:
- Negotiating and documenting sales and purchases of businesses, including related financing arrangements.
- Advising clients on new entity formation, governance and control, and operations.
- Negotiating and documenting real estate and commercial transactions, leases, and contracts.
- Establishing joint venture arrangements between for-profit entities as well as joint ventures involving exempt organizations.
- Setting up creative business models for private and public contracting.
- Advising clients on governance matters, including conflict of interest, disclosure, and treatment of minority shareholders or members.
- Assisting clients in management transition and the sale and/or assignment of shares or membership interests.
- Reviewing organization and contracts for both new and existing businesses.
- Representing corporate clients in securities and related proceedings before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
- Serving as Arizona counsel for national purchases, sales, financings, and spinoffs for business organizations.
From daily local matters to transactions with global reverberations, Coppersmith Brockelman stands ready to serve our clients’ needs.
Bankruptcy & Debt
Financial institutions and creditors can rely on Coppersmith Brockelman for comprehensive help in litigation arising from the debtor/creditor relationship, including litigation involving commercial loans and guarantees, real estate leases, equipment leases, receiverships, and lien priority and enforcement disputes. Coppersmith Brockelman also has experience assisting in all manner of pre-judgment and post-judgment remedies and collection of foreign and domestic judgments, including:
- Asset searches and debtors’ exams
- Replevin of collateral
- Garnishment proceedings
Our attorneys will formulate a strategic plan that addresses your specific needs, whether that includes renegotiating terms or aggressively pursuing payment.
In the event a debtor files for bankruptcy, Coppersmith Brockelman’s creditor clients can also rely on our extensive experience representing secured and unsecured creditors, including lenders, landlords, lessors, and trade creditors in all stages of the bankruptcy process, including:
- Preference litigation and other claim disputes
- Stay relief litigation
- Lien avoidance disputes
- Claim subordination
- Plan confirmation
- Cash collateral protections
- The assumption, assignment, or rejection of an executory contract
We also routinely represent creditors in fraudulent conveyance litigation, including actions arising out a debtor’s asset protection efforts.
At all stages of the debtor-creditor relationship, our lawyers utilize a practical interdisciplinary approach with a focus on obtaining the fullest recovery possible while protecting our clients’ rights, claims, and business relationships.
Employment & Labor
Arizona’s top law firms for employers are populated almost exclusively by the Phoenix offices of large multinational, national and regional firms. But Coppersmith Brockelman’s unique approach to employment law makes us a sought-after local stand-out. The reasons are the four tenets that guide our employment group: we focus on avoiding disputes; we seek prompt and creative resolution to disputes that do arise; we craft thorough, efficient litigation strategies that seek full vindication of our clients’ position; and we’re excellent stewards of our clients’ resources.
Real Estate
Coppersmith Brockelman provides real estate clients with knowledgeable and practical advice throughout the entire lifecycle of a development project, and in dealing with land use legal issues.
As trusted counsel to well-known real estate clients involved in sophisticated transactions throughout the Phoenix area, our team has assisted with acquisition and development, financing, and leasing issues. We also advise on land use issues, including zoning hearings, administrative hearings, and land-use litigation. We were proud to represent a well-known nonprofit animal rescue and rehabilitation facility that needed a special use permit to allow tours and educational programs, including successfully representing them in zoning hearings and defending them successfully in a separate civil lawsuit filed by a single unhappy neighbor.
Our team has worked on a wide range of projects, including:
- Assisting clients with the purchase, sale, and financing of real estate
- Leasing arrangements and documentation, representing both landlords and tenants
- Counseling clients on development, land use, and entitlement issues as well as property management, deed restrictions, property owner association, and brokerage issues
- Advising on zoning, zoning adjustment, and other land use regulation, including referendum elections arising out of zoning cases and annexations as part of our election law practice
- Serving as local counsel for financings and real estate-related transactions, including providing required local law opinions
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