Overview
Valued Advisors
Hopkins & Carley attorneys have a deep understanding of the legal issues that impact clients in this highly competitive business environment. The firm’s success advising retail companies of all sizes stems from our dedication to helping businesses grow and succeed while protecting brand equity. Hopkins & Carley’s extensive experience and professional breadth allow the firm to provide top-quality counsel in virtually every area affecting retail businesses.
Experience
- Advised McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Applebee’s franchisees in connection with entity formation and governance issues, and the purchase and sale of individual and multiple restaurant locations.
- Represented a large regional bank in a series of related construction loans for mixed use project that included hotel and retail space.
- Obtained a $3.5 million settlement for a shopping center landlord after its anchor tenant, a major grocery chain, ceased operations and abandoned the premises.
- Represented local grocery store and national grocery chain in leasing and subleasing of their stores, including licenses for use of space within the stores.
- Represented landlords in the Borders, Radio Shack and American Apparel bankruptcies, achieving a settlement of a dispute concerning a contingent proof of claim, negotiating the immediate assignment of the lease; and successfully negotiating assumption of lease with no change in lease terms.
- Represented the owner of a retail shopping center whose anchor tenant withheld a full year of rent. The case settled a week before trial resulting in our client receiving 100% of damages and legal expenses.
- Assisted grocers in the ground lease and development of grocery stores throughout California.
California's New Paid Sick Leave Law—Are You Ready?
While no employer is required to provide paid sick leave to an employee until July 1, 2015 when the benefit portion of the new law becomes effective, language in the new law combined with the Labor Co... Read more »
"Comp Time" is Attractive to Many Employers, but Serves as a Trap for the Unwary
Although compensatory time off is permitted under the law for some employees, applicable regulations make it impractical for private employers in California to utilize comp time as an alternative to o... Read more »
"Make-Up" Time is Attractive to Employees and Employers, but is Easily Misused Creating Risk for the Employer
Employees often like to make up missed time instead of suffering a reduction in pay. Read more »
Department of Labor Proposes New Regulations Regarding Federal Overtime Exemptions
The proposed regulations have received a great deal of publicity and, if adopted as proposed, would substantially increase the minimum salary needed to qualify as exempt from overtime under the FLSA. Read more »
That Didn't Take Long: California Amends New Sick Leave Law
Perhaps the most significant change relates to the manner in which employers must pay employees during sick leave. Read more »