Kaufman & Canoles

Chairman: William R Van Buren III

Number of partners: 60

Number of lawyers: 90

Languages: Chinese, English, French, Spanish 

Firm Overview:  

Tracing its origins to 1919, Kaufman & Canoles has developed its business law practice over the years to become the largest law firm headquartered in Southeastern Virginia. The firm serves international, national and regional clients needing assistance in a broad range of legal specialties. The firm’s integrated and multi-disciplinary teams have extensive experience serving the corporate, financial, governmental and health care industries, and remain focused on the details while also delivering big-picture strategy.

Main Areas of Practice: 

-Alcoholic Beverage

-Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights & Business Restructuring

-Business Taxation

-Commercial

-Consumer Finance

-Corporate & Public Finance

-Data Privacy & Security

-ESOPs & Employee Benefits

-Eminent Domain

-Environmental

-Family Law

-Franchising

-Government Contracts & Construction

-Health Care

-Intellectual Property

-International

-Labor & Employment

-Lender Representation

-Litigation

-Manufacturing & Distribution

-Mergers & Acquisitions

-Real Estate

-Senior Housing & Care

-Trusts & Estates

Corporate & Banking:  

Acting as business consultants, the commercial section attorneys advise clients on corporate and commercial matters and are often sought to negotiate transactions and solve business problems. The attorneys routinely handle matters requiring expertise in areas such as securities, syndications, finance, mergers, acquisitions, distribution and licensing arrangements, antitrust, health care, bankruptcy, and intellectual property law. The firm’s banking practice encompasses the representation of some of the region’s largest banks, as well as smaller local financial institutions and regulatory agencies. The attorneys have considerable experience in the banking industry, and their representation includes formations, acquisitions and mergers of all types of financial institutions and branch banking issues as well as commercial and real estate loan transactions. The banking practice also involves complex financing and refinancing transactions and regulatory compliance issues.

Litigation:  

The litigation team encompasses a wide variety of trial and appellate matters in federal and state courts and before administrative bodies. The practice consists primarily of representation of commercial clients in various areas of the law, including antitrust, banking, bankruptcy, environmental, securities, labor and EEOC, construction, government contracts, products liability, medical malpractice and hospital law, real estate, intellectual property and trade secrets, immigration, insurance defense and admiralty.

Labor & Employment:  

The labor and employment team represents management in a full range of employment and traditional labor issues such as class actions and multiple plaintiff cases involving discrimination, as well as discharge and wage and hour litigation in federal and state courts and before federal and state government agencies. The firm has also developed a significant employer counseling practice which features daily advice to employers and frequent drafting of employment handbooks and practical policies for managing the workplace. The team also represents management in union avoidance and unfair labor practice matters. Business owners and human resource professionals from throughout the region attend the firm’s annual seminar on recent developments in employment law.

Mergers & Acquisitions: 

The mergers and acquisitions attorneys take great pride in approaching transactions with an innovative fresh look. The attorneys are creative problem solvers, drawing on experience, the latest technologies, and the deep resources of the practice group and the firm. Specialty area experts are an integral and active part of the practice group. The firm’s specialists, including those in employee benefits, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment, real estate and tax, help shape the structure of transactions, take an active role in the due diligence process and negotiate deal points. The team is involved in every aspect of negotiating and document drafting in all forms of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, hostile takeovers and freeze-out mergers. When representing buyers, the firm is routinely engaged to assist with structuring and negotiating credit facilities and private equity investments obtained to fund the transaction.

Tax:  

The tax practice is centered on corporate, partnership and individual tax planning. Particular areas of expertise include corporate organizations, reorganizations, redemptions and liquidations; limited and general partnership formations; ERISA and other deferred compensation planning; estate planning and administration; industrial development bond financing; international taxation and partnership syndications, including real estate and equipment leasing. Clients in the tax area include foreign individuals and entities, as well as US taxpayers.

Real Estate:  

The real estate team is engaged in a broad commercial practice offering a full range of services to developers. The attorneys handle purchases, sales, financing, zoning and leasing arrangements often associated with mergers, acquisitions and new development. In addition, the practice includes debt and equity financing, syndications, residential/condominium sales and environmental due diligence and regulatory matters. The real estate finance section also specializes in a variety of municipal financing techniques.