Grove, Jaskiewicz and Cobert - A Washington, D.C. Law Firm With a Global Reach

Practice Areas

Antitrust and Competition Law

Counseling and litigation make up the Firm's antitrust and competition law practice. The Firm advises clients on a wide variety of commercial matters, such as possible price fixing and other market restraint practices, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and trade association activities. The Firm has designed and implemented antitrust compliance programs for corporations and their officers and employees, and has particular expertise in the application of the antitrust laws to regulated industries. The Firm has also represented clients in private civil antitrust and unfair competition litigation and in government-initiated proceedings and investigations. Clients of the Firm's antitrust practice have included cooperative associations, businesses in the manufacturing and service sectors, export companies, trade organizations and transportation companies.

Corporate and General Business

The Firm's general business and commercial practice covers all phases of business operations from formation to dissolution. The Firm advises on appropriate forms of business organization and performs all legal services required to commence business operations. The Firm has broad expertise in negotiating, structuring, and documenting corporate, merger and acquisition and financing transactions of all types. The Firm's knowledge in other areas of law affecting business entities include tax, antitrust, litigation, trademark and servicemark, real estate, environmental, government relations, joint ventures, intellectual property protection and transfers, and employment and labor matters. The Firm has expertise in the negotiating and structuring all types of business agreements, including but not limited to owners’ agreements, intellectual property agreements, contracts relating to product development and commercialization, business finance agreements, and employment and independent contractor agreements.

Customs

The Firm's customs practice encompasses counseling and representation of clients in administrative and judicial proceedings. This practice area includes obtaining informal advisory opinions from the United States Customs and Border Protection and protests of Customs decisions in classification of merchandise, drawback, and liquidation proceedings. The Firm represents clients in proceedings for mitigation of Customs penalties and under regulations governing formal entry and duty payment requirements. The Firm provides advice and counseling on regulations pertaining to advance manifest rules, notice and registration requirements, and all matters relating to compliance with and enforcement of antiterrorism rules and regulations. The Firm is actively involved in representing businesses that desire to participate voluntarily in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

Government Contracts

The Firm's government contracts practice includes representing prime contractors in all phases of the process of contracting with governmental agencies. This practice includes responses to Requests for Proposals, interpreting government contracts, and preparing subcontracting agreements for prime contractors. The Firm represents contractors throughout the duration of the contract and through termination settlement procedures. This phase of the practice involves having extensive knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulations that govern the terms of contracts with government agencies. The Firm also represents government contractors before the United States Court of Federal Claims in both civil and criminal litigation.

Healthcare

The Firm's healthcare practice primarily is centered on the representation of physicians in the business environment. The Firm has expertise in negotiating and structuring all forms of physician agreements with hospitals, groups or other business entities. Firm lawyers are knowledgeable in assisting in the development of and the representation of healthcare facilities. Our background in general business and commercial practice area is important in our representation of physicians. The Firm will represent clients in state and federal courts and before a variety of federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of the Inspector General of The Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, State Healthcare Agencies, and Medicare Peer Review Organizations.

Homeland Security

The Firm advises clients concerning all aspects relating to legal compliance with governmental laws and regulations pertaining to homeland security and anti-terrorism initiatives of the United States Government.

International

The Firm's international practice involves the representation of foreign manufacturing and service companies doing business in, or trading with, the United States. Firm attorneys advise foreign businesses on the formation of United States subsidiaries; represent the interests of foreign companies before government agencies; and counsel on tax and business issues for foreign investors in the United States. The Firm has also represented United States companies doing business in Asia, Europe, and South America. This representation has included negotiations of commercial transactions; the development of joint ventures; the determination of foreign requirements for United States based companies; and representation in matters before the United States Department of Commerce; the United States International Trade Administration, and related government agencies. The Firm also has extensive experience in the litigation of international legal disputes, including litigation of claims involving foreign governments pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA); claims processing before the United Nations; and the arbitration of international legal disuptes. As a member of the Euro-American Lawyers Group (EALG), the Firm works closely with other law firms in foreign jurisdictions in handling cross-border and multinational legal matters on behalf of clients involved in international trade.

Labor and Employment Law

The Firm's labor and employment law practice encompasses the representation of management in all areas of labor and employment law and related litigation, including a broad range of employee relations issues and union-management problems. Labor and employment law clients vary in size from large national companies to small businesses in a number of different industries, including transportation companies, retail and service enterprises, cooperative associations and trade organizations. The Firm's attorneys have advised clients with respect to employment agreements and personnel policies, wage and hour law issues and affirmative action obligations, collective bargaining negotiations and labor contract interpretation, and the labor law aspects of federal pension law and bankruptcy proceedings. The Firm also maintains an active labor law litigation practice in federal and state trial and appellate courts and before various administrative agencies including the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Firm has been involved in the representation of employers in union representation and decertification proceedings, unfair labor practice trials, and lawsuits involving employees and labor unions.

Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Firm has an active litigation practice. Most of the cases currently being handled are civil or administrative, but the Firm has also represented clients in certain criminal proceedings, including grand jury matters. Attorneys of the Firm have appeared in courts throughout the United States. The Firm practices in federal and state courts and before regulatory agencies and departments. Attorneys of the Firm are admitted to practice before all federal circuit courts and the United States Supreme Court. The Firm has represented government contractors before the United States Court of Federal Claims. The Firm also represents domestic and foreign clients in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

Tax, Pensions and Estate Planning

The Firm's tax practice offers consulting and planning services in various tax-related matters, with special emphasis on matters involving the corporation-shareholder relationship. These services include the planning and execution of structural changes, such as incorporations, liquidations, redemptions and acquisitions, as well as advising upon, negotiating and executing the transactions involved in business operations. Tax planning for individuals, partnerships and closely-held businesses is an important part of the Firm's tax practice. The practice involves a significant amount of employee benefit and estate planning work. The employee benefit practice includes advice concerning the choice of benefit plans, and the establishment, tax qualification and administration of plans, including prohibited transactions and amendments required by statutory changes. The Firm works closely with other experts, such as pension plan administrators and actuaries.

Trade Associations

The Firm has provides general representation of trade associations. This representation has included advice and counseling on legislative matters, preparation of congressional testimony, commercial work, corporate counseling and oversight, preparation and implementation of merger or consolidation documents, antitrust advice, preparation of antitrust and federal sentencing guideline manuals, policing internal procedures to ensure compliance with such manuals, obtaining business review letters, advice on internal revenue compliance for retention of nonprofit status and general tax, labor, and intellectual property counseling.

Trademarks

The Firm advises clients on the registration, use, and licensing of trademarks. The Firm represents clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in trademark infringement actions in the courts.

Transportation

The Firm's transportation practice is broadly-based serving the legal and business needs of companies operating in all phases of the transportation industry. The Firm represents intermediary, non-asset based, and logistics companies in the domestic and international trades and direct carriers such as trucking companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The regulatory aspect of the Firm's transportation practice includes representation before the Surface Transportation Board, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Maritime Commission, other federal agencies, and equivalent state and local regulatory agencies.