Over the past 30 years, we have earned the reputation as leading lawyers in the apparel and fashion industry. Our attorneys are at the center of a very selective professional network and assist clients with critical decisions in all aspects of their daily business operations.
From fashion-forward start-ups to $300 million multi-generational entities, we assist apparel and fashion industry clients on many fronts. Our comprehensive collection of apparel and fashion industry services covers:
- AB 633 wage and hour claims
- Bankruptcy and involuntary bankruptcy
- Business formation and transactions
- Business operations, financing, mergers and acquisitions, growth and exit strategies
- Buy-Sell, Factoring and Executive Compensation Agreements
- Capitalization and Financing
- Commercial and Retail Leases
- Copyrights and trademarks
- Employment
- Intellectual Property
- Letters of Credit
- Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Mediation
- Network
Our clients include leading men’s, women’s and children apparel makers; outerwear, surf wear, swimwear and intimate manufacturers and retailers; piece good suppliers; showrooms; dye houses; denim washhouses; laundries; and industry personnel. We help our clients evaluate and assess deals; and review and draft documentation within the framework of their business plans.
Further, we work to protect clients’ intellectual property by advising on copyright and trademark availability, and assisting throughout the domestic and international registration processes. We prosecute violators when clients need to prevent copyright or trademark infringement, and defend clients in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and in state and federal courts. We advise both licensees and licensors on all aspects of licensing agreements. When representing a licensor in a transaction, we determine the viability of long-term relationships, the availability of capital to build the mark, and opportunities to judiciously deliver on sales and production schedules.
We also have in-depth experience representing manufacturers and other corporate employers in the performance and review of employment and compensation agreements; policies and procedures; state and federal compliance manuals; wage and hour claims; and employer and joint liability issues.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Successful opposition against motion for summary judgment on behalf of prominent national retailer and apparel distributor against claims for copyright infringement, resulting in invalidation of the copyright registration for one of the subject designs at issue and an award of summary judgment in clients’ favor on all claims.
- Ceased infringement of a print company’s popular design and received a significant payment, which helped to extend the design’s commercial life.
- Enforced a measure in an involuntary bankruptcy involving a nationally known sportswear designer. Our clients received almost 100 cents on the dollar while other creditors did not.
- Successfully tried a case for a fabric importer, whose goods were held by a manufacturer (without payment) demanding that the importer pay for storage fees in a cross-complaint.
- Achieved a substantial distribution to creditors by aggressively pursuing lenders and insiders, and creating licensing opportunities while representing the creditors’ committee in a matter involving an administratively insolvent, high-profile design company.
- Achieved dismissal of labor violation charges against a clothing manufacturer in a contractor’s wage and hour claim case.
- Ongoing representation of fashion industry companies in employment-related government proceedings.
- Devised a profitable exit plan that added substantial value to a maturing business for the owner of a piece goods company.
- Successfully defended one jean manufacturer over the placement of a label and prosecuted another in a design appropriation case.
- Represented a major Southern California apparel manufacturer while being acquired by a large U.S.-based multinational.
- Sold a nationally recognized garment manufacturing company to a textile manufacturer, and created a vertical organization with greater profit potential.