Hospitality

Overview

Businesses in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels, casinos, caterers, brew pubs, face countless challenges to success, in part due to the landscape of ever-changing laws and regulations. Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys understand the business and legal issues unique to the hospitality industry. Based on their knowledge and experience, Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys successfully and efficiently guide hospitality establishments in navigating the legal terrain and mitigating legal risks.

Employment

Labor laws are constantly evolving, making it difficult for companies to stay compliant. Wage and hour disputes are one of the most common and financially devastating risks facing the hospitality industry today. State and federal wage regulations add layers of complications. Employers with hourly and tipped workers need to be particularly vigilant in their recordkeeping and claiming of tip credits, especially if there are tip sharing or pooling arrangements in place or workers perform both tipped and non-tipped work.

Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys regularly counsel clients on the array of employment and labor laws and regulations and provide daily counsel on issues such as pre-employment inquiries, , lawful interview questions, wage and hour planning, overtime, disability accommodation, drug testing, background checks, harassment, discrimination, workplace investigations, human resource policies and procedures, and social media use. Our attorneys are adept at negotiating and drafting employment agreements, restrictive covenants, incentive plans and severance arrangements. We handle and address all forms of employment dispute resolution and regularly advise companies on audits by governmental agencies.

Corporate

Tannenbaum Helpern represents hospitality companies in business formations, mergers, acquisitions, sales of businesses, operating agreements, joint ventures, license agreements, equity offerings, private placements, reorganizations (bankruptcy and debt restructuring), credit transactions, contract negotiations and a wide range of other corporate matters.

Intellectual Property

Tannenbaum Helpern's Intellectual Property practice covers patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. We are well-versed in protecting names, logos, distinctive décor, menus, artwork, and trade secrets such as key recipes. With decades of experience advising domestic and global clients on intellectual property matters, our attorneys are skilled in protecting, evaluating and helping clients maximize their intellectual property portfolios as well as successfully resolving and litigating domestic and global infringement disputes.

Franchising

Franchising is highly complex and heavily regulated. Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys have significant industry specific hospitality experience in developing plans for franchise programs, drafting franchise and disclosure documents, pre-sale registration, negotiations with franchisors and prospective franchisees, and working within the regulatory framework affecting franchising activities. Additionally, our attorneys help resolve disputes between franchisors and franchisees.

Real Estate, Construction and Environmental

Tannenbaum Helpern advises on a broad spectrum of real estate, construction and environmental issues. We represent hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and others on office, warehouse and retail leases, buying and selling real property, joint ventures, financing, construction and design contracts, contaminated properties and environmental regulatory matters.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Tannenbaum Helpern handles all forms of commercial disputes, including employment (such as wage and hour, discrimination, harassment and restrictive covenant disputes), intellectual property and franchise matters. Tannenbaum Helpern’s skilled litigators work closely with clients to design an approach that puts their business first in pursuing their litigation goals.

Representative Services

• Employment law matters, such as pre-employment inquiries, complaint procedures, defense of employment and EEO claims and policy implementation
• Litigation, including wage and hour class and collective action defense
• Negotiating, drafting and enforcing franchise, license, and distribution agreements
• Negotiating, drafting and enforcing non-competition agreements, confidentiality agreements and other restrictive covenants
• Negotiating drafts and extensive hospitality industry in contract agreements
• Real estate and leasing matters, construction contracts and environmental issues
• Mergers, acquisitions and investments relating to hospitality assets
• Business formations, joint ventures, operating agreements, stockholder and partnership agreements
• Internet operations, domain name and trademark issues and website terms and conditions
• Protection of distinct artwork, software and recipes

Our clients include

• Food purveyors
• Restaurants (fine dining to quick-service)
• Hotels and resorts
• Private equity funds invested in the hospitality industry
• Casinos and gaming establishments