Family Law

• Divorce
  John G. Bock is a distinguished litigator with more than forty years of experience. John’s practical approach has helped his clients with collections, commercial and civil litigation, contract disputes, business formation, business transactions, business divorces and family law.
• Guardianship
  Chris has guided prospective guardians, wards and their families through the guardianship process, including the creation of management trusts.

Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
• Fraud
  While most parties entering into a contract do so with good intentions, sometimes individuals or companies commit business fraud or misrepresentation to induce a transaction to go through. When this happens, serious financial consequences and legal actions inevitably follow.
• Theft
• Embezzlement

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Entity formation and registration and corporate governance, including drafting operating agreements and resolutions, corporate governance and compliance, and related consultation (many for Japanese companies);
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  In house counsel is very familiar with the law as it relates to your business field. In house counsel often mitigate crisis, and handle compliance reporting, tax work, and mergers and acquisitions, advise on labor laws and intellectual property laws, and can build in house legal teams. This is quite an expensive – and often cost-prohibitive – option for most businesses. Additionally, in house counsel still often requires outside legal services from a firm that handles cases in other areas of the law and for litigation matters.
• Business Formation
  Hiring a business formation attorney to start a new entity is a milestone that requires careful consideration. It can be immensely rewarding to see your ideas come to fruition, as we have seen with many clients over the years. However, setting up the wrong entity can leave you and your assets exposed to unnecessary risks and limit your business’ growth. Achieving prosperity for your new entity will require laying a foundation of careful and strategic decision-making.
• Business Disputes
  Unfortunately, in the course of business, disputes inevitably arise. Most often, however, these situations are resolved without involving an attorney. But when business disputes escalate to the point of litigation, the lawyers at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi have the experience needed to resolve virtually any dispute using a variety of methods, up to and including litigation.  We stand apart from other Houston business law firms by boasting over 40 years of experience, including successfully resolving complex business litigation on a regular basis. We work closely with our clients to learn about their companies to better protect them and build long lasting relationships that allow our clients’ businesses to prosper.
• Business Transactions
  Established in 1981, the law firm of Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi is a well-established fixture in the Houston area. Our legacy of success spans more than four decades. We are committed to serving businesses and individuals across Texas through quality, cost-effective legal services for all of their business transactions.
• Limited Liability Companies
  An LLC is designed to limit a business owner’s personal liability should their company become exposed to risk. This type of entity keeps business assets and debts separate from each owner’s personal finances and assets, and also keeps the assets of the business exempt from creditors of the owners. LLCs also allow for ownership by nonresidents and entities (unlike subchapter S corporations) and allow creative allocation of profits and losses among the owners putting up sweat equity and those putting up cash.
• Trade Secrets
  Trade secrets are often an employer’s most valuable assets, and as such, having a team of trade secret lawyers well versed in state and federal intellectual property law can help your business maintain the competitive edge it needs to remain successful. Indeed, federal laws such as the Economic Espionage Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act protect business owners’ trade secrets. Under both federal and state law, trade secret protection applies broadly to business, financial, and technical information, including...
• Intellectual Property
  If the trade secrets your business relies on are at risk of being compromised, or have already been publicly exposed, you need an experienced and capable trade secrets lawyer who can advise you on this complex area of intellectual property law. Many business owners and investors opt to bypass patent law because of the potential for risk of exposing their proprietary information during the patent approval process. This, however, does not mean there is no legal recourse when your confidential information has been used or disclosed without your consent or obtained through unauthorized means.
• Unfair Competition
  Other actions prohibited by the Lanham Act include counterfeiting a registered trademark, trademark dilution, and “ passing off.” As you know, these unfair competition practices can cause harm to your business’ reputation and lost profits. The attorneys at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi can work with you to end infringement through a variety of legal tools, up to and including litigation.

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
• Employment Contract
  The business attorneys at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi know the key to a well-drafted contract is understanding which provisions are most vulnerable to attack. Our attorneys can draft contracts that stand up to litigation in the event of a dispute. Because of our deep experience handling commercial litigation regarding virtually every conceivable type of document – from non-compete agreements and confidentiality provisions in employment contracts to landlord-tenant agreements and fractional share leases – we understand how contracts need to be drafted to avoid litigation, including but not limited to...
• Employment Litigation
  In his time at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi, Chris’ practice has focused primarily on representing businesses and individuals in lawsuits. Chris has handled a wide variety of civil matters involving employment disputes, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, non-competes and nondisclosure agreements. Chris has also handled the prosecution and defense of collection matters, often navigating bankruptcies, discovering hidden assets and pursuing judgment collection. On the debtor side, Chris has developed a track record of successfully negotiating substantially reduced liabilities for his clients.
• Non-compete Agreement
• Severance Agreement
• Sexual Harassment
  Represented employer in a sexual harassment case in the U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Court.  Summarily disposed of the case after negotiating a reasonable settlement with the claimant.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Regrettably, the real estate industry is known for disputes that cannot be resolved without involving litigation. Disputes can arise between property co-owners and between property owners and developers, among other related parties. In the oil and gas industry, real estate disputes arise often between land owners and oil companies with which they’ve entered into lease agreements. What may seem to be a simple dispute can spiral into expensive lawsuits if you’re not represented by a firm that consistently aims to resolve conflicts outside of the courtroom.
• Premises Liability
• Real Estate Transactions
  Whether you are buying or selling residential real estate, commercial real estate or, engaging in another type of more complex real estate transaction, partnering with a lawyer from the very beginning can save you from making costly mistakes. Boilerplate agreements and contracts may have risks buried in legalese and small print and contain clauses that are not relevant to your situation. Whenever you are exchanging large sums of capital for high value real estate, you should seek the counsel of a lawyer to interpret any language that could cost you financially.
• Eminent Domain
  There are numerous opportunities for disputes to arise when drilling for and extracting oil and gas that could give rise to litigation. For instance, a common lease dispute can easily have a number of complex issues that need to be resolved between working interest owners and the duties they are legally bound to, including royalty disputes between land owners and oil and gas companies that disrupt both royalties and production, eminent domain disputes, and joint operating agreement disputes.
• Easement
• Land Use and Zoning
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Managing partner Chris Stevenson focuses on general civil and commercial litigation, with extensive experience in commercial collections, contract disputes, intellectual property, business divorces, real estate, construction, commercial landlord/tenant, employment, personal injury, and insurance bad faith.
• Medical Malpractice

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  The estate planning lawyers at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi believe everyone should have the opportunity to map out their wishes for the future. As estate lawyers, we can assist you with your estate planning and save your loved ones from the stress of administering your estate, as well as implement strategies to avoid or reduce a large tax bill.
• Wills
  As your estate lawyer, we will make sure that wills and trusts are set up properly to avoid future disputes. If you have questions about an existing will or trust, we can also review these documents for you to find any risks you may not be aware you are exposed to or to identify any changes in the law that may necessitate an update. Additionally, if you would like to leave assets to a stepchild or a child with special needs, consulting estate planning attorneys now could help your family avoid costly disputes later.
• Trusts
  Guardian designations: For children or adults with special needs, you can specify who will take guardianship in the event of your death. For those with special needs, preplanning of special needs trusts is critical.
• Power of Attorney
  Medical power of attorney: In the event you become incapacitated, you may grant another individual the legal authority to make medical decisions on your behalf. This is especially important if you don’t want certain individuals making those decisions for you.
• Probate
  With over 40 years of experience in business transactions, commercial litigation, real estate law, estate & probate law, and intellectual property disputes, the team at Adair Myers Stevenson Yagi can assist you and your business through any legal situation that arises.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
• Tax Law
  We are especially knowledgeable of the estate tax planning requirements for business owners and principals given our long history working with small- and medium-sized Houston businesses. We know that as a business owner, you have put in tremendous effort and work into growing the assets you control today. We are committed to protecting our clients and their family’s property. We have the experience necessary to avoid a devastating forced sale of a family business to pay estate taxes and can work with you to create a plan that addresses all your unique needs.
• Debt Collection
  Chris has represented numerous companies in collections matters, often navigating bankruptcies, hidden assets, judgment collections and many of the other pitfalls associated with debt collection.  Chris has also represented debtors in a wide range of collections cases and has developed a track record of successfully negotiating substantially reduced liabilities on their behalf.