Family Law

• Divorce

Criminal Law

• Embezzlement
• Assault

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  The Firm’s corporate practice provides legal expertise in the areas of corporate formation; corporate reorganization, such as mergers, sales of assets, leveraged buyouts and spin-offs; sales of stock; governmental compliance, as well as general corporate representation.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Al started his practice as a business and finance lawyer, representing financial institutions, public and private companies, and individuals in debt and equity financings, private placements, secured and unsecured lending as well as corporate clients in mergers and acquisitions.
• Business Disputes
  LLP ’s Tax Department for approximately 25 years. He is a 1981 graduate of The Harvard Law School and, before that, received his Accounting degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Mishow has found his Accounting background to be of invaluable experience in resolving business disputes of all kinds, not just tax oriented ones. Because of the tax implications of almost every business transaction, Ed’s experience has involved working with businesses that run the gamut from real estate development and investment, to manufacturing to food production, to inventing and licensing of intellectual property, to hi-tech consulting firms, to storage container companies. Just like Ed’s tax practice leads him to the representation of business enterprises of all kinds, so too does his tax expertise lead him to dealing with business entities of all kinds, from the currently in vogue limited liability companies, to limited and general partnerships, to regular “C” corporations, to “S” corporations and the like. Ed takes a “hands-on” approach to business and investment issues and he deals with the totality of a client’s complex transactions, not just those aspects related to tax. Ed makes his 30+ years of experience available to others, in an attempt to help mediate or otherwise resolve business disputes of almost any kind. View Resume
• Business Transactions
  The firm is proud to provide mediation services to disputants. Both facilitative mediation and evaluative mediation services are available for disputes or litigation arising from environmental, business transactions, or commercial disputes, including lease disputes, business/partnership ownership and operation disputes.
• Limited Liability Companies
• Construction Contracts
  Primarily (90%) litigation and trial practice in California State Courts and Federal Courts. Concentration in environmental, real estate and construction litigation, as well as general business litigation including contract disputes, employment law, partnership law, corporate law, securities/commodities reparation law, and disabled access (ADA) law. The other 10% of his practice is in transactional law: drafting and advising clients on leases, environmental remediation agreements, and construction contracts. Admitted to California Bar 1982. Admitted to New York Bar 1983.
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
• Unfair Competition

Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination
  The Firm’s litigation experience includes complex commercial, and corporate litigation, tax, real estate and general business matter disputes, including among other things, disputes involving limited and general partnerships, lease disputes between landlords and tenants, real property sales and title issues, real estate broker disputes, general contract disputes and other construction litigation, stock issuance and other securities litigation, unfair competition claims, creditors’ rights in bankruptcy court, probate and trust litigation, employment discrimination and termination disputes and insurance coverage and bad faith issues.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Al Thel has been practicing corporate and real estate law for over 30 years, representing national and regional real estate developers and Southern California based corporations and other businesses. Al has years of experience in retail shopping center, office, senior living and industrial park developments and investments including REIT's, multinational corporations and smaller entrepreneurial projects. Al’s experience encompasses all phases of real estate development, including acquisition, joint ventures, financing and leasing in a variety of projects include power centers, regional malls, strip centers and free standing buildings. Al is also well experienced in the complications that arise with "big box" tenant leases and issues that arise between owners of investment real estate. Al’s general business experience spans a wide variety of businesses, including advertising, light manufacturing, aviation, education, and race tracks. View Resume
• Premises Liability
• Construction Litigation
  Ted Donohue received his first certification for mediation in 1995 and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in 1997 on his dissertation concerning the “Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methodologies in the Remediation of Hazardous Waste Contaminated Sites.” Dr. Donohue is versed in the available mediation styles including facilitative and evaluative mediation and in a variety of negotiation techniques that enable him to assist the parties in reaching their settlement. He has been a practicing trial attorney for thirty years in the fields of environmental, business, and construction litigation, which has provided a broad spectrum of knowledge that Dr. Donohue draws upon when assisting disputants in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution to their disputes. View Resume
• Real Estate Transactions
  We are experienced in all phases of real estate development and land use planning, including acquisition, financing, construction and leasing, and establishing the appropriate entity type for the development of a particular project, whether a corporation, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company or other form. The Firm routinely handles a variety of sophisticated real estate transactions, including real estate securitized and construction loans, real estate land development, purchase agreements, general and limited partnership agreements, operating agreements, development agreements, revenue bond financing documentation, commercial, industrial, retail and office leases. The Firm provides experienced advice and assistance associated with each transaction.
• Land Use and Zoning
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  The Firm provides representation for all aspects of environmentally impacted sites, including representation of clients involved in real estate transactions, litigation, cleanup strategies, landlord and tenant matters, and estate administration.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  James G. Damon has extensive litigation experience in a wide variety of civil matters within the state and federal courts including business litigation, real property litigation including landlord-tenant disputes, corporate litigation including officer and directors’ liability issues, probate and trust litigation, bankruptcy creditors’ rights and tax litigation issues, general personal injury, premises liability, construction defects, commercial litigation, contractual disputes, intentional torts (civil assault and battery, defamation, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress), subrogation and insurance matters. Jim has argued before the 2nd and 4th District Courts of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. View Resume

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Voss, Cook & Thel LLP was founded in 1978 and, over the years, has established itself as one of the most respected law firms based in Orange County. The Firm is a full service commercial, business, and litigation law firm with the principal areas of practice including, real estate, litigation, corporate, taxation, environmental, mediation services, and estate planning and administration. The Firm prides itself in the high level of partner involvement with each client matter, a strong emphasis on client responsiveness and a genuine desire to serve the clients’ needs within the clients’ budget.
• Trusts
  Jim commenced his trial and appellate court practice in 1984 and has extensive litigation experience involving business litigation, real property litigation including landlord-tenant disputes, trusts and estates litigation and tax related issues. Jim often defends trustees in breach of fiduciary duty claims and handles sibling disputes over assets. He was also involved in a two-year trial involving one of the largest land appraisals in the United States. He has a broad background in creditor-oriented bankruptcy litigation. In 2013, Jim had a receiver appointed to repair two medical buildings upon the owner’s failure to do so and his clients were awarded $19,631.25 for attorney’s fees and costs. In 2017, Jim and his team of attorneys and experts obtained a judgment following a two month jury trial which awarded the 6 clients damages for breach of contract, fraud and private nuisance in the collective amount of $4,267,991.78 including punitive damages together with an additional award of attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $1,330,985.37. This judgment was one of the top ten largest awards of its kind obtained in California in 2017. Jim also obtained a judgment against the California Franchise Tax Board to obtain the clients' tax refund and reimbursement from the State of California for all attorneys' fees and costs. See Wertin v. Franchise Tax Board (1998) 68 Cal. App. 4th 961, review denied (3/31/99). He has also obtained successful trial and arbitration results in business disputes, litigation arising from real estate transactions, construction defect and landlord/tenant litigation. Jim is admitted to all of the California courts, the United States District Courts, the United States Bankruptcy Courts, the United States Tax Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Our litigation department is experienced in providing efficient, cost effective results in obtaining and enforcing judgments, attaching debtor’s assets and recovering and disposing of collateral and in selecting all other appropriate secured creditor remedies, including both judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures.
• Tax Law
  The Firm’s extensive practice in the areas of corporate and real estate has resulted in the development of a sophisticated federal, state and local tax practice providing advice, planning, structuring and research with respect to a wide range of corporate, partnership, real estate and international transactions, including real estate acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, corporate and partnership mergers, divisions and reorganizations, tax-deferred exit strategies and other tax matters.