Family Law

• Divorce
• Premarital Agreement
  Process is Critical in Pre/Postnuptial Agreements. Procedure is extremely important to ensure a Prenuptial agreement is enforceable. The Prenuptial Agreement must NOT be done at the last minute – just before a wedding, for example, when the invitations have been sent, the dress fitted and everyone is in a wedding flurry. Courts have held that such circumstances result in the less well-off spouse signing under duress and the Prenuptial Agreement is not enforceable. Since a Prenuptial Agreement changes rights that each spouse may have or acquire, each spouse MUST have his or her OWN attorney. Each spouse MUST list with sufficient detail, all assets he or she owns or expects to inherit – so the other spouse will have a good understanding of what rights he or she is giving up. If the procedures are not followed, the Prenuptial Agreement may very well be determined by a Court to be invalid and the Court will award property as if the Prenuptial Agreement were not even there!
• Guardianship
  He is a member of the Order of the Barristers, the Washington State Bar Association, and the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, where he serves on the Guardianship Committee and the Judicial Qualifications Committee.
• Legal Separation
  So, the moral to this difficult tale is: If you are involved in a dissolution of marriage or a legal separation, then bring all of your estate planning documents into your attorney’s office, along with a copy of this message, and talk with your attorney about making changes to your estate plan as part of the dissolution process.

Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
• Fraud
  We refer to others domestic relations matters, patent abuse or infringement claims, and criminal cases (other than business or 'white-collar' crimes, such as alleged securities fraud, fraudulent conveyances, embezzlement, anti-trust, or civil rights violations).
• White Collar Crimes
• Embezzlement

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  “Fiduciary duties” are higher standards of conduct based on trust -- like the relationships between people. The new law describes two such duties that an LLC manager owes to the company and its members: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. These duties may sound familiar because similar concepts have long existed between directors and officers and corporations, under corporate law, and between general partners under partnership law.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Marlo DeLange joined Vandeberg Johnson & Gandara, PS in 2004. She practices in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, franchise law, securities law, international business law, and business organizations and transactions.
• Business Disputes
  Marlo is a leader in the legal profession and community. She Chaired the Executive Committee of the WSBA Business Law Section from 2011-2012 and served in other officer positions and as a member of the Executive Committee from 2006-2013. She is a former Co-President of the Pierce County Washington Women Lawyers. She is a member of the Washington State and Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Associations.
• Business Transactions
  Brad joined Tacoma’s Gordon Thomas Honeywell in 2000, where he practiced as a commercial litigator until 2006. Beginning in 2007, and for nearly a decade thereafter, Brad served as in-house general counsel for a mid-sized Tacoma-based corporation. In this capacity, he became an experienced advisor to directors, owners, and senior managers, dealing with the structuring, drafting and negotiating of corporate and commercial transactions, business and strategic initiatives, risk management, and litigation. After the corporation was acquired by an international firm in 2016, Brad continued to support both businesses as senior counsel until returning to private practice in 2018.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Partnership tax returns (Form 1065) must be filed for partnerships, limited liability companies, etc., and Schedule K-1s distributed to partners.
• Construction Contracts
  The manager and members should determine whether the LLC agreement specifically authorizes key contracts between the LLC and the manager or other businesses affiliated with the manager. Management agreements, real estate development agreements and construction contracts are examples of common agreements between managers and LLCs that should be specifically authorized in the LLC agreement.
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
• Antitrust

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
  We routinely represent individuals, family groups, charitable organizations and non-profit associations, municipalities, and businesses in contested matters arising out of their personal, public, and business activities and associations, such as commercial and financing transactions; wills, gifts, trusts and estates; federal, state and local tax claims; environmental, land use and real estate regulations and development; condemnation; construction contracts (including bid protests, liens and warranties); product liability, wrongful death, personal injury and civil rights claims; labor and employment regulations, including discrimination and wrongful discharge; claims among partners, shareholders or members of limited liability companies; business purchases and mergers; securities, private placements and capital venture disputes; antitrust and trade regulations; and franchises and intellectual property matters, including copyright and trademarks.
• Employment Contract
  Accordingly, if you are currently relying upon a noncompetition agreement, you should ask your attorney to review your agreement to determine whether or not it complies with the new law (and most likely it will not). You then need to understand that if an existing employee with a covenant not to compete leaves your business, you should not even attempt to enforce the covenant. Better yet, you should now take immediate action to rewrite your employment agreements to comply with the new law.
• Non-compete Agreement
  Earlier this year Washington enacted Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1450, which dramatically limits noncompete agreements in the State of Washington. In doing so, Washington has not gone as far as California, which basically bars all noncompetition agreements. However, ESHB 1450, which becomes effective January 1, 2020, provides covenants not to compete may only be enforced against employees earning more than $100,000 per year (whether the noncompete agreement was signed before or after January 1, 2020).

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  In addition to helping his clients, Mark assists other lawyers and real estate professionals with improving their skills and knowledge. Mark is a frequent lecturer and presenter to the real estate industry, leading discussions and teaching classes on topics as diverse as resolving boundary disputes, solving title and ownership issues, drafting easements and crafting purchase agreements.
• Construction Litigation
  Focusing on all aspects of construction law, Darrel Addington assists his clients with issues concerning construction contract formation, claims avoidance and litigation of real estate, environmental, commercial, and construction disputes.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Kinne Hawes’ primary areas of practice include Real Estate Transactions and Financing, Business, Commercial, and International Business Law.
• Easement
• Land Use and Zoning
  Erica's practice focuses on environmental issues and related litigation, advising businesses and individuals on permitting, regulatory compliance, insurance coverage, cost allocation, and cost recovery. She advises individuals and business owners on issues related to managing dangerous waste, land use and development permitting, cannabis permitting, and neighbor disputes.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Andy Saller focuses his practice on Employment Law and Civil Litigation, including civil rights, commercial, and personal injury matters. He represents businesses, school districts and individuals.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Joined Vandeberg Johnson and Gandara in 2004, bringing with him experience in corporate finance, mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, employment law, and Employee Stock Ownership Plans. Presently, he represents clients in a variety of matters, focusing on trust and estate administration, litigation, and dispute resolution, estate planning, elder law, and general business matters.
• Wills
  Charitable trusts are an extremely helpful tool in estate planning, although the terminology can be confusing. Some explanation may be helpful. Charitable trusts may be set up as “inter vivos” trusts, during a donor's life, or as “testamentary” trusts, through a donor’s last will and testament to take effect at the donor’s death. A charitable trust may be also be set up as either a “remainder trust” or a “lead trust.”
• Trusts
  There are many ways of giving to charities that can have a tremendous benefit to the charity and a tax benefit to the donor. Clients have asked me the difference between Charitable Trusts and Charitable Gift Annuities. Here is a quick summary...
• Power of Attorney
  For example, the Power of Attorney in which you appointed your spouse to act on your behalf is not automatically revoked when your spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, unless that is specifically provided in the Power of Attorney.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  I don’t think a month goes by that I don’t receive at least one phone call from a client asking how long files, tax returns, etc., should be retained. Unfortunately, there is not an absolutely failsafe period of time one can rely upon in determining the answer to this question. However, the answer is usually driven by the state or federal statute of limitations applying to causes of action which the individual or business could be subjected to, as well as the statute of limitations pertaining to tax matters pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code and Regulations. My response is usually governed by the specific document involved. Therefore, I’ll briefly outline my thoughts based upon the following categories of documents...