PRACTICE AREAS

We advise our clients in the acquisition and disposition of all types of commercial and residential property, including raw land, office buildings and office parks, retail (ranging from traditional regional malls to big box shopping centers to strip malls), industrial and multi-family properties. This includes structuring, drafting and negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, conducting due diligence on behalf of the buyer, including lease review, title analysis and environmental issues, handling the financing (whether new or assumption of existing financing), title insurance, supervising the escrow process, arranging for tenant estoppel certificates and subordination agreements, and communicating with all parties to ensure a successful closing. These transactions often involve tax deferred exchanges, and we typically work with the client, the escrow company and the exchange accommodator to facilitate that aspect of the transaction.

Our representation of lenders and borrowers includes all transactional elements of commercial real estate loans, ranging from traditional permanent and construction loans for single and portfolio transactions, sale/leasebacks, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, hard money lending, joint ventures and other equity participation products.

We handle each phase of the real estate finance process from the loan commitment, checklist, documentation, title insurance, escrow and closing stages through work-outs, deeds-in-lieu and loan sale transactions.

Our business attorneys specialize in forming and structuring business entities, ranging from closely held corporations and limited liability companies to emerging growth companies destined for an IPO. Our business attorneys have one overriding objective: to understand our client’s business goals and then help to achieve them as effectively and efficiently as possible. Our expertise includes:

• Advising on choice of entity, ownership and management structure
• Preparation of formation and organizational documents, and shareholder and operating agreements
• Optimizing entity structure in consultation with accounting and tax professionals
• Advising on compensation arrangements — including stock options, synthetic equity, performance-based bonus plans and other incentives — for principals, management and key employees

Business acquisitions and dispositions form a significant part of our practice. We have counseled clients of all shapes and sizes, and in numerous markets and industries, on acquisitions, mergers and sale transactions; always with a focus on practical, results-oriented, and efficient assistance, responsive to our clients’ opportunities, challenges and needs. We will always be a business- and results-oriented firm.

As our clients compete for acquisition or disposition opportunities, we add value by guiding them through the complexities involved in structuring, negotiating and executing these transactions on the most advantageous business and legal terms. When needed we involve world class accounting firms to aid us in structuring transactions.

Versant represents developers and investors in arranging and documenting debt and equity project finance for renewable energy and other projects. Our attorneys assist in every area of a project financing, from the earliest planning and negotiation stages through project completion and even afterward, in ongoing management and compliance.

Versant represents companies and investors in a range of private equity transactions, including bidders for large, mature companies, fund formation and investment into private equity funds and companies. At Versant we know that success in the private equity and venture capital marketplace means getting the deal done. It takes knowledge and understanding of the entrepreneurial objectives on both sides of the table – knowing how to help private equity and venture capital investors and mezzanine lenders achieve the financial returns and management control that they want, while ensuring that growing companies get the funds and flexibility they need.

Versant represents a wide range of start-up and emerging growth companies in connection with formation, operation, fund-raising, compliance and corporate governance. Frequently Versant will represent early and late stage investors in these companies in connection with due diligence, investment documentation, employment contracts, operating agreements, shareholder agreements, as well as warrant and option agreements.

Versant actively represents owners of clean energy technologies in structuring investments, distribution agreements, joint ventures and sales/purchases. Versant recognizes and caters to the unique legal needs of clients in the cleantech and renewable energy industries, including developers, financiers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs.

Our attorneys have extensive knowledge of the clean technology industry and experience working with cleantech and renewable energy companies in the United States and around the world. Its attorneys recently represented a clean-tech start-up with a detergent-free, commercial laundry technology in a distribution agreement in Italy.

Climate change has recently emerged as one of the more newsworthy and dynamic areas of our clean tech law practice. Versant represents investors and developers of emission reduction projects around in the United States and the developing world. Versant’s climate change practice draws upon the practical experience of its attorneys to represent our clients in the full range of matters affected by climate change programs implemented at the international, federal, state, and even local levels. To that end, we have worked with clients in evaluating strategic opportunities for enhancing their position with respect to current and probable greenhouse gas regulation. We are also familiar with complex issues related to carbon trading, efforts to achieve “carbon neutral” status, and climate change risk disclosure. Its attorneys are currently negotiating sales of carbon credits relating to waste-to-energy projects and recently validated and submitted for registration with the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations the world’s only pan-African landfill gas-to-energy program of activities.

Versant’s commercial litigation lawyers provide a wealth of legal expertise to our clients in a wide range of industries. Versant represents clients from small to medium size companies, to individuals and small closely-held family businesses in a wide gamut of commercial litigation matters, including multi-party contractual disputes, employment disputes, officer and director liability, and partnership and intra-corporate disputes.

At Versant we are committed to providing superior and cost-effective litigation services to our clients. We primarily handle commercial real estate matters, and we represent a broad array of clients, including commercial landlords, commercial tenants, investors, lenders, borrowers, homeowners, buyers and sellers, real estate brokers and agents, corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, TICs, LLCs and individuals.