Are you looking for a business lawyer in Aliso Viejo, CA?

At Ghassemian Law Group, we are trusted business lawyers serving clients across Aliso Viejo and the surrounding area.

If a contract, a partner, or a lawsuit is threatening the company you built in Aliso Viejo, the decisions you make in the next few weeks matter. Some problems can be resolved with a well-drafted letter. Others end up in front of a judge.

Ghassemian Law Group has represented California companies for 26 years. We handle the disputes, the contracts, and the day-to-day legal questions that come with running a business, and we offer a free consultation. Our Aliso Viejo, CA business lawyer can tell you where you stand and what your options are.

Business Lawyer Aliso Viejo, CA

A business lawyer advises companies on the legal side of doing business: forming the entity, drafting contracts, resolving disputes with partners, vendors, and customers, and defending the company when it gets sued. Most of what we do at Ghassemian Law Group is litigation, meaning we step in after a deal has gone wrong.

Aliso Viejo’s accommodation and food services businesses alone reported $162.1 million in sales in the 2022 Economic Census, according to Census Bureau figures. When a contract or a partnership inside one of those companies breaks down, a business attorney in Aliso Viejo, CA who has spent decades in Orange County courtrooms is the person you want reviewing the file.

Types of Business Cases We Handle in Aliso Viejo

Our firm represents companies, and in civil litigation we take on clients who have been sued for more than $100,000. These are the matters we see most often from Aliso Viejo businesses.

• Business disputes. Vendor conflicts, unpaid invoices, and deals that fell apart mid-performance. We evaluate the contract, the money at stake, and whether a negotiated resolution or a lawsuit makes more sense for the company.
• Partnership disputes. Partners disagree over money, control, and exit terms, and the partnership agreement often doesn’t answer the question. We have handled buyouts, dissolutions, and claims between partners for 26 years.
• Shareholder disputes. Minority owners get frozen out. Majority owners get accused of self-dealing. We represent shareholders and companies in shareholder disputes over governance, distributions, and control.
• Breach of contract. Most business litigation comes down to a broken promise in writing. We pursue and defend claims involving supply agreements, service contracts, leases, and purchase agreements, and we handle contract review before signing so the dispute never starts.
• Trade secrets and unfair competition. A departing employee walks out with a client list. A competitor starts using your pricing data. We move quickly on these cases because delay makes the damage harder to undo.
• Fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Officers, managers, and partners owe the company fiduciary duties. When someone hides transactions or diverts opportunities, we build the case from financial records and, where needed, forensic accountants.
• General counsel. Companies that do not need a full-time in-house attorney still need one on call. We serve as outside general counsel for contract questions, employment issues, and risk decisions as they come up.
• Civil litigation. Lawsuits over $100,000 in Orange County Superior Court and federal court. Our litigators handle the case from the answer through trial.
• Business formation and structure. Choosing between an LLC and a corporation affects liability, taxes, and how disputes get resolved later. We advise on corporations and LLCs and on structuring a business so the documents hold up when tested.
• Cumis counsel. When your insurer is defending you but its interests conflict with yours, you may be entitled to independent counsel. We act as Cumis counsel in those cases.

Why Choose Ghassemian Law Group as my Business Lawyer in Aliso Viejo, CA?

A Firm Built by a Business Litigator

Mahyar Ghassemian spent years litigating business and construction cases at large Southern California firms before opening her own practice in 2010. That practice became Ghassemian Law Group in 2013, and she manages the firm today. She earned her law degree from Western State University College of Law, graduating cum laude in 1999, after completing a master’s degree in physics with honors at Cal State Long Beach. She volunteers with NAWBO Orange County, AGC, and the Orange County Bar Association, and she is fluent in English, Persian, Turkish, and French.

Companies that need an Aliso Viejo litigation firm usually call us after the problem is already in court. We have spent 26 years in those courtrooms.

Results for Business Owners

Our attorneys have helped clients protect and recover millions of dollars in business matters, including:

• Defeated a $15 million claim brought by a multinational corporation, eliminating the owner’s individual liability and keeping the company operating.
• Obtained injunctions in a multi-state corporate governance fight worth more than $10 million, followed by a settlement that preserved the client’s equity stake.
• Extracted clients from a $2.3 million corporate shareholder dispute.
• Recovered $800,000 owed to a general contractor for completed work.

What Is Important To Understand About Business Cases?

Contracts, Liability, and Damages in Business Cases

Most business disputes turn on a handful of legal concepts. The facts change from case to case, but these are the ones that decide outcomes:

• Breach of a written contract. One side failed to perform. In California, a lawsuit over a written agreement must be filed within four years under CCP section 337.
• Oral agreements. A verbal contract can be enforced in California, but the deadline to sue is two years under CCP section 339, half the time allowed for a written one.
• Fraud. Claims based on fraud or mistake carry a three-year limit under CCP section 338, and the clock does not start until the wronged party discovers the facts.
• Fiduciary duty. Partners, officers, and controlling owners must act in the company’s interest rather than their own.
• Damages. Contract damages must be clearly ascertainable in both nature and origin under Civil Code section 3301. That is why documenting your losses from day one matters so much.
• Injunctions. In trade secret and governance fights, stopping the conduct now often matters more than collecting money later.

Important Aspects of a Business Case

Two things shape almost every case an Aliso Viejo business attorney handles: the paper and the money. Before we recommend a strategy, we look at each of the following.

• The written agreement, including amendments, emails that changed the terms, and how the parties actually performed over time.
• How much is at stake compared with what it will cost to litigate.
• Whether the other side can pay a judgment if you win.
• Insurance coverage, including whether your carrier owes you a defense.
• Whether you have already been sued, which starts a short clock for filing a response.

The Business Case Timeline

Business lawsuits in Orange County rarely wrap up in a few months. The lawsuit timeline depends on the court’s calendar, the number of parties, and how much discovery the case needs. A typical sequence looks like this:

• Demand letter and pre-suit negotiation, often two to eight weeks.
• Complaint filed and served, followed by the defendant’s answer or a motion challenging the pleading.
• Discovery, meaning document exchange, written questions, and depositions. This is usually the longest phase and can run six months to a year or more.
• Mediation or a settlement conference. Most cases resolve here.
• Trial, generally 12 to 24 months after filing if the case gets that far.

What to Bring to Your Business Consultation

Bring the information you have already gathered. We can assess what we need and obtain that at a later time as your case proceeds.

• The contract, operating agreement, bylaws, or shareholder agreement at issue
• Correspondence with the other side, including texts and emails
• Invoices, payment records, and financial statements showing the loss
• Any complaint, summons, or demand letter you have received
• Insurance policies that might apply

The consultation is free. Our business attorneys in Aliso Viejo, CA will walk through the facts, tell you whether you have a claim or a defense worth pursuing, and outline what the next 30 days should look like.

Aliso Viejo, CA Courts and Local Business Resources

Civil cases arising in Aliso Viejo are filed with the Orange County Superior Court. Unlimited civil matters are heard at the Central Justice Center at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana. Complex business cases, including many shareholder and multi-party contract disputes, are assigned to the Civil Complex Center at 751 West Santa Ana Boulevard.

For matters outside litigation, the SBA Orange County office at 5 Hutton Centre Drive in Santa Ana offers counseling and lending programs, and the California Secretary of State’s bizfile Online portal handles entity filings, statements of information, and business records searches.

Reach Out to Ghassemian Law Group to Schedule a Consultation

If your company is facing a dispute, a lawsuit, or a decision with legal consequences, talk to a business lawyer in Aliso Viejo before positions harden. The initial consultation is free. We will review your documents, explain your options, and give you an honest read on cost and timing. Contact us to schedule a time with an Aliso Viejo business attorney. We respond to new inquiries promptly.