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Martin Burns, experienced Business, Estate Planning attorney in Tacoma, WA with 3 reviews
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10,53
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2.3/5
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2.3
3 Reviews
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26 Sep, 2023 by Anonymous
Mr Burns is rude, sarcastic, uncompassionate, and does not care about anything but himself and will not return your calls, or keep you informed. He is just a bad attorney and gives all attys a bad name . All the lawyer jokes about being money hungry and ripping people off were made for attys like him.
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17 Aug, 2021 by Anonymous
He will take over 3 weeks to respond to any communications. Always have a bad attitude. He totally dropped the ball on my case and charged a lot of money for barely getting anything done. He has his assistants do alk the writing for him. And never checked their work. Produce some really lackluster legal documents. The worst part is his attitude. Very impatient and obviously didn't care about the case and his clients.
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19 Mar, 2009 by Donald j. leske ii / re broker
I am a Real Estate Broker and partner at; BCI Properties, LLC in Tacoma, WA. I highly recommend Martin Burns Attorney at Law, he is also a partner at Attorneys Title in Tacoma. He has done excellent work for me many times in the past and for my son Don who is with John L. Scott in Puyallup. Take it from me, whatever his fee may be it will be more than fair and he gives 100%. He is a great guy with a way cool personality. Here is his contact info; McFerran, Burns & Stovall, P.S. 3906 South 74th Street Tacoma, Washington 98409 Phone: (253) 471-1200 Fax: (253) 284-3855 Email:
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Judson Chantry Gray, experienced Business, Elder Law attorney in Tacoma, WA with 5 reviews
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8,29
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1.8/5
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1.8
5 Reviews
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11 Jul, 2023 by Marc
Stay away!! I requested a legal letter to address inconsistent payment against a promissory note that Mr. Gray drafted. The initial response was prompt, but the draft letter needed some work. I asked for some changes but never heard back. Emailed 3 times and called twice over 3 weeks. No response. I finally gave up and moved on. Months later, I was emailed to inform me that, because I hadn't responded, I was being billed for the letter and consult. I provided evidence of my correspondence and was told that "clearly" it was not received. Somehow, emails get through for billing, but not otherwise. Calls to discuss continue to go unanswered.
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23 Feb, 2018 by Brenda
Judson Gray is not a good person or a good attorney. He threw me and my special needs daughter under the bus. I hired this attorney and showed him photos of my neglected non verbal daughter. Mr. Gray knew how desperate I was to save my daughter yet he didn't care. We went to court and lost so we discussed about my next option and that was appeals court. Judson was to send me a list of names because I only had 30 days to appeal. He never did send me the names until I contacted him and he lied and said he did. I finally got a few names but none of them could take my case because they didn't have time before the 30 days was up. I finally found an Attorney to help me and when he went into my file he said that Judson Gray didn't file his paper work in a timely manor of our court hearing and that I couldn't appeal now, What a caring loving person "NOT" how do you sleep at night knowing my beautiful daughter is being neglected and you just threw us under the bus. Don't hire this man he has no compassion. Maybe he got paid off..... Vengeance is mine says the lord I will repay!
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21 Sep, 2017 by Anonymous
I work for a Real Estate company that hired Judson company to defend the company. It was a family dispute over a commission. I hired my own attorney who wasn't a Real Estate attorney but very sharp. My attorney gave our case first and Judson got up to give his side for the company. He literally said exactly verbatim what my attorney said and had the nerve to charge me and the company for his 15 minute statement that he copied from my attorney. We did win the case but not because of anything he did or said and the bill from him was over $10,000. which I had to pay a large portion.
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Stan Glisson, experienced Business, Criminal Defense attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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8,00
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Michael Ross Kawamura, experienced Business, Criminal Defense attorney in Tacoma, WA with 3 reviews
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4,61
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1.0/5
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1.0
3 Reviews
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26 Oct, 2020 by William
Attorney Kawamura supervises the Pierce County Office of Assigned Council. His office and attorneys might as well be attached to the Prosecutors office as he and his employee Attorney Joel Harte always pressure people to plead guilty. My nephew ran out of money for an attorney and attorney Joel Harte promised that there would be two other attorneys and an investigator on the case, and that as a lie. Kawamura's office refuses to interview the person that actually committed the crime my nephew is charged with or put him on the witness list. Kawamura refuses to subpoena pay records that would prove my nephew innocent, and refuses to enter them into discovery. Kawamura's office refuses to put people on the witness list that would prove the people who filed a false police report were lying and that there residence was actually a "drug house." Kawamua and his employee attorney Harte are the bottom-of-the-barrel attorneys and should be avoided at all costs.
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24 Oct, 2019 by Anonymous
Mr Kawamura gets paid to win or lose. It does not matter to him. When he represented me he told me to take the plea as he did not study my case and if I went to court we had a 95% chance to lose and I would do 12 years. So I was pretty much conned into pleaing out. His loss rate is very high. When I was assaulted and told him, Mike told me not to say anything so he let a crime be ignored and did nothing about it. I asked him to help me withdrawing my plea. He ignored that.
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29 Mar, 2011 by Eric watson
I am a prior client of Mr Kawamura during 1992 through 2001. I am not satisfied with his work as it lacks strength, dignity and pride. I have tried to work with him to get satisfaction with him but due to his heavy case load it was very hard to communicate with him. I had sent letters and made calls and it was rare to receive a reply within a timely manner. In my opinion, his strategy is poor and lacks authority in defense. I reviewed this with Attorney Gunther and she stated I was not guilty to what I plead to. At one point, It was so bad that I asked the court to remove him due to a conflict of interest and that was a success.
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Matthew S. Sweeting, experienced Business, Personal Injury attorney in Tacoma, WA with 1 reviews
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4,57
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1.0/5
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1.0
1 Reviews
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07 Mar, 2013 by Anonymous
I was injured on the port of Tacoma and diagnosed needing 4 FUSIONS in my lumbar spine. My orthepedic surgeon advised me that you can only get 2, so change jobs or retire. Mr. Sweeting acted as if he was sincere and caring. Then he sent me to doctors who stated "returned to pre-injury condition". Then my benefits were cut off. He led me to believe that there was to be a fight (in court). One doctor took 6 weeks to manufacture this report (and even went on vacation). I believe Sweeting agreed to NOT TAKE THESE REPORTS to court before they even wrote them. I DID send these reports to medical board, Quality assurance and NONE of the nine doctors (on the board) agreed with these reports. I persued medical malpractice, but no attorney (of about 80-100) would take the case. (there were lawyers in Tri-cities, Vancouver, and Spokane that knew who these doctors were) Unfortunately, the one I paid $1000 to review, Called Sweeting. Sweeting led me to poverty. He called me 10 times while I was hunting, saying he had to have me sign docs and return. I told him to send them to a co-hunter, he agreed. (HE NEVER SENT ANYTHING UNTIL I RETURNED to Tacoma) He called back and said "where are you calling from? How is your phone getting out?" I told him "We are camped at the intersection of *&# and 254. Within a day or so I had guys walking up to me saying "You look firmiliar, what is your name, where are you from?" FOR A WEEK at least, in 12-18 inches of snow. My friends would say "that was wierd, those guys are following you" and Sweeting refused to take them to court. He sold me out. I went 66 months with NO PAY at all. Now I finally get Soc Sec. but that $930 a WEEK THAT I AM DUE would have been nice. He is nothing more than a WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL. PS I found out about the investigation thru a Soc. Sec. investigator that my ex-wife was calling.
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Troy X Kelley, experienced Business, Insurance attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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James W. Beck, experienced Business, Civil Rights attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Mario D. Parisio, experienced Business, Real Estate attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Jared Steven Privatt, experienced Business, Estate Planning attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Kayla Warr, experienced Business, Intellectual Property attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Steve Victor, experienced Business, Real Estate attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Hannah Jo Cordell, experienced Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Mark Barshfield Anderson, experienced Appeals, Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Brian Lawrence Green, experienced Business, Debt Collection attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Eric C. De Los Santos, experienced Business, Discrimination attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Mario D. Parisio, experienced Business, Real Estate attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Michael Patrick Kelly, experienced Business, Real Estate attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Jordan C Steveson, experienced Business, Litigation attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Kyle Beckman Trethewey, experienced Business, Civil Rights attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Thomas Ted Osinski JR, experienced Business, Intellectual Property attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Susan Mcnally Jones, experienced Business, Estate Planning attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Michelle M Garzon, experienced Business, Estate Planning attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Shelly M. Andrew, experienced Business, Litigation attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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Michael Alan Raskasky, experienced Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Michael A Campbell, experienced Appeals, Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Valarie Standefer Zeeck, experienced Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Charles Rivoire Hostnik, experienced Business, Civil Rights attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Salvador Alejo Mungia II, experienced Appeals, Business attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Jemima McCullum, experienced Business, Real Estate attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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4,00
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Brennen Jordan Johnson, experienced Business, Government attorney in Tacoma, WA with 0 reviews
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What a Business Lawyer Can Do for You

A business lawyer provides critical legal guidance and support to entrepreneurs, startups, and established businesses. Whether you are forming a new company, drafting contracts, or navigating complex regulations, a business attorney ensures you are legally protected and operating within the law. They can also help prevent legal disputes or represent you in negotiations, transactions, or lawsuits that arise during the course of business operations.

Business lawyers have expertise in areas such as business formation, contract law, intellectual property, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. They ensure that your business is compliant with relevant laws and help mitigate risks that could threaten your company's success.

When Should I Hire a Business Lawyer?

Hiring a business lawyer is essential at various stages of business development, including:

  • Forming a business: When deciding on the best structure for your company (LLC, corporation, partnership, etc.), a lawyer can guide you through the registration and compliance process.
  • Drafting contracts: If you need contracts for employees, partners, suppliers, or clients, a lawyer ensures these documents are legally sound and in your best interest.
  • Mergers, acquisitions, or dissolutions: If you are buying, selling, or dissolving a company, legal counsel is critical to avoid costly mistakes.
  • Compliance and regulatory issues: A lawyer can help navigate complex regulations, particularly in industries like healthcare, finance, or tech.
  • Resolving disputes: Whether it's contract disagreements, intellectual property infringement, or employment issues, a business lawyer helps mediate, negotiate, or litigate on your behalf.

What Does a Business Lawyer Do?

Business lawyers provide a wide range of services that cater to different legal needs of a business. They can:

  • Help you choose the best legal structure for your business.
  • Draft, review, and negotiate contracts with employees, suppliers, customers, or business partners.
  • Ensure regulatory compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
  • Advise on tax strategies to minimize your business's tax burden.
  • Assist with intellectual property protection, such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights.
  • Handle mergers, acquisitions, and business sales, ensuring all legal paperwork is in order.
  • Resolve disputes through negotiation, arbitration, or litigation.

How Are Business Lawyers Paid?

Business lawyers typically charge either by the hour or on a flat-fee basis, depending on the complexity of the work. Common payment structures include:

  • Hourly rates: The lawyer charges based on the time spent working on your case. Rates vary depending on the lawyer's experience and location.
  • Flat fees: For certain tasks, such as incorporating a business or drafting a standard contract, a lawyer may offer a flat fee.
  • Retainer: Some businesses may hire a lawyer on retainer, paying a fixed amount each month to have ongoing access to legal services.

The payment structure is often discussed during an initial consultation so you can choose the one that best suits your business needs and budget.

How Much Does a Business Lawyer Cost?

The cost of hiring a business lawyer depends on factors such as:

  • The complexity of the legal issue: More complex matters, like mergers or intellectual property disputes, typically cost more than routine tasks like contract drafting.
  • The lawyer's experience and location: More experienced lawyers or those in larger cities often charge higher fees.
  • The nature of the billing arrangement: Hourly rates can range from $150 to $1,000 or more, depending on the lawyer's expertise. Flat fees are usually available for simpler matters like forming an LLC or drafting a standard contract.

It's essential to discuss fee structures upfront to avoid surprises.

Top Questions to Ask a Business Lawyer

Before hiring a business lawyer, ask the following questions during your consultation:

  1. What is your experience with businesses like mine?
    Find out if the lawyer has handled legal issues for companies in your industry.
  2. What services do you offer?
    Ensure the lawyer can meet all your business's legal needs, from contract drafting to dispute resolution.
  3. What are your fees, and how do you bill?
    Get clarity on how you'll be charged - whether by the hour, flat fee, or retainer.
  4. How do you handle conflicts of interest?
    Ask how the lawyer ensures there is no conflict in representing your business.
  5. Can you provide references from other business clients?
    Speaking with past clients will give you an idea of the lawyer's expertise and professionalism.
  6. Do you have experience in my specific industry?
    Industry-specific knowledge can be crucial, especially in highly regulated fields like healthcare or finance.

How to Check the Credibility of a Business Lawyer

To ensure you're hiring a reputable business lawyer:

  • Check state bar association records: Verify that the lawyer is in good standing and has no disciplinary actions against them.
  • Look for client reviews or testimonials: Online reviews, testimonials, or word of mouth from other business owners can provide insight into the lawyer's reliability and effectiveness.
  • Ask for references: A credible lawyer should have satisfied clients who can vouch for their services.
  • Check professional memberships: Membership in respected legal organizations (such as the American Bar Association or a local business lawyer association) can signal credibility.
  • Review their website and professional profile: A well-established lawyer typically has a professional website showcasing their areas of expertise, credentials, and case success.

What Should I Prepare for My First Consultation?

To make the most out of your first consultation with a business lawyer, prepare the following:

  • A description of your business and its structure: This will help the lawyer understand your legal needs.
  • Any current contracts or agreements: If you're seeking contract advice, bring copies of existing contracts.
  • A list of legal issues or concerns: Be ready to discuss any potential legal challenges, such as regulatory compliance, disputes, or transactions.
  • Financial documents: If applicable, bring financial records related to the legal matter you're seeking help with.
  • Questions about fees and billing: Ensure you understand the lawyer’s payment structure and fees upfront.

By preparing these materials, you can ensure that your first meeting with a business lawyer is productive and informative.

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