Company News
MCLE Seminars
Schulze Haynes Loevenguth & Co. has been approved by the State Bar of California as an approved MCLE provider. We currently offer several courses of interest to attorneys, including:
- Accounting and Auditing: An Overview for Attorneys
- Effective Use of Experts in Business Litigation
- Use of Experts in Construction and Real Estate Litigation
- Turnaround: Recognizing and Repairing a Business Crisis
- Preventing and Detecting Corporate Fraud and Embezzlement
The Past Year in Review
Past year was an historic year in many ways far more important than what goes on in our little niche. Nonetheless past year was a year of growth for Schulze Haynes Loevenguth, with many successes. We would like to share a few of our firm’s more memorable past year assignments with you:
- A college administrator was suspected of misappropriating school funds. An investigation revealed over $300,000 in theft, mostly through misuse of school credit cards. Included were items such as home remodeling, appliances, vacations, and, our favorite, a $5,000 purebred puppy. Needless to say, criminal prosecution is pending.
- Three weeks into a big-dollar arbitration, it was clear to the Claimant that things were not going their way. How did they deal with the situation? One morning, everyone was gathered for the arbitration at 9:00 AM, but the Claimant’s representatives and their counsel were nowhere to be found. A call from the arbitrator to counsel’s office met with a “he’s unavailable at the moment” response. Counsel had abruptly withdrawn, and the Claimant had essentially abandoned its case. The Respondent, our client, proceeded to prove up its Counter-Claim, and was awarded a sizable sum.
- A real estate broker claimed he was acting in the “best interest” of an elderly couple by selling their properties at the top of the market under a forged power of attorney. Turned out that, of $4 million in sales proceeds, the broker kept over $3 million for himself (whose best interest was that again?). Partial restitution was made to settle a civil case, criminal charges are being pursued.
- Our client, a US distributor of electronic components, entered into an “Exclusive Distribution Agreement” for the North American market with a Chinese-based manufacturer. The manufacturer proceeded to ignore and circumvent the agreement. Its defense, as articulated by its Chairman, consisted largely of the assertion that he saw the agreement as a set of discussion points, rather than a binding contract. A jury disagreed.
- A departing Partner of a CPA firm was in a dispute with the firm about the amount owed him. A fierce battle raged over the appropriate calculation of his capital account, until everyone realized the real dispute was about who gets the Lakers tickets – an apportionment of those tickets resolved the case.
- We also served our clients in past year in a variety of other matters, including: Antitrust, Intellectual Property, Healthcare, Real Estate and Construction, Royalty Disputes, Professional Malpractice, Contract Matters, Valuations in various industries, and Corporate Advisory and Turnaround/Bankruptcy matters. We look forward to working with you in 2009 and beyond.
Significant Events
Business Ethics : Karl Schulze has, beginning in 2004 and continuing to the present, been instrumental in funding and building a Business Ethics Program at University of Miami School of Business. In conjunction with this effort, Karl has lectured to both graduate students and the business community on the subject of Ethical Business Behavior. Karl has also become a key driving force in the effort to establish a permanent Center for the Study and Promotion of Business Ethics at the UM Business School. The School’s Ethics Debate Team recently won a national championship, debating against teams from 31 of America’s top research universities.
Over the next year, Schulze Haynes Loevenguth & Co. will be celebrating its 10th anniversary as a firm with a number of events. Please contact our office to ensure that you are notified of and invited to these events.
Real Estate News
Southbay Pavilion: Schulze Haynes & Co. has assisted Hopkins Real Estate Group and its financial partner, Shamrock Holdings, in the acquisition, renovation and now disposition of the one million square foot Southbay Pavilion in Carson, California. Schulze Haynes Loevenguth & Co. first managed and coordinated the due diligence process related to the acquisition of the property. Dana Haynes then served as the Development Manager during the redevelopment of the Southbay Pavilion. A portion of the mall was demolished to accommodate a new 146,000 s.f. Target, which will join Sears, JCPenney and IKEA as anchor tenants. Several new outparcel tenants were added, including 24Hr Fitness, Chili’s and Washington Mutual. Dana Haynes has managed the construction financing, leasing and construction of this complex project.
Schulze Haynes Loevenguth & Co, has also conducted acquisition due diligence for a major commercial property investor on a number of successful projects.
Currently we are working with developers and property owners on a number of troubled properties in order to develop a comprehensive turnaround plan.