Accountants, Lawyers and Consultants

Powell, Trachtman is regularly retained to represent accounting, law and consulting firms in varying contexts.

For instance, accounting, law and consulting firms use us to create business structures, such as shareholder agreements and succession plans. We understand that the challenge in such assignments is to incentivize and retain the most valuable employees and owners, while at the same time preserving an atmosphere of fairness and an efficient decision-making structure. We have substantial experience in these areas. We also represent such firms at the other end of the continuum, during break-ups and re-organizations (contested and friendly), and have successfully developed and implemented "win-win" exit and other strategies that permit all parties to return to productive professional practices.

Professional service firms also retain us to develop and review their personnel policies, to draft and review agreements, to train their personnel in the avoidance of employee claims, and to represent them in commercial litigation, lease negotiations, professional practice mergers and acquisitions, and many other matters.

Accounting firms engage us to help them confront the complex legal issues and litigation risks that arise from everyday accounting services. For instance, we advise accounting firms regarding their disclosure and confidentiality obligations, in dealing with conflicts of interest, and so on. Law firms retain us to serve as expert witnesses.

Finally, insurance carriers for accounting, law, consulting and similar firms that have been sued for malpractice retain us to defend their insureds, often at the insistence of the insureds themselves.