This month, our insights will be spotlighting litigation services that we provide as a firm, with a specific focus on our business litigation.  Laura and I have represented so many different types of clients in business disputes that eventually find their way to litigation.  Ranging from business entities to partnerships to the employer/employee relationship to...Read More

We are so excited to be spotlighting our real estate practice area this week because our real estate practice has proven to be one of the most rewarding and enlivening aspects of our firm.  We represent sellers and buyers in diverse real estate transactions across New York and New Jersey, and we also represent lenders...Read More

This month, our blog posts will be spotlighting the various practice areas and legal services that our firm provides to our clients.  Having almost a combined total of 30 years of litigation experience between Laura and I alone, we are first going to describe the litigation services that we have provided to our clients. Oftentimes,...Read More

At the beginning of your business venture, it is important to decide what legal structure is best suited for your business and what governance documents are required. For these decisions, we encourage that you work with an attorney and your tax and financial professionals to determine what structure suits your needs.  The most common legal...Read More

Yesterday marked the two year anniversary of Catina & Mara, PLLC.  Laura and I (Amy) are so excited to see what year three will bring, but first, we thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the top lessons we learned in our second year of business.  Reflect on Where You Are and How Far...Read More

An operating agreement is created in the context of a limited liability company, and it is used to define, among other things, the ownership interests, division of profits and losses, terms of withdrawal of members, dissolution of the company, and so on.  In contrast, a partnership agreement is created in the context of a partnership,...Read More

This week’s blog post is a personal note from me, as I humbly announce that I am the recipient of the Rockland County Bar Association (“RCBA”)’s Sterns Award.  This award is given annually by our local bar association in the memory of Richard Sterns, and the recipient is a member of the RCBA who has...Read More

You are an accountant to a small business, JS Co. LLC, located in Rockland County, and you provide bookkeeping services for JS Co. LLC as an independent contractor, Keep Your Books, LLC.  You also have been preparing the business’s corporate tax returns, as well as the personal tax returns of the principal and sole owner...Read More

The New York Court of Appeals has long defined a partnership as “a contract of two or more persons, to place their money, effects, labor or skill, or some or all of them, in lawful commerce or business, and to divide the profits and bear the loss in certain proportions.” Pattison v. Blanchard, 5 N.Y.186 (N.Y....Read More

The doctrine of contra proferentem, which is Latin for “against the offeror,” promotes an essential legal concept: fairness.  The doctrine applies when the interpretation of a contract or contractual provision is at issue.  In practice, any ambiguities in a contract and its terms will be resolved contra proferentem, against the party who prepared or presented the contract...Read More