- Guardianship
- Child Abuse
- Criminal Defense
- Mergers and AcquisitionsAudrey’s business practice concentrates on a wide array of corporate and transactional matters, including the formation of new business entities, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, Audrey advises nonprofit clients on entity formation, ongoing corporate maintenance, and state and federal tax exemption processes.
- Business FormationOur Business & Real Estate Group identifies with individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses of all sizes, providing them with counsel on how to assemble and manage a successful business enterprise. From business formation to dissolution, we can assist you with all your business as well as potential litigation needs.
- Business DisputesMr. Gupta serves as a board member and treasurer of the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission where he recently assisted with a tax credit financing project that provided essential funds for the $11.9 million remodel of the Mission’s primary shelter and drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Santa Barbara Middle School and recently joined the Board of Trustees of Westmont College. Mr. Gupta teaches business law as an adjunct professor at Westmont College, and was awarded an Adjunct Faculty Award in 2019 for his service. Mr. Gupta and his family are active members of Santa Barbara Community Church.
- Business TransactionsOur Business and Real Estate Group is experienced in representing clients in a wide range of legal matters, from small business transactions to complex, multi-million dollar commercial real estate deals. Our clients range from family owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies working in a variety of industries including agriculture, construction, defense contracting, hospitality, real estate management, medicine and manufacturing. We are dedicated to understanding our clients’ needs and working with our clients to achieve the results that they seek. Our work includes...
- Limited Liability CompaniesForming business entities such as C corporations, S corporations, general partnerships, or limited liability companies, as the needs of the business and its owners dictate
- Construction Contracts
- Antitrust
- Wrongful TerminationThe phrase “wrongful termination” is an umbrella covering a variety of situations and legal theories, all of which are united by a single common element: an employee who believes his or her employment was illegally terminated. Whether the employee pursues discrimination, public policy or contract theories, our attorneys have experience and knowledge in litigating these issues that allows us to provide valuable counsel to our clients about how to avoid disputes and, when necessary, the resources to prevail in litigation.
- Employment DiscriminationIn California, more people are protected by employment discrimination laws than anywhere else in the country. Our Labor and Employment Group has extensive experience representing management in discrimination disputes, whether in negotiating directly with employees, practicing before administrative agencies such as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or litigating in the state and federal courts.
- Employment ContractWe assist clients in negotiating, drafting, interpreting and, if necessary, litigating disputes arising out of employment contracts. The increasing prevalence of employee ownership rights, such as stock option agreements, means that the stakes in employment contract litigation are higher than ever before. Our attorneys have significant experience in litigating these matters, which gives our clients an edge.
- Employment LitigationOur Labor and Employment Group focuses exclusively on representation of management in all aspects of the employer/employee relationship. We advise clients on significant employment decisions and help resolve day-to-day problems with employees in a practical and economically rational manner. In employment matters, we find that an ounce of prevention (counseling during the decision-making process) is worth a pound of cure (litigating employment issues).
- Sexual HarassmentRafael’s practice is focused exclusively on representation of employers in employment and complex litigation matters. He advises and represents clients in wage & hour actions, administrative investigations, sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and collective bargaining. Rafael’s expertise includes wage and hour class actions, PAGA actions, and other complex employment litigation.
- Real Estate LitigationGraham Lyons serves as the firm’s Managing Partner and is a member of the Business & Real Estate Group. His practice focuses on real estate matters involving the due diligence, acquisition, financing, entitlement and construction of residential, mixed-use, hospitality and institutional projects. Graham represents clients in all aspects of the land use entitlement process, including project feasibility analysis, zoning, subdivision, title, and environmental issues. He regularly appears before state and local agencies on behalf of his clients and their development projects. Graham also represents clients in the financing and construction of their entitled projects.
- Construction LitigationOur Real Estate practice group is organized and focused according to relevant business sectors to more effectively serve our clients’ business needs, including: Development and construction Retail Investment real estate Finance Corporate real estate services.Our Litigation group has extensive experience in the representation of contractors, design professionals and landowners in connection with construction disputes.
- Real Estate TransactionsPractice Areas: Business & Real Estate, Real Estate Purchase and Sale Transactions, Business Planning & Transactions, Tax and Business Planning
- Eminent DomainDevelopment, permitting, planning, zoning, condemnation, eminent domain and environmental matters. The firm handles matters on behalf of both private property owners and public agency clients. The firm regularly makes appearances on behalf of its clients before a wide range of administrative bodies, including the Board of Supervisors, City Councils, Planning Commissions and LAFCO.
- Easement
- Land Use and Zoning
- Personal InjuryMullen & Henzell L.L.P., a California registered limited liability partnership, represents clients involved in a broad range of personal, business and professional endeavors, administrative and municipal government matters, environmental issues, land use developments and real estate investments, banking, finance, petroleum, bankruptcy and securities matters, estate planning, family wealth planning, conservatorships, probate litigation, employment law, labor relations, retirement plans, nonprofit organizations, insurance, commercial, business dispute resolution at all levels of arbitration and litigation, personal injury litigation and other areas of civil law.
- Medical MalpracticeAllegra Geller-Kudrow joined the firm in 2016 as an associate in the firm’s litigation department. Her practice is largely focused on complex litigation in employment, probate, and business matters, including contested probate/trust issues, commercial disputes, wrongful termination, employer protections, and wage and hour disputes. Prior to joining Mullen & Henzell, Allegra was practicing as a barrister and solicitor in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the areas of complex personal injury and medical malpractice, as well as criminal defense and related constitutional law. Allegra has handled matters at all levels of state/provincial courts, as well as federal courts, appeals courts, and various tribunals.
- Estate PlanningAfter working exclusively with employee benefits (ERISA) for a number of years, Christine Roberts has joined the firm’s estate planning department. She brings to the department her expertise in the area of retirement accounts and IRAs, and works with clients to design estate plans that help to protect their assets for future generations. Christine is… Read more »
- WillsLori is actively involved in the Santa Barbara community, serving as a board member of Hospice of Santa Barbara; a member of the Senior Advisory Panel of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara; and a member of the Planned Giving Committee for the Fund for Santa Barbara. Lori is also an Adjunct Faculty member of both the University of California at Santa Barbara (Extension Program for Legal Assistantship Certificate Program and The Certified Financial Planners Program) and at the Santa Barbara/Ventura Colleges of Law (Wills and Trusts and Estate Planning).
- TrustsJana transitioned into the practice of law from the field of social services. Prior to joining Mullen & Henzell, she was the Director of Fiduciary Services for a private social service agency specializing in aging and elder care issues such as incapacity, elder abuse, and conservatorship and trust administration.
- Power of AttorneyOur services include preparation of Wills, Will Substitutes (such as Revocable (“Living”) Trusts) and Durable Powers of Attorney, and coordination of life insurance and retirement assets with the estate plan. Our goal is to carry out personal and family objectives in the management and transfer of family wealth.
- Probate
- Bankruptcy
- ForeclosureMr. Gupta concentrates his practice in the areas of business and real estate finance, commercial property development, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, and business entity formations and transactions. His experience includes assisting clients with public and private debt and investor financing as well as troubled-loan workouts and foreclosure proceedings. He has worked with clients on residential, hotel and other commercial property developments, leasing, land use and purchase and sale transactions. He has represented start-up businesses in formation planning and documentation, and established businesses with restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Gupta came to Mullen & Henzell from the tax consulting group at Deloitte & Touche with a strong background in income tax law, and works with clients on income tax, property tax and estate and gift tax matters.
- Tax LawPursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Public Law Number 106 –102, and the rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission regarding the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information, 16 Code of Federal Regulations Part 313, law firms which provide tax preparation and tax planning services to their clients are categorized as financial service providers and required to provide written notices to certain clients regarding disclosure of non-public personal information. Non-public personal information means personally identifiable financial information. Personally identifiable financial information includes any information we obtain about you from any source which is not publicly available information. Examples of non-public information include asset and liability information provided to us for purposes of tax, estate and/or business planning.