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Practice Areas & Industries: Greenberg Traurig, P.A.

 



Greenberg Traurig, P.A.

Automotive Dealerships Return to Practice Areas & Industries

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Practice/Industry Group Overview

In today’s highly competitive U.S. automotive market, manufacturers and dealers alike are being forced to make fundamental changes in the way they do business. Compounded with the market forces affecting automakers, many state legislatures are widening the scope of regulatory controls over franchise termination, establishment of new dealer points, vehicle allocation, satellite warranty repair, the sale of used vehicles and other aspects of the business. Greenberg Traurig’s automotive dealership team partners with major dealers around the country, providing counsel on the legal issues they face in today’s uncertain environment.


 

Services Available

We have experience handling dealership acquisitions and sales, structuring retail operations, advising on contract agreements and administering employee benefit plans. Our wide-ranging industry experience and the firm’s national resources and reach enable us to offer practical legal services to auto dealers around the country.

Multidisciplinary Legal Services for Auto Dealers

  • Buying and selling dealerships (asset or stock deals)
  • Employment law (including litigation and preventative education)
  • Employee compensation/ERISA
  • Tax issues
  • Land-use and environmental issues
  • Real estate (buying, selling and leasing)
  • Contracts
  • State franchise law
  • Consumer complaints and litigation
  • Succession and estate planning
  • Compliance with the Patriot Act and related legislation

Dealership Acquisitions and Sales

  • Represent multiple-franchise, often multiple-state, dealers in buying and selling dealerships around the country
     
  • Negotiate transactions involving multiple-point operations, as well as multiple points in multiple states
     
  • Handle key components of the deals, from asset and stock purchases and sales to disposition, mortgage, floor plan and capital improvement financing to real property acquisition and/or leasing

Structuring Dealership and Subsidiary Retail Operations

  • Lead dealers through the potential maze of red tape created by licensing and manufacturer contract issues and various reporting or record keeping requirements under federal or state laws
     
  • Advise on corporate governance matters and contract agreements
     
  • Establish tailor-made ownership agreements
     
  • Create and administer employee benefits programs for dealerships

Auto Dealer Litigation

  • Defend dealers against consumer and employee claims, such as financing issues or discrimination charges
     
  • Defend against tax issues and class action suits
     
  • Offer preventative counsel to help clients avoid future litigation

Active Involvement in Industry and Dealer Organizations

  • A Phoenix shareholder has served as special regulatory counsel for the Arizona Auto Dealers Association
     
  • A Florida shareholder is a principal and licensed dealer in several new car dealerships in Florida and the Midwest
     
  • The firm is a member of the National Association of Dealer Counsel
     
  • Our presence in Washington, D.C. enables us to work with clients in streamlining access to federal government contracts on a national and regional scale

 
 
Articles Authored by Lawyers at this office:

Auto Suppliers Thrown Slim Lifeline
Nancy A. Mitchell, Luis Salazar, Diane E. Vuocolo, April 01, 2009
On March 19, 2009, the Treasury Department announced its eagerly awaited aid program for auto parts suppliers, or the "Supplier Support Program."

California's Mandatory GHG Reporting Regulations
Stephen C. Jones, March 23, 2009
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is implementing California's Mandatory Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Regulation (Title 17, California Code of Regulations, Sections 95100 et seq.), which was approved by CARB in December 2007 and is now effective.

Auto Industry Gains Some Benefits from the Stimulus Package
Nancy A. Mitchell, Luis Salazar, Diane E. Vuocolo, March 13, 2009
The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the "ARRA," will provide some much needed but mostly indirect benefits to the auto industry. Below is a short summary of these provisions.

Illinois Employers Must Report Pornography Discovered on Employees' Computers
Ruth A. Bahe-Jachna, Tiffany S. Fordyce, December 11, 2008
The Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5/1 et seq.) was amended on August 29, 2008, to require employers to report certain pornography discovered on their work computers to the authorities.

Maryland Enacts Broad Flexible Leave Law
Maria E. Hallas, Shane T. Muñoz, December 11, 2008
On October 1, 2008, the Flexible Leave Act (FLA) took effect in Maryland.