Business Organizations and General Tax

• Antitrust

• Banking

• Business acquisitions, sales, reorganizations and mergers

• Business and tax advice on international transactions

• Business incorporations and dissolutions

• Commercial transactions

• Computer law

• Contracts, license agreements

• Environmental compliance

• Franchising (franchisor, franchisee)

• General business counsel, including serving on Board of Directors

• General and limited partnership formation, operation and dissolution

• Intellectual property

• Libel and media matters

• Professional corporations and partnerships: accounting, law, medicine, dentistry, architecture, and engineering

• Securities compliance

• Tax and business planning for corporations, partnerships and individuals

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Employee Benefit and Retirement Plan

• Collectively-bargained and multi-employer pension plans

• Employee benefit plan design

• ESOP's

• Health and welfare benefit plans

• Keogh plans

• Pension plans

• Plan distributions

• Plan terminations

• Profit-Sharing plans

• Tax sheltered annuities for hospital employees

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Public Law

• HUD financing, including Urban Development Action Grants and Community Development Block Grants

• Industrial development bonds

• Municipal bonds and notes

• Municipal Revolving Loan Programs

• SBA (Small Business Administration) Financing

• State and Federal Loan Guaranty Programs

Health Care and Hospital

• Alternative Delivery Systems (PPO's, HMO's, CMP's, joint ventures)

• Financing

• Health planning, Certificate of Need

• Hospital/physician contracting

• Informed consent/refusal

• Insurance review; self-insurance alternatives

• Inter-facility contracting

• Medical Staff By-Laws and Medical Staff matters

• Medicare and other third-party reimbursement compliance and audits

• Medical Records and related issues

• Reorganization or corporate structures

• Taxation and tax-exemption of non-profit organizations

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LITIGATION

We represent and defend our clients' interests before all levels of local, state and federal courts as well as before administrative agencies. We provide advocacy to the benefit of our clients in all aspects of litigation, from the negotiating table to the courtroom.

Business Litigation

• Antitrust

• Business interference and corrupt practice (RICO)

• Complex collection of accounts

• Contracts (all types)

• Construction claim (representation of owner, architect, general contractor and subcontractor)

• Freedom of information

• Intellectual property and trade regulation

• Non-voluntary corporate and partnership dissolutions

• Officer and Director liability

• Pension benefits

• Post-employment restrictive covenants including non-competition and trade secrets agreements

• Premises liability

• Real property (including conveyances, easements, trespass and appropriation defense)

• Security interests, mortgages and mechanic's liens

• Tax

• Workplace liability, including Blankenship defense

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Tort

• Civil rights

• Defamation (libel and slander)

• Fraud

• Insurance defense (personal injury, products liability and medical and professional malpractice)

• Medical and professional malpractice

• Personal injury

• Products liability

Administrative Law

• Representation before federal, state and local administrative agencies, including:

• Environmental Protection Agency (United States)

• Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio)

• Federal Communications Commission

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Ohio Certificate of Need Review Board

• Ohio Department of Health

• Ohio Department of Liquor Control

• Ohio Department of Taxation

• Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission

• Ohio State Dental Board

• Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

• Various county and municipal boards, agencies and authorities

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Employment Relations

• Defense of State Fund and Self-Insured Employers in Workers' Compensation proceedings and Development of Risk Management Systems

• Defense of wrongful discharge actions

• Development, review and revision of all personnel policies and practices and affirmative action plans

• Discrimination actions

• Representation before various courts and federal and state agencies, including:

• The National Labor Relations Board

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• Industrial Commission of Ohio

• Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation

• Ohio Division of Prevailing Wage

• Ohio Unemployment Compensation Board of Review

• Ohio Civil Rights Commission

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ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE

Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook & Batista Co. emphasizes a personal approach to clients' concerns and provides sophisticated and practical advice to achieve personal planning goals. We recognize that this subject is extremely confidential and important to our clients and we value their trust, while providing an orderly settlement of their or their decedents affairs.

We craft personalized plans for building, protecting and transferring our clients' estate assets, with appropriate emphasis on clients' business, insurance and tax planning needs. Our attorneys handle the administration of large and small estates, as well as serving as trustees, executors and guardians.

Corporate succession planning

Defense and prosecution of will contests

Estate analysis

Federal estate tax planning

Federal estate tax return preparation

Federal gift tax return preparation

Guardianships, conservatorships and adoptions

Insurance planning

Planned and charitable gifting programs

Post-death tax planning

Post nuptial agreements

Probate proceedings (Ohio, Florida and Colorado)

State estate tax planning

Trusts, including living trusts, trusts for children, and short term trusts

Will preparation

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REAL ESTATE
We assist and counsel our clients in all phases of residential and commercial real estate transactions. We oversee every step of a real estate venture so that our clients are assured that their rights and interests are fully protected.

• Advice to realtors

• Annexations

• Condominium developments

• Contract review and preparation

• Easements, rights-of-way, encroachments, and other real estate matters

• Eminent domain matters

• Mechanic's liens

• Oil and gas leases and other mineral rights matters

• Preparation of deeds, mortgages and promissory notes

• Preparation of leases

• Representation in matters of residential and commercial real estate sales and leasing

• Representation of owners, developers, builders or lending institutions in real estate development

• Re-zoning and variances

• Subdivision and combination of real estate

• Tax reductions

• Title options

• Title searches and lien searches

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