Employee Handbook Compliance Review for Employers & Business Owners
Please contact us to schedule an appointment to review your existing employment Handbook, and/or company policies & procedures to ensure your business is California labor law compliant.
Welcome to the Law Offices of Chauvel & Glatt, LLP!
We are based in San Mateo, California, and serve the Peninsula and surrounding communities, including San Francisco to San Jose, as well as clients throughout Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino Counties and the State of California. We’ve been providing legal services for more than 3 decades and specialize in the fields of Business Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Estate Planning/Probate, Transportation Law, and Intellectual Property Law. We bring a wide range of knowledge and experience, with members of our team speaking English, Spanish and Tagalog.
Practice Areas
Business Law
Our business attorneys provide full-service representation for companies of all sizes from entity formation, preparation of business agreements, purchase and sales, and litigation.
Employment Law
Our ’employer lawyers’ counsel and protect business owners to ensure compliance with California labor laws and defend your business in the event of litigation.
Estate Planning & Probate
Chauvel & Glatt will help individuals and families plan for the future using estate planning tools that address your specific personal needs.
Intellectual Property
We protect our clients’ creative output, trade secrets, and proprietary information.
Real Estate Law
Our firm is committed to protecting your investment and income property, from lease or purchase negotiations and in the event of litigation
Transportation Law
Our attorneys specialize in the transportation field and have a thorough understanding of carrier regulation, compliance issues, and logistics.
Our Team
Our attorneys enjoy working collaboratively and strive to keep matters as simple as possible. We share a desire to give you unparalleled customer service by being proactive and responsive to all your needs.
April Glatt
April Glatt
Natalia Cañas
Natalia Cañas
Derek Myers
Derek Myers
Joe Newman
Joe Newman
Ken Weinfield
Ken Weinfield
Ron Chauvel
Ron Chauvel
Our Expertise
- We provide legal advice relative to the myriad of employment-related requirements and rules that apply to employers under California labor law.
- We handle business formation and commercial transactions, as well as commercial litigation.
- We guide our clients through the creation of individual and family trusts, wills, trust administration and the probate process.
- Our firm advises established companies as well sole proprietors, start-ups, and independent contractors in relation to protecting their rights.
- We are well-versed in a wide variety of commercial and residential real estate matters to provide you full-service representation for all your property needs.
- Our attorneys specialize in the transportation and logistics fields and have a thorough understanding of carrier regulations and compliance issues.
Chauvel & Glatt Brings You The Latest Updates.
- Business Law Articles & Legal Guides for Companies
Posted in: News
How Do You Form an LLC in California? What are California’s LLC requirements? What are the benefits of an LLC in California? What does LLC compliance in California entail? Chauvel & Glatt can help you form an LLC properly and answer all of your questions every step along the way.
What Are the Benefits of an LLC in California?
We will first explain what an LLC in California means for those who may not be sure. California business formation can take several approaches depending on the type of business entity that is right for you. An LLC is a business structure that combines some of the benefits of a corporation and a sole proprietorship or partnership.
LLCs are relatively as far as business structures go. LLCs can provide the following advantages:
- “LLC” Conveys Professionalism: When an “LLC” is associated with your business name, it is part of your business identity. It can provide additional legitimacy and credibility to those you are doing business with.
- LLCs Shield Personal Assets: When you own a business, you need to make sure your personal assets are protected against creditors, potential lawsuits, and situations that might negatively impact the business.
- Tax Advantages: LLCs allow for “pass-through taxation,” meaning that taxes are reported on the owner or owners’ personal tax returns, as opposed to the business paying federal income tax. Additionally, LLCs allow you to select a tax bracket that provides the optimal situation for your particular income level.
- Management and Operational Adaptability: LLCs do not require a board of directors. The management structure is more flexible. LLCs can allow a business to streamline operations and paperwork compared to other types of business structures.
Starting an LLC in California Properly Leads to the Advantages.
Forming an LLC the right way — and legally — is best accomplished by partnering with a business formation law firm like Chauvel & Glatt. We understand that forming an LLC requires much more than filing Articles of Organization and a Statement of Information with the California Secretary of State.
Owners need to be able to clearly understand and abide by what they legally can and cannot do in order to protect the separation of their personal and business assets. They must also clearly understand what they can and cannot do in order to capitalize on potential tax advantages (ex. write-offs).
California LLC registration with the California Secretary of State and determining the name of your LLC are two of the steps involved. It is more complicated than many businesses realize and is also just one reason why it is prudent to engage a professional business formation law firm.
Let us navigate the complicated Code of California Regulations for you.
Additional Steps Involved in Forming an LLC
Once you have a name for your LLC, what’s next? The following are some of the steps that a knowledgeable business formation attorney at Chauvel & Glatt can guide you through in a legally compliant manner:
- Secure a domain name, and ensure it is available and relatable to your business.
- Determine your Agent of Service of Process, which is legally required. This will be the person to whom relevant tax and legal information will be sent.
- File Articles of Organization that must include the LLC name, Agent of Service of Process, management structure, purpose statement, and California LLC organizer.
- As part of filing Articles of Organization, an LLC must also file a Statement of Information of the LLC’s formation.
- Create an Operating Agreement when there is more than one business owner. We make sure an operating agreement includes all of the pertinent terms of ownership, management, and operations. We are forward-thinking business formation attorneys and think about the future and outline necessary provisions such as adding members, dissolution, etc. .
- Get a Federal Employer Identification Number, or EIN. This is your identification number for the IRS.
- Ensure that you are compliant with regard to:
- State of California taxes
- Employee-related requirements, such as filing with the Employment Development Department and Workers’ Compensation insurance
- All required federal, state and local business licenses and permits
- Filing a DBA if you are “doing business as” another name
Chauvel & Glatt Can Help YOU
If you are feeling as if the requirements are enough to make your head spin when you thought an LLC would simplify things, rest assured. We understand that it can be complicated and overwhelming. But when you engage a law firm like Chauvel & Glatt, you will be working with attorneys that have experience in all aspects of business formation. We work hard on your behalf so that you can feel at ease. We want you to be confident that the process is being handled properly, professionally, and in full legal compliance.
We are custom business formation attorneys whose additional areas of specialization include employment law and contract law. This enables us to approach each prospective LLC from a holistic standpoint so that all aspects of an LLC are compliant. All of the right documents are created in the right way. If at any time the business seeks to transition from one type of business entity to another, we have the experience to get it done for you.
- Employment Law Articles & Legal Guides for Employers
Posted in: News
What does wrongful termination defense look like for employers in California? Terminating an employee in California, or for that matter anywhere, is difficult. There is an extremely likely chance that it will be emotional, as well as complicated. We hope to unpack this contentious area of employer legal defense for you in a digestible and easy-to-understand way.
Wrongful termination claims are a highly litigated area of employment law. That means that employer defense lawyers will be essential in terms of mitigating an employer’s risks. At Chauvel & Glatt, we are employer dispute lawyers whose goal is to protect our clients so that they feel 100% confident that they are being defended & protected against potential wrongful termination claims.
Our strategy is to be proactive and anticipatory so that the likelihood of a wrongful termination claim is minimized. If one does arise, we have the history and the experience to mitigate your risk before a wrongful termination claim leads to litigation.
Our employment law expertise is holistic. We use our employment law knowledge in a preventative manner. What we know in one area of employment law can inform the mitigation of potential wrongful termination claims in a way in which all of the key and most relevant facts are:
- Scrutinized (is it a legitimate claim, for example?)
- Thoroughly assessed, where every detail is taken into consideration
- Used to arrive at a strategically sound path forward, and
- Ultimately, the goal is to resolve this matter in your favor
Employment Law Defense Is Not Your Day Job (Nor Should It Be).
We know that running a successful business is enough of a challenge without having to feel that you need to also navigate wrongful termination claim. If a claim arises, whether it be a wrongful termination claim or constructive discharge claim, Chauvel & Glatt is an employment defense law firm you can consider to be an extension of your team. Always. We listen. We learn. We go to work to protect your business and take proactive measures to minimize your employment law risks.
Labor Law Compliance IS Our Day Job.
How can you prevent wrongful termination claims from happening? By being prepared. Labor law compliance is an area in which we specialize and excel. We have the knowledge and expertise on how to be compliant with labor laws related to discrimination and retaliation. We also have experience in establishing compliant policies and procedures guidelines and employee handbooks. Our broad and holistic experience in labor and employment law gives us a strategic advantage in providing our clients with the guidance that enables them to be as well-positioned as possible to prevent wrongful termination claims from happening.
If a wrongful termination claim still arises, we are ideally situated to defend our clients against one. We will always seek to arrive at the most favorable outcome on behalf of our clients, the employer, hopefully before litigation becomes necessary. If litigation does arise, you can trust that we are wrongful termination litigation attorneys who are backed by a history of experience.
We understand that although California is an “at-will” employment state (meaning an employer can terminate an employee for supposedly any reason at all), employees still have the right to claim that they were wrongfully terminated for reasons of:
- Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Whistleblowing
These are just a few of the situations in which “at-will” employment can be tested. At Chauvel & Glatt, because we are a comprehensive employment law firm, we have a thorough understanding of what legitimate grounds for discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblowing look like. We will be ready to substantiate unsupported claims with concrete facts.
Proper Documentation May Be What Decides a Case.
That is why we want to partner with employers early to help them be compliant. Documentation can determine what elevates a claim to the next level. We want to help employers accurately prepare proper documentation in every aspect of an employee’s history, starting with the day they are hired to any performance or disciplinary issues. This simply makes good employment law sense. Because one day, however well-intentioned and prepared an employer may be, it may become critically important to have engaged a professional employment dispute lawyer for wrongful termination.
At Chauvel & Glatt, we will consistently and tirelessly advocate for each and every one of our clients at the highest level of integrity, while fostering the best possible environment for them from an employment law standpoint. Employment law in California is complicated. We have a unique ability to synthesize it in a way in which our clients feel comfortable, informed, and confident that we are doing everything we can to support them.
- Beyond the Law
Posted in: News
Chauvel & Glatt congratulates Partner April Glatt, Derek Myers, and Natalia Canas for their recent achievements from Super Lawyers. Each year, 5% of the top Northern California attorneys are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
Congratulations!