Small enough to provide specific attention, yet big enough to have a wide breadth of expertise. - Chambers USA
Hospitality
Goldberg Kohn's attorneys have a wide range of experience in the hospitality industry, representing a variety of participants, including: lenders providing financing to hotel owners and hotel investment groups, owners and investors in hotels and restaurants, and vendors servicing the industry. The firm's litigation and transactional attorneys form a cohesive team of business advisers who adeptly handle the legal and business needs of hospitality clients. Because of the variety and depth of the firm's experience, Goldberg Kohn has developed a keen sense for the customs and practices of the industry, for the legal issues that are involved with it, and for the range of solutions that are available to address those issues.
The portfolio of hotel projects on which the firm has worked is broad, covering all sectors of the hotel industry and numerous geographical areas in the United States. Goldberg Kohn's Real Estate Group has an extensive hotel lending practice representing companies that provide financing, particularly to borrowers operating licensed hotel brands. The firm's labor and employment attorneys often collaborate with the real estate attorneys to anticipate and address issues that might prevent a transaction from closing. For example, Goldberg Kohn attorneys have advised hotel lenders regarding the financial implications of unionization, and have been able to offer advice on how to structure transactions to account for such a contingency. As a result, the firm has been able to save clients' transactions from falling apart due to a union entering the picture at the eleventh hour.
Moreover, the firm has the background and experience to respond to the political, natural resource, financial and legal issues surrounding climate change. Goldberg Kohn environmental attorneys have been following private and public sector responses to the concerns regarding climate change, and are knowledgeable about the ecological and resource issues that are paramount when considering responses to climate change. As these issues start having a greater impact on the hospitality industry and the evolution of the "green" hotel, Goldberg Kohn is well-positioned to address a myriad of client needs.
Goldberg Kohn's Labor & Employment Group also provides clients with a nationwide practice focused on employment litigation, representing employers who face "traditional" labor law issues, and counseling companies regarding best practices for creating sensible, enforceable employment policies that can be implemented by line managers and understood by employees. In the hospitality industry, the firm's attorneys have represented clients in the creation of a variety of employment policies; counseling involving the investigation of sexual harassment complaints, the WARN Act, lender liability, union organizing, union-peace agreements embedded in tax increment financing (TIF) ordinances, the defense of employment discrimination and sexual harassment litigation; the defense of administrative investigations involving wage and hour and tip disputes; and, the resolution of disputes involving sales commissions arising out of the sale of condominiums.
The firm's labor & employment attorneys have written a number of articles on relevant employment topics, including articles published in AHLA's Lodging Law and in The Rooms Chronicle. Moreover, due to Goldberg Kohn's industry knowledge, the firm was the exclusive law firm asked to participate in The Hotel of Tomorrow (H.O.T.) Project, a think-tank initiative created by Gettys (an award-winning interior design, design architecture and fulfillment firm) and Hospitality Design magazine that seeks to conceptualize the future of the hospitality industry.
The Corporate, Securities & Tax Group at Goldberg Kohn adds another layer of expertise to the hospitality practice. The firm is often called upon to offer advice on the proper structuring of a restaurant venture or to handle a variety of general contract needs faced by participants in the hospitality industry. Goldberg Kohn has represented owners in acquisitions of other restaurants and has also handled debt and equity financing for different ventures in the hospitality sector.
