Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Most business disputes can be settled before anyone files a lawsuit if the first letter is clear, firm, and backed by the facts. The Schenk Law Firm writes and answers demand letters for businesses, negotiates a way forward. When a case has to go to court, we handle it ourselves or bring in litigation co-counsel.
Demand Letters and Collections
When a customer, vendor, or partner owes your business money, we send a formal demand that lays out the debt, the basis for it, and a deadline to pay.
Cease-and-Desist Letters
When someone copies your content, uses your brand, or interferes with your business, we send a cease-and-desist letter and pursue takedown requests with the platforms involved.
Responding to Demands
If your business receives a demand letter, we review the claim, advise you on your exposure, and answer for the company in a way that protects your position.
Recovering Company Accounts
When a former owner or officer holds the logins for the company’s domain, email, or website, we send written demands to the platforms to return control to the company.
Negotiation and Mediation
We negotiate directly with the other side or its lawyer, request the records the dispute turns on, and prepare for mediation when the parties need a neutral to help.
Litigation
When a dispute has to go to court, we either handle the case ourselves or bring in litigation co-counsel.
Do I need a lawyer to send a demand letter?
You don’t, but a letter from counsel tells the other side you’re prepared to act. It also avoids statements that could hurt you later if the dispute goes further.
We received a demand letter. Should we respond?
Usually, yes. Ignoring a demand can lead the other side to file suit. Send it to us before you reply so we can review the claim and any deadline in it.
Someone copied our content or our brand.
Save the evidence first: the original, the copy, and the dates. A cease-and-desist letter often resolves it, and platforms have their own takedown procedures we can use at the same time. Our trademark infringement page covers brand disputes in more detail.
A co-owner and I disagree about the business.
Start with the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, which often sets out how disputes and exits work. Our partner buyouts and member exits page covers what happens when an owner leaves.
Will this end up in court?
Most business disputes settle through letters and negotiation. When one doesn’t, we either handle the case ourselves or bring in litigation co-counsel.
Experience
David Lizerbram has practiced business law for more than two decades. Benjamin Schenk founded and runs a commercial real estate investment and asset management firm.
Business Context
Because we handle the company’s contracts, governance, and transactions, we can see how a dispute affects the rest of the business.
Resolution First
We aim to resolve disputes with letters and negotiation. When a case needs to go to court, we handle it ourselves or bring in co-counsel.
Case Study
A pet aftercare business had provided its service, and then the customer’s payment came back unpaid from the bank. The owner had already tried calls, texts, and emails. We sent a formal demand letter that laid out the debt and a deadline, and the next morning the customer wrote back to acknowledge the balance and ask how to pay it that day.
Case Study
A photographer found that a former contact had copied one of her guides and posted it on a new website. She had already gathered the proof: the original, the download record, and the link between the old and new sites. We sent a cease-and-desist letter and a takedown request to Google, and the other side responded the same day, so we closed the matter.
Case Study
A sports agent wrote to a young consumer brand asking it to take down a social media post that featured his client, a professional golfer, within 48 hours. We answered for the company, confirmed the post would come down, and kept the tone cooperative. The agent accepted the response the same day and said he was open to talking about working together.
Case Study
After a company’s board removed a founder from office, he still held the administrator logins for the company’s domain, email, and website accounts. We sent written demands to the platforms showing that the company owned the accounts. The board regained control of its email system, and the domain registrar updated its records to show the company as owner.
Client names and identifying details are withheld. Results depend on the facts of each matter, and past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
The Schenk Law Firm is based in North Park, San Diego. We handle demand letters and business disputes for companies throughout California.
Contract Drafting & Negotiation
Clear contracts that head off disputes before they start.
Partner Buyouts & Member Exits
Separating co-owners and removing members, managers, and directors.
Lease, purchase, and co-ownership disputes over property.
Stopping others from using a confusingly similar mark.
Finding legal risks early and building practical compliance habits.
Ongoing legal support for businesses without an in-house lawyer.
The first letter in a dispute sets its tone and often decides how it ends. Whether you’re owed money, someone is copying your work, or you’ve received a demand, we can review the facts and act quickly.
Contact us today to discuss your business dispute.
Request a ConsultationA clear statement of what happened, what is owed or what must stop, the basis for the claim, and a firm deadline. It should be accurate and professional, since a court may read it later.
It depends on the dispute, but a short, specific deadline is common. Contracts and some statutes set required notice periods, which we check before the letter goes out.
It’s a notice under federal copyright law asking a website host or platform to remove infringing material. Platforms generally act on a complete notice, and it can run alongside a cease-and-desist letter.
Yes. We try to resolve disputes before court, and when a lawsuit is needed, we either handle it ourselves or bring in litigation co-counsel.