Michigan Business, Commercial, Criminal Defense, Civil Rights and Family Law Firm

Hertz Schram, PC

1760 South Telegraph Road, Suite 300
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302-0183
USA

(248) 494-4486 or (866) 775-5987

(248) 335-3346

www.hertzschram.com

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Law Firm Overview Free Consultation

Hertz Schram has been dedicated to providing bold, forward-thinking, successful and uncommonly creative legal representation in Detroit, the surrounding parts of Southeast Michigan, the Midwest and throughout the United States, since 1979. The depth and diversity of knowledge at our law firm means that we can provide you with legal advice and professional representation whether you are an individual in need of assistance with estate planning or a business involved in a complex securities matter.

For over 3 decades, we have handled a variety of legal transactions and disputes. We have the skill, dedication and experience to protect your interests in disputes and transactions with even the most aggressive opponents. Few opponents have the skill and experience to out strategize our firm in a legal matter and we are undaunted by our opponent's reputation and size. When representing your interests, we will utilize all resources at our disposal. In every case, we apply all of our energy to get you the results that you deserve.

From business law to criminal law and beyond, the lawyers of Hertz Schram can help you. The depth and diversity of knowledge present at our law firm means that we can provide you with legal advice and professional representation whether you are an individual in need of assistance with estate planning or a business involved in a complex securities matter. No matter what legal challenge you are faced with, we will be there to advocate for your rights with the skilled representation that you deserve.

Practice Areas

Practice Areas Description

- Business and Commercial Law

Hertz Schram is available to serve businesses in Detroit and the surrounding parts of Southeast Michigan and throughout the country. We want to get you the level of results that you deserve. We want to demonstrate that we are interested in more than simply helping you through this legal matter. Our attorneys want to build a lasting relationship with your business and add value to your bottom line. We want to be the ones you turn to every time you encounter a legal matter. We want your business to succeed. We can handle all business and corporate law matters, including: commercial litigation, mergers and acquisitions, securities / private placement offerings, licensing, franchising, business formation, contracts, commercial transactions, loan agreements and collateral documents, business planning and evaluation, risk management / insurance issues, employee manuals and policy development, securities litigation defense, real estate, entertainment law, banking and finance, education law, employment law and medical and dental practice issues.

- Commercial Real Estate

We handle all commercial real estate matters, from the purchase of small owner-occupied industrial buildings to the development of sophisticated multitenant office parks. Our attorneys have dealt with mobile home park communities, apartment complexes, shopping malls, condominiums, retail stores and much more. Our team can represent you throughout all phases of a commercial real estate transaction, including: negotiation and preparation of sale / purchase agreements (buy/sell agreements), financing and refinancing, syndication / raising equity capital, land use planning and development, closing documentation, title issues, leases and landlord tenant issues, foreclosures and lender work-outs.

- Professional License Defense

Our team represents dentists, doctors and other medical providers in all professional licensing and disciplinary hearing matters, including: public health code violations; prescription abuse; Blue Cross excess billing, upcoding or overbilling claims; Blue Cross departicipation and reparticipation actions; Medicare and Medicaid exclusion and reinstatement proceedings; D.E.A. deregistration and reregistration litigation; and National Practitioner Data Bank responses and exceptions. Our experience is available to serve doctors, dentists, orthodontists, chiropractors, surgeons and anyone else involved in a medical or dental profession.

- Banking and Finance

At the law firm of Hertz Schram, our attorneys have the depth and diversity of knowledge to sort through the most complex banking and finance matters. We know how to navigate through any challenge efficiently and effectively. Our team is available to represent commercial banks, savings banks, investment banks, insurance companies, finance companies, mortgage banking companies, leasing companies and other financial leaders. You can be assured that we will do what it takes to get results, fast. From the conventional legal issues that your type of business faces on a regular basis to complex, one-of-a-kind lending transactions, our lawyers can handle all finance and banking law matters, including: secured and unsecured lending transactions; the loan origination process and related customer issues; evaluating and documenting commercial real estate transactions; and loan workouts.

- Criminal Defense

Our lawyers are available to represent you during grand jury investigations and handle all state and federal felony and misdemeanor charges, including: state and federal white collar crimes (bank fraud, securities fraud, health care fraud, interstate commerce violations, money laundering, embezzlement, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, bribery, mail fraud, forgery and more); Internet crimes (Internet gambling, pornography, solicitation and identity theft); drunk driving and traffic violations (DUI / DWI / OUIL, driving under a suspended license, reckless driving, hit and run, vehicular homicide); sex crimes (rape, sexual assault, lewd and lascivious conduct); drug charges (drug possession, drug dealing, drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, drug conspiracy, drug sale); violent crimes (assault and battery, vehicular assault, murder, manslaughter, domestic violence); and property crimes (theft, robbery, burglary, vandalism, arson).

- Forfeitures

In addition to fines, jail time and other penalties, people accused of crimes may also be subject to property forfeiture. The attorneys of Hertz Schram are specialists in the area of forfeiture law in both federal and state courts and have intimate knowledge of the rules and regulations governing forfeiture proceedings to prevent the government from illegally seizing or maintaining possession of your property. If your assets and monies have already been seized, our team will fight to get them back. Our lawyers can help you successfully and aggressively defend against a civil complaint that has caused or will cause your assets to be forfeited. Among the types of property that we have defended from forfeiture are houses, cars, motorcycles, bank accounts, cash, boats, vacation homes and jewelry.

- ERISA

We have successfully litigated numerous claims for pension benefits (see our pension article), as well as claims for ERISA welfare benefits (e.g. health, disability, life insurance) and other employer-provided welfare benefits, including: deficient pensions payouts during the pendency of the plan or upon its termination; issues concerning eligibility for benefits, both pension and welfare (e.g. disability benefits); preemption and other procedural issues under ERISA or state statute; and fiduciary duties owed plan participants by plan administrators and other plan fiduciaries. To strengthen our representation in ERISA retirement benefits cases and other pension cases, we frequently work closely with accountants and actuaries that specialize in these types of matters. In addition, our team members regularly consult with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury to improve our legal strategies.

- Personal Injury

Hertz Schram was established more than three decades ago on the basis of providing bold, forward-thinking and uncommonly creative representation to our clients. We are available to serve people in Detroit and throughout Southeast Michigan who have been injured in a personal injury accident, or who have lost a loved one in a fatal accident: motor vehicle accidents (car accidents/car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle and pedestrian accidents); premises liability (slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall, negligent security, swimming pool drowning, staircase accidents); animal bites and attacks (dog bites); product liability accidents (defective factory equipment, medical equipment defects, pharmaceuticals, defective toys, defective sporting equipment, defective auto parts); professional liability / malpractice (claims involving health care providers, pharmacists and other licensed professionals); and environmental liability claims (injury and property claims arising out of environmental accidents).

- Family Law

We are available to handle all family law matters, including: divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, spousal support / alimony, property division, international family law disputes / Hague Convention cases, post divorce modifications of child support, spousal support or child custody and parenting time plans, stepparent adoptions, paternity cases, prenuptial and post-marital agreements, personal protection orders (PPOs), marital tort claims (assault, abuse, fraud, emotional distress and transmission of STDs), paternity cases, prenuptial and post-marital agreements and post-judgment divorce modifications of child support, spousal support or child custody and parenting time plans. Every family law matter is different. For that reason, we refuse to provide one-size-fits-all advice in these cases. Instead, we use our experience, knowledge and creativity to customize a legal strategy that is designed specifically to meet your needs. We believe that is the type of representation you deserve.

- Estate Planning

Our lawyers use a wide range of estate planning tools depending on your needs. Included among the tools we may use to build your estate plan are: wills; living wills; trusts (including revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, generation-skipping trusts, and charitable trusts); durable powers of attorney; patient advocate designations; estate tax returns; family limited liability companies; business succession plans; buy-sell plans; asset protection; gifting; advanced directives; health care directives; and related probate / estate administration matters. By carefully examining your assets, income and other important details, our estate planning attorneys will determine the combination of sophisticated tools that are right for your situation. We will create plans that will make sure your property moves on to the next generation in the manner that you wish.

- Entertainment Law

The law firm of Hertz Schram has 3 decades of experience serving artists and entertainers in Detroit, the surrounding parts of Southeast Michigan and throughout the United States. We are available to offer customized legal representation to meet the needs of recording artists, writers, musicians, radio and television personalities, designers, novelists, filmmakers, record labels, music publishers, production companies and all others who make a living by creating, performing or distributing music, films and other works of art. Our lawyers can help with all entertainment law matters, including: contract drafting and negotiation (book publishing agreements, recording contracts, distribution agreements, management agreements, agency contracts, film agreements, music publishing agreements and more); copyright and intellectual property protection and litigation; and contract dispute litigation.

- Employment Law

Since 1979, the law firm of Hertz Schram has represented employers and employees in Detroit and the surrounding parts of Southeast Michigan. Our team can handle all manner of employment law disputes, including those related to: wrongful termination claims; discrimination lawsuits (discrimination based on age, race, religion, sexual preference, gender and more); sexual harassment; contracts (noncompete agreements, confidentiality agreements, employment contracts); employee manual development and revision; risk management; ERISA and pension benefits (class action and individual claims); and Qui tam, Whistleblower and False Claim (class action and individual claims).

- Civil Rights

Have you or a loved one had your constitutional rights violated by a police officer or any other government agent? If that civil rights violation resulted in physical harm, financial loss or any other type of damage, you may be able to pursue action against the individual or organization that caused the loss. We can help. At the law firm of Hertz Schram, we will work hard to see that you are properly compensated. We will work hard to see that those responsible are held accountable for their actions. We can stand strong in any civil rights violation case, including those related to: police brutality and use of excessive force; Section 1983 violations; failure to provide medical care while imprisoned; mistreatment of prisoners in state and federal prisons; discrimination by law enforcement officers / racial profiling; and wrongful and false imprisonment.

- Education Law

n principle, parents and educators have the same goal: to provide the best possible education for children. Unfortunately, this goal can become clouded between competing agendas. At Hertz Schram, our lawyers are committed to clearing those clouds out of the way. We have the experience, enthusiasm and dedication to the needs of our clients to get results. Whether your case is related to standard or special education law, our team can help. We can help educational institutions, such as grade schools, high schools, school districts and more, with a wide range of legal issues. In addition to helping resolve special education law matters, we can address issues related to certification as well as student disciplinary issues.

- Tax Law

Almost every transaction creates a tax consequence. The tax attorneys at Hertz Schram draw upon their significant tax experience to help our clients assess their goals and meet their objectives. They are experienced in federal, state and local taxation and the effect they have on both individual and business transactions as well as the planning of a client's estate with regard to wealth transfer issues and business succession. Our tax attorneys represent clients at all stages of tax audits and controversies, including the administrative process, appeals, and the judicial level. They work closely with all of the firm's practice groups to ensure that all potential tax consequences from the services they provide are considered and evaluated. Our tax attorneys include an attorney with an LL.M in Taxation from NYU, a certified public accountant and a former Internal Revenue Service Agent. We believe we have all bases covered.

- Bankruptcy

Hertz Schram provides legal assistance to creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, as well as liquidation and receivership proceedings. Our attorneys represent numerous creditors, including private and national lending institutions, loan servicing companies, businesses, investors and individuals in Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 cases. Our clients value our experience in navigating through bankruptcy litigation, and our commitment to protecting their rights to maximize recovery. Hertz Schram’s Bankruptcy practice services include: pre-petition workouts, modifications and debt restructuring; objections to debtor plans and treatment; adversary proceedings; preservation of creditor rights; and receivership.

Attorneys

	Mr. Robert P. Geller Attorney Business Law, Class Actions, Mergers and Acquisitions		Mr. Howard Hertz Attorney Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Licensing Law
	Mr. Victor M. Norris Attorney Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense, Licensing Law		Mr. Walter J. Piszczatowski Attorney Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, Licensing Law
	Mr. Jeffrey A. Robbins Attorney Estate Planning, Real Estate, Tax Planning		Mr. Bradley J. Schram Attorney Business and Industry
	Mr. Kenneth F. Silver Attorney Estate Planning, Probate, Real Estate		Mr. Steve J. Weiss Attorney Commercial Litigation, Employment, Personal Injury