Areas of Practice
Business and Transactions
Malone Law represents businesses, corporations and investors from various industries. Our firm advises on Mergers and Acquisitions (M & A) for both Sell side and Buy side. We frequently handle various related corporate transactions, including specialized contract and employment issues, buy-sell and shareholder agreements, licensing and intellectual property matters, redemptions, and recapitalizations. At all stages of the business life cycle, we provide ongoing planning for the business structure and operations, and advice on financing and regulatory matters particular to our clients' industries.
We assist with employment disputes and guide regulatory compliance in the modern digital economy. Frequently, our firm counsels business owners and their key employees on management and operational decisions, succession plans, and the strategic sale, merger, or acquisition of a business.
Malone Law has long-standing business relationships with many of our clients, which helps us to understand their evolving goals and ultimately add value to their enterprises. We know how litigation can impact the strength of a business and therefore seek solutions that achieve our clients' goals creatively and cost-effectively. As an ancillary part of our corporate practice, our Attorneys act as local counsel in state and federal commercial litigation. Many of our clients have business interests abroad, and we can offer knowledgeable guidance on international business matters.
Our firm's business clients include corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), non-profits, partnerships, family businesses, and individuals.
Litigation
We represent businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, and individuals in state and federal courts in a wide range of matters. The firm has successfully undertaken matters as diverse as shareholder and partnership litigation, contract disputes, trust and probate undue influence cases, complex intellectual property and trade secret issues, employment disputes, tax controversies, civil rights, commercial real estate litigation, and loan workouts.
Malone Law also represents businesses and individuals in complex commercial litigation, construction, and environmental litigation. Additionally, the firm focuses on the increasingly common probate and trust disputes, representing the interests of families, fiduciaries and trustees.
Our Attorneys have successfully tried many cases. We strive to solve our clients' pending conflicts efficiently and in a manner that facilitates ongoing business operations. During the course of litigation, we counsel our clients on making pragmatic business decisions, which include trial on the merits, negotiated settlement, mediation or arbitration.
Commercial Real Estate is an integral part of our law practice. Since 1971, we have represented developers, businesses, investors, individuals, lenders, brokers, and title companies in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. Drawing on our many years of experience, we carefully attend to all issues impacting the successful completion of each transaction, from the initial negotiation to the final closing.
We frequently provide counsel on commercial projects involving office and industrial buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, self-storage, condominiums, subdivisions, or mixed-use development projects. Our services include preparation and negotiation of acquisition or sale documents, assistance with due diligence review, preparation of easements and lease agreements as necessary for the development or disposition of a property, and negotiation and preparation of loan and property management agreements.
Frequently, we assist with loan workouts and debt restructurings, receivership matters, and land use control and zoning issues,. We provide thorough representation for individuals and investors who are buying or selling real estate on the residential side. Our assistance facilitates the transaction and helps avoid unforeseen problems by the parties involved.
Commercial Real Estate
Estate Planning and Probate
Our firm counsels individuals and families in all aspects of estate planning. We tailor our services to the needs of each of our clients, guiding them to make appropriate and prudent long-term planning decisions that match their personal goals and preserve assets. Also, our firm frequently assists fiduciaries and beneficiaries with the day-to-day administration of trusts and probate estates.
Trusts
We work closely with our clients to create trusts, wills, and powers of attorney which meet their personal needs and long-term goals. Our firm's size enables us to remain attentive and thoughtful as we focus on each of our clients' matters. Often, ownership of a family business or a closely held company significantly impacts a client's estate planning. We endeavor to ensure that our clients' business succession plans dovetail with their estate planning goals. Similarly, real estate ownership is a crucial matter affecting generational planning, and our active real estate practice complements such planning issues.
Probate
In Probate Court, we represent fiduciaries in all aspects of the administration of probate estates, from opening the estate to preparing and filing accounts, administering and disbursing assets, and finalizing the settling of the estate. During handling an estate, we partner with our clients to help them properly navigate the probate process and achieve practical and beneficial outcomes.
Mediation
Sean Malone has served as a mediator on a variety of cases. He received ADR training at the Supreme Court of Ohio and is a member of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Panel of Mediators, a list of “highly-reputable” lawyers who have devoted a “substantial portion” of their practice to “business cases,” and is also an appointed member of the Federal Court Panel of Mediator Neutrals for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
With nearly 20 years as a litigator, Sean understands the concerns and perspectives of litigants and attorneys alike. He has mediated numerous cases, both in-person and remotely, involving commercial litigation, business torts, personal injury, government enforcement, breach of contract, real estate transactions, and landlord-tenant issues.
Sean currently serves as a member of the City Council and as Vice Mayor of the City of Shaker Heights. In that capacity, he works to maintain and improve his hometown, build support for coordinated action on regional challenges, and increase opportunity for all in Northeast Ohio.