Business Law

I prefer to work with small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals who have suffered injustices. I litigate; I negotiate; I draft documents. However, if you read more about my "Work History", "Personality and Philosophy" and "Types of Cases, you'll have a better sense of whether we'd be a good match. If in doubt, though, call. I enjoy taking on new challenges if I feel qualified to do so. If I'm not qualified, I will let you know.

Antitrust & Trade Regulation

• False Advertising
• RICO Act
• Unfair Competition

Business Formation & Dissolution

• Buying & Selling
• Closely Held Businesses
• Corporations
• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
• Nonprofits & Tax-Exempt Corporations
• Partnerships
• Professional Corporations

Commercial Law

• Breach of Contract
• Contract Disputes
• Contract Drafting & Review
• Employment Contracts
• Lemon Law
• Non-Compete Contracts
• Warranties

Construction

• Construction Disputes

Collections

• Creditor's Rights
• Garnishees
• Judgments
• Locating Funds

Consumer/Lemon Law

• Frauds, Scams, Hoaxes

CA, Jun 1976
Bar Number: 69476

Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court of California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, all California State and Federal Trial Courts, Trial Courts for District of Hawaii (Federal), U.S. Court of Military Appeals, U.S. Court of International Trade.

State Bar of California, Federal Bar Association, Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys of the Northern District of California.

I've taught several continuing legal education seminars on law office technology, discrimination law, and law office management for the State Bar of California. I was a designated Bernard E. Witkin lecturer for Alameda County, teaching other lawyers in a continuing education role about the Internet and its ethical hazards and confidentiality risks. Additionally, I participate in continuing education seminars as a student via my computer; I read articles that relate to my practice areas and that require submission of a written test for credits. I always easily exceed the required number of continuing education hours annually.

I have published well over 100 articles in the San Francisco Recorder (SF's legal newspaper), the Los Angeles Daily Journal (LA's legal newspaper), The Federal Lawyer (www.fedbar.org/magazine.html) the magazine of the Federal Bar Association, and elsewhere. For a more complete list, and a sampling, visit the various websites I maintain at www.TonsingLawfirm.com, www.Your-Second-Chair.com, and www.ChairmanOfTheBlawg.com.

• I advised a family trust on a lease and easement between and among them, their tenant and a company desiring to establish cellular antenna repeater sites.

• I represented a local optometrist who was accused of not paying employees' overtime. This case was won.

• In cooperation with a union lawyer, I recently got a cadet who was falsely accused of cheating (and expelled from a California community college and police academy) re-instated to his job, with full back pay and benefits. (Opposing counsel was a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California.) The entire case decision, with identifying information blacked out, can be viewed on my firm's website at www.TonsingLawfirm.com.

• I represented a physician falsely accused of molesting a patient, in a malpractice case against his former lawyer. The case settled.

• I represented an Oakland boat brokerage accused of improperly firing a salesperson who had been taking "kickbacks." I lost before the ALJ, but achieved a 5-0 reversal on the administrative appeal. This case was won.

• I negotiated the cessation of a disastrous infringement of an established trade name by a major tour company that was "co-opting" the established descriptive name of a small business that was in competition with it. We represented the small business and got the much larger business to agree to stop using the same name and to withdraw about 10,000 brochures from Bay Area hotels, all without litigation.

For more examples of cases I've handled, see the "Work History" tab under "Previous Employment".

1

California

I formed the Tonsing Lawfirm nearly nine years ago in San Francisco. My firm, now on both sides of the Bay, is the result of an evolutionary process, as I never intended to expand beyond having one attorney and never will.

The law firm represents existing and emerging businesses and individuals on all matters relating to doing business. Our areas of expertise include forming startups, protecting and attacking trade secrets, making and overcoming contracts and leases, participating in negotiations, and dealing with general human resources-type concerns, both simple and complex. The firm also has represented defendants and plaintiffs in many discrimination cases and civil rights matters.

Tonsing Lawfirm (2000 to Present) San Francisco and Oakland, CA

I am a business law trial and transactional lawyer, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in both State and Federal courts. See the firm's website at www.TonsingLawfirm.com for more information.

Also, I act as a mentor for less experienced litigators. See the website at www.Your-Second-Chair.com, which includes PDF's of a number of my published articles.

HardhatWholesale.com (1999 to 2000) Oakland and San Diego, CA
I was the CEO of a funded "B2B" Internet-based startup corporation. I was also responsible for all "in-house" legal work, including drafting policies for the website, reviewing all contracts, drafting nondisclosure agreements, and drafting "industry-first" vendor-managed inventory agreements.

Littler Mendelson (1994 to 1999) San Jose and San Francisco, CA
I was a litigator and advisor in a firm that now has 750 attorneys and 45 offices nationwide, and is the largest law firm in the country exclusively devoted to representing management in employment, employee benefits and labor law matters. There, I represented businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietorships regarding labor and employment law issues, including Title VII, ADA and ADEA.

? I settled a "whistle blower" case involving a large trucking company on very successful terms, on the verge of a trial, avoiding an approximately $8 million trial exposure for the CEO.

? I also settled a thorny $4,000,000 same-sex sexual harassment case against a publishing company on very favorable terms following an unorthodox court maneuver.

Law Offices of Michael J. Tonsing/Pierucci & Tonsing (1985-1994) Oakland and San Mateo, CA
I was the lead attorney and proprietor of a Martindale-Hubbell® A-V rated commercial litigation and transactional firm representing both plaintiffs and defendants statewide.

? I successfully defended a discrimination case brought against a public school district in federal court in San Diego. This involved a $2 million exposure and a four-week jury trial (Judge Enright).

? I successfully defended a $10 million civil rights/paraplegic case brought in federal court in Los Angeles (Judge Lew). A last minute legal maneuver saved a six-week jury trial.

? I defeated a U.S. Justice Department overpayment case brought by the VA which was a $2 million Federal Court case in San Francisco. I also defeated the appeal, then obtained a $165,000 fee reimbursement from the government for a client via Equal Access to Justice Act (Judge Conti).

O'Gara & McGuire (1984 -1985) San Francisco, CA
I represented plaintiffs and defendants in litigation practice in both Federal and State courts. I handled both large and small cases. For example, I successfully represented family members who sought to avoid having a particular relative appointed conservator of their mother's estate because they believed he had murdered her for her money. (She had named him in her will as her conservator.) We convinced the probate court to change conservators despite what the will stated.

United States Department of Justice (1981-1984) San Francisco, CA
As an Assistant United States Attorney, I litigated in Federal trial and appellate courts. I averaged about six full-blown civil and criminal trials a year in federal court, many of them tried to juries.

United States Supreme Court (1980-1981) Washington, D.C.

I was chosen in a nationwide competition as a Supreme Court Fellow to assist Chief Justice of the U.S. Warren E. Burger in judicial administration. I was a confidential liaison between the Chief Justice and several standing committees of the federal judiciary. I won an award as the top Supreme Court Fellow of the year (the Justice Tom C. Clark Award.).

Public Employment Relations Board ("PERB") (1977-1980) San Francisco
I was selected from 150+ final round candidates for appointment to one of ten administrative law judge (ALJ) positions for California's only statewide public sector labor board. I acted as a trial judge and presided at hearings, wrote decisions, and conducted many successful settlement conferences. I averaged 20 to 30 trials per year for four years.

I have been in the practice of law since 1976, with some interesting stops along the way, and two major detours. I took time out to be a CEO of an Internet-based company with an initial capitalization of a million dollars, and took a year away to serve as a Supreme Court Fellow for the Chief Justice in Washington, D.C.

? Small claims judge in Walnut Creek

? AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (highest rating possible by peers)

Community service, and service to the legal community:

? Two-term president of SF Chapter of Federal Bar Association (chapter won prize as best in nation during 2nd term);

? Two-term Federal Bar vice president for the Ninth Circuit;

? Two-term board member of the Dunsmuir-Hellman Historic Estate, a city-owned park in Oakland adjacent to an historic estate (see www.dunsmuir.org);

? Former President, California Administrative Law College (an institute I helped create at McGeorge Law School to train Administrative Law Judges); and,

? Longtime member of the US Supreme Court Historical Society (www.supremecourthistory.org), the Ninth Judicial Court Historical Society (www.njchs.org), and the Northern District Court Historical Society (go to www.cand.uscourts.gov and click on "historical society").

? Two-term vice president of Piedmont Boy Scout Council and Scoutmaster for four years;

? Received the Army Commendation Medal for my military service (served as Major, U.S. Army Reserve; counterintelligence officer and executive officer of military intelligence detachment).

? Frequent instructor at Sixth Army Intelligence School.

(415) 358-4839

Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Otherwise, appointments are available.

No

None, though a significant portion of the firm's clients are from, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe

Sometimes, yes. However, it depends on the circumstances. This has a lot to do with the predictability of the work involved. Sometimes, I recommend a fixed fee, hourly mixture. It depends mostly on what will give you the most "bang for the buck."

My motive is to earn your trust, your repeat business, and your "word of mouth" referrals. I invoice monthly and expect prompt payment. I do something else that will probably surprise you. I have a space at the bottom of your invoice where you can raise or lower the hourly amount owed, based on how you think I am doing. You'll see. Your fee agreement with me will include a sample invoice as an attachment.

$300 is standard, but it can vary in quite creative ways sometimes. For example, we may agree to do some of the early work on a flat fee basis, and then move to hourly if the facts develop in certain ways. Other arrangements are possible, too.

Frankly, you can shop around (here on the Nolo site and elsewhere) and find other lawyers with lower rates. I like to think that a higher hourly rate may result in a lower bottom line total bill, because a more skilled attorney may not need to spend as much time on the work as another attorney working at a lower hourly rate with fewer skills and less experience.

One of Abraham Lincoln's more frequently quoted sayings (among lawyers, anyway) is "A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade." However, your time never starts to run until we have a written fee agreement in place. Call for a consultation. You'll know in advance as to when the fees begin to accrue. I will tell you before they do. One thing's sure: they don't start to run until we've signed a clearly written agreement. We'll probably know in ten to thirty minutes if we have a match.

Generally, $3,000 to $5,000, but it can vary, depending on the nature of the matter. Forming a garden-variety corporation, drafting a straightforward business contract, or forming a limited liability company would probably be just done on a one-time "flat fee" basis for less than that.

If you want an "iron clad" wall-to-wall fee agreement in a litigation situation so you can budget, I often can work with you to create one that takes us all the way up through a trial, so there are no huge surprises.