Areas of Expertise
While we are considered a General Practice Law Firm, we regularly concentrate our efforts in several areas. These areas include:
Our attorneys represent banks and other creditors in connection with bankruptcy matters. We are familiar with all types of relief available in the bankruptcy code including, but not limited to, liquidation and debt adjustment. We carefully review remedies and strategies available to creditors including preparing and filing proof of claims, examining debtors, challenging discharge, objecting to disclosure statements, pursuing cash collateral, moving for relief from stay, or other petitions. We are fully familiar with the implication of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Domestic Relations Claim as they relate to bankruptcy and are careful to advise our clients of confirmation issues and strategies. We uphold the highest ethical standards for creditors and bankruptcy. Our attorneys are also involved in representing individuals, companies and partnerships in filing bankruptcy petitions which include pre-bankruptcy planning and 'work out' considerations.
If your bills have spiraled out of control , and creditors are constantly calling you, we can review your financial situation to determine whether it would be best for you to seek the protection of the bankruptcy laws.
While bankruptcy is not recommended or appropriate for everyone, it can provide a fresh start for families and individuals who are currently unable to meet their financial obligations. Our attorneys can meet with you to explain your options and perhaps work with your creditors to find less drastic solutions.
Business Law and Planning
We are heavily involved in all aspects of business law, from small business incorporations, to writing and reviewing contracts and agreements, to breach of contract and business lawsuits. Business and commercial law represents a significant portion of our daily activities.
Our attorneys are skilled in the preparation of shareholder and partnership agreements, negotiating and drafting employment contracts and utilization of S-corporation election. Contracts of all kinds, including all those affecting real, personal and intellectual property interests are carefully prepared, negotiated and reviewed. Employment procedures, employee agreements and manuals are likewise prepared and modified to keep up with current trends in the law. Please visit our section on doing business in Virginia, titled the
Virginia Stock Corporation Act.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Trial work is the primary emphasis of several of our attorneys, and their courtroom skills are highly regarded by the legal community. Our attorneys are no strangers to major cases, having won and collected seven-figure judgments and settlements. Their trial skills are best evidenced by the fact many former jurors have selected our firm to represent them in court. By combining skill and hard work with a team approach, we are able to develop courtroom strategies that win more cases for our clients.
The litigation team at our firm is involved in state and federal involving both trial and appellate levels. Our litigation team also is involved in commercial arbitration, mediation and in alternative dispute resolution.
Litigation services that we provide include representation of plaintiffs and defendants with business, corporate, personal injury and property damage claims. Please see our list of services for a more complete description of our litigation services.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Our computer technology attorneys represent corporate clients, insurance companies, high technology companies and Fortune 500 companies. They are involved in everything from website design to computer programming to assisting businesses in resolving intellectual property, trademark, franchising, contracting and licensing issues. We have also been involved in the recent areas of both 'Anti-squatting' litigation and 'Spamming' which present interesting and innovative issues for today’s high tech company. We provide advice for all aspects of online contracting, including Hosting agreements, linking agreements, privacy issues, the Electronic Signature Act, and related employment issues.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Many or ourattorneys are experienced criminal law advocates. They handle everything from simple traffic offenses to serious felony charges, in both state and Federal courts. We know that this can be an extremely difficult time for our clients and their families, and we offer honest and non-judgmental advice for your situation. Whether you are charged with(or are under suspicion or investigation for)DUI, Assault & Battery, Possession/Distribution of Illegal Substances, or any other crime, we will fight vigorously to insure that all of your rights are protected, and to make sure you obtain the best result possible.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Family Law - Domestic Relations
While many aspects of the law are emotionally charged, family law is perhaps the most intense. We are particularly skilled at helping individuals and families get through an impersonal legal system as quickly as possible and with the least emotional stress. We listen to you, and we do all we can to protect your interests.
Family law services that we provide include: divorce actions, premarital arrangements, support and maintenance, domestic abuse, custody arrangements, adoptions and juvenile cases. Attorney Robert F. Zaniel leads the family law legal team at Allred, Bacon Halfhill & Young, PC. Mr. Zaniel has handled over 2,000 family law cases over the past 22 years and is both a skilled negotiator and trial lawyer. Mr. Zaniel enjoys a 75% success rate in reaching settlements favorable to his clients sparing them the expense and emotional trauma of a trial As for his contested cases, Mr. Zaniel has developed a strategy plan of action which includes a dual strategy of both aggressively preparing for trial and simultaneously working toward a settlement. The family law legal team at Allred, Bacon, Halfhill & Young, PC is equipped to handle all cases relating to divorce and separation. The firm's understanding and attentive support staff, technology and other resources assure that the client's case will be handled in a professional, timely and efficient manner. Mr. Zaniel is also an experienced family mediator with an excellent track record. He can guide both a husband and wife through the resolution of all divorce and separation issues and further minimize the financial burden of divorce. For further information relating to services relating to divorce and separation, visit
DivorceResource.com.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Our franchise law attorneys provide expert advise on a wide range of franchise law matters including the preparation, review and negotiation of national/international franchise documents and disclosure statements. We have substantial experience negotiating real estate leases for franchisees or franchisors, and either litigating, mediating or arbitrating franchise disputes. We timely file state registrations and fully comply with all federal/international registration requirements.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Personal Injury Litigation
Our firm has a national practice and reputation representing clients who have suffered significant personal injuries. Our plaintiff's personal injury practice is restricted to representing people with serious injuries resulting from the negligence or intentional actions of others, whether they are product manufacturers, commercial truckers, every-day automobile drivers, commercial and private aircraft operators, doctors, lawyers or property owners. The knowledge gained from the prosecution of cases nationally allows us to select the forum most favorable to your litigation and to take advantage of the differences in tort and insurance laws in various states.
We have represented clients with almost every conceivable injury from amputations to heart attacks and are well versed in the medicine which will be part of your case. The firm has particular expertise in the area of neurolaw, representing persons who have sustained traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
The pursuit of personal injury claims requires extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with insurance carriers. Having extensive experience representing both individuals and at times insurance carriers, we have expertise in all areas of insurance issues as they pertain to personal injury claims. Our attorneys have frequently lectured at seminars for lawyers and insurance companies on coverage and bad faith issues. We have been successful in finding additional insurance proceeds to satisfy claims and settlements where others have failed.
Often, the pursuit of a personal injury claim involves alternate dispute resolution, that is, the presentation of claims in a forum other than the courtroom. We were among the first firms to take advantage of this emerging trend and have obtained extensive training as arbitrators and mediators. Our attorneys serve as both arbitrators and mediators through private companies, including the United States Mediation and Arbitration Association, and are judicially-appointed mediators and neutral case evaluators through the Circuit Courts of Virginia. Armed with the experience obtained in serving as mediators and arbitrators, we very effectively take advantage of these alternate dispute resolution methods to serve our clients in appropriate cases. When it is appropriate to try the cases, however, our firm’s lawyers have extensive jury trial experience in both the Federal and State courts, having tried in excess of one thousand of cases. We are often called upon to lecture to State Bar Associations on topics such as trial techniques, evidence, medical/legal issues including seminars on brain and orthopaedic injuries.
The lawyers of our firm also have extensive experience in representing clients pursuing wrongful death litigation. We are particularly sensitive to the extreme emotional distress that families sustain as a result of a wrongful death and have incorporated a holistic approach to representing our clients, insuring that they get the maximum legal recovery and also that they obtain appropriate grief counseling, financial planning and vocational training to help ameliorate the consequences of the loss of a family member.
Our attorneys are committed to the vigorous prosecution of personal injury and professional liability disputes through all phases of the litigation process including: negotiation, the discovery process, settlement including the establishment of structured settlements, trusts and guardianships, trials and appellate proceedings. Equally important, we take our responsibility to be counselors at law, and you will receive the personal attention of all of our attorneys in helping you and your family deal with the full range of issues caused by a personal injury. Because of the personal commitment of our attorneys, there are a number of cases in which we will decline representation. Our commitment is to provide the very best of legal services to a few rather than to provide basic legal services to the many.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Real estate transactions are among the most complex proceedings an individual or organization enters into. We have the experience and background to help you achieve your real estate objectives quickly and with a minimum of expense. Our clients include real estate brokers and agents, homeowners' associations, condominium associations, builders and developers, as well as, of course, individual buyers and sellers.
Real estate services we provide include: writing and reviewing offers to purchase, leases, real estate closings, drafting condominium and homeowners' association instruments, mechanics lien enforcement, property damage claims, foreclosures and real estate lawsuits. Please see our list of services for a complete description of our real estate services.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.
Wills, Estate Planning and Elder Law
How and when and where does your property go if you die without a valid will? Is Uncle Sam a principal 'heir?' Everyone needs a will, and the forms you can find in a library just may not suit your situation. We are experienced in drafting wills, trusts with other asset-shifting devices. We can advise you on how marriage and divorce affect your Will, about joint tenancy, and property may be transferred to your family or others without the probate process. We can advise you on estate administration and the steps you must take, and avoid, if you are named as executor or trustee.
As we baby boomers move into our second half-century, we are confronted with the prospect of becoming the 'parents' of our parents. If you, or someone you love, is approaching a time when unassisted living is becoming less possible, there are steps you should be considering. Medicare was not intended to assist in nursing home care, and will be of no practical use. We can help you understand the rules, and how you can work within those rules to maintain an acceptable standard of living without necessarily depleting your assets.
Will and estate planning services that we provide include estate planning to minimize taxes, simplifying or avoiding probate, drafting Simple and complex Wills, Advance Directives such as Living Wills, revocable and irrevocable Trusts and Powers of Attorney. Please see our list of services for a complete description of our Will and estate planning services.
Please visit '
Capabilities' for a listing of many of the services we provide.