Business

When a new business lawsuit comes through the door, Mike’s fond of recalling the old Fram oil filter commercial. You know the one if you are of a certain age, where the mechanic is wiping the grease off his hands as the hoist in the background pulls a wrecked V-8 out of the 1972 LTD. He bemoans the fact that the owner didn’t call him about a simple oil change that might’ve avoided that very expensive exercise, and ends with the tagline, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.”

Mike would always prefer to be paid less now, before the expensive disaster. To that end, he’s spent years advising business clients on how to stay out of court through smart business planning and anticipating risks he’s watched turn into lawsuits over the last few decades. All that litigation experience helps illuminate the risks that can be addressed with a little smart planning, as does Mike’s time at NYU learning how to fold tax considerations in the mix from the nation’s very best.