About the practice

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If You Don't Have Time to Do It Right, When Will You Have Time to Do It Over?

John Wooden

BACKGROUND

Dick Hill is a business lawyer with extensive experience advising and representing business entities and owners on structure, governance, operations, taxation and transactions (e.g., acquisitions, real property and various business contracts).  Also holding an engineering degree, he is comfortable with numbers, understanding spreadsheets, balance sheets, income statements and how they relate to business operations. 

Dick served for 20+ years as Secretary and outside General Counsel for the US parent and US subsidiary companies of a worldwide leader in the animal health industry, through several ownership changes, from being publicly-held in two countries to private equity ownership in three more countries – its last sale being valued above $1 Billion – with a record of success advising on core practice areas, above, and managing litigation across the US. He has advised and represented clients in manufacturing, commercial and service industries with respect to substantial transactions for real, personal and intellectual property involving privately-held companies and those listed on major exchanges, always with a view to enhancing his clients’ return on investment.

In addition to business entities, Dick has advised and represented law firms, lawyers, and other professionals.  He has traveled widely, lived for years in major cities on the East Coast, the West Coast and spent many summers and holidays on Midwestern family farms – he remembers fondly when his grandmother got her first indoor water supply, a hand-operated kitchen pump.  Having spent countless hours in factories and operated a variety of industrial machinery, he is as comfortable on the shop floor as in the C-Suite where he has a reputation for clarity and common sense.

Dick enjoys assisting other lawyers and being active in the legal community, having served as a Director of several legal nonprofits and been recognized for his service in various leadership positions.  Additional information is available here.

He spent decades on the Westside as the sole tenant of a respected multistate IP firm with whom he often worked.  In 2018 he relocated to Woodland Hills, trading his scenic mountain and coastline commute for a much shorter one to the vibrant Warner Center community.  The move also allowed more time to focus on estate planning, a practice previously limited to existing business clients, and to write the odd Limerick.

PRACTICE AREAS

Business Law:

  • Startups and established businesses
  • Corporations, LLCs, Partnerships, including LLPs
  • Structure, Formation, Governance, Operation, Acquisitions, Dissolutions

Real Property:

  • Commercial and Residential
  • Purchase, Sale and Leasing

Estate Planning:

  • Structuring, Drafting, Funding and Administering Trusts
  • Durable Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives
  • Wills and Probate

EXPERIENCE

  • Represented clients in transactions, valued at $1 Million to $20 Million, with public companies and their affiliates.
  • Has had significant responsibilities in transactions valued above $100 Million
  • Advised clients on articles/certificates of incorporation, bylaws, Buy-Sell agreements, shareholder agreements, LLC operating agreements and LLP Agreements.
  • Represented clients in transactions in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, MI, MN, NY, OR, PA and TX with local counsel as appropriate.
  • Represented clients in successful resolution of many disputes without litigation.  Significantly participated in the successful defense of many civil suits.  Successfully resolved tax disputes in many states, including sales and income taxes.
  • Represented a leading aircraft parts manufacturer in several acquisitions and dispositions, including public company transactions.  The company sold for $335M.
  • Advised nonprofit corporations on structural changes, including amended articles of incorporation and extensive revisions and customizations of bylaws.  Advised a trade organization in securing tax-exempt status retroactively, resulting in substantial tax savings.
  • When a big-four accounting firm advised their client to yield a $300K tax deduction challenged by IRS, secured an additional $77K deduction.  A year later, the IRS asked for an extra copy of the persuasive legal brief.
  • Reduced a client’s tax bill by $80K per year by utilizing an alternative capital investment structure. 
  • Saved a client from substantial estate taxes through post-mortem estate planning.