Hospitality Practice

Our law firm represents companies (restaurants, taverns, bars, night clubs, studios, and art galleries) before the various alcoholic beverage control (“ABC”) boards in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Some of the legal services that we perform for our clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. include the following:

• Forming, maintaining, and dissolving partnerships, corporations, and LLCs.
• Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing partnership/corporate/shareholder/operating/buy-sell agreements.
• Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing commercial real estate leases/subleases, private placements, business plans, investor agreements, employee contracts, and franchise agreements.
• Drafting and reviewing restaurant employee manuals and policies.
• Obtaining liquor licenses, business licenses and all permits related to obtaining and/maintaining liquor and/or business licenses, occupancy permits, brew permits, wine permits, and sidewalk café permits.
• Negotiating and drafting voluntary agreements with protestants to liquor licenses.
• Drafting and negotiating all agreements related to the purchase and sale of businesses including restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.
• Obtaining copyrights and trademarks to protect a business’s intellectual property rights.
• Negotiating and settling sales and use tax disputes with the D.C. Office of Tax & Revenue.
• Representing and defending clients involved in civil litigation arising out of landlord, tenant, vendor, partner, employee, franchise, and customer disputes.

Alcoholic Beverage Licensing

DBM has experience obtaining all alcoholic beverage licenses/brew permits and handling all matters before the various ABC boards in the D.C. metropolitan area. We assist clients in acquiring a license, selling a license, dealing with the regulatory boards that handle such licenses, and defending against any disciplinary proceedings. Our attorneys and professionals have experience in successfully obtaining ABC licenses and in dealing with and negotiating voluntary agreements the various Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (“ANCs”), ANC committees, and local neighborhood associations that may oppose such licenses. DBM has experience working in a cooperative manner with the ANCs, neighborhood, community associations and licensing bodies to expedite license approval.

Transactional Practice

Our transactional practice helps clients with business acquisition services, entity formation and dissolution, and real property acquisitions and sales. In that regard, we help prepare and file corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Our legal services include formation and dissolution of business entities such as partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships. We also review agreements and contracts. We can also assist with stock and asset business purchases and corporate reorganizations. We help with all types of business acquisitions and sales, from initial advice on deal structure, confidentiality agreements and letters of intent, to negotiation of the definitive agreement, and employment and non-competition agreements.

Registered Agent Services

DBM provides registered agent services. Once a business entity is formed, each state or jurisdiction requires the entity to have a registered agent in the jurisdiction. Our firm acts as registered agent for multiple companies in the District of Columbia. The advantage of having our law firm act as your registered agent is to ensure that all significant legal documents are brought to your attention.