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Profile
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Welcome
to Gaw Van Male, Counselors at Law
Gaw Van Male has
always been a leader and active participant in the community. Without
a lot of fanfare, quietly supporting a variety of non-profit and
volunteer organizations, advising business owners and neighbors,
it grew from its beginnings in 1972 to become the largest law firm
established in Napa Valley and Solano County.
Today, Gaw Van Male employs 27 attorneys and more than 40 staff
members. Our goal is to learn what’s important to
our clients, to ensure that nothing is overlooked, to counsel
on technical considerations, and to articulate objectives with
precision and clarity. Our job is to make you think about
things you never thought about before, and then to take care
of it.
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A Record of Growth and Vision
Little more
than a year after graduating sixth in his class, Dave Gaw and
Nick Van Male co-founded the law firm of Gaw Van Male. Wyman
Smith joined the firm in 1977, becoming a partner two years later.
More
than a decade passed, and the Fairfield office opened in 1989. Bruce Myers, who joined the firm in 1982, and Bruce
Miroglio, who joined the firm in 1985, became partners in 1991. Scott
Reynolds became a partner in 1998, and added his practice and
office in Redlands. The Vacaville office opened in 2000
in response to continued growth in central and eastern Solano
County.
Nick Van Male divested ownership to become Of Counsel. The
partnership converted to a Professional Legal Corporation (PLC),
and partners became shareholders and directors of the corporation. Teresa
Cunningham joined the firm in 1998, and was named a Director
in 2001.
In Napa in 1997, GVM faced a very difficult decision. The
firm needed more and better space. It found a developer
and committed to occupy 10,000 square feet, making possible the
construction of a $6 million three-story class A office building,
the first of its kind built in downtown Napa for more than half
a century. It represented the first tangible evidence of
the revitalization of historic downtown Napa. Within a
week of the 9/11 tragedy, Gaw Van Male moved from the historic
Winship Building to its new quarters at First & Main.
GVM
has grown to 27 attorneys, more than 40 professional and administrative
staff, and the largest firm established in Napa Valley and Solano
County.
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Law That Works
Gaw
Van Male is among California’s leading Estate Planning
firms, offering a broad range of wealth preservation, business
succession, and exit strategy planning. It served as general
counsel to The Vintage Bank, Solano Bank, and their holding company,
North Bay Bancorp, before and during the recent merger with Umpqua Bank, which is headquartered in Oregon. It acts as corporate counsel to many
small and mid-size business and commercial enterprises, as well
as national and international corporations. It serves many
of Napa Valley’s leading family-owned wineries and vineyards.
With
active practices also in employment law, litigation, tax, intellectual
property, and real estate, it takes a comprehensive multi-disciplinary
approach to the opportunities and challenges facing its clients. Gaw
Van Male has offices in Napa, Fairfield, Vacaville, and southern
California.
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How It Works
Gaw Van Male delivers
legal services through three basic actions:
Anticipate
We
listen and learn your needs and desires, often by making you
think about things you’ve never thought about before. Then,
we apply our knowledge and experience to achieve your real objectives
in realistic ways. Our relationship with clients begins
here.
Advise
Once
we’ve earned our clients’ trust, when there’s
a problem, we’re part of the solution. When there’s
an opportunity, we’re part of its fulfillment. By
now, our clients have experienced two of our core values – personal
service and a friendly and approachable manner.
Advocate
We
are fully aware of the potential for contentious relationships,
no matter how amiably they start, and for objections or interference,
no matter how worthy the goal. We have a team of effective
and fearless litigators, which often means resolution of disputes
far outside the courtroom. And here the circle is complete: as
we advocate, we learn how better to anticipate and to advise
our clients in their best interest.
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Finding
the Help You Need: Departments
Business
Wyman
G. Smith,
Department Manager
Estate Planning
David
B. Gaw,
Department Manager
Litigation
Teresa A. Cunningham,
Department Manager
From within these three primary Departments,
GVM has organized nine multi disciplinary practice groups. All
Departments and attorneys are available to every client at anytime
to address and fulfill their legal needs.
Multi Disciplinary
Groups: Practice Areas
Advocacy
Civil litigation
Commercial litigation
Mediation
Dispute resolution
Creditor’s protection
Advocacy services available in
all Practice Areas
Business Enterprise
Business
formation
Mergers & acquisitions
Public & private offerings
Securities, stock incentive plans
Banking, financing, workouts
Contracts
Transactions
Succession & exit strategies
Tax
Elder Law
Public benefits
Probate
Guardianships
Health planning
Long-term care planning
Fiduciary malfeasance
Exit Planning
Mergers & acquisitions
Public & private offerings
Financing
Stock incentive plans
Transactions
Estate Planning
Tax
Human Resource Law
Employment relations
State and Federal compliance
Insurance and benefits programs
Employer-employee disputes
Real Estate
Transactions
Financing
Land-use
Development
Construction
Title and boundary
Tax
Tax
Exit strategies
1031 Exchanges
Entity formation planning
Corporate re-organizations
Partnerships & LLC’s
IRS appeals & controversies
Trade Identity
Branding & identity
Packaging & labeling
Concept evaluation
Registration
Protection
Wealth Preservation
Estate planning
Exit strategies
Family business succession
Trust administration
Conservatorship
Charitable giving
Estate tax strategy
Trust & estate disputes
Wine Law
Winery & vineyard acquisition
Land use & permitting
Grape & production contracts
Equipment & ground leases
Brand & identity protection
Alcohol beverage compliance
Family business succession
Employment
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Attorneys
David B. Gaw
Wyman G. Smith
Bruce A. Myers
S. Scott Reynolds
Teresa A. Cunningham
James R. Forbes
Robert E. Lando
Scott D. Greenwood-Meinert
David R. Lawson
Douglas C. Spletter
James P. Lamping
Michael A. Manfred
Nicholas E. Donovan
Betty L. Homer
D. Kenneth Brock
Conor J. Massey
Hilary J. De Puy
Lori A. Hunt
Kenneth G. English
Nicholas R. Van Male
Christine L. Craig
Katja Loeffelholz
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Office Locations
Napa Valley
Established 1972
1000 Main Street — 3rd Floor 707-252-9000
/ T
Napa, California 94559-2653 707-252-0792
/ F
Fairfield
Established 1989
1261 Travis Boulevard, Suite 350 707-425-1250
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Fairfield, California 94533-4825 707-425-1255
/ F
Vacaville
Established 2000
411 Davis Street, Suite 101 707-469-7100
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Vacaville, California 94688-4641 707-469-7652
/ F
Redlands
Established 1982
300 State Street, Suite 450 909-798-3190
/ T
Redlands, California 92373-5235 909-798-3092
/ F
info@GawVanMale.com
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www.gawvanmale.com
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Contents
Welcome to GVM
A Record of Growth
Law That Works
Departments
Groups
Attorneys
Office Locations
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