About Mark Chatow, Experienced SoCal Business Litigation Attorney

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I was hesitant to hire an attorney due to the expense involved but due to Mark’s knowledge and expertise he ended up saving me an enormous amount of money. I would recommend Mark to anyone due to his knowledge, thoroughness, and professionalism.

Client, Dave S.

Address Small Issues Before They Grow Big

I’ll provide real, actionable analysis as to the strengths and weaknesses in your case to help you decide the most appropriate way for you or your business to handle your specific legal issues. We can also have a transparent discussion as to my rough assessment as to the potential costs and risks–with an understanding that we’re typically operating with less than perfect information and assumptions.

Offer Fair, Transparent Rates

Our low overhead allows me to be conservative when billing on your case and to charge fairly for the work I do. At your request, I’ll keep you apprised of billing as work progresses so you shouldn’t ever be surprised by the total cost. I will also consider certain business litigation on a contingency basis. Please contact me to discuss your case if your matter exceeds $50,000 in hard damages and you are looking for a business litigation attorney to handle your case on contingency basis.

Make Bills Clear and Simple

When you are billed, your invoices will have clear explanations of what you’re being billed for, and why. And if you ever need more explanation, you can always call–without worrying about being billed for that call too.

Pick Battles Wisely

I also believe that sometimes the best legal action from a business perspective is no action. Not every case should be fought to the death, and I’ll advise you on when it makes more sense to seek an early resolution–as well as when to hold your ground. At times it’s less costly to back away from a legal solution and my business experience will help guide you in those cases.

No Nickel and Diming

I have a simple rule that I won’t charge for the expenses that used to drive me crazy when I was a client. When you are a client you will never be billed for standard copies, scans, or postage. And you won’t be charged for phone calls where we discuss administrative aspects of your case and not substantive facts or legal issues.

Respond Quickly to Phone Calls and Email

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to reach your attorney about a crucial contract issue or pressing business law matter and not getting a return call or email the same business day. I take your calls and inquiries seriously and if I am not immediately available we can quickly schedule a time when we’re both free. Get your legal concerns addressed today with a no-cost phone consultation. Call 949-478-8393.

About Chatow Law

Our Firm’s History

Chatow Law is a business litigation firm built on a foundation of Mark’s 20 as an Orange County, California Business Lawyer. He’s served as founder, executive, and CEO of companies across a range of industries including real estate development, technology, wellness, and consumer products.

USC Law

Mark began his studies at USC’s Gould School of Law in 1990, and earned his J.D. from USC Law in 1993.

Consumer Products

Between his first and second years of law school, Mark became a founding partner of Roundhouse Products. After graduating from USC, Mark began to work full-time at Roundhouse as VP Sales & Marketing, and helped grow the company from its initial three partners to more than 200 employees, $60,000,000 in revenue, and #25 on the Inc. 500. In addition to opening Walmart, Best Buy, and an international distribution network, Mark experienced a wide variety of legal matters from a business-owner’s perspective, from the drafting of the company’s first partnership agreement to the due diligence and agreements around Roundhouse’s acquisition by Targus Group.

Wellness

After the successful sale of Roundhouse to Targus, Mark acquired a business in the consumer wellness industry. Mark encountered a range of legal issues including corporate entity and tax matters, resolving an internet defamation case with one of the world’s largest consumer review websites, to the negotiation of the sale of the company, and its reaquisition after the buyer defaulted on a seller note.

Real Estate Development

Mark joined Gemstone Development where he gained experience in both commercial and residential construction and development. He helped take Gemstone to $100,000,000 in annual revenue and #5 on the Inc. 500 list. Mark provided business insight on legal issues at Gemstone from reviewing purchase agreements to resolving buyer-developer disputes.

Technology

Mark then became the first executive hire at CloudCrowd (later Servio), a San Francisco crowdsourcing company funded by Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson, with accounts including Staples, Orbitz, eBay, and CocaCola. Mark interfaced with counsel on legal matters from trademark registrations to terms of service, and agreements that governed the company’s relationships with more than 200,000 workers around the world. Mark later moved to Sourcebits, a Seqouia Capital-funded mobile developer, where he was head of global marketing. At Sourcebits Mark helped resolve issues including negotiating the company’s release from unfavorable long-term marketing agreements and resolving a case of online business disparagement from a business perspective–both without requiring costly legal action.

Chatow Law

After his time at Servio and Sourcebits, Mark realized that there was a gap in the market for a business litigation practice run by someone with significant business experience on the client side. He started Chatow Law with the goal of bringing business sense to business litigation, and to offer the style of counsel he had always wanted, but struggled to find, when he was starting, growing, and selling businesses.

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