Our areas of practice include:

Mental Health Law
Business Formation
Intellectual Property: Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets
Elder Law
Mediation

Mental Health Law

George Gamez will represent mental health workers such as psychologists, marriage and family therapists, social workers in any actions taken by their licensing boards.

George Gamez is available to advise and/or represent you in matters relating to your practice, in managing your risks with patients and in any personal or business transactions involving legal issues and requirements. 

Healthcare practice is a highly regulated business. There many statutes, rules and regulations that govern the practice of mental health. A practitioner can easily go astray of these structures unknowingly but with dire consequences. Legal advice is a must for practitioners that desire to avoid difficult if not catastrophic penalties for not following the requirements of state and federal laws.

George Gamez will assist you by reviewing your contracts with employees (professional and non professional alike) and review your business contracts to make sure they are in compliance with the law and that you are protected.

Because healthcare is highly regulated, it is important to understand the consequences of forming the business structure. There are various ways in which a health care entity (such a as a clinic) can be formed and each type of business entity has advantages and disadvantages. George will help you choose the structure that best fits your needs. For example, both federal and state laws limit the extent to which physicians and non-physicians can co-own businesses. Similarly, California law is very strict about the types of entities which healthcare providers are permitted to operate.  Healthcare professionals, for example, are limited by Corporations Code Section 13401 et seq. to practicing through professional corporations.

Business Formation

One of the first decisions a business owner(s) must make is what type business structure to use. That is, should the business operate as a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation? If a corporate structure is used, then it must be run like a corporation. Otherwise, the business owners may be deprived of the benefits of the corporate structure and may be exposing themselves to unpleasant and unexpected liabilities. Filling out forms and submitting them to the Secretary of State is just the beginning of complying with the state requirements. The corporation must perform other tasks to be legitimate and to protect itself and the owners against creditors - the main purpose of a corporation is to have a "corporate shield" to protect the individual officers and shareholders from creditor liability. If the corporation is not formed or operated properly, then the corporate veil can be easily pierced and deprive the corporation and the individual officers of the corporate protection. We can help you set up the proper structure for you business and help you in keeping your structure in compliance with the relevant laws. To Top

Intellectual Property
Intellectual property includes patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. We help
file the proper paper work to protect your intellectual property assets.

Copyright Infringement

The creators of various works including literary works, pictures, web site content, and software applications are entitled to protection and deserve to reap the rewards of their creativity. In some cases, these rewards may go to the employer of the person who actually created the work and in other cases, it may go to the estate of the deceased creator. George Gamez can help businesses and creative individuals identify threats to their intellectual property rights. We monitor and police our clients' copyrights globally to reduce the risk of copyright infringement.

Copyright Registration

Copyrights are valuable assets. The first step in the protection of copyrights after creation of the work is to register the copyright. George Gamez will help you with copyright registration. To top

Intellectual Property Licensing

After creating the work and registering it with the copyright office, the work must be exploited as a business asset. The work may be licensed to others for a licensing fee. George Gamez will help you draft and negotiate license agreements. Licensing and monitoring intellectual property is crucial to obtaining proper compensation for this valuable business asset.

Trademark Infringement

George Gamez will help businesses identify threats to their trademarks. We monitor and police our clients' trademarks globally to reduce the risk of typosquatting, cybersquatting, or trademark infringement.

Trademark Registration

Trademarks are another valuable business asset that must be protect and exploited. We will help you in trademark registration and management. To top

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets include such items as product formulas and technical specifications, referral sources, software source code, manufacturing processes, customer or suppliers lists, and other items that have value due to the fact that the information is not generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means and the owner has made reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy of the information. Trade secrets are valuable assets that must be protected from misappropriation. Employers should be particularly wary of employees misappropriating these secrets while employed and after termination of employment. Employment contracts should clearly prohibit this misappropriation and reasonable steps should be taken to keep the secrets confidential and to take action to prevent their unauthorized use.

Elder Law

Having a family member who is having difficulties late in life can be very stressful for children, spouses and other family members. There are many decisions that have to be made that have profound legal consequences. These decisions include making an advance healthcare directive, making wills and trusts and long term care planning. A conservator may have to be appointed for a family member who is no longer competent to handle his personal and business affairs and a petition must be made to the court. Legal structures must be put in place to protect the family estate and to give dignity to the aging member whose health may be rapidly declining. Family members may be concerned about elder abuse both in the home and in an institution such as a a nursing home. This abuse may be financial, physical or psychological. and includes abandonment, neglect, and false imprisonment. Mental deterioration is only one of the issues with a disease like Alzheimer's and there are many regulations that must be dealt with to help the family deal with these end of life stresses.

If you are facing declining health, there are many adjustments to be made. You may have questions regarding driving requirements, bankruptcy, health care entitlements, housing rights, reverse mortgages, social security benefits. To top

Mediation

Conflict is rampant in our modern world and some disputes can become vicious and even deadly. The two opposing parties may try to settle their differences through litigation. The adversarial process can be costly and psychologically devastating. Often, the winner is left with a Pyrrhic victory with no more to show for his efforts than the fact the he or she won. Unfortunately, when the opposing parties are family members or have some long term mutually beneficial business relationship, that relationship is lost amidst the bitter feelings left by the litigation process. Fortunately, there are other forms of resolving disputes which have been gaining more favor in the last few decades. These include arbitration as well as mediation. In arbitration, which may or not be binding, the arbitrator acts like a judge. He listens to arguments and makes a determination after the issues, facts and arguments are presented. It is similar to litigation but usually speedier and less costly. Like trial litigation, there is a winner and a loser.

Mediation on the other hand involves helping the participants reach their own determination. There are various types of mediation but they all involve improving the communication between the parties and trying to arrive at a win-win conclusion. Rather than focusing on who is right and who is wrong, the emphasis is on "how can we meet the needs and interests of the parties in a way that both parties come out feeling that they won something in the process.” To top

George Gamez is available to mediate your disputes especially in the following areas:

•Disputes among business owners
•Contract disputes
•Probate disputes among family members
•Cross-cultural disputes
•Employment related disputes
•Personal Injury and other Tort Actions
•Real Estate disputes

His approach to Mediation

Being both a psychologist and lawyer places George Gamez in an excellent position to mediate. He can help opposing parties communicate and listen to each other without becoming overly defensive. His legal knowledge helps him understand the complex legal issues underlying various conflicts. His research in the area of creativity and his authorship of the book Creativity: How to Catch Lightning in a Bottle help him understand the creative process and apply it to thinking outside the box in developing novel solutions. His varied experiences in business and in the entertainment field help him have a wide knowledge base to draw from in dealing with complex problems and in negotiating creatively. To top