Stephens & Kray is a transactional law firm located in Newport Beach, Orange County, California. The firm aspires to provide clients with essential legal advice and planning tools which will enable them to confidently make critical business and financial decisions.
Stephens & Kray attorneys have accumulated years of experience and in-depth knowledge to handle the legal aspects of operating, growing and buying or selling a trade or business. In addition, the firm has extensive expertise in the law related to estate planning, trusts and taxation, and has developed proprietary techniques for those seeking to protect wealth through sophisticated planning techniques.
Practice Areas
The Firm typically represents individuals and entrepreneurs, businesses from small to large, including corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships, in addition to trusts and their related parties in the following areas of practice:
Formation of Business Entities and Corporate Counseling
- Formation of Corporations, including C-Corporations and S-Corporations
- Formation of Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
- Legal counseling related to the selection, formation, and operation of such entities
- General corporate counseling
- Contract drafting
Mergers and Acquisitions
- Mergers and Acquisitions, including the legal issues related to buying, selling and other transfers of business interests and assets
Employment Law
- Employment law counseling and compensation issues
Real Property
- Legal counseling related to the law of real property, including buying, selling, and other forms of transfer
- Lease Review
- Land Use Issues
Intellectual Property
- Counseling related to intellectual property including: licensing agreements, trade secret agreements, royalty agreements, confidentiality agreements, and software and related technology agreements
- Trademark Prosecution
Estate Planning
- Formation of both simple and sophisticated Wills and Trusts, including the formation of more specialized estate planning tools, including proprietary Private Retirement Trusts (PRTs), and Business Opportunity Trusts (BOTs)
- Tax free or deferred exchanges
- Wealth transfers using valuation discounts and charitable organizations
- Formalizing the Ultimate Estate Plan which seeks to protect and maximize the value of assets through an integration of estate planning techniques and estate tax savings
- Protecting and maximizing the value of assets and properties
- Tax audits in defending sophisticated estate plans
Taxation
- Legal counseling related to taxation, including income tax and the estate and gift tax
