Delivering Results to Clients

Any law firm can tell you what the law is and charge you thousands on retainer. Most law firms will warn you about every scenario in the book to scare you away. We get the job done. By providing creative solutions, we get to work right away, and we help you create value.

Here are some of our results we helped deliver for our clients. All names and locations are pseudonyms to protect confidential information.

Real Estate Transactions

  • $6,700,000 Commercial Refinance – San Fernando Valley – secured landlord a major refinance/cash-out of existing retail asset in Metro Los Angeles.
  • $10,000,000 Commercial Portfolio Sale – South Los Angeles – represented seller in transaction to sell major retail assets to a developer. Seller avoided $500,000 in potential agent’s commissions in the transaction.
  • $4,000,000 Land Sale – Santa Monica – represented seller in a sale to a developer. Zero commissions paid by the seller, $200,000 savings to the client.
  • $1,250,000 – Single Family Home Sale – West Adams – represented seller in a sale of a home to the tenant. Zero commissions paid by the client, $75,000 in saved commissions.
  • $5,500,000 – Single Family Home Purchase – Venice – represented buyers through the entire transaction.
  • $780,000 – Condo Purchase – Los Angeles – represented buyer in escrow and closing, entire transaction.
  • $4,400,000 – Single Family Home Sale – Brentwood – represented 1 seller in a contentious transaction that involved a divorce, multiple liens, 4 different attorneys.
  • $280,000 – Land Sale/Seller Financing – San Gabriel Valley – Represented buyer in a land purchase, seller financed 100% of the sale price.
  • $122,000 Price Reduction – represented a buyer in purchase of a home. Negotiated a buyer’s credit during escrow, after all contingencies were removed.

Litigation/Business Disputes/Real Estate Disputes

  • Trial – Breach of Contract
    • Plaintiff sued for $175,000, recovered nothing
    • Defense Verdict
    • Represented Defendant in a trial
  • Jury Trial – Residential Rent Control Eviction
    • Represented landlord, unanimous jury verdict against illegal occupant
    • 5 months in litigation
    • Tenant represented by 2 lawyers
    • $26,000 verdict and possession
  • Breach of Contract Litigation – Settlement
    • Represented tenant sued by landlord for Airbnb violations.
    • Case settled for less than 6.5% of asking amount
  • Earnest Money Deposit Dispute Mediation
    • Represented Buyer
    • 100% of EMD recovered back to the buyer ($117,000)
  • EMD Dispute/Agent Malpractice
    • Represented Buyer
    • All contingencies removed by buyer
    • Recovered 100% of EMD ($221,000)
  • Dismissal – Commercial Eviction
    • represented tenant in a large commercial eviction
    • $255,000 in back rent owed during COVID-19
    • Case was dismissed by landlord, our client paid nothing
  • Case Dismissed – Civil Rights Litigation Defense
    • Represented Landlord
    • Tenant hired Legal-Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to file an illegal lockout lawsuit for damages
    • Case was dismissed twice
    • Our client paid nothing in the settlement
  • Case Dismissed – Residential Eviction
    • Represented Tenant (luxury home)
    • $155,000 in owed rents
    • Case was dismissed in a demurrer, twice
    • Our client paid nothing to landlord
  • Commercial Eviction – Commercial
    • Represented landlord of a large downtown warehouse
    • Recovered 100% in owed rents ($45,000)
    • Recovered possession in 10 days
  • Commercial Eviction – Restaurant
    • Represented property owner
    • Recovered possession in 20 days
    • During COVID-19 moratorium
  • Luxury Home Eviction
    • Represented tenant
    • Judgment won via waiver argument
    • Case dismissed via motion of summary judgment
    • $32,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to the tenant

Tenant Habitability, Landlord Harassment Claims

  • $35,000 Settlement – Tenant v. Landlord – non-permitted unit and habitability claims.
  • $75,000 Settlement – Real estate agent malpractice claim. We represented the seller against the agent.
  • $250,000 – Settlement/buyout – harassment claim against the landlord by our client leveraged into a cash for keys agreement that far exceeded the average buyout in Los Angeles County.
  • $130,000 – Tenant v. HOA – significant property damage as a result of HOA’s negligent repair. We represented Tenant in the claim against the HOA.

Case Studies

For a more detailed look at our services, here are a few select case studies that showcase what Sinai Law can do for you in your next legal challenge.

EV Dealership Commercial lease Negotiation

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new client reached out to our firm. She was embroiled with a complicated commercial lease negotiation with an EV dealership. Our first goal was to negotiate good terms for our new client. But we also needed to settle a dispute with the former attorney on the case, and an angry neighbor.

Challenges

  • Client faced three imminent lawsuits. We needed to settle all disputes before the new lease.
  • Due Diligence – new tenant was a start up with no public accounting data. Client needed verification of tenant’s credit-worthiness before signing a new lease.
  • Limited Time – we only had 11 days to sign a new lease and settle all disputes.

Results:

  • Added $476,000 in property value as a result of our rent increase
  • Successfully settled all disputes prior to lease commencement
  • Secured corporate guarantee of multi-year commercial lease
  • Zero tenant improvements provided

Tenant Buyout Negotiation – COVID-19 Special

Client retained our firm after the landlord served tenant with a 3-day notice to pay or quit. In May 2020, very few people (or lawyers) understood the eviction moratorium. Client had 3 goals – negotiate a buyout, avoid litigation, find a new location.

We explained the new eviction protections to our client and the landlord. Applying the commercial eviction protection, we prevented an unlawful detainer lawsuit. We then successfully negotiated a favorable buyout for our client.

Challenges

  • Hostile landlord – threatened litigation and served multiple 3-day notices
  • Harassment from landlord disturbed operations
  • Tenant owed over $280,000 in back rent
  • Limited client resources – client could not afford defending a lawsuit
  • Uncertain regulatory environment under COVID-19

Results:

  • Zero litigation between the parties
  • Client saved $250,000 in owed rent
  • Client was allowed to stay in the location for 8 additional months without paying rent
  • Client netted $19.7 for every $1 in legal fees

Santa Monica Property Sale

A previous client retained our services to facilitate a real estate transaction – a job usually reserved to real estate brokers. And while we can’t market the property for them, we can represent clients in a real estate transaction.

Our client was not interested in hiring a real estate broker since he already had a buyer secured, and wanted to lower closing costs. The first attorney on the case demanded 1% of the sale as compensation. Frustrated, the client gave us a call to see if we can do better.

Challenges

  • Client needed a quick close due to a 1031 exchange
  • No brokers in the transaction
  • For both parties – this was a first real estate transaction

Results:

  • $13,500 in total legal fees to seller compared to $61,000 in a normal sale with agents
  • Escrow closed on time with no delays
  • Zero credits provided to buyer

The Ghost Real Estate Agent

A new client called our firm in the morning. She was in escrow to purchase her first home in California. However, she wanted to cancel escrow after an inspection came back with lots of structural issues. Our new client wanted to cancel escrow but there was one problem – she could not reach her agent and time was running out before she lost her earnest money deposit – $65,000.

She called other firms and was quoted $5,000 for the task. Lucky for her, she contacted Sinai Law. We got to work right away and called escrow and her agent. We drafted a quick cancellation of escrow and notified all parties.

Escrow was promptly cancelled and our client got her $65,000 that day. All for $500 in legal fees.

Challenges

  • Client called at 9am with a hard deadline to cancel escrow
  • $65,000 security deposit at stake in less than 24 hours
  • Agent representing client was missing in action

Solution

  • Sinai law contacted escrow agent and provided legal notice to cancel escrow to all parties
  • Quick document review showed other serious legal issues for the agent
  • Escrow was cancelled in less than 1 hour of client engagement
  • Client paid a total of $500 in legal fees to solve the problem

Commercial Lease Renewal – The Negotiation From Hell

A family trust contacted us through a referral from another attorney. The trustee was also the property manager of a strip mall in Orange County owned by the trust. One of the anchor tenants in the center was negotiating a lease extension and was taking advantage of the trustee’s inexperience (the center also had a vacancy for over a year, so the tenant wrongly believed it had leverage to ask for a short lease with a steep discount). The commercial lease broker hired by the trust badly botched the negotiation and we were hired to clean up the mess.

We got to work right away. We knew our client needed to refinance the property in a few months and could not afford a rent reduction or another vacancy. We immediately contacted one of the tenant’s competitors who wanted to expand in OC, and produced an LOI within 2 days of engagement with our firm. With a new offer in hand, we leveraged the negotiation with the tenant to secure a 10 year lease with a rent increase.

Challenge

  • Owner of strip mall faced a failing negotiation with a national tenant, previously represented by local broker
  • Aggressive discount requested to extend the lease by tenant’s broker
  • Tenant insisted on short term extensions only
  • Upcoming refinance meant our client could not afford to lose another tenant or a rent reduction

Solution

  • Originated another offer to lease the space to a regional competitor of the tenant
  • As a result of alternative option, tenant agreed to a 10 year lease, the only one in the nation
  • We secured the property owner a 40% rent increase, a record breaking per square foot rate in the neighborhood
  • Lease extension in less than 2 weeks from engagement
  • No broker involved in the deal and zero commissions paid
  • $516,000 increase in property value as a result of the new lease

Get the Legal Results you Deserve!

Our core belief is simple – a good lawyer should make you money. Whenever you hire a new attorney, always ask them – what kind of returns can I expect on my legal fees? If they can’t give you a quick and clear answer – they should not be representing you.

Legal disputes can be an opportunity to create value. This is what separates Sinai Law from other law firms – the belief that we can turn a liability to an asset. To schedule a free consultation and see how we can help you make money: