Apparel

We Know Your Business
Silver & Freedman’s Apparel Practice Group, one of the few of its kind, provides full-service representation to individuals and entities engaged in every facet of the garment manufacturing process. Our strengths lie in our dynamic ability to provide counsel and representation in a wide variety of capacities. Our goal is to serve as your outside “general counsel,” which is the type of representation most desired by our apparel clients.

We Speak Your Language
Unlike most law firms, who must take time (at your expense) to learn the industry, we understand the entire garment manufacturing process, from design and piece goods sourcing, to marking, grading, cutting, sewing, and finishing processes, as well as the intricacies of factoring and financing, sales, marketing, licensing and distribution. We have litigated nearly every conceivable dispute that can (and often does) occur in the garment manufacturing process.

We Can Do It All (or at least most of it)
There are few legal issues facing businesses in the apparel industry that we have not encountered. Obviously, experience is critical.  It also means that we are able to keep your legal work in-house, at a considerably lower expense. We have at our fingertips the ability to tap into many practice areas including tax and tax planning, real estate transactions, family law and estate planning, and a dedicated Labor and Employment Law Department. This depth of practice allows us to assist business owners with not only the pressing issues related to their business, but also their ancillary legal concerns, without having to “farm out” work to another firm. 

Our attorneys’ deep understanding of the day-to-day challenges of your business allows us to meet the wide array of day-to-day challenges brought by our apparel clients, and we are often consulted with regard to the following issues: 

• Business formation and structuring
• Drafting and review of commercial agreements
• Negotiating and review of factoring agreements 
• Trademark and copyright prosecution and infringement litigation
• Licensing of trademarks and other intellectual property
• Leasing of warehouses, showrooms, and other facilities 
• Stock and equity transactions with investors
• Purchase and sale of a business
• Labor and employment matters 
• Employment litigation (wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, wage and hour, etc.) 
• Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements 
• Non-solicitation, trade secret, and non-compete issues
• Drafting and review of employment or independent sales representation agreements 
• Resolution of disputes with fabric suppliers, vendors, contractors, sales representatives, employees, factors, and retailers (whether via litigation or otherwise)
• Tax and tax planning
• Estate planning
• Real estate acquisitions
• Insurance concerns – intellectual property insurance & insurance bad faith
• Commercial litigation & appeals
• Sales and distribution agreements
• Celebrity/athlete endorsement agreements