Buckley Law P.C. has a specialty niche representing motor vehicle dealers which started over 30 years ago. Included in our client base are local, regional, and national multi-franchise dealer groups, several of which are highly successful minority-owned businesses. We have also served as local counsel for outside dealer groups making an acquisition or needing other assistance in Oregon.
The dealer practice group was started in 1978 by shareholder Lawrence Evans and was joined in the late 1990s by shareholder Kelly Meltzer. When Buckley Law P.C. was formed by the merger of two predecessor firms in early 2011, the group expanded to include shareholder and seasoned litigator Bill Gaar, who has represented dealer clients since the mid-1990s. All three are members of the National Association of Dealer Counsel (NADC), which is the leading organization for attorneys specializing in the motor vehicle dealer market. Shareholder Stan Rotenberg also contributes his considerable real estate expertise to the group (especially in acquisition and leasing matters). Together, these attorneys work as an effective team to meet the wide variety of needs of their dealer clients. Our goal is to represent clients for the duration of their careers, and to that end we provide high quality, prompt representation at fair rates. We derive great satisfaction from helping a dealer start with one franchise, and then representing and advising that dealer over the years while he or she grows the business or expands to multiple franchises.
Our practice group becomes highly involved when clients buy and sell dealerships and related real property (with long term leases being an alternative to site ownership). We frequently help dealers solve day to day consumer and human resource issues before (and sometimes after) they turn into litigation or arbitration. Our attorneys have also developed expertise with such dealer matters as opening new franchises where supported by the growth of a particular area (referred to as “Open Points”); resolving disputes with manufacturers (from the dealer perspective); advocating for or against the establishment of Open Points under applicable law; defending potential dealer terminations; and assisting with financings (including real property loans, working capital loans, and inventory flooring loans).
We have dealt with most major brands – including Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volvo – and in many cases with their related financing companies. In fact, our practice group has worked closely enough with some manufacturers that we receive referrals from factory personnel, and we were engaged to provide services for Toyota Motors Sales, U.S.A. on an isolated matter. We also enjoy strong working relationships with accountants and business brokers who specialize in this industry.
Dealer practice is both challenging and exciting – involving mergers and acquisitions; real estate purchase, leasing and land use; complex finance; consumer law; labor and employment law (including union involvement in some markets); environmental law; contract law; franchise law; tax law; intellectual property; and other specialty areas. This diversity of issues keeps us learning something new every day and working hard to stay current in the industry. It is a gratifying niche based on relationships developed over a period of years, first and foremost with wonderful clients; but also with dealer, manufacturer and lender counsel around the country; brokers; and factory personnel.
