Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant

Whiteford Taylor & Preston's Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Group consists of a team of over a dozen lawyers with experience representing clients in the hospitality, hotel, restaurant and related industries. The services our team of attorneys can provide cover the waterfront of legal needs of those operating in the hospitality industry in general, and more specifically, in the restaurant, hotel and cruise line operator industries. One of our attorneys comes from a career in the hospitality industry as a chef and restaurant manager. Another of our attorneys serves as general counsel to the National Passenger Vessel Association. Whether you own a neighborhood restaurant or manage a national chain of hotels, our experience allows us to serve our hospitality industry clients in the areas of:

• ADA issues
• Business and general litigation
• Contracts and general corporate matters
• Defense of tort claims
• Debtors and creditors' rights and bankruptcy matters
• Equipment lease issues
• Franchising issues
• Green building and sustainability issues
• Labor and employment matters
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Maritime / cruise issues
• Real estate, zoning, land use and construction issues
• Real property lease reviews and negotiation
• Tax issues

Featured Lawyers
Dennis J. Shaffer
Mr. Shaffer is a former chef and restaurant manager with over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Mr. Shaffer's experience includes working for restaurant groups, food service providers and various independent operators. His extensive experience in the industry allows a unique perspective as legal counsel, having actually stood in the client's shoes. Mr. Shaffer's legal experience includes the representation of one of the world's largest timeshare operators, at the time, with resorts across the globe during its successful bankruptcy reorganization.

Steve E. Bers
Mr. Bers is counsel to "Visit Baltimore" (Baltimore's Convention, Hotel and Visitor Association), and General Counsel to the National Passenger Vessel Association, representing the dinner, overnight and excursion industry. He has extensive background in representing clients in the hospitality industry, by example: Hospitality-employee compensation, occupancy taxes, union-free strategies, ADA accommodation responses, to name but a few of the legal matters involving hotels, restaurants and public amusements. Mr. Bers, as chair of the Firm's employment practice, has significant experience in labor and employment matters prevalent in the hospitality industry.

Noteworthy Experience and Ability
The Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Group attorneys' experience includes: representing one of the world's largest timeshare companies in a complex and successful bankruptcy reorganization; the long term representation of a national association that includes dinner cruise operators; numerous successful defenses of restaurants and hotels in employment and assault cases; the successful defense of restaurants in tort litigation; the representation of many individual hospitality operators in general corporate and litigation matters; defending hotels in various litigation matters; and active involvement in the convention and visitors' association of Baltimore. Several of our lawyers are LEED accredited and able to assist clients with a variety of green building, construction and related initiatives. By providing services through a team of lawyers with experience in a broad array of legal disciplines, the firm's Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Group is able to assist clients with the wide variety of legal issues that face hospitality industry businesses.