Rath Young Pignatelli

Industries We Serve

Alternative and Renewable Energy

We advise the nation’s leading developers, owners, operators, investors, and lenders involved in the generation and transmission of electrical power alternative and renewable sources: biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, cogeneration, landfill, bio-gas, and alternative fuel feedstocks. We bring multiple legal disciplines to the representation of our energy clients integrating tax, corporate, environmental, real estate, and regulatory experience to assist the clients to achieve their goals in an efficient and timely fashion.

Banking and Financial Services

We offer knowledgeable and pragmatic counsel to provide the most efficient legal, regulatory, political, and tax solutions to a wide range of banking and financial services clients. The professionals at Rath, Young and Pignatelli are experienced on issues covering the full life-cycle of such organizations, including formation and licensure, service as outside counsel to regulated entities (on regulatory, transactional and tax, litigation, and other matters), and work with impaired institutions and the dissolution process. Our state tax team represents national clients in resolving key state tax issues impacting the industry, including combined reporting, nexus, and appointment issues. We also provide effective advocacy and public policy services before New Hampshire state agencies and the legislature, enabling us to offer our clients a full range of solutions. Our clients include banks, credit unions, and other commercial and retail lenders, as well as private and public non-depository trust companies, collective investment trusts, and private investment companies.

Business and Regulation

We advise businesses and their owners and investors on formation, financing, and operational issues. We have deep experience in various specialty areas of the law, including general business, tax, environmental, employment, and intellectual property. We offer our clients by developing cost-effective, integrated solutions to the various regulatory challenges faced by business today. We can call upon the state’s top Government Relations professionals when necessary to achieve our clients’ goals in the state legislature or regulatory agencies, and, when necessary, we can bring the intellectual capacity and energy of our Litigation Group as needed.

Commercial Lending and Real Estate

We advise local and national borrowers, lenders, and investors in commercial lending transactions secured by both intangible and tangible property as collateral. We provide diligent legal representation of purchasers and sellers of real estate and businesses: incorporating the experience of our corporate, tax, environmental, and real estate professionals to bring these transactions to closing. Our team has also represented real estate owners in legislative efforts and in litigation with respect to business tax, real estate transfer, and reasonable compensation tax issues of importance to the industry.

Emerging Businesses and Venture Capital

Our corporate, employment, and tax attorneys provide expertise and experienced representation in corporate and LLC structuring, private equity and debt placements, employment agreements, incentive equity programs, contract negotiation, ownership transitions, exit strategies, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to federal tax issues, our state tax team is experienced in addressing the emerging multistate tax issues impacting the technology industry, including nexus, apportionment for income tax purposes and potential sales, and use taxation of tangible property, services, and digital transactions.

Government Regulations

The Government Relations Practice Group provides a full range of client services, including issue advocacy, lobbying, political consulting, contract procurement, and assistance in state and local permitting.

Hi-Tech and Software

In addition to representation provided to emerging growth companies, RYP represents technology and software companies in negotiating licensing and joint development agreements, protecting intellectual property (excluding patent registration), and intellectual property protection agreements with employees and independent contractors. Our State tax team is experienced in addressing the emerging multi-state tax issues impacting the industry, including nexus, apportionment for income tax purposes and potential sales, and use taxation of tangible property, services, and digital transactions.

Health Care Business and Regulation

The health care industry is complex and highly regulated. At RYP, our seasoned professionals are able to untangle these complexities and offer practical guidance for solving real world problems. We represent providers, payors, and a variety of other health care organizations and entities on a wide range of matters, including licensing and regulatory compliance, corporate and transactional, litigation and tax. And in the ever changing health care regulatory landscape, we offer clients public policy and advocacy services to ensure that they are well represented before legislative bodies and administrative agencies. Since many of these entities are tax exempt for federal purposes, we have valuable experience with federal treatment issues as well as state and local property tax issues.

Higher Education and Private Schools

Our experience in education and nonprofit law focuses on the corporate, regulatory, legislative, liability, tax, and employment aspects of private secondary and postsecondary education, as well as nonprofit organizations throughout New Hampshire and northern New England. Since 1987, the firm has represented many of the premier educational institutions in New England. We work on a wide range of matters for schools, colleges, and charitable organizations, including: business advice and corporate governance; education and employment law, including Title IX; intellectual property and licensing; liability protection and litigation; regulatory and legislative advocacy and tax exempt financing and tax litigation.

Hospitality

We advise owners and operators of hotels, restaurants, and other businesses involved in tourism on corporate structuring and transactions, as well as regulatory issues that may arise with respect to employment, environmental, real estate, and tax in the State of New Hampshire. Our State tax team regularly advises the hospitality industry, including restaurant and hotel business owners and national travel service providers, with respect to their ongoing corporate operations, compliance with regulatory requirements, and state tax obligations for themselves and their customers together with filing obligations.

Insurance

The professionals at Rath, Young and Pignatelli bring a breadth of insurance industry experience to bear for our clients, including work in both the private and public sectors and representation of a wide range of property, casualty and life, accident and health insurers, as well reinsurers, producers, third party administrators, and alternative risk transfer/financing mechanisms (such as MEWAs and captives). Our deep technical knowledge and excellent relationships with state regulators allow us to provide practical and efficient solutions to clients on a wide range of complex insurance regulatory matters, from licensing to compliance and enforcement. We also have substantial experience working with impaired institutions. Our professionals take a comprehensive approach to solving problems that includes not just legal expertise, but an understanding of public policy and an ability to effectively advocate for clients before state agencies and the state legislature.

Manufacturing

Our corporate, environmental, and tax attorneys assist clients in the manufacturing industry with supply and distribution, OEM, equipment leasing, re-seller agreements, sales agency agreements, and similar agreements common to this industry, while offering guidance on environmental compliance, federal and state tax issues relating to interstate commerce, corporate income, sales and use tax, and other intricate tax laws that affect manufacturing businesses.

Nonprofits and Charitable Organizations

Our corporate, tax, litigation, and real estate teams advise a myriad of non-profit and charitable organizations with respect to their ongoing corporate operations as well as their state and federal tax obligations. We also represent charitable organizations in property tax matters to ensure that property used for charitable purposes is exempt from property taxation, and when desirable, to assist such organizations in negotiating PILOT agreements with their respective localities.

Regulated Utilities

We focus on all matters governing the regulation of public utilities. Our representation is broad and across multiple utility industries including gas, electric, water, steam, and telecommunications. We work with investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, and contract operators of utility systems as well as interveners in regulatory cases seeking to protect their interests. In addition, we advocate on behalf of these utilities before state legislative and regulatory bodies as well as providing legal representation on corporate, environmental, real estate, financing, and tax matters.

Telecommunications

Our tax team is experienced in issues impacting the telecom industry, including issues relating to business, taxes, communications, services, and utility property taxes.