Practice Areas

Civil Litigation

Each Smith Thompson Shaw client benefits from the collective knowledge of our civil litigation lawyers and our exceptional staff.

Smith Thompson Shaw not only has extraordinary experience serving our clients in commercial and residential real estate closings, but we also zealously represent our clients in civil litigation. We handle a variety of real property related civil actions. Specifically, our civil litigation lawyers have significant experience in tax deeds, quiet titles, title claims and defects, business formation and operation, foreclosures, easements, partitions, contract disputes, evictions, and ejectments.

We represent tax deed purchasers seeking to obtain marketable title in order to sell or obtain a mortgage upon their property purchased via a tax deed sale. This process includes the ordering, preparing, and review of a title abstract, as well as a determination of any real property interests that must be extinguished.

We represent tax deed purchasers seeking to quiet title and/or correct a title defect to their real property. Our firm also represents First American Title Insurance Company and Fidelity National Title Insurance Group concerning title claims affecting real property. 

We represent business entities no matter how large or small. Smith Thompson Shaw provides a wide variety of services for corporations and other small business entities, including the formation of limited liability companies, partnerships, and corporations, along with a full range of business venture agreements, contracts, leases and other documents necessary to facilitate the opening and operation of a business.

We both pursue and defend mortgage foreclosure actions whereby we represent commercial and private lenders seeking foreclosure, and help borrowers defend foreclosures and negotiate a short sale. Our firm also represents property owners seeking a recorded easement to obtain legal access to their property and those property owners requesting a partition of their property when a dispute arises with co-owners as to use, maintenance, occupancy, or a sale of their property. 

Lastly, we handle many leasing transactions for developers and landlords of office buildings, apartments, and other commercial properties.  Our firm has extensive experience in representing parties involved in leasing commercial or residential real estate, including representing landlords in eviction claims, ejectments and other legal proceedings to remove a tenant or party that is wrongfully in possession. We can also assist landlords in drafting leases for use in a wide variety of leasehold situations.