Top best Business Lawyers in ZIP 83702 | 88 available

Michael Christian has deep experience in natural resources law, administrative law and litigation.  For over 25 years he has represented interests in oil and gas, mining, real estate and ranching.  He represents active operators in oil and gas exploration in Idaho for all local legal needs, and as a result has been a central participant in the creation of a new oil and gas industry in Idaho over the last several years.  He has litigated disputes across a wide variety of subjects.  He provides services including:. ·         Contract preparation and review including leases, real estate purchase and sale agreements, easement agreements, surface use agreements, asset and stock purchase agreements, business mutual aid agreements, and vendor contracts. ·         Litigation of contract, real estate and other disputes. ·         Advising business clients regarding human resources issues including employment agreements, employee policy manuals, terminations, severance agreements, discrimination and harassment claims, and non-compete, confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements. ·         Representing clients in proceedings before the Idaho Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, including applications for spacing orders and integration orders. ·         Assisting clients with regulatory compliance issues involving the Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. ·         Representing clients before county planning and zoning commissions and boards of county commissioners regarding applications for local entitlements. ·         Mineral title opinions, including drilling and division order title opinions for oil and gas clients. ·         Governmental relations including drafting legislation and representing clients in the legislature as a registered lobbyist, and representing of clients in the negotiation and drafting of county ordinances. ·         Representing clients in administrative hearings before the Department of Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals,   including mining claim contest actions and public lands grazing permit renewal appeals, and appeals to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Michael has litigated a broad range of business and real estate issues, including both enforcing and defending against claims under employee noncompete, confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreements, intellectual property disputes, boundary and easement disputes, and a variety of contract disputes.  He has conducted bench and jury trials in Ada, Bonneville, Cassia, Canyon and Kootenai counties, and the United States District Court and Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho.  He has successfully argued appeals to the Idaho Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  His significant results include:. ·         Defeated employer claim attempting to enforce employee noncompete agreement, obtaining summary judgment and payment of client’s attorney fees by employer.. ·         Defeated CERCLA cost recovery claim for historic mine tailing contamination on summary judgment.. ·         Defeated claims alleging breach of geothermal lease on summary judgment, and obtained judgment for attorney’s fees against plaintiff lessor.. ·         Trial counsel in month-long trial of construction dispute, resulting in recovery of more than $300,000 for client and defeating opposing party’s $1,700,000 counterclaim.. ·         Obtained summary judgment against United States in mining claim patent dispute, and award of attorney’s fees in favor of client under Equal Access to Justice Act.. ·         Settled multi-million dollar intellectual property claim against manufacturing client for less than 5% of claim after deposition of opposing party.. ·         Obtained voluntary dismissal of property damage negligence claim after successful exclusion of plaintiff’s expert witness.. ·         Settled multiple partnership dissolution disputes on favorable terms.. Education:. Michael received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 1987, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington in 1990.  In law school, he won two moot court competitions and was selected to the school’s chapter of the Order of Barristers.. Publications:. “A Summary of Revisions to Idaho’s Oil and Gas Conservation Act and Rules: Responding as Production in Idaho Nears Reality,” Idaho Law Review Vol. 49, No. 2 (2013).

Max represents the small businesses of Idaho. With hands-on experience in both law and business, Max understands the legal complexities and entrepreneurial ingenuity it takes to run a business.. After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Max spent nearly a decade working as a landman in the exploration and production (E&P) sector of the Oil & Gas Industry. Max performed patent to present title research and leased mineral rights on land developed for petroleum and natural gas exploration in Colorado, Texas, California, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah. Max has spent many years traveling around the Western United States, largely in agricultural regions, where he obtained a unique appreciation for the land and the natural resources we hold so dear.. After his experience in the private sector, Max received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Idaho College of Law. Max spent his first year of law school in Moscow before moving to Pocatello for the summer and clerking for the Honorable N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After moving to Boise to finish his legal education, in his final year of school Max clerked for the Honorable B. Lynn Winmill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.. Max loves recreating in the beautiful outdoors of Idaho. Whether it’s hiking and camping, playing at many of Boise’s amazing parks, or hunting in the great wilderness of Idaho, Max has made the Gem State his home.

Louis Spiker comes to Johnson May with over 10 years of legal experience in Idaho. His practice emphasizes creditors’ rights, commercial litigation, and business transactions. Louis also practices in the areas of real estate, land use, and agriculture. Louis earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Idaho College of Law after obtaining a degree in economics from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Johnson May, Louis was a partner in a Boise law firm where he managed that firm’s Creditors’ Rights practice group.

I am a bankruptcy attorney in Boise, Idaho, and also represent clients in California.. I got into bankruptcy law because when I was growing up we lost our house to foreclosure and later we also got evicted from another house. We were on welfare off and on. Financial problems never seemed to cease when I was a kid. I have real empathy for what my clients are going through. I know first hand how scary it can be. Although my parents did not have the tools to prevent some of the hardships, I now have the tools under the Bankruptcy Code to help my clients avoid some of the outcomes I had to deal with as a kid.. My hobbies are baking, history, and cycling.