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I represent many types of business clients in their formation, financing, operation and disposition.  I represent real estate developers and other owners of real property in connection with the formation of Opportunity Zone Funds, special taxing districts, tax increment financing districts, and other public-private partnerships, as well as structure joint venture agreements among investors and operators of real property assets.   I represent business owners and businesses in their formation, merger and acquisitions and in a variety of business activities.  I also represent nonprofit organizations and assist them in fulfilling their mission.

Paul Alpuche is a business and tax attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer. He has more than 20 years of experience providing business counsel, tax planning and tax controversy guidance to businesses and individuals throughout Montgomery County and the Washington metropolitan area.. Paul works closely with the owners of start-up, growing and mature companies to develop and implement goal-oriented legal strategies. He provides counsel regarding organizational, governance and capitalization matters; drafts buy-sell, operating and joint venture agreements; and advises on succession planning and all aspects of contractual and strategic relationships. His clients include professional service organizations; real estate developers and investors; nonprofits and associations; country clubs; insurance companies; health care facilities and providers; manufacturers and retailers. Paul is known for his straightforward approach; in the words of one client, “Paul will always tell me what I need to hear.”. Paul’s clients value his broad expertise and emphasis on the tax issues associated with owning, operating and acquiring, or disposing of closely held businesses. Paul educates business owners and executives about how to choose professionals such as accountants, financial planners and insurance agents, and then works with those experts on business, planning and tax issues. As part of his tax planning practice, he regularly advises nonprofit organizations in applying for tax-exempt status, drafting and adopting conflict of interest policies and planning transactions to comply with the intermediate sanction rules.. Paul’s many successes include representing individuals and businesses with tax issues before the Internal Revenue Service and various state and local taxing authorities. As part of his tax controversy practice, he regularly counsels clients in all aspects of federal, state and local tax assessment and collection procedures. This includes representation in trust fund penalty assessments, examination and appeals, and guiding clients through the Offer in Compromise process, installment agreements, collections due process hearings, requests to abate penalties, and lien releases and discharges.. Paul received his Bachelor of Accountancy from The George Washington University School of Government & Business Administration and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from The National Law Center at The George Washington University. He also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.. Paul recently appeared in SmartCEO magazine’s “Legal Elite” as a “go-to attorney for business.”. He regularly provides pro bono services and also serves on the boards of Montgomery Hospice and Interfaith Works. He also serves as general counsel of Imagination Stage. For six years, he served as the supervising attorney of the University of Maryland School of Law Qualified Federal Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.. Paul enthusiastically supports his children’s budding athletic endeavors.

Raymond Sherbill, a corporate attorney who chairs Lerch, Early & Brewer’s Business & Taxation practice in Bethesda, Maryland, combines strategic thinking, attention to detail and drafting, and broad commercial experience to represent businesses and business owners knowledgeably and effectively on a continuing (and usually long-term) basis. Ray counsels businesses of all sizes in a variety of transactional, financial, employment and tax-related matters, as well as the handling and resolution of complex disputes. His clients include manufacturers, government contractors, distributors, construction firms, service providers, and a number of international businesses, as well as individual business owners and entrepreneurs.. In his transactional practice, he routinely provides representation on business formations and equity transactions, the negotiation and drafting of joint venture and teaming agreements for government contracting opportunities, the structuring and implementation of mergers and acquisitions, and the consummation of significant asset transactions for closely-held private companies. Ray also advises businesses on preferred equity, senior debt and mezzanine financing transactions, executive and employee compensation and incentive arrangements, corporate governance and succession planning.. As a negotiator and advocate, Ray frequently represents clients in business ownership and control issues and disputes, efforts to mitigate or resolve liability risks, and efforts to maximize value on key assets and opportunities. Chambers USA writes that Ray “ is praised for his ‘keen commercial awareness’ and ‘well-formulated and well-presented arguments.’” (Chambers USA 2010.) Mechanically inclined, he readily grasps technical, manufacturing and construction concepts that frequently prove essential or addressing manufacturing or construction liability issues. Ray also represents clients in government contracting matters with the procuring agencies or the Government Accountability Office, and in other matters before federal and state regulators.. Ray received his Bachelor of Arts from Boston University and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the George Washington University Law School. Prior to joining Lerch Early, he was a partner at a downtown business and government contracting law firm and a Bethesda-based business law firm. He is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.. Ray serves as a Trustee and as Vice-Chair of the National Park Trust, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a unit of the National Parks. He also is the Vice-Chair of Committee for Montgomery, a coalition of diverse community organization and business leaders who find consensus and advocate for the betterment of Montgomery County. Ray also is a board member and provides pro bono legal services to Combat Soldier Recovery Fund, a charity that provides direct financial support to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, biking, art and history.