Manhattan, NY | Business Law
Halvorsen, Reyes & Chen advises businesses and families on corporate transactions, estate plans, intellectual property, disputes, and real estate from a single Midtown office. We have worked with clients from startup formation through public offering, and from first lease to portfolio acquisition.
Practice Areas
Lead Practice
Mergers, acquisitions, entity formation, governance, financing, and board advisory. We represent founders, investors, and operating companies at every stage.
Corporate Law PracticeWills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and trust administration for families and business owners.
Trademark registration and enforcement, copyright strategy, licensing agreements, and IP due diligence for technology, media, and consumer brands.
Commercial disputes, contract enforcement, partnership disagreements, and arbitration in New York state and federal courts.
Commercial acquisitions and dispositions, lease negotiation, title review, construction contracts, and lender representation.
Employment agreements, non-compete and non-solicitation drafting, separation agreements, and employer defense in discrimination matters.
The Firm
David Halvorsen started the firm in 2004 after twelve years at a large Midtown firm where clients were assigned to departments that rarely talked to one another. His observation was simple: a business client who needs corporate work today may need employment advice next month and estate planning the month after. Routing each matter to a separate team meant the client had to re-brief three different attorneys on the same company.
Halvorsen, Reyes & Chen was designed to avoid that problem. The firm operates across five practice areas with partners who know one another's work. When a corporate matter has estate implications, the two partners sit in the same room. When a litigation matter touches employment law, those conversations happen internally, not over a client's invoice.
Maria Reyes joined as founding partner in 2005, bringing a background in intellectual property from her work in the technology sector. James Chen joined in 2009, adding real estate and commercial lending depth. The three founding partners still lead every significant matter personally. The firm has grown to fourteen attorneys, and the structure has not changed.
Our clients do not want to explain their business to three different attorneys. Neither do we.
Our Attorneys
Founding Partner
David founded the firm in 2004 after twelve years in corporate practice at Sullivan & Cromwell. He advises public and private companies on mergers, acquisitions, governance, and securities matters. He has served as lead counsel on more than sixty transactions with aggregate deal value exceeding $4 billion. He holds a JD from Columbia Law School and a BA in economics from Dartmouth.
Partner, Intellectual Property
Maria joined as founding partner in 2005 following a decade at a technology-focused IP boutique where she represented clients including software companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and entertainment studios. She leads the firm's trademark, copyright, and licensing practice. She is a registered patent agent and a member of the International Trademark Association.
Partner, Real Estate
James joined in 2009 after representing commercial lenders and institutional investors at Fried Frank. He handles acquisitions, dispositions, and financing for office, retail, and mixed-use properties across the New York metro area. He has closed more than two hundred commercial transactions and regularly advises real estate investment trusts on portfolio strategy.
Senior Associate, Litigation
Sarah joined the firm in 2018 after clerking for a judge in the Southern District of New York. She focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration, and employment disputes. Her federal court background gives clients a realistic assessment of litigation risk from the first call. She has tried eight cases to verdict and settled dozens more before trial.
Client Voices
We brought Halvorsen, Reyes & Chen in to advise on a complex acquisition that had IP, employment, and real estate components. Instead of three firms billing separately, we had one team that actually talked to each other. The deal closed on time and the integration was smooth.
Maria handled our trademark portfolio during a period when two competitors were encroaching on our brand. She was methodical, communicated clearly at every step, and we came out of it with stronger registrations than we started with. No drama, just results.
James negotiated the lease on our flagship location when the market was tight and landlords had leverage. He found provisions in the first draft that would have cost us significantly over the term. We signed a better deal than we expected.
David walked us through a Series B with complications that would have stalled most deals. He knew when to push and when to let the other side feel like they had won something. We closed in nine weeks.
Before you call
Yes, within limits. We advise on the New York law side of cross-border transactions and work with local counsel in foreign jurisdictions when needed. Our corporate and IP teams regularly handle matters involving European and Asian counterparties. We do not maintain offices outside New York, and for matters requiring foreign-law opinions, we coordinate with trusted correspondent firms rather than bringing those services in-house.
Partner rates range from $625 to $750 per hour, depending on the matter and the partner's area of focus. Senior associate rates range from $425 to $525. We work on hourly billing for most matters, with fixed fees available for standard transactional work such as entity formation, trademark filings, and residential real estate closings. We discuss billing structure at the outset of every engagement and do not allow surprises.
We handle the five areas we list: corporate, estate planning, intellectual property, litigation, and real estate, with employment law embedded in both the corporate and litigation practices. For matters outside those areas, such as tax litigation, criminal defense, or immigration, we refer to trusted specialists and stay involved as coordinating counsel when the matter touches our existing work.
Partners are reachable directly during business hours and respond to urgent calls within the hour. For matters that cannot wait, we have worked evenings and weekends to meet client deadlines. We are not a 24-hour hotline, but we are not a firm that routes every call through a receptionist either. Your matter has a partner's direct number from day one.
We represent one side per transaction. If both parties to a deal have retained us independently, we notify both, decline the conflict, and help each find suitable alternative counsel. There are no exceptions to this rule. Our reputation for independence is part of what our clients pay for.
We start by reviewing what you have. If the existing plan is sound and reflects your current assets and family situation, we tell you that and charge only for the review. If it has gaps, we explain specifically what they are and what it would cost to address them. Many clients come to us with documents drafted fifteen years ago that no longer reflect their estate, their family structure, or the tax law. The review process usually takes one meeting and a few days of document analysis.
Both. David started advising startups early in his practice and still finds early-stage formation and financing work some of the most interesting. We offer startup packages for entity formation and founder agreements that are priced below our standard hourly rates. The trade-off is that startup matters are staffed primarily by senior associates rather than partners, with partner review on all documents before they go out.
Email is the fastest path. Send a two-paragraph description of your matter to inquiries@halvorsenreyeschen.com and we will respond within one business day with the right attorney to speak with and available times. Initial consultations are typically thirty to forty-five minutes by phone or video. We do not charge for the first consultation when the matter is within our practice areas.
Contact
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