Press Release

Buchalter is excited to announce its recently launched Equine Industry Group, utilizing over 25 top legal professionals in across many different practice areas. The group is piloted by four Buchalter attorneys with extensive and diverse legal experience who are also life-long equestrians.

The industry group grew out of a passion for horses and the recognition of a need for high quality legal services in the equestrian industry. After discovering a shared love for horses, Peggy Hosking, Leah Lively, Danielle Mayer, and Alexandra Bijan Pakzad decided to turn their legal focus on the equestrian world. Their love of horses, the sport, and the community guides the team in everything it does.

Ms. Hosking is a dressage rider and breeds high quality dressage horses. Ms. Lively shows in the amateur jumpers across the west coast and her daughter excels in the hunter and equitation rings. Ms. Mayer recently sold her Dutch Warmblood and is now on the hunt for her new jumping unicorn with dreams of doing the High Amateur-Owner division. Ms. Pakzad is a skilled jumper rider and a former competitive junior show jumper, representing the United States in international competition.

“As I became more involved in the equestrian community, the more I recognized the tremendous need with few full service firms committed to providing the comprehensive and multifaceted solutions that clients need,” said Danielle Mayer, Co-Chair of the Equine Industry group and an attorney in the Los Angeles and Orange County offices. “We are deeply committed in the equestrian community and we want everyone in the industry to have access to the highest level of professional legal and financial services and those services should be provided by community members who are well versed in the industry,” Mayer continued.

This industry group, while newly formed, is based on years of equine experience and representative matters in addition to the collective years of experience of the firm’s 400 + attorneys.  Buchalter is a full-service business law firm with offices in California, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. With attorneys licensed in most states and relationships with international lawyers, Buchalter’s equine group can handle almost any legal issue across the United States and can assist with international needs.

With a strong regional presence and a national reputation, Buchalter is able to meet all the legal challenges its clients face. Our team utilizes its knowledge, industry relationships, and in-depth understanding of the legal issues facing the equine world to help the firm’s clients succeed in a wide range of equine-related matters.

“We understand the industry and the unique needs of riders, barn owners, trainers, horse owners, and event managers,” said Lively, a shareholder in the firm’s Portland, Oregon office. “A big part of being a good lawyer is providing practical, effective advice to a client based on understanding their industry—that’s a value our Equine team provides.” Lively continued.

Equine or Equestrian Law is a complex and multidimensional practice of law that has its own traditions, customs, and conventions. Our team “canters the canter” in the equine world and has an in-depth knowledge of horses and the industry. Buchalter represents a wide array of clients in the equine industry including owners, riders, trainers, breeders, retailers, and business people across all horse disciplines and breeds. Our industry expert attorneys work closely with a wide range of Buchalter attorneys who have the requisite experience to ensure our clients’ needs are met to the highest satisfaction.

“Our considerable industry knowledge and expertise means Buchalter is uniquely positioned to meet the challenges of this rapidly growing industry,” Peggy Hosking, Co-Chair of the Equine Industry group and a shareholder in the Los Angeles and Orange County offices, added. “Buchalter is able to handle equine-related litigation and transactional matters that affect the daily operations and livelihoods of entities and individuals in the equine industry. This includes issues involving as real estate, labor and employment, general corporate and contractual matters, tax and estate planning, land use and environmental issues, intellectual property and branding issues, litigation, and government law and policies.”

“We are involved in the equestrian industry every day – whether it is buying and selling horses, training horses, breeding horses, or showing horses,” said Bijan Pakzad, an attorney in the Sacramento and Los Angeles offices. “We are on the ground experiencing the same issues our clients experience on a daily basis and I think that gives our team a unique and important perspective that is critical to providing the best service for our clients.” Bijan Pakzad concluded.

Follow the industry group’s social media channels for great horse and horse related legal content and for announcements of topical articles and the launch of the industry group’s podcast. Also, look for the team at horse shows across the country.

The major areas of Buchalter’s Equine Industry Group include:

• Corporate
• Litigation
• Real Estate transactions
• Contracts, Partnerships, and LLCs
• Labor and Employment
• Tax Planning, Benefits, and Estate Planning
• Government, Regulatory, and Administrative Law and Policy
• Land use and Environmental law
• Intellectual Property and Branding
• Products Liability
• Financing and banking
• Insolvency and Financial Law Group
• International business and trade
• Privacy and Data Security

The following are some examples of the type of matters in which Buchalter provides representation:

• Agent purchase and sale issues
• Auctions
• Bill of Sale Drafting and Issues
• Breeding Contracts
• Boarding Agreements
• Commissions Agreements
• Contract Disputes
• Counsel and representation before equine sport governing bodies
• Disciplinary Hearings
• Drug and Medication Rules Violations
• Employment issues (including employee vs. independent contractor issues)
• Equine Business formation, transactions and counseling
• Equine liens (also known as horse liens, agister’s liens, stablekeeper’s liens)
• Gaming and licensing issues
• Insurance policies and coverage disputes
• Jockey Issues
• Liability Releases
• Liens for Stablekeepers, Farriers, Veterinarians and others providing horse care
• Permitting and Construction of Equestrian and Polo Facilities
• Purchase and sale contracts
• Racetrack Issues
• Steward disputes
• Drug and Medications violations
• Labor disputes
• Racing and Licensing Regulation Issues
• Releases, Waivers and Liability Disputes
• Sales Commissions Disputes
• Syndication Agreements
• Tax and Value Adjustment Board applications and appeals
• Tax exemptions and other issues affecting equine businesses
• Trainer Liability
• Wage and Hour issues
• Zoning Applications and Zoning Appeals