Practice Areas
Practice Areas
TencerSherman LLP represents businesses across four practice areas: business litigation, employment law, securities litigation, and intellectual property litigation. Every attorney at the firm came up through large-firm litigation practices before TencerSherman was founded in 2014, and the firm still handles matters the way that background suggests: aggressively where a fight is necessary, but always looking first for the fastest, most cost-effective path to resolution.
Most business disputes don't fit neatly inside a single practice area. A departing employee who takes client files touches both employment law and trade secret litigation. A securities fraud claim often carries a breach of fiduciary duty theory alongside it. TencerSherman's attorneys work across these practice areas on the same matter when the facts call for it, rather than treating the categories below as strict boundaries.
Employment law
Representing employers, not employees, in both litigation and the proactive compliance work that prevents most of it.
- Employment law: the full overview, including the 2024 changes to California's PAGA statute.
- Employment litigation: defending wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and wage claims.
- Employment advice: handbooks, agreements, classification audits, and compliance review.
Business litigation
Contract disputes, business torts, trade secret misappropriation, and commercial transaction disputes and arbitration, covering the day-to-day disputes that come up when a business relationship breaks down.
- Business litigation: the full overview, including when litigation makes sense versus settlement or arbitration.
- Contract disputes: breach of contract claims, remedies, and deadlines.
- Business torts: fraud, unfair competition, and tortious interference.
- Trade secret disputes: misappropriation claims under California and federal law.
- Commercial litigation and arbitration: UCC-governed transactions and arbitration clauses specifically.
Securities litigation
Securities fraud claims, SEC investigations, corporate governance counseling, and the class actions and derivative suits that make up much of securities litigation generally.
- Securities litigation: the full overview, including SEC investigations and California's own securities law.
- Class actions: securities class actions versus shareholder derivative suits.
Intellectual property litigation
Trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret disputes, plus the licensing and distribution disputes that sit at the boundary between contract law and IP law.
- Intellectual property litigation: the full overview, covering all four areas of IP litigation and where each type of claim gets filed.
Frequently asked questions
Does TencerSherman represent individuals, or only businesses?
The firm's practice is business-focused across all four areas. In employment matters specifically, TencerSherman represents employers rather than employees.
Which practice area handles a dispute that touches more than one of these areas?
Many disputes do cross these lines: a departing employee taking trade secrets is both an employment matter and a business litigation matter; a securities fraud claim can involve breach of fiduciary duty claims that overlap with business torts. TencerSherman evaluates the full fact pattern rather than routing a matter into a single practice area by default.
How do I know which page to start with?
If you're not sure, start with whichever practice area page above sounds closest to your situation, or contact the firm directly. The overview pages each link to more specific sub-pages covering particular claim types in more depth.
Does the firm handle matters outside San Diego?
Yes. TencerSherman represents clients throughout Southern California, including Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, and the Imperial Valley, in addition to San Diego proper.
TencerSherman LLP represents businesses throughout San Diego and Southern California across business litigation, employment law, securities litigation, and intellectual property. Contact the firm at 858.408.6900 to discuss your matter.
Award-Winning Lawyers
San Diego Employment & Business Litigation Attorneys
Protect What You've Built
From business disputes to employment and intellectual property litigation, our attorneys are committed to delivering strategic, results-driven representation.
TencerSherman LLP was formed in 2014 by Philip C. Tencer and Sam G. Sherman, two former large law firm lawyers with a vision for legal representation in the 21st century.
Practice Areas
Attorneys serving San Diego, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Serrano, Imperial Valley, Calexico, El Centro, San Diego County and all of Southern California.
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