We welcome Adam G. Holofcener as an associate with the Firm

by | Jan 7, 2016 | Entertainment law, In the News, Office News

We are very pleased to welcome Adam G. Holofcener as an associate with the Firm.  We have worked with Adam the last few years in his position as the Executive Director of the non-profit organization Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (MDVLA), whose mission and work we are proud to support.   Adam is currently splitting his time between us and the MDVLA.  In Adam’s work with MDVLA, Adam has worked with many artists, entertainers, lawyers and related businesses in the Baltimore metro area on entertainment law issues.

Adam’s practice with us focuses on Trademarks, Entertainment Law, and general business and corporate issues.  Prior to joining Oliver & Grimsley, Adam was a staff attorney at the California Monitor, a program of the California Attorney General that assisted homeowners struggling with foreclosure under the National Mortgage Settlement.   Adam has a license to practice law in Maryland and in California (currently inactive).

You can contact Adam at adam@olivergrimsley.com.

Client Spotlight – Evolution Craft Brewing

by | Oct 6, 2015 | Client Spotlight, Uncategorized

Evolution Craft Brewing Company®

200 Elmwood Street
Salisbury, Maryland 21801
(443) 260-2337
https://www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com/home


When a Bill Becomes a Law: Oliver & Grimsley’s Client Takes on State Government to Save and Advance Business By Creating New State Law to Regulate the Production of Malt Beverages

A special congratulations to Oliver & Grimsley’s client, Evolution Craft Brewing Company® (“EVO”), that played an instrumental role in advancing Maryland State House Bill 1039 (the “EVO Bill” [PDF])  that was signed into law on May 12, 2015. https://www.wmdt.com/news/more-local-news/Beer-production-opportunities-to-increase-in-Wicomico-County/32973476

This bill raised the Wicomico County, Maryland limit on the number of barrels of malt beverages from 22,500 to 45,000 that a micro-brewery may collectively brew, bottle, or contract for in a calendar year.  With this change, the brewing company is able to keep its current staff and create new jobs.

Evolution Craft Brewing Company features expertly crafted brews including mainline, seasonal, barrel aged, and special beers.  Visit the brewery and elevate your experience with friends by gathering in EVO’s relaxed tasting room where you can sample over 10 varieties of craft beers.  EVO also offers a variety of unique culinary fare at its artisanal restaurant located on site in Salisbury, Maryland.

EVO has won a number of awards for its top-rated craft beers and delicious eats, including its most recent accolades in Men’s Journal where Lot #3 IPA was named one of the “70 Great Beers You’ve Never Heard Of”.  In addition, in Draft Magazine Nouveau Rouge® was ranked “Top 25 Beers of 2013”, and Lot #6 Double IPA® and Exile Red Ale were rated 94, with Menagerie No. 5 receiving a 96 rating.  Also, Evolution Craft Brewing Company has been the recipient of Coastal Style Magazine “Best of Winner 2014”, the Metropolitan Magazine “Best American Restaurant” and “Creative Menu & Best Burgers Winner 2014”.

Some of EVO’s most notable craft beers include:  Main Line Beers–Exile Red Ale, Lot #3 IPA, Lucky 7 Porter, Primal Pale Ale, and Lot #6 Double IPA®.  Award winning and favorite food picks include: the gourmet burgers—the duck confit burger, and the surf & turf burger, the EVO dip sampler, spicy Virginia clams, the artesian charcuterie and cheese selection, and the nightly fresh fish selection.

Savor creative craft beer and inventive culinary creations at Evolution Craft Brewing Company, tasting room, and restaurant in Salisbury, Maryland.

More information may be found on EVO’s website: https://www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com/home

“Dear Prospective Defendant:” …

by | May 6, 2015 | Business Law, Tips, Uncategorized

Having practiced enough years I should be able to say I have seen it all, sadly, I realize I never will.  Today is no different.  Today I reviewed a letter to one of our clients with the salutation of “Dear Prospective Defendant:”  It struck me immediately – was this necessary?  Do lawyers need to be so antagonistic, bombastic or just plain abrasive, to start a letter this way?

Talk about sending the wrong message.  The sender of this letter wants something from our client (money).  They clearly wanted to signal they were willing to take additional action, but really, is it not better to ask nicely, even in a dispute?  I did not even get to the first sentence of this letter without having formed a negative opinion of the sender.  A person so insecure in their position to start a letter this way cannot possibly be taken seriously can they?

The letter also reminded me immediately of the direct opposite – a firm that from top to bottom is run by the most respectful, honest, trustworthy just plain good  people you could ever find.  The title of the person that greets you at the door to this business and answers your calls is the “Director of First Impressions” – and she is fantastic at her job (of making good impressions!).  Leadership runs here from top to bottom.  And yes, I will name them:  Brooks Financial.

I never really put much stock in a person’s title – to me you have to earn it, so titles in many businesses are hollow and meaningless.  But this one title has stuck with me because if we were all better at being directors of first impressions, we would all be better people, and most likely get a lot more of what we want from others.  We would also be much better at resolving disputes.

We lawyers are called on often to deal with stressful situations where two or more parties are fighting – claiming one or the other violated some law or breached some agreement.  Even in a dispute it is important to remain cordial and civil, doing so will be more likely to get the result you want.

– Mike Oliver

Client Spotlight: Bloomery Plantation Distillery

by | Apr 23, 2015 | Client Spotlight, Uncategorized

Bloomery Plantation Distillery, LLC
Grand Re-Opening
16357 Charles Town Road, Charles Town, WV   25414

Oliver & Grimsley’s client, Bloomery Plantation Distillery, has mastered the art of crafting home-grown, natural fruit cordials, and a variety of flavored liqueurs. Located on a 12-acre farm, in Charles Town, West Virginia, Bloomery Plantation Distillery restored and transformed an 1840s, abandoned log cabin and created a charming mini-distillery where the owners of the distillery make artisan cordials by hand from their farm’s own lemons, raspberries, and other farm-fresh ingredients.

In October 2010, after returning from Italy, the owners of Bloomery Plantation went on a quest to find the best limoncello in America. Wanting to replicate the taste and experience of that wonderful Italian trip, the owners became enamored with making their own limoncello.

Since then, Bloomery Plantation Distillery has crafted a variety of SweetShines, from the original Limoncello, to Chocolate Raspberry, to Peach ‘Shine, to their proprietary Raspberry Lemon, to their “Moonshine Milkshake Cremma Lemma.” Other flavors include, Black Walnut, Ginger Shine, Hard Lemonade, Seasonal Pumpkin Spice, and the newest flavor: Cranberry Clementine.

Bloomery Plantation Distillery has won over 20 international awards for its unique and inventive cordials and for the creative artwork featured on the labels that adorns its bottles.

Savor inventive spirits and exclusive cocktails, and experience attentive service, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in the distillery’s historic 1840s log cabin distillery and tasting room where the Blue Ridge Mountains meet the Shenandoah River in Charles Town, West Virginia. Only 1.5 hours away from Baltimore and D.C.

More about Bloomery Plantation Distillery and products may be found on the website: https://bloomerysweetshine.com

O&G Secures Patent in Less than Six Months And Without Any Rejection From The U.S. Patent Office

by | Mar 31, 2015 | Intellectual Property, Patents, Uncategorized

We are pleased to announce that Oliver & Grimsley, LLC successfully secured U.S. Patent No. 8,827,115 entitled, “Container for Storing, Measuring and Dispensing a Liquid” that proceeded seamlessly through the patent office in 3 months, 26 days.  The invention relates to an improved device for storing, measuring and then dispensing, using only gravitational forces, a user-selected specific volume of liquid.

Generally, the length of time it takes to navigate the patent system is 2-3 years for a regularly filed application.  For an additional filing fee, a prioritized application may be filed to expedite the examination process to about one year, which is how our client elected to proceed.

In addition, the USPTO generally rejects 85%-90% of all filed patent applications at least once.  In this case, however, Oliver & Grimsley, LLC was able to successfully clear the patent prosecution phase without any rejections, which allowed the application to issue in record time — 3 months, 26 days, much earlier than the one year anticipated time frame.

Congratulations to Victor Katz for his recently issued patent!