"As a commercial real estate developer and attorney, I have negotiated well over 500 shopping center leases. Stu's understanding of the business and legal aspects of shopping center transactions enabled his client to ask the right questions, to obtain the items the client needed to run a profitable business and to negotiate a lease fair to both parties -- the hallmarks of a successful transaction."
- negotiate or draft better commercial leases
- ask the important questions
- identify and minimize unavoidable risks
- catch important details that might otherwise be missed
- add significant provisions that are missing
- mitigate lease-based economic ups and downs
- save money
- protect their businesses
HELLER focuses his practice on commercial leasing and other business transactions with an emphasis on being available and responsive to his client as he helps them understand and improve the agreements they are asked to sign. He has practiced law in the State of Washington for over 30 years, assisting companies such as RED ROBIN INTERNATIONAL, CUCINA! CUCINA!, Inc., SCHWARTZ BROTHERS RESTAURANTS, PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA, CHIPOTLE, QDOBA, FRESH CHOICE, PHOTON MACHINES, INTREPID CONSULTING, UNITED REPROGRAPHICS, WAYPOINT MARINE and other retailers and entrepreneurs with their commercial leases and other business transactions, business entity formation, maintenance and revision, and liquor licensing, as well as their day to day legal issues. For example he orchestrated one client's $6.6M acquisitions of 4 companies comprised of 35 retail food service outlets spanning 2 states, and successfully assisted another rapidly growing restaurant chain and its affiliate acquire over 45 new locations.
Stu Heller is now the Principal Attorney at the Law office of Stuart A. Heller where he drafts, reviews and negotiates key business contracts; teams with senior management and in-house counsel to steer acquisitions, sales and purchasing activities; recommends appropriate courses of action to ensure regulatory, licensing, and contract compliance as well as to enforce his clients' rights; and collaborates on tax, securities, bankruptcy, litigation and intellectual property matters as needed to best protect his clients. In this capacity he has achieved a "Superb" rating on AVVO.com.
Previous to operating his own law office he was Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of RED ROBIN INTERNATIONAL, INC, where he was responsible for all legal matters of this restaurant chain which during his tenure tripled in size to 47 corporate and franchised units in ten states and Canada, and achieved system wide sales of $85,000,000.
Prior to RED ROBIN he was with WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY serving first as an intellectual property attorney, then as its Environmental Counsel, and subsequently as a Regulatory Affairs Manager where he helped protect the company's intellectual property; counseled on multimillion dollar environmental issues and successfully appealed unreasonably restrictive governmental permits; and tracked and proposed strategies for dealing with government regulation of waste and industrial chemical substances. After nomination by Weyerhaeuser's President and during a one year leave of absence he served as a Presidential Exchange Executive and Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE in Washington, D.C.
PUBLICATIONS
His numerous articles have appeared in the PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL; HOSPITALITY NEWS & COFFEE TALK; the WASHINGTON RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION NEWS UPDATE (now THE FRONT BURNER); the website of the WASHINGTON STATE HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION (www.wshla.com); NORTHWEST STIR, the E-zine for culinary professionals (at www.nwstir.com), and in his blogs at Squidoo, Hubpages, Blogspot, and WordPress .
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Washington State Bar Association, King Country Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Washington, Washington State Hotel & Lodging Association, Washington Restaurant Association
HELLER received his undergraduate degree from RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE and his JD degree from GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL, lives in Seattle and is an avid runner and skier.
Fees
Fixed fee arrangements - available for reviews, analysis, and recommendations
Hourly fee arrangements - also available for reviews, analysis, recommendations and negotiations
Combination fixed and hourly fee arrangements - where a fixed fee is set for reviews, analysis, and recommendations, and an hourly fee applies to resulting negotiations
Monthly retainer arrangements - for those who want to be able to call any time on a fixed monthly budget COMMUNITY
ACTIVITIES
Stu Heller is now the Principal Attorney at the Law office of Stuart A. Heller where he drafts, reviews and negotiates key business contracts; teams with senior management and in-house counsel to steer acquisitions, sales and purchasing activities; recommends appropriate courses of action to ensure regulatory, licensing, and contract compliance as well as to enforce his clients' rights; and collaborates on tax, securities, bankruptcy, litigation and intellectual property matters as needed to best protect his clients. In this capacity he has achieved a "Superb" rating on AVVO.com.
Previous to operating his own law office he was Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of RED ROBIN INTERNATIONAL, INC, where he was responsible for all legal matters of this restaurant chain which during his tenure tripled in size to 47 corporate and franchised units in ten states and Canada, and achieved system wide sales of $85,000,000.
Prior to RED ROBIN he was with WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY serving first as an intellectual property attorney, then as its Environmental Counsel, and subsequently as a Regulatory Affairs Manager where he helped protect the company's intellectual property; counseled on multimillion dollar environmental issues and successfully appealed unreasonably restrictive governmental permits; and tracked and proposed strategies for dealing with government regulation of waste and industrial chemical substances. After nomination by Weyerhaeuser's President and during a one year leave of absence he served as a Presidential Exchange Executive and Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE in Washington, D.C.
PUBLICATIONS
His numerous articles have appeared in the PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL; HOSPITALITY NEWS & COFFEE TALK; the WASHINGTON RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION NEWS UPDATE (now THE FRONT BURNER); the website of the WASHINGTON STATE HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION (www.wshla.com); NORTHWEST STIR, the E-zine for culinary professionals (at www.nwstir.com), and in his blogs at Squidoo, Hubpages, Blogspot, and WordPress .
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Washington State Bar Association, King Country Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Washington, Washington State Hotel & Lodging Association, Washington Restaurant Association
HELLER received his undergraduate degree from RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE and his JD degree from GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL, lives in Seattle and is an avid runner and skier.
Fees
Fixed fee arrangements - available for reviews, analysis, and recommendations
Hourly fee arrangements - also available for reviews, analysis, recommendations and negotiations
Combination fixed and hourly fee arrangements - where a fixed fee is set for reviews, analysis, and recommendations, and an hourly fee applies to resulting negotiations
Monthly retainer arrangements - for those who want to be able to call any time on a fixed monthly budget COMMUNITY
ACTIVITIES
- 2006 - present: Chair, King County Bar Association's Business Advisory Panel working with the UW Business School to annually assist 16-18 local minority-owned businesses
- 2006 - present: Board member, President and Vice President of the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra
- 2008 - present: Mentor for and participant with Team In Training marathoners raising funds for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society
