The RegistryCounty Record · California
Business Law Lawyers in Santa Clara County, California
Every business lawyer and business attorney listing on this page traces back to the State Bar of California's official roll, filtered to business law matters arising in Santa Clara County. Verification describes profile identity, not quality or outcomes.
Venue matters. Business law cases from Santa Clara County are ordinarily heard at the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. The heart of Silicon Valley; its superior court's complex civil division hears many of the technology industry's trade secret, employment, and corporate disputes.
Deadlines shape these cases before merits do · four years to sue on a written contract; two years on an oral contract (§ 339) (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337). Fraud claims run three years from discovery (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(d)); unfair competition claims under Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 run four years (§ 17208). Contractual limitation clauses can shorten these periods.
This page is the Santa Clara County chapter of the registry's statewide record · Business Lawyers in California collects all 58 counties.
The clock & the court
Four years to sue on a written contract; two years on an oral contract (§ 339).
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337
Fraud claims run three years from discovery (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(d)); unfair competition claims under Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 run four years (§ 17208). Contractual limitation clauses can shorten these periods.
Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara.
County seat: San Jose
Official court information, locations, and filing rules: santaclara.courts.ca.gov
Business Law · Santa Clara County roster
2,458 attorneys on the official State Bar of California roll list business law among their practice areas with an address of record in Santa Clara County.
2,397 of them hold an active licence; the remainder are recorded as inactive and are not currently eligible to practise.
The roster concentrates in Palo Alto (809), San Jose (690), Mountain View (220) and Santa Clara (177).
10 hold a State Bar Certified Legal Specialist designation, a certification issued by the State Bar's Board of Legal Specialization, and not a rating or a ranking.
292 are recorded as taking client work in a language other than English.
Admission years on this roster run from 1964 to 2026.
The employers most represented here are Cooley LLP (85), Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (75) and Apple Inc. (31).
The full Santa Clara County roster · 2,998 attorneys with an active license and a business law practice area: is listed by surname in the 15 sections below.
Business Law matters in Santa Clara County
The matters this field covers, as Californians search for them. Each attorney's own profile states which of these they take.
- forming a corporation or LLC
- drafting and reviewing contracts
- buying or selling a business
- partnership and operating agreements
- raising capital and securities offerings
- mergers and acquisitions
- corporate governance and compliance
- breach of contract
- partnership and shareholder disputes
- business fraud and misrepresentation
- trade secret misappropriation
- unfair competition
- commercial lease disputes
- collections and unpaid invoices
- franchise agreements and disputes
- corporate dissolution and buyouts
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Business Law questions, cited
How long do I have to sue for breach of contract in California?
Four years for a written contract (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337) and two years for an oral one (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 339), generally running from the breach. Fraud claims run three years from discovery of the facts (§ 338(d)). Many commercial contracts shorten these periods or add mandatory arbitration, so the agreement itself is the first thing to read.
What damages are available for breach of contract in California?
The amount that will compensate the injured party for all detriment proximately caused by the breach, per Cal. Civ. Code § 3300: typically expectation damages, plus consequential damages that were reasonably foreseeable. Punitive damages are generally unavailable for pure breach of contract (Cal. Civ. Code § 3294 requires an independent tort such as fraud).
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in California?
Almost never against employees. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 16600 voids contracts restraining anyone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business, and § 16600.5 (effective 2024) makes out-of-state non-competes unenforceable against California workers and creates employee remedies. Narrow statutory exceptions exist for the sale of a business (§ 16601) and partnership dissolutions (§ 16602).
What can I do if my business partner breaches fiduciary duties?
Partners owe each other duties of loyalty and care under Cal. Corp. Code § 16404. Remedies for breach include damages, an accounting, expulsion or dissociation, and judicial dissolution of the partnership (Cal. Corp. Code § 16801) or of an LLC (Corp. Code § 17707.03). Breach of fiduciary duty claims generally carry a four-year limitations period (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 343).
Where are business disputes heard in California?
Most are filed in the superior court of the county tied to the contract or the defendant's residence (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 395); claims of $35,000 or less proceed as limited civil cases. Several large counties, including Los Angeles, operate complex-litigation departments for qualifying cases. Contracts frequently route disputes to arbitration instead, which California courts enforce under Code Civ. Proc. § 1281.
What does it take to form an LLC in California?
Filing Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State (Cal. Corp. Code § 17702.01), then a Statement of Information within 90 days and every two years after (§ 17702.09). Most LLCs owe California's $800 annual minimum tax regardless of income (Rev. & Tax. Code § 17941). The operating agreement is not filed with the state, but it governs how members share control, profits and exits (Corp. Code § 17701.10), which is where most later disputes start.
Legal information, not legal advice.
From the answer files
Every business law attorney in Santa Clara County, by surname
Business Law by city in Santa Clara County
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Business Law in nearby counties
Source: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337 · State Bar of California licensee records · Checked: · Maintained by the California Attorney Registry from official State Bar of California records. Legal information, not legal advice.
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