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Finney Law Firm, LLC Included in 2021 “Best Law Firms” List by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®

By Christopher P. FinneyJanuary 7, 2021August 5, 2022

Finney Law Firm, LLC has been included in U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms” Tier 1 rankings for 2021. The firm was recognized as an Ohio – Metropolitan Best Lawyers^® law firm for the fifth consecutive year in the following practice areas:

According to U.S. News – Best Lawyers^®, “The U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.”

Also noted, “All of the quantitative and qualitative data were combined into an overall ‘Best Law Firms’ score for each firm. This data was then compared to other firms within the same metropolitan area and at the national level. Because firms were often separated by small or insignificant differences in overall score, we use a tiering system rather than ranking law firms sequentially.”

Each firm recognized on the “Best Law Firms” list, “must have at least one attorney who is recognized in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in a ‘Best Law Firms’ ranked practice area/metro area.”

“We are honored that Finney Law Firm has been recognized by U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® for the fifth consecutive year.” commented founder Chris Finney. “We thank all our fellow attorneys in the Cincinnati metropolitan area for including us in this prestigious list as well as our attorneys and staff for their hard work and dedication in “Making a Difference’ for our clients.”

This distinction of the talent assembled at Finney Law Firm, LLC follows on other rating services that also have recognized our firm:

“Preeminent” by the leading rating service, Martindale-Hubbell.
“Cincy Leading Lawyers” by Cincy Magazine.
Brad Gibson was rated a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers.
Chris Finney was named one of eight “Ohio Lawyers of the Year” for 1998 by Ohio Lawyer Weekly.

Let our team deliver for you.

Finney Law Firm welcomes veteran real estate attorney Bruce G. Hopkins

By Christopher P. FinneyJanuary 4, 2021August 5, 2022

We are proud to announce that experienced real estate attorney Bruce G. Hopkins today joined the transactional group at Finney Law Firm. Bruce and Chris Finney practiced law together in the real estate group at Frost & Jacobs (now Frost, Brown Todd) at the beginning of their careers, so this is a long-delayed reunion of careers.

His practice is focused on retail and mixed-use projects, including development, leasing, resolution and litigation of disputes with tenants, purchases and sales, due diligence, management and operations matters. He frequently works on investment-grade properties located across the United States.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Bruce worked for almost a decade in the real estate industry doing commercial real estate appraisal work, commercial real estate lending and development for a major life insurance company, and commercial real estate development and management for a private developer.

Read more about Bruce here and let us know how Bruce can help your real estate project.

Attorney Chris Finney teaches webinar with County Auditor Dusty Rhodes on Ohio Property Tax Valuation Reduction

By Christopher P. FinneyJanuary 3, 2021August 5, 2022

Tax bills are hitting mailboxes next week in Hamilton County and in them entirely new valuations. This year, every property in Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Montgomery Counties will have wholly new valuations. We have written on these new valuation changes here and here, including a free “how-to” webinar.

On January 19th from 10 AM to noon, Finney Law Firm founder, attorney Chris Finney, with teach a free seminar on property tax valuation reduction with Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes for the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. Auditor Rhodes has been gracious to co-teach these classes providing the public information on valuation reductions with Chris Finney for a decade. Anyone can log in for the course: business owners, individual property owner, Realtors, etc.

The link for sign ups for the seminar is here.

Finney Law Firm co-sponsors EmpowerU Ohio seminar on 2nd Round PPP and other stimulus bill details

By Christopher P. FinneyJanuary 3, 2021August 5, 2022

President Trump signed into law at the very end of 2020 another COVID-19 stimulus bill. Much of the writing about it has focused on the $600 direct payments to to individuals whose income falls below a certain thresholds. but this bill also contains important subsidies and changes for small businesses, including a new and significant second round of direct payments to small businesses payments under the Paycheck Protection Program (loans later forgiven).

Finney Law Firm attorney Rebecca L. Simpson will follow up on her blockbuster Spring performances on the initial PPP with information on the new stimulus programs, and be joined by Seth Morgan of the MLA Companies, a financial service and advisory group on Wednesday, January 13th from 6:00 to 7:15 PM via live webinar.

The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors is also co-hosting the webinar.

Webinar topics include:

Second round PPP:
- Amounts (including increased amounts for restaurants)
- Eligibility (much tighter than round #1).
- Expanded qualifying expenses for Round #2.
- Forgiveness.
First and second round PPP tax deductibility.

Click here to register.

For assistance with the PPP or more information, contact Rebecca L. Simpson (‭513-797-2856). Also contact her if there is anything more we can do to help your small business.

2020 is a year to remember

By Christopher P. FinneyDecember 27, 2020August 5, 2022

2020 will certainly be remembered as a year of great challenges for our country and world: COVID-19 Pandemic, urban riots, a raucous Presidential election and terrible economic challenges for many workers and business owners. But in the midst of that upheaval, Finney Law Firm has been proud to be a part of the solution for our clients and community, once again “Making a Difference.”.

This Spring, we partnered with EmpowerU Ohio, Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers to reach thousands of business owners with a series of free seminars on accessing Paycheck Protection Program funds to keep them in operation.
Only months before the pandemic hit, our firm moved to the Microsoft 365 Cloud with our data, and transitioned to laptop computers for most of our team. This meant that our attorneys and paralegals could continue servicing clients uninterrupted from home safely.
Ivy Pointe Title stepped to the plate with an ever-increasing volume of residential and commercial acquisitions and refinancings, “Accurate and On-Time, Every time.”
We had breakthrough constitutional litigation wins for our clients, re-opening retail shops, gyms, day cares, and amusement parks, allowing tens of thousands of Ohioans to get back to work. We briefly stopped the Ohio eviction moratorium until a federal moratorium kicked in.
In 2020, we added a bankruptcy practice group headed by Susan Cress Browning. She handles individual Chapter 13, and Chapter 7s, as well as business reorganization’s under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.
We added Rebecca L. Simpson, both a capable civil litigator and a brilliant public interest advocate. She excels at government advocacy, using both her grass roots talents as well as the full range of legal tools this firm offers.
Ohio’s newest attorney, Jennings Kleeman, who was sworn in just weeks ago has joined our corporate and real estate transactional groups.
In one week, we will be announcing the addition of yet another team member for our real estate transactional group, an experienced commercial mall leasing attorney.
In May, Eli-Krafte-Jacobs obtained his Ohio title insurance license, bringing to four the number of Ohio licensed title insurance agents at Finney Law Firm and Ivy Pointe Title.
We launched a great new web site for Finney Law Firm, and great new social media and printed marketing materials to spread the word in greater Cincinnati about the incredible team we have ready to leap to action to help your legal needs.
Our work this year was featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Business Courier, Cincinnati City Beat, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, the Toledo Blade, Canton Repository, WLW, WLWT, WCPO, WKRC, WXIX, WKYC, and FOX8.
Many credit our work on the Gang of Five case as leading to 2020’s biggest local story — federal felony criminal indictments of former council members Tamaya Dennard, Jeff Pastor and P.G. Sittenfeld. We are not sure there is a connection, but our firm unquestionably started the ball rolling to expose the dark underbelly of lawless conduct at City Hall.

Please let us know how we can help you build your business, avoid or mitigate costly litigation battles, and confront overzealous government actors.

Our entire team is as ready in 2021 as they were in 2020.

Second COVID relief package clears Congress and offers more and significant small business relief

By Christopher P. FinneyDecember 21, 2020August 5, 2022

Tonight, a second historic COVID relief bill passed both Houses of Congress and awaits signature by President Trump.

The bill provides significant supplemental relief for small business in addition to direct payments to individuals. Here are some highlights of the bill’s business provisions:

Paycheck Protection Program funds distributed under the first relief bill this spring and summer already by law were not to be counted as income, but the IRS had ruled that businesses could not count their expenditure as deductions, which essentially reversed the “tax free” nature of the forgivable loans. Under this bill, for all businesses who received the PPP this spring or summer, Congress has clarified that the expenses are deductible, which results in a benefit of another 30% or more from the previously-granted funds for businesses that are profitable.
A second round of PPP funding will be handed out, but this time it is limited to businesses with documentable and demonstrable downturn of 30% or more as a result of the COVID pandemic. Other tight conditions will apply. Thus, the pool of eligible borrowers (grantees) is far more limited than under the first PPP program. Amounts of the loans (grants) are not yet available.
In a significant give and take for landlords, Congress extended the eviction moratorium until the end of January, but they added $25 billion in assistance to tenants in arrears on their rent, allowing landlords to make application for the funds. It is expected that the Biden administration will extend the moratorium further after he takes office January 20 of next year. The applications are allowed for tenants who meet eligibility requirements, including (i) earning less than 80% of median income, (ii) at least one person in their households has lost a job and (iii) are at risk of losing housing.
Making meals and drinks for business entertainment of clients and customers 100% deductible.

The bill is 5,593 pages in length, meaning there remains a lot of dissection of its intricacies. Attorney Rebecca L. Simpson of the Finney Law Firm will be leading another EmpowerU webinar in early January covering how businesses and individuals can fully take advantage of the deductions and subsidies the bill provides. We will announce that webinar shortly.

More on the bill is detailed here in today’s Wall Street Journal.

Advancing our objective of “Making a Difference” for our clients, Finney Law Firm has made a point of briefing the various COVID relief and legal developments for our clients throughout 2020, and that will continue on this blog into 2021. Stay tuned for updates.

Congratulations to Jennings Kleeman, Ohio’s newest attorney

By Christopher P. FinneyDecember 14, 2020August 5, 2022

Finney Law Firm just added a new attorney, Ohio’s newest attorney, when Jennings Kleeman was sworn in to the Ohio Bar by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor today.

Jennings has joined our firm’s transactional group, which focuses on real estate, corporate and estate planning as our latest attorney. His initial focus will be on real estate and real estate title, both commercial and residential. Jennings served as a law clerk with Finney Law Firm before joining us an an associate. Read more about Jennings here.

Warm congratulations to Jennings Kleeman!

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