Mr. Van Cott has honed his skill as a business lawyer by developing a general practice with a strong emphasis on corporate and commercial transactions, real estate matters, and commercial litigation.

On the transactional side, Mr. Van Cott has assisted business clients with, among other things, initial start-up, mergers and acquisitions including stock and asset sales, day-to-day business and legal consulting needs, and the negotiation and drafting of a wide variety of contracts and business agreements. He has closed numerous mergers and acquisitions that have ranged from a purchase or sale of a small business to a complex $58M sale of assets to a subsidiary of Tyco International (US) Inc. In addition to his experience drafting and negotiating asset purchase, stock purchase, and merger agreements, Mr. Van Cott has considerable experience negotiating and drafting a variety of other business agreements including employment, shareholder, confidentiality, non-compete, license agreements, and commercial real estate leases.

With regard to real estate, Mr. Van Cott offers his clients counsel on a wide variety of matters whether residential or commercial in nature. His experience includes purchases and sales of real estate, lender financing, refinances, landlord-tenant matters including the negotiation and drafting of leases, ground leases, summary proceedings, and assistance with land use, zoning, and environmental issues.

To round out his practice, Mr. Van Cott also assists clients in successfully resolving civil disputes. Often the best resolution is a negotiated one that avoids the time, expense and uncertainty of litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, however, Mr. Van Cott is adept at successfully litigating a wide variety of claims in both state and federal courts including contract, construction, employment, landlord-tenant, insurance, real estate, trade secret, and unfair competition claims.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Syracuse University in 1993 (magna cum laude), Mr. Van Cott went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School in 1996 where he was a member of and bench brief editor for the Moot Court Executive Board and an editor for the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. He has also studied at the Cornell Law School/L’université De Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) Institute of International & Comparative Law in Paris, France.

Mr. Van Cott is admitted to practice law in the States of New York and New Jersey.

Areas of Practice

Education

Cornell Law School, J.D., 1996

Syracuse University, B.A.,
magna cum laude, 1993

Professional and Civic Associations

• New York State Bar Association
• Suffolk County Bar Association; Past Chair, Commercial and Corporate Law Committee (2006-2007)
• Hauppauge Industrial Association
• Three Village Chamber of Commerce