Find:
 

Law + Audit = Lawdit®

Lawdit® is the premier legal compliance audit program for the hospitality industry.

Every hotel, resort, club, condominium hotel, time-share property, and golf course must completely comply with thousands of federal, state, county, city, and even neighborhood laws and ordinances that are different from property to property, and are subject to change with every new legislative session.  OSHA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state specific wage & hour laws (to name a few) form the bases for significant litigation and government intervention throughout the hospitality industry.  Owners, buyers, asset managers, and operators must know whether their property fully complies with the law, and is operated according to the best practices of the hospitality industry.  The best way for owners and operators to prevent legal problems is to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and to implement "best practices" for the property in the city where it is located.  A Lawdit® does that.

Who needs a Lawdit® ?

A Lawdit® gives the owner and operator a comprehensive breakdown of all areas that do not comply with relevant laws as well as a property's legal exposure.   

Complete compliance with all laws:

  • strengthens a seller's position during a sale;
  • strengthens an employer's position during labor negotiations;
  • strengthens a management company's standing with an owner; and
  • protects a property's profitability during challenging economic times.

A Lawdit® should be conducted soon after a transition in ownership, before a major negotiation, or after a major transition in management.  Lawdit® provides tailored remedies that will reduce your legal exposure and help your business thrive, all for a pre-approved flat fee.

The experience to spot the issues and stop the problem

The attorneys of Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC have more than one hundred and twenty (120) years of combined legal experience representing hotels, restaurants, and tourism -related businesses. 

We are practitioners of hospitality law.  Arch Stokes is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada at Las Vegas.   Paul Wagner has taught hotel law at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration for more than eleven (11) years.  Peter Maretz is a co-author of The Wage & Hour Handbook for Hotels and Restaurants.  Bruno Katz is a frequent speaker at national hospitality law conferences.  Peter Fischer has advised some of the nation’s top hotels on employment, contract and labor issues.  Three (3) of our attorneys are members of the elite International Society of Hospitality Consultants.

While most law firms practice "reactive" law, we emphasize "preventive" law.  The cost of preventing legal problems is usually a fraction of the cost necessary to fix those legal problems.  Lawdit® was born of this philosophy.  It is not simply a theoretical check-up.  Lawdit® emerged after years of litigation, negotiations, and representation of hotels in every aspect of the hospitality business throughout the United States and around the world. 

The Lawdit® Process

1.   Conduct an initial assessment.  Our attorneys conduct an on-site assessment that evaluated every aspect of a property's operations.  An attorney will review all policies, practices and procedures with an understanding of the services that a particular property provides.  Using this assessment, the attorney will provide an initial report on the needed scope, duration, and cost of the Lawdit® Report for that hotel, resort, casino, or club.

2.   Create the compliance checklist.  Every city in every country, has a unique legal structure regulating business operations.  Our attorneys assemble a detailed "yes" and "no" checklist of legal issues based upon the federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances that apply to your properties. 

3.   Gather Information.  We interview managers and employees on-site, analyze documents in every department, study the characteristics of a facility, and collect important records filed with federal agencies.  Photographs, interview notes, and documentary records are collected, organized, and digitally stored.

4.   Review for Compliance.  The Lawdit® requires the attorney to confirm a property's legal compliance in more than four thousand (4,000) different areas of legal regulation with a simple "Yes" or "No" answer.  Those areas in which the property does not comply are meticulously explained, and recommendations for bringing it into compliance are discussed.  Our focus then progressively narrows to the best practices for the property's niche market.  While compliance is essential, "best practices" set a property apart and give it a competitive advantage.

5.   The Lawdit® Report.  The Lawdit® Report is the final product.  The Lawdit® Report is a privileged and confidential discussion of findings, deficiencies, recommended changes, and best practices aimed at helping the property avoid lawsuits and workplace disruptions.  This process will give a property's leaders the knowledge and experience to continuously audit the property for complete compliance and to consistently provide an exceptional hospitality product.  These internal reviews generally are less time consuming and less complex than the initial review, so much of the work may be done by the property's human resources department.

Contact a Stokes Roberts & Wagner attorney to learn more about how a Lawdit® can strengthen your property's position in a murky legal landscape and the competitive hospitality industry.

The Summary Guide to Executive Employment Contracts

Provides a roadmap for executives and employers alike as to those issues that should be addressed in order to create an effective and enforceable contract.
Preventive Program©

The Preventive Program was created as a means to reduce legal costs incurred by companies by helping companies establish guidelines and procedures which reduce the risk of exposure to litigation.
Area Labor Profiles

Area Labor Profiles are compiled from extensive research on labor information within particular geographical areas. These profiles contain information on labor trends and area unions.
Handbook

Wage & Hour Handbook for Restaurants & Hotels by Arch Stokes
Human resource managers find this book invaluable for guiding them through the obstacles of day to day issues.


LAWST®

Play the LAWST® game and experience firsthand the complex issues and strategies of sexual harassment and union issues.  You might become "lawst" in the legal labyrinth, but don't worry!  There's a way out! Great item for management training.  2+ players. $25 per game.  To order your copy of either the Sexual Harassment Edition or the Union Edition, call 1-800-754-9802.


Stokes Roberts & Wagner Designs the "Living Contract"

Stokes Roberts & Wagner has designed innovative and flexible collective bargaining agreements that pave the way for continuous improvements to workplace environment, morale, communication and productivity. Stokes Roberts & Wagner and the Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica introduced the concept of the "living contract" during collective bargaining negotiations between the Fairmont Miramar and Local 814 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (H.E.R.E.I.U.).

Both parties agreed that the goal of the living contract was to make the Fairmont Miramar "a better place to work and a world class luxury hotel in the years ahead." To achieve this end, the hotel and Local 814 formed a Labor Management Partnership Team consisting of senior hotel and union officials who will address and resolve pertinent issues in an open forum. The Partnership Team may delegate problem solving groups made up of bargaining unit employees who will be paid to address workplace issues or initiate workplace improvements with the approval of the Labor Management Partnership Team.

Stokes Roberts & Wagner and The Greenbrier, located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, implemented the first living contracts in 1998 for all unions that operate at the resort. The Greenbrier and the unions have successfully shared and pursued their mutual goal of enhancing The Greenbrier’s reputation as one of the world’s leading luxury resorts.


Print this page