Strause Law Group, PLLC

Formation, offices and client work

Randall S. Strause organized Strause Law Group, PLLC in summer 2011. The firm has offices in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and Charleston, South Carolina. Its clients include individuals and Fortune 500 companies.

The firm handles litigation, transactions and administrative matters. It represents clients in courts, business settings and agency hearings. Each setting brings its own decision-makers, deadlines and record requirements.

How the team is built

The website names four attorneys: Randall S. Strause, Randall S. Strause Jr., David K. Emerson and Gracie J. Ovington. It identifies Randall S. Strause as the founding attorney. His published background gives the clearest view of the experience behind the firm.

Randall Strause earned a B.A. from Indiana University in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 1988. After law school and admission to the Kentucky Bar, he completed a two-year clerkship for Judge Joseph M. Hood of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He then joined a Louisville firm that handled civil litigation in business, health care and employment law.

Strause holds bar admissions in Kentucky and South Carolina. His career has included private litigation, state agency work and service in dispute resolution. That background connects with several fields now listed by the firm.

Business, employment and property matters

Its business matters include litigation, transactions and administrative work for clients of varied sizes. The firm also handles employment law and real estate matters. These fields often overlap when a company faces a contract dispute, workplace issue or property question.

Business litigation usually begins with the contracts, correspondence and financial records tied to the dispute. Transactional work calls for careful drafting and review of agreements before the parties sign. Employment matters can involve policies, personnel records, communications and the rules that govern the working relationship.

Real estate, estate planning and probate

Contracts, title records, deeds and closing papers often control a property transaction or dispute. The firm lists real estate among its areas of work. It also handles estate planning and probate for individuals and families.

Estate planning commonly involves a review of assets, beneficiary choices and decision-making documents. Probate places an estate before a court after death. A personal representative may need to gather property, address creditor claims and distribute assets under a will or state law.

Arbitration and mediation

Mediation gives the parties a structured setting for settlement talks with a neutral person. Arbitration places the dispute before an arbitrator who hears evidence and issues a decision. Strause Law Group lists both methods among its services, along with courtroom litigation.

The correct forum can depend on a contract, statute or agency rule. Counsel must identify the controlling procedure early because filing rules, discovery and hearing formats differ. The firm's mix of litigation and administrative work is relevant to those forum questions.

Securities arbitration and broker conduct

Account statements, trade records, communications and disclosure papers often shape a broker misconduct claim. Strause Law Group handles securities arbitration and litigation that involves investment firms and brokers. It also counsels businesses and individuals outside Kentucky in securities arbitration and broker misconduct matters.

A FINRA arbitration generally starts when a claimant files a statement of claim. The respondent submits an answer, and the parties take part in arbitrator selection. Document exchange, prehearing conferences and an evidentiary hearing may follow before the arbitrators issue an award.

Securities litigation in court follows civil procedure and the rules of the assigned court. The choice between court and arbitration can turn on the parties, account agreements and the claims at issue. A broker misconduct matter may examine recommendations, stated risks, disclosures, account activity and supervision.

Randall Strause has served as a securities arbitrator for NASD and later FINRA. In my opinion, that service gives useful context for the firm's stated work in securities arbitration. It shows direct familiarity with the forum in which many investor and broker disputes proceed.

Health care rules and professional licenses

Agency notices, licensing files, policies and hearing exhibits can shape the course of a regulatory case. The firm handles health care regulatory law, professional licensure defense and other administrative matters. Its named areas also include child care center law.

The Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services appointed Randall Strause Principal Assistant to the Commissioner in 1994. He later served as Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Cabinet for Health. Those public roles provide relevant context for work that involves health agencies and administrative hearings.

A professional license case may begin with a complaint, investigation or formal agency notice. The license holder then may need to answer allegations, gather records, prepare witnesses and appear before a board or hearing officer. Health care and child care center matters can also require close attention to agency rules and compliance records.

Administrative work differs from ordinary civil litigation because an agency often sets the procedure and makes the first decision. Deadlines for responses, hearing requests and appeals can control the available options. The firm states that it represents clients in administrative hearings throughout Kentucky and South Carolina.