Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC

Focus and practice areas

Corporate and business law is the base of this Dallas, Texas firm's practice. It represents small businesses and large corporations, and it also works with private equity groups. The full name is Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC. Its core work covers corporate law, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and business disputes.

The litigation side handles commercial disputes and administrative appeals. Within commercial litigation, the firm names breach of contract, partnership disputes, and breach of fiduciary duty as matters it takes on. Business bankruptcy and collections form another part of the work, and the firm handles Chapter 11 cases in particular.

Intellectual property work at the firm covers trademarks and copyrights. Labor and employment is a further area of practice. The firm also handles healthcare and life sciences regulatory and compliance work, which overlaps with its FDA compliance practice.

Alternative substances and FDA compliance

Chelsie Spencer heads the firm's alternative substances practice group, and it covers cannabis, hemp and CBD, ketamine, and kratom. The FDA compliance work extends to dietary supplements, cosmetics, food and beverage, and medical devices. In my opinion, this grouping is one of the clearer signs of how the firm has built out its regulatory work, since it ties consumer products to the agencies that oversee them.

How the team is organized

The firm lists David Ritter, Chelsie Spencer, Richard Y. Cheng, and Jeff M. Schagren as Managing Members. Paul Stevenson holds the title of Associate. Several attorneys carry the title of Counsel: Sellano Simmons, Anila Rasul, Heather Bustos, Drew Barnholtz, Stephen Joe, Patrick Fang, and Hadas Alterman.

David Ritter works as a litigator, and his practice includes Chapter 11 bankruptcy, commercial litigation, and business and corporate law. Chelsie Spencer focuses on cannabis, hemp, and kratom, and she also practices trademark law. Richard Y. Cheng leads the healthcare and mergers and acquisitions practice groups. His work covers healthcare regulatory and compliance, corporate governance, FDA compliance, and alternative substances.

Where the firm operates

The firm has offices in three Texas cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, and McKinney. It also lists a Miami, Florida location that runs by appointment, along with an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm is active across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and it states that it offers certain services nationwide.

What the firm states about its scale

On its home page, the firm states that it has more than 20 attorneys and that its lawyers are admitted in 13 states. It also states that the group holds more than 300 years of combined legal experience. As a reviewer, I take those as the firm's own figures. They line up with the number of practice areas and the multi-state office list.

The site does not list a founding year. The public record here is the roster of named attorneys and the practice areas each one claims, and that gives a reader enough to judge the shape of the firm.

How these matters typically proceed

Disputes, bankruptcy, and litigation

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one of David Ritter's areas, is the reorganization chapter of the federal bankruptcy code. A business that files keeps operating while it proposes a plan to repay creditors, and that plan goes before a bankruptcy court for confirmation. Cases often involve months of negotiation with lenders and creditor committees before a plan is approved.

Commercial litigation, which the firm handles for breach of contract and partnership disputes, usually begins with pleadings and moves into discovery, where each side exchanges documents and takes depositions. Many business cases settle before trial, and some go through mediation first. Breach of fiduciary duty claims, another matter the firm names, turn on the duties that partners, officers, and directors owe to a company and its owners.

Deals and registrations

Mergers and acquisitions work moves through set stages. Parties usually sign a letter of intent, then enter due diligence, where lawyers review contracts, corporate records, and liabilities. Definitive agreements follow, and closing depends on the conditions the parties agree to. Corporate governance advice, which Richard Y. Cheng lists among his areas, often overlaps with this deal work.

Trademark practice, part of Chelsie Spencer's work, generally starts with a clearance search and an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. An examining attorney reviews the filing, and registration can take many months. FDA compliance covers the rules that govern how products such as dietary supplements, cosmetics, and medical devices reach the market, which is the regulatory backdrop for much of the firm's alternative substances practice.