Ashley Demland

Expertise

General Business & Intellectual Property Law

Women-Owned & Family Businesses

Commercial Litigation

Mergers and Acquisitions

Biotechnology & Health Care


Background

Ashley focuses exclusively on advising small business owners. From formation to exit, Ashley is an experienced advocate who keeps her eye on the bottom line.

Like many of her clients, Ashley is an entrepreneur. After being battle-tested at a mid-sized business law firm in Portland, she and her husband Jeff realized their long-standing dream of owning their own firm. They’re now living out the advice they give their clients.

Ashley focuses on providing savvy, practical advice to business owners.
She’s experienced in advising companies in how to protect their intellectual property portfolios, how to negotiate contracts with key advisers and vendors, and how to avoid legal pitfalls before they become a problem. And when they do become a problem, Ashley isn’t afraid to fight for her clients in litigation.

Lewis & Clark College

J.D. (2015) | Law

2011 - 2015

Of Counsel

LU/DA Law Group, P.C.

2024 - Current

Owner

Demland Law Group

2023 - Current

Owner

Demland & Cromwell

2018 - 2023

Attorney

Immix Law Group

2015 - 2018

Getting Your Recipe to Market (Legally), Getting Your Recipe to Market, PCC Climb Center

October 16, 2018

Portland Community College

Oregon State Bar  # 150912

Member

Current

Oregon

Since 2015

• Credit Cards Accepted

Q. Hi, this question is regarding member capital contributions vs profit distributions and what is profit? (In Oregon).

May 2, 2019

A: Your questions touch on both legal and financial (tax) issues, so the best people to fully answer your questions are (1) a business lawyer experienced in advising startups of this nature, particularly someone who is prepared to take on the securities implications of your question; and (2) a CPA. Working with them will help you identify a sound path forward. As to what feels fair under the circumstances, that's a business call that you'll have to make once you have all the facts in front of you.

As to buyouts, you have a lot of flexibility in how you want to handle this. Usually the buyout provision is spelled out in an operating agreement in advance, but it can also be included in other types of documents (sometimes styled as restricted unit grant or transfer agreements, or buy sell agreements, or perhaps even a subscription agreement). The LLC can, at times, buy the members out directly, or it can run as a right of first refusal that, for example, is first offered to the company and then to the other members. In these cases the operating agreement usually specifies the financing terms as well. Generally speaking, it's best to have the buyout plan in place before the first buyout occurs, when things are moving fast and, perhaps, emotions are running high.

The last thing I'll flag is that it sounds like the core concept behind your LLC may involve issuing securities. If that's so, you should know that it's a complicated and risky area of law, especially in Oregon. If you think this may apply to you, make sure you consult with an attorney who is prepared to advise you on the securities implications of your business. ... Read More

Q. Hello, my wife and I operate a small market garden under a simple DBA in Oregon.

April 29, 2019

A: Generally, the answer is yes - from a liability standpoint. To shield your personal assets from claims against your business, at a minimum you must form an entity separate from yourselves as individuals. That's usually an LLC, but it could also be a corporation. The DBA alone is not enough for this purpose; you must make a separate registration for the entity. (At that point you can consolidate your registrations.) I should point out that at the moment you may be operating as a general partnership by default, which would mean that not only are your personal assets reachable, but also that you are each personally liable for the problems the other individual creates. Forming a separate entity, and following other corporate formalities, greatly limits this exposure.

The issue of drawing regular paychecks gets to the issue of tax planning. You can take money out of the company in a number of ways, such as draw, or you can set yourself up as a formal W2 employee and draw regular salaries, or both. Other compensation options are available as well. The best person to advise you on on how to structure your total owner compensation package is a (licensed) CPA. I'd recommend that you reach out to a CPA to help you walk through this analysis. It will be time well spent. ... Read More