For generations, clients have relied on Yonkee & Toner for clear guidance and strong advocacy.
Our practice areas reflect decades of experience serving Wyoming’s people, businesses, and institutions with integrity and professionalism.
If you don’t see your matter listed here, we encourage you to contact our office. Our attorneys can help determine the right path forward and connect you with the appropriate legal resources.
When disputes cannot be resolved through negotiation, you need experienced trial attorneys who will pursue your rights in the courtroom.
Yonkee & Toner represents clients in complex litigation matters in Wyoming State, Federal, and Chancery Courts, delivering strategic advocacy and representation.
Business and Commercial Litigation
We represent businesses and business owners in disputes involving most of the conflicts that arise in business matters, including breach of contract, partnership disagreements, shareholder conflicts, and business torts. Whether it is enforcing your rights or defending against unsupported claims against you, we provide sophisticated representation tempered by practical business sense.
Farm & Ranch Matters
For decades our attorneys have represented Wyoming farms and ranches in the wide variety of unique cases presented to this business and way of life. Some of our attorneys grew up on family agricultural operations in Wyoming and understand these challenges on a personal level. We can blend the common sense of this upbringing with our technical legal experience.
Property and Mineral Rights Litigation
Real property disputes can threaten one of your most valuable assets. We handle boundary disputes, easement conflicts, road access, water rights disputes, landowner litigation against energy companies, and quiet title actions. Our attorneys understand Wyoming property and mineral rights law and have litigated numerous disputes in the courtroom.
Trust and Estate Litigation
Disputes over wills, trusts, and estates can tear families apart. We represent beneficiaries, trustees, executors, and heirs in will contests, trust and estate disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and contested accountings.
General Civil Litigation
We represent clients in a wide range of civil disputes. Our trial attorneys bring strategic approaches and courtroom experience to a wide array of cases that are too numerous to list.
Appeals
Unfortunately, sometimes trial outcomes need to be appealed to a higher court. If that is needed, the attorney who handled your case at trial will be able to handle any necessary appeal. We handle appeals to the Wyoming Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and have occasionally been involved in cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Our Litigation Approach
We begin every case with thorough investigation, a common sense assessment, and strategic planning. Litigation is expensive and time-consuming, so we believe it is important to stay open-minded and explore all opportunities for resolution while preparing for trial. When resolution outside of the courtroom is not possible or in your best interest, we bring our courtroom and trial experience to your case.
Energy development in Wyoming can result in unique legal complexities for landowners.
We represent surface owners and mineral owners in negotiations with oil and gas companies and, when necessary, litigation to protect your property rights.
Our services include:
Oil and Gas Leases
Oil and gas leases can have significant long-term consequences. We represent mineral owners in negotiating favorable lease terms including competitive royalty rates, substantial bonus payments, and surface use protections. A well-negotiated oil and gas lease can protect your interests for decades. We also handle disputes over whether an oil and gas lease has expired.
Royalty Disputes
Oil and gas royalty payments can be difficult to track and manage. We handle claims and issues that arise when oil and gas companies fail to make royalty payments to which you are entitled. Common issues include improper deductions for transportation and processing costs, underreporting of production volumes, and below-market pricing in affiliated transactions.
Surface Owner Rights
Wyoming law recognizes the right of the surface owner when the mineral owner seeks to develop the lands. We represent surface owners in negotiating surface use agreements that protect the land and secure fair compensation for the damages resulting from oil and gas operations. We also address claims for unauthorized surface use.
Yonkee & Toner represents many property owners in the Powder River Basin and surrounding areas.
We handle all types of issues pertaining to real property. Our services include:
Land Transactions
Buying and selling ranch lands often involve complex purchase agreements with many detailed provisions. We commonly assist landowners in negotiating the purchase price, inspection period, title, closing details, and other matters commonly addressed in purchase agreements.
Property Disputes
Disagreements over property rights can escalate quickly and damage relationships. We represent landowners in resolving various types of property disputes including issues concerning access roads, easements, trespass, adverse possession, eminent domain, quiet title, and fence/boundary line matters. We work to resolve these disputes through negotiation, survey evidence, and litigation when necessary.
Grazing Leases
Many landowners enter into leases with other property owners, the State of Wyoming, or the Bureau of Land Management. We assist our clients in negotiating grazing leases and in dealing with the State and Federal requirements for grazing on public lands.
Water Rights
Water is one of Wyoming’s most precious resources. Water rights are property rights protected by law. We represent clients in a variety of issues concerning water rights including ditch and reservoir rights, abandonment, point of diversion, change of use applications, groundwater well permits, and interference with water rights.
When a court gets it wrong, the story isn’t over. We help clients challenge, or defend, rulings in the courts above, where the power of argument on paper and at the podium can change everything.
A second look at how the law was applied:
When a judge or jury reaches a decision that a party believes was legally flawed, that party can ask a higher court — called an appellate court — to review what happened. This is not a do-over of the original trial. There are no new witnesses, no new evidence. Instead, the appellate court examines the record of what already occurred and decides whether the law was applied correctly.
Appellate courts operate differently from trial courts. Everything turns on written arguments called briefs — and sometimes, a focused oral argument where attorneys answer the judges’ pointed questions.
We handle appeals to the Wyoming Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and have occasionally been involved in cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Our published opinions demonstrate our depth of experience in this area of law.
Secure your legacy and protect what matters most.
At Yonkee & Toner, LLP, we help Wyoming families and business owners create comprehensive plans that safeguard their assets, minimize taxes, and ensure their wishes are honored.
How We Help You
Whether you’re building a business, planning for retirement, or preparing to pass wealth to the next generation, proper planning is essential. We work closely with you to understand your unique goals and create tailored solutions that protect your interests today and for years to come.
Estate Planning Services
Your estate plan ensures your loved ones are cared for and your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
We provide:
Wills and Trusts:
We draft clear, legally sound documents that express your intentions and minimize family disputes. Revocable living trusts can help your estate avoid probate and guardianships and conservatorships, while irrevocable trusts and generation skipping offer asset protection and tax benefits.
Powers of Attorney:
Designate trusted individuals to make financial and healthcare decisions if you become incapacitated. These critical documents ensure someone you trust can act on your behalf when you cannot.
Healthcare Directives:
Also known as living wills, these documents communicate your medical treatment preferences and end-of-life care wishes, relieving your family of difficult decisions during emotional times.
Tax Planning:
We structure your estate to minimize federal and state tax liability, preserving more of your wealth for your beneficiaries. Wyoming’s favorable tax climate offers unique opportunities for asset protection.
Special Needs Planning:
If you have a family member with disabilities, we can create trusts that provide for their care without jeopardizing government benefits.
Business Planning Services
From startup to succession, we guide business owners through every stage of the business lifecycle:
Business Formation
We help you choose the right entity structure (LLC, corporation, partnership) based on your liability concerns, tax situation, and long-term goals. Wyoming LLCs offer exceptional privacy and asset protection benefits.
Operating Agreements and Bylaws
These foundational documents govern how your business operates, preventing disputes among owners and establishing clear decision-making processes.
Succession Planning
Whether you plan to pass your business to family members, sell to employees, or find an outside buyer, we create strategies that maximize value and minimize taxes while ensuring business continuity.
Buy-Sell Agreements
These agreements establish what happens when an owner dies, becomes disabled, or wants to exit the business, protecting all parties and preventing costly disputes.
What You Should Know
Many people delay estate planning, thinking they’re too young or don’t have enough assets. However, unexpected illness or accidents can strike at any age. Without proper planning, state law determines who inherits your property and who makes decisions for you—outcomes that may not align with your wishes.
For business owners, failing to plan can result in forced liquidation, family conflicts, or loss of the business you spent years building. The time to plan is now, while you have the capacity and control to make informed decisions.
Estate and business plans should be reviewed regularly—especially after major life events like marriage, divorce, birth of children, or significant changes in your financial situation.
Why Choose Yonkee & Toner
Our attorneys combine deep knowledge of Wyoming law with a practical, client-focused approach. We take time to understand your family dynamics, business goals, and values to create plans that truly reflect your wishes. We explain complex legal concepts in plain language and ensure you understand every decision.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward protecting your legacy.
Protecting assets while securing long-term care coverage
Long-term care costs rapidly deplete a lifetime of savings. Medicaid planning allows you to preserve assets for your family while qualifying for essential nursing home and healthcare coverage. Whether you’re planning years in advance or facing an immediate need, we guide you through Wyoming’s Medicaid eligibility requirements and asset protection strategies.
Pre-Planning: Five Years Before Need
The most effective Medicaid planning begins well before long-term care is needed. Pre-planning strategies allow maximum asset protection:
Irrevocable Trusts
Transfer assets into properly structured trusts that remove them from Medicaid’s countable resources. These trusts protect your home, investments, and savings from nursing home costs.
Strategic Gifting
Medicaid’s five-year look-back period means gifts made more than five years before application don’t create penalties. Carefully planned gifting reduces countable assets while maintaining your financial security.
Asset Repositioning
Convert countable assets into exempt assets. Purchase exempt property, pay off debts, make home improvements, or acquire assets that don’t affect Medicaid eligibility.
Spousal Protection Planning
Protect the healthy spouse’s financial security while the ill spouse qualifies for Medicaid.
Emergency Planning: Medicaid Crisis
When nursing home placement is immediate or imminent, crisis Medicaid planning preserves as many assets as possible despite the compressed timeline. We do this by repositioning who owns the assets among spouses, spending down non-qualified assets on Medicaid exempt assets, and using care contracts. We also utilize Medicaid-compliant annuities and related gifting strategies. This area is extremely complicated, but is a lifeline to families facing an immediate Medicaid need. If a lawyer tells you that you have to spend all your assets to qualify for Medicaid, they are wrong. We can explain your options.
Wyoming Medicaid Eligibility
To qualify for Wyoming Medicaid, you must have limited countable assets. The rules are different whether you are married or single. There are also income limitations. If you have made gifts for less than fair market value within the past five years, there are penalties associated with those gifts. Finally, after a Medicaid recipient dies, the State is required to seek recovery. Planning strategies can minimize or eliminate recovery claims.
Protecting the Assets You Care About
Your home, business, or family property are often your most valuable assets. We work with clients to strategize protecting these assets to ensure your spouse and the next generation can enjoy them.
What You Should Know
Medicaid planning is not fraud or gaming the system—it’s using legal strategies to protect assets while qualifying for benefits you’re entitled to receive. Federal and Wyoming law explicitly allow asset protection planning.
The five-year look-back period means the best time to plan is now, before long-term care is needed. Waiting until crisis strikes limits available options.
Do-it-yourself Medicaid planning often backfires. Improperly structured trusts, poorly timed transfers, and non-compliant annuities can disqualify you from Medicaid or create unnecessary penalties. The rules are complex and mistakes are costly.
Medicaid eligibility doesn’t mean losing everything. With proper planning, married couples can protect substantial assets for the healthy spouse. Single individuals can preserve assets for children and beneficiaries.
Wyoming’s Medicaid rules differ from other states. Generic online advice or planning done in other states may not comply with Wyoming requirements.
Your counsel. Your advocates. Rooted in Wyoming.
Losing a loved one is difficult enough without navigating complex legal processes.
At Yonkee & Toner, we guide families through probate and trust administration with compassion, efficiency, and expertise, helping you fulfill your duties while honoring your loved one’s legacy.
How We Help You
Whether you’re serving as executor of a will, trustee of a trust, or simply trying to understand what happens after a death, we provide clear guidance through every step of the administration process.
Probate Administration
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling a deceased person’s estate. We assist executors and personal representatives with every step of the process:
Filing Probate Petitions
We prepare and file all necessary court documents to open the estate and obtain your legal authority to act as personal representative.
Identifying and Inventorying Assets
We help you locate, value, and inventory all estate assets, from bank accounts and real estate to personal property and business interests.
Notifying Creditors and Heirs
Wyoming law requires formal notice to creditors and beneficiaries. We ensure all legal notice requirements are met and deadlines are followed.
Paying Debts and Taxes
We guide you through the process of evaluating claims, paying legitimate debts, and filing necessary tax returns (including estate tax returns if applicable).
Distributing Assets
Once debts are paid and required waiting periods expire, we help you distribute assets to beneficiaries according to the will or Wyoming intestacy laws.
Closing the Estate
We prepare final accountings and obtain court approval to close the estate and release you from your duties.
Trust Administration
Trust administration occurs outside of court but still requires careful attention to legal requirements and fiduciary duties.
We assist trustees with:
Understanding Trust Terms
We review the trust document with you to clarify your powers, duties, and the beneficiaries’ rights.
Asset Management
We coordinate with investment advisors on prudent investment strategies, property maintenance, and asset protection consistent with your fiduciary duties.
Accounting and Reporting
Trustees must keep detailed records and provide accountings to beneficiaries. We help you maintain proper documentation and prepare required reports.
Distribution Planning
Whether the trust calls for immediate distribution or ongoing management, we ensure distributions are made according to the trust terms and in compliance with tax laws.
Tax Compliance
Trusts have unique tax filing requirements. We coordinate with tax professionals to ensure all returns are filed correctly and on time.
Dispute Resolution
If beneficiaries disagree about trust administration or challenge your actions, we protect your interests and work toward resolution.
What You Should Know
Serving as executor or trustee is a serious responsibility. Wyoming law imposes fiduciary duties on personal representatives and trustees, requiring them to act in the best interests of beneficiaries, avoid conflicts of interest, and manage assets prudently.
Probate timelines vary based on estate complexity. Small estates may qualify for simplified procedures that avoid formal probate altogether.
Not all assets go through probate. Property held in joint tenancy, payable-on-death accounts, life insurance proceeds, and retirement accounts typically pass directly to named beneficiaries outside of probate.
Wyoming does not have a state estate tax, but federal estate tax may apply to larger estates. Understanding tax obligations is crucial for proper administration.
We recommend meeting with us within 30 days of a loved one’s death to ensure timely compliance with legal requirements and to protect your interests.
Why Choose Yonkee & Toner
We understand that administering an estate or trust during a time of grief is overwhelming. Our attorneys provide patient, compassionate guidance while ensuring you meet all legal requirements and protect yourself from liability. We handle the legal complexities so you can focus on your family.
Contact us to discuss how we can assist with probate or trust administration.
Disputes involving businesses, trusts, and estates often involve substantial assets, family relationships, and complex legal issues.
Yonkee & Toner represents clients in business and trust litigation, protecting your interests while seeking practical resolutions to preserve relationships and business continuity when possible.
How We Help You
Whether you’re involved in a shareholder dispute, partnership conflict, or trust administration disagreement, or Probate dispute, we provide experienced representation grounded in both legal expertise and business sense.
Business Disputes
Partnership and LLC Disputes – Conflicts among business owners can paralyze operations and destroy value. We represent partners and LLC members in disputes over management decisions, profit distributions, breach of operating agreements, fiduciary duty violations, and deadlock situations. Our goal is to find solutions that allow businesses to continue operating or facilitate fair buyouts when separation is necessary.
Shareholder Disputes
Minority shareholders have legal protections against oppression by majority shareholders. We represent both majority and minority shareholders in disputes involving breach of fiduciary duty, oppression and freeze-outs, dividend disputes, valuation conflicts, and shareholder derivative actions.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Officers, directors, partners, and managing members owe fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to the business and other owners. We prosecute and defend claims involving self-dealing, usurpation of business opportunities, conflicts of interest, and mismanagement.
Business Valuation Disputes
Buyouts, dissolutions, and shareholder disputes often require business valuation. We work with qualified appraisers and challenge improper valuation methods to ensure fair outcomes.
Business Dissolution
When business relationships become irreparable, orderly separation protects all parties. We handle business dissolutions, buyout negotiations, and partition of business assets.
Trust and Estate Disputes
Will and Trust Contests
Beneficiaries may challenge the validity of wills and trusts based on lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution. We represent both challengers and those defending estate planning documents, presenting evidence of the decedent’s intent and the circumstances surrounding document creation.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty by Trustees and Executors
Trustees and executors must act in beneficiaries’ best interests. We represent beneficiaries when fiduciaries engage in self-dealing, improper investments, failure to account, improper distributions, or other breaches of duty. We also defend fiduciaries against unfounded breach claims.
Trust and Will Interpretation Disputes
Ambiguous trust language can lead to disputes over distributions, trustee or personal representative powers, or beneficiary rights. We seek court interpretation when necessary to clarify trust terms.
Removal of Trustees and Executors
When a fiduciary is unable or unwilling to perform their duties properly, removal may be necessary. We represent beneficiaries seeking removal and fiduciaries defending against removal petitions.
Trust and Estate Accounting Disputes
Beneficiaries are entitled to regular accountings showing trust activity. We help beneficiaries challenge improper accountings and trustees and personal representatives prepare and defend accountings.
Creditor Claims Against Trusts
Trust assets may be subject to creditor claims depending on trust structure. We represent creditors seeking to reach trust assets and beneficiaries defending trust property.
What You Should Know
Business disputes often involve competing interests and divergent visions for the company’s future. Early intervention through mediation or negotiation can preserve business value and relationships. However, when negotiation fails, litigation may be necessary to protect your investment.
Fiduciary duties are among the highest duties recognized by law. Fiduciaries must act with complete loyalty and care, avoiding conflicts of interest and self-dealing. Even unintentional breaches can result in personal liability.
Trusts and Wills contests must generally be filed within specific time limits. Wyoming law requires challengers to file objections within prescribed periods after receiving notice of trust or estate administration. Missing these deadlines can bar your claims.
No-contest clauses in trusts and wills may penalize beneficiaries who unsuccessfully challenge documents. However, Wyoming law provides exceptions when challenges are based on probable cause.
Why Choose Yonkee & Toner
Business, trust, and estate disputes require both legal sophistication and practical judgment. Our attorneys understand the business and family dynamics underlying these conflicts and work to achieve results that protect your legal rights while minimizing collateral damage to relationships and business operations. When litigation is necessary, we are experienced trial lawyers ready to advocate for you in court.
Contact us to discuss your business or trust dispute.
Family law matters are intensely personal and emotionally challenging.
At Yonkee & Toner, we bring the business and financial experience to analyze, value, and protect high value assets in contested divorces. When business interests, ranch and land holdings, mineral rights, and professional practices are at stake, we provide strategic advocacy that protects your financial future while navigating the complexities of property valuation and division.
How We Help You
Wyoming follows equitable distribution—marital property is divided fairly, not necessarily equally. We represent clients with substantial and complex assets requiring specialized expertise:
Business Valuation and Division
Closely-held businesses, professional practices, partnerships, and LLC interests require expert valuation. We work with qualified business appraisers and protect operating businesses from forced liquidation while ensuring fair division.
Agricultural and Ranch Property
Dividing ranches, farmland, and agricultural operations involves unique challenges including ongoing operations, water rights, grazing permits, and multi-generational family dynamics. We understand Wyoming agriculture and protect your legacy.
Mineral Rights and Royalty Interests
Oil and gas leases, mineral ownership, and royalty streams require careful valuation and division. We ensure proper accounting of production income and protect valuable mineral assets.
Real Estate Holdings
Multiple properties, commercial real estate, and investment properties require strategic division to minimize tax consequences and preserve value.
Retirement Accounts and Investments
Complex investment portfolios, 401(k)s, pensions, stock options, and deferred compensation require proper valuation and division through Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs).
Business Owner Divorce
When you own a business, divorce threatens both your personal and professional life. We handle:
Business Valuation Disputes
Challenge inflated or deflated valuations. Ensure experts use appropriate methodologies for closely-held businesses and professional practices.
Protecting Business Operations
Structure settlements that allow your business to continue operating without disruption or forced buyouts of non-owner spouses.
Separate vs. Marital Property
Distinguish pre-marital business interests from marital growth. Trace separate property contributions and protect business assets acquired before marriage.
Forensic Accounting
When a spouse hides income or undervalues business interests, we employ forensic accountants to uncover the truth.
Professional Practice Divorce
Physicians, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals face unique valuation challenges. We protect professional goodwill, client relationships, and practice value while ensuring fair division.
Spousal Support in High-Asset Cases
Substantial marital estates don’t eliminate spousal support. We advocate for or against alimony based on length of marriage, standard of living, earning capacity, and contributions to wealth accumulation.
Asset Protection and Privacy
High-asset divorce requires discretion. We protect privacy through confidential settlements when possible and shield sensitive business and financial information from unnecessary disclosure.
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
Protect business interests, family wealth, and separate property through carefully drafted marital agreements. We represent business owners and professionals in negotiating enforceable agreements that withstand challenge.
What You Should Know
Business valuation is often the most contentious issue in high-asset divorce. The date of valuation, methodology used, and treatment of goodwill can dramatically affect outcomes. Early involvement of qualified experts is essential.
Commingling separate and marital property can convert separate assets into marital property subject to division. Inherited property, pre-marital assets, and family businesses can become marital property if not properly maintained.
Wyoming courts have discretion in property division. “Equitable” doesn’t mean equal—courts consider contributions to the marriage, earning capacity, age and health, and other factors. Strategic advocacy influences how courts exercise discretion.
Tax consequences matter. Property division can trigger significant tax liability. Capital gains, depreciation recapture, and retirement account distributions require careful planning to minimize tax impact.
Hiding assets or income has severe consequences. Wyoming courts punish parties who engage in financial dishonesty through adverse property awards and contempt sanctions.
Why Choose Yonkee & Toner
High-asset divorce requires both legal skill and emotional intelligence. Our attorneys provide strong advocacy while treating you and your family with respect and compassion. We explore settlement opportunities to reduce conflict and cost, but we’re fully prepared to litigate when necessary to protect your rights. We understand that family law cases affect your entire future, and we’re committed to helping you achieve the best possible outcome.
Contact us to schedule a consultation and discuss how we can help with your family law matter.
When someone else’s negligence causes you harm, you deserve compensation for your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Yonkee & Toner represents injured clients in personal injury claims throughout Wyoming, fighting to hold wrongdoers accountable and secure the compensation you need to recover.
How We Help You
Personal injury cases require thorough investigation, expert testimony, and aggressive advocacy. We handle all types of injury claims, including:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian accidents can cause devastating injuries. We investigate accident causes, gather evidence, work with accident reconstruction experts, and negotiate with insurance companies to maximize your recovery. Wyoming’s comparative negligence rules mean you can recover damages even if you were partially at fault, though your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Premises Liability
Property owners have a duty to maintain safe conditions for visitors. We represent clients injured by slip and falls, inadequate security, dangerous conditions, and negligent maintenance. Whether your injury occurred in a store, restaurant, hotel, or private property, we hold negligent property owners accountable.
Product Liability
Defective products cause serious injuries. We handle product liability claims involving design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn. From dangerous consumer products to defective machinery, we pursue compensation from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
Workplace Injuries
While workers’ compensation provides benefits for most workplace injuries, third-party liability claims may be available when someone other than your employer caused your injury. We help injured workers pursue all available compensation, including third-party claims when applicable.
Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one due to someone else’s negligence is devastating. Wyoming wrongful death law allows certain family members to recover compensation for their loss. We handle wrongful death claims with compassion and determination, pursuing justice for your family.
When you or your business faces a liability claim or lawsuit, effective defense is essential to protect your interests and minimize exposure.
Yonkee & Toner provides experienced insurance defense representation, working closely with insurance companies and policyholders to achieve favorable outcomes in coverage and liability matters.
How We Help You
Insurance defense requires both aggressive litigation skills and strategic case management to control costs while achieving the best possible results. Our insurance defense practice includes:
General Liability Defense
We defend businesses and individuals in premises liability claims, product liability lawsuits, personal injury actions, and general negligence claims. Our attorneys investigate claims thoroughly, develop strong defenses, and work to minimize liability exposure through strategic litigation and negotiation.
Auto and Trucking Defense
Motor vehicle accident claims require prompt investigation and aggressive defense. We represent drivers, commercial vehicle owners, and insurers in defending auto accident claims, trucking litigation, and commercial vehicle liability matters. We work with accident reconstruction experts and investigate all aspects of liability to build strong defenses.
Professional Liability Defense
Professional liability claims against doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals require specialized knowledge of professional standards and malpractice issues. We defend professionals and their insurers in malpractice litigation, licensing board proceedings, and coverage disputes.
Employment Practices Liability
Employment-related claims including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour disputes can expose businesses to significant liability. We defend employers in employment litigation and administrative proceedings before the EEOC and Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
Property and Casualty Claims
We handle property damage claims, fire loss investigations, water damage disputes, and other property casualty matters, representing both insurers and policyholders in coverage and liability issues.
Bad Faith Defense
When policyholders allege insurers acted in bad faith, we defend insurance companies in bad faith litigation, demonstrating reasonable claims handling and investigation. We also counsel insurers on best practices to avoid bad faith exposure.
Coverage Analysis and Opinions
Before defending claims, determining coverage is essential. We provide coverage opinions, declaratory judgment actions, and reservation of rights advice to insurers facing coverage questions.
Yonkee & Toner serves as legal counsel to various governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses throughout Wyoming, providing ongoing legal guidance and representation.
Our services include:
Board Counsel
We represent the governing boards of cities, towns, school districts, hospital districts, improvement and service districts, and other governmental entities, providing:
Board Governance
We attend meetings to provide real-time legal advice on procedural matters, public meeting compliance, and substantive legal issues.
Policy and Ordinance Drafting
We draft and review policies, ordinances, and resolutions to ensure legal compliance and effective implementation.
Public Meetings and Public Records Compliance
We advise governmental entities with respect to Wyoming law concerning Public Meetings and Public records, helping balance transparency obligations with legitimate confidentiality interests.
Employment and Labor Issues
We provide counsel on hiring, discipline, termination, employment contracts, and related matters.
Contract Review and Negotiation
From construction contracts to service agreements, we review and negotiate contracts to protect your interests.
Litigation and Risk Management
We defend governmental entities in lawsuits and advise on risk management strategies to minimize liability exposure.
Nonprofit Organization Counsel
Nonprofits face unique legal challenges balancing mission-driven work with regulatory compliance.
We assist nonprofit organizations with:
Formation and Tax-Exempt Status
We form nonprofit corporations, draft bylaws, and assist with IRS 501(c)(3) applications and state tax exemption matters.
Governance and Compliance
We advise boards of directors on fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, governance best practices, and compliance with state and federal nonprofit regulations.
Contracts and Grants
We review grant agreements, program contracts, and vendor agreements to ensure compliance with funding requirements.
Business General Counsel
We serve as outside general counsel to businesses of all sizes, providing:
Day-to-Day Legal Advice
Quick answers to routine legal questions, contract review, and guidance on business decisions with legal implications.
Contract Drafting and Review
We prepare and review sales agreements, service contracts, vendor agreements, NDAs, and other business contracts.
Transaction Support
We assist with business acquisitions, sales, financing transactions, and commercial real estate matters.
Dispute Resolution
We handle business disputes, negotiate settlements, and manage litigation when necessary.
Corporate Governance
We assist corporate boards with compliance, accountability, transparency, and strategic oversight through principled board leadership and sound decision-making.
Trusted Counsel Starts With a Conversation
Whether you’re planning for the future, protecting your business, or facing complex litigation, our team is here to provide clear guidance and strong advocacy.
