Sonya del Peral (Of Counsel) spent the first five years of her legal practice in large law firms in New York City and Albany where she specialized in intellectual property, corporate, education and real estate matters. In 1996, she opened her solo practice in Columbia County. Sonya received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Albany Law School in 1991, where she served as an Editor of the Albany Law Review, was named a Justinian Society Member, and was awarded the Nathan Burkan Memorial Copyright Award and the Selma Mintz Memorial Award. Sonya received a M.A.T. degree from SUNY Binghamton in 1984 where she was awarded the Outstanding Professional Performance Award, and her B.A. from SUNY Albany, summa cum laude, in 1980. Sonya is a fluent Spanish speaker and speaks intermediate French. She is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.

Sonya’s practice areas complement and supplement Young Sommer’s practice areas. Their office is located to the south, in Columbia County, part of New York’s historic Hudson Valley, within the Capital District and a stone’s throw from the Berkshires. Their areas of practice include:

Real Estate: residential and commercial real estate closings, residential and commercial leasing, real estate financing, condominium offerings, co-tenancy agreements, real estate litigation, commercial, retail and manufacturing facility development and representation before local planning and zoning boards.

Intellectual Property: full range of services in the fields of trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition law including trademark searches, filing and prosecution of trademarks and copyrights, licensing and work-for-hire agreements for trademarks, copyrights and patents, intellectual property audits, defensive and offensive litigation and other intellectual property protection strategies, software licensing, website development and an extensive practice involving issues relating to the Internet.

Business Law; Not-for-Profit: entity formation, governance and operation, drafting and negotiation of shareholder, operating, partnership and employment agreements, business acquisitions, representation of both lenders and borrowers in secured and unsecured corporate financing transactions.

Education: representation of private, charter and public schools in the following areas: real estate transactions, contract review, health and transportation issues, construction contract review and negotiation, public bidding, freedom of information law requests and drafting policies including codes of conduct, FERPA and sexual harassment policies.

Wills, Trusts and Estates: estate planning and drafting of wills and trusts, representation of executors and trustees with probate, trust and estate administration.