Marcia Schultz is a partner in the firm's Saipan office and serves as the firm's Managing Partner. She concentrates her practice on transactional law with an emphasis on real property, employment law, and corporate issues. She has worked with a broad range of client industries, including hotels, retailers, tour companies, restaurants, financial institutions, foreign companies, and large conglomerates.

Representative Matters

Business Formation and Restructuring Assisted numerous corporations and LLCs in preparing documentation and obtaining licenses to operate in Saipan. Prepared articles of incorporation and bylaws, registration, professional licenses and foreign corporation registration.

Employment Law Represents a wide variety of business owners and managers on daily operations and policy issues. Helps to prevent litigation through writing and interpreting management policies and employee hand books concerning personnel matters, including hiring, firing, promoting, payment of wages, overtime, and benefits. Conducts EEO training. Emphasis is on compliance and documentation.

Land Article XII Litigation Successful representation of Hotel Nikko Saipan and other landowners in defense of multiple lawsuits pending in the Northern Mariana Islands arising out of application of a Constitutional provision limiting acquisitions of real property to persons of Northern Marianas descent.

Shopping Center and Hotels Represented shopping center and hotels in preparation of master leases and negotiation with tenants for commercial leases for retail use. 

Leases Represented foreign developers in preparing long-term land leases for resort hotel, shopping center, office, and industrial purposes. Extensive dealings with the Department of Public Lands. Experience with the legislative approval process for long-term public land leases.

Mortgages Represented both local and Japanese banks financing developments in Saipan with leasehold mortgages, loans, notes, and title report interpretations.

Unionization Represented Hafadai Beach Hotel in first unionization campaign in CNMI. Litigation touched upon complex issues of CNMI labor and immigration laws with respect to non-resident workers. Assisted client in interpreting NLRB application of U.S. laws, and potential conflicts with CNMI Covenant with the U.S. Represented employer in negotiating collective bargaining agreement with union.

Immigration Assisted foreign corporations and resident aliens apply for CNMI Investor and business visas.
 
Employment Discrimination Litigation Represented resort hotel on charges of discrimination based on national origin. Successfully showed that client practices were based on non-discriminatory legitimate business reason. Hiring and promotion practices touched upon CNMI labor laws regarding local hire requirements. Saved client significant sums in potential penalties. Represented numerous clients in successfully defending EEOC charges.

Affiliations

• Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Bar Association
• Legal Counsel to Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Society for Human Resources, Founding Member and Past President
• Chamber of Commerce