About Us

Vanghagen Law, P.C. represents individuals and corporate entities throughout the U.S. Our clients include production companies, architectural and engineering firms, manufacturers, private lenders and investors, and employers.

Our practice is a general commercial law practice with a focus on: entertainment law, business law and civil litigation; and strategic tax planning and tax controversy. We represent clients before the California and Colorado state and federal administrative agencies as well as the Colorado state and federal courts. Our attorneys serve as transactional and advisory attorneys for production companies; servicing their legal needs from project conception through delivery. Our business law department represents individuals and businesses with transactional law needs, entity formation, contract disputes, civil litigation matters, tax planning, and tax controversy and litigation. Additionally, we support our clients with training and counseling, drafting documents, advising on changes of law, and resolving disputes through negotiated settlement, mediation, and arbitration.

We are dedicated to providing the highest quality representation and customer service in the legal industry. Based on our dedication to these principles and values, commitment to our clients and our track record of success, we seek to build trusted, long-term relationships with our clients.

Our practice is rooted in your success. We aim to identify your objective and build practical ways to reach your desired outcome. We exert every effort to ensure that your experience with Vanghagen Law, P.C. is exceptional.

Attorney

Annika K. Vanghagen, JD, LL.M.

Annika Vanghagen is the president and founder of Vanghagen Law, P.C; her practice specializes in entertainment, business, and tax law.

Annika received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1997 and worked for several years in the finance industry for large mutual fund companies. Annika went on to earn a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver College of Law and her LL.M. (Master of Laws degree) in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Following several years as an in-house attorney for Quest Communications (now Century Link) working on matters ranging from patent infringement to international telecom actions, Annika re-focused her practice on general business, and tax law. She finds that her legal foundation, built on thorough understanding of tax issues and consequences, translates to a more efficient and reasoned navigation of business transactions across all industries. In 2013, Annika expanded her general business practice into the entertainment industry and has served as a project attorney for documentaries, films and television shows and has served as in-house counsel for production companies.

Recent and Notable Entertainment Law Work

• Legal counsel and production attorney for Kickboxer: Retaliation  (released 2018)
• Legal counsel and production attorney for the motion picture DOE  (currently in post-production)
• Legal counsel and production attorney for the motion picture Point Defiance  (currently in post-production
• Legal counsel and production attorney for the documentary Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story  (currently in post-production)
• Legal counsel and production attorney for the documentary 26 Seconds  (currently in post-production)
• Legal counsel and production attorney for the motion picture High Finance  (currently in development)
• In-house counsel for Our House Films, LLC

Recent and Notable Tax Law Work

• Represented a taxpayer before the California Board of Equalization, successfully securing research and development tax credits for the taxpayer—the first time in history that the BOE awarded such credits to a service provider.
• Represented a developer before the IRS and facilitated the removal of IRS tax liens
• Represented over 60 individuals and corporations in state and federal tax audits and appeals.

Recent and Notable Business Law Work

• Successful litigation against insurance company compelling coverage where it had previously been denied.
• Successful litigation on breach of contract, where full amount of contract was recovered for Plaintiff.
• Structured investment strategy for individuals wishing to invest in state legal cannabis operations, to minimize potential federal exposure.