Our attorneys have litigated commercial disputes of various sorts in courts around the country, for both plaintiffs and defendants, including antitrust claims, charges of securities violations, and alleged breaches of contracts. We have also litigated substantial claims for insurance coverage on behalf of insureds. We have extensive experience in representing multiple defendants, in working with other counsel in joint defense arrangements, and in defending against claims by multiple plaintiffs and plaintiff class actions.

We handle commercial litigation at all levels. Our attorneys have appeared in all levels of state and federal courts, from state trial courts in remote small towns to the U.S. Supreme Court. We have frequently been engaged as trial counsel in cases in which we partner with local firms. We also serve as coordinating counsel in cases in which we support local counsel with briefing, experts, witnesses, document management and more.

We also assist clients in avoiding litigation before it is filed and resolving litigation outside the courts. We assist clients in developing programs for administering claims before they become suits. We counsel clients about methods to avert litigation and minimize risks. We advise clients in dealings with potential litigants. And we appear for clients in various forums in order to defuse potential litigation, from regulatory hearings to community meetings to negotiations with adverse parties. We also have an extensive alternative dispute resolution practice, with a specialty in international arbitration.

Above all else, however, we litigate. We hold ourselves out as a firm to call when disputes go to court. We excel in achieving favorable results in litigation. Sometimes the best result is a hard-fought judgment after extensive litigation. Sometimes it is a quick settlement on favorable terms. Frequently, the best result lies in between. Our goal is to help clients identify the best result and then obtain it. Our firm has the resources, the experience and the commitment to do just that in commercial litigation, whatever the issue and wherever it is filed.

Our attorneys are at the forefront of high-profile class action tort, environmental and product liability litigation. Our nationwide litigation portfolio includes precedent-setting product liability, mass tort and toxic tort suits. Our clients include major oil companies, automobile and truck manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and medical device companies. Our attorneys have successfully defended clients in litigation involving gasoline and gasoline additives, chemical contamination, automobiles and automotive components, knee implants, breast implants, latex gloves and food products, among others.

In addition to defending individual suits in our region and around the country, we often serve as national counsel or coordinating counsel in major litigation. Clients regularly call on us to manage nationwide litigation, and to serve as national trial counsel in high-exposure, high-stakes matters. For example:

We currently serve as national counsel to major oil companies in Multi-District Litigation and multiple state court litigations involving product liability claims relating to a gasoline additive.

We serve as regional trial counsel to a major automobile manufacturer defending products liability suits involving a diverse range of products and issues.

We are coordinating class action defense counsel for a major automotive supplier.

Class actions are a special focus of our practice. We have acted as lead counsel for three major oil companies in the largest nationwide environmental class action ever filed. We serve as class action counsel to a major auto maker in products liability class actions. As national class action counsel for an automotive supplier, we are defending suits in several jurisdictions. All told, our lawyers have defended more than 50 class actions, including coordinating the defense of dozens of virtually identical class actions filed in state courts around the country. We are aggressive in our defense of class suits, seeking and routinely succeeding in defeating class certification at the earliest opportunity. Our attorneys have also used dispositive motions at an early stage to obtain dismissals of class actions without the need for discovery or class certification motions. Of course, when necessary, we also try high-stakes class actions.

Our appellate practice includes the successful appeals of numerous class actions and other product and toxic tort suits. Appearing as amici curiae, we have represented major trade associations on cutting-edge tort liability issues. Reported decisions document our record of success on such issues as exclusion of expert testimony under Daubert, preemption of tort claims based on government action, preclusion of property damage claims, denial of class certification in mass tort cases, and limitations on claims in product liability and toxic tort actions.

We have decades of collective experience and a distinguished record of success in matters of civil and administrative litigation, compliance counseling, policy making, and strategic business planning. Our attorneys have a proven track record in a broad spectrum of prominent cases, including Clean Air Act and RCRA enforcement defense and citizen suits, class action tort cases, cost recovery cases, and multimedia enforcement actions. We participate in rule development, as well as rule challenges. We tried to a jury the largest multimedia enforcement action ever brought by the United States. We have a specialized practice representing clients before EPA's Environmental Appeals Board.

With particular emphasis on clean air (both mobile and stationary sources), waste management, and toxic substance control issues, our attorneys assist clients in complying with complex environmental laws and regulations. We have strong working relationships with key federal and state policy makers and considerable experience in helping shape federal and state environmental policy.

We have prosecuted and defended technology claims of various sorts, including claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark and patent infringement. We have prosecuted eight cases across the country for one client in which we obtained ex parte TRO and seizure orders against defendants who pirated the client's technology. Our cases have included an international trade secrets action involving medical devices, patent cases over telecommunication services, trademark actions involving consumer products, and copyright cases for software and publications.

Our attorneys frequently use ADR as an adjunct to traditional litigation. We have engaged in mini-trials, mediation and other ADR procedures in the context of litigation in a wide variety of cases, from contract disputes to toxic tort matters. We have designed and used novel procedures for resolving complex disputes. We also have a wealth of experience in traditional arbitration of domestic and international commercial cases. Our attorneys have represented clients in arbitration in forums around the world, including the ICC, ICSID, the AAA, the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal and ad hoc tribunals using various procedures including the UNCITRAL rules. These cases have involved technology disputes, construction and energy projects, commercial contracts, environmental claims and more. Our attorneys have also litigated matters of arbitral procedure at all levels of state and federal courts. One of our partners is on the arbitration faculty of the International Law Institute, and have written extensively on the subject.