Attorneys in the Litigation Practice Group represent clients nationwide in hearings, trials, and appeals in state and federal courts and negotiate settlements for individuals, businesses, corporations, and municipalities. Our attorneys represent clients as plaintiffs or defendants; in arbitration, mediation, summary trials, and settlement conferences in court; and in state and federal courts. We prepare litigation budgets and case management plans for complex litigation and work closely with client managements to make important litigation decisions and resolve disputes cost-effectively while maintaining the image and principles our clients desire.
Our attorneys have extensive experience in aviation, banking, civil, condemnation, construction, contract, corporate, employee relations, environmental, estate, housing authority, insurance, intellectual property, maritime, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability, professional liability, real estate, tax, and zoning and land use litigation.
The Litigation Practice Group focuses its representation on the legal issues clients face in the marketplace, including contract and warranty disputes with customers, dealers, and suppliers; corporate litigation involving shareholders, securities fraud, mergers, acquisitions, and sales of businesses or product lines; defense of product liability claims of design and manufacturing defects, strict liability, unreasonably dangerous products, negligent misrepresentation in product literature, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and punitive damages; disputes arising from plant expansion projects, such as contract disputes with architects and builders, and contractor and subcontractor lien claims; insurance coverage for claims involving business interruption; lack of ingress or egress; lemon law claims; property damage and loss of use arising from natural perils or human conduct; property, boundary line, and title disputes; protection of intellectual property rights, trademark and copyright infringement claims, and licensing disputes; and right of publicity.
To serve our clients better, our attorneys regularly associate and manage attorneys who have been retained by our clients to defend suits pending in courts outside North Carolina. For North Carolina businesses that offer products and services nationwide, this service provides quality assurance, cost control, continuity, and uniformity in the clients' dispute resolution policies and strategies, document production, and confidentiality orders. It also frees the clients' key personnel to operate the business rather than manage litigation. This representation includes monitoring the progress and strategy of a case, reviewing the statements rendered by the out-of-state attorneys to ensure compliance with the clients' billing requirements, and forwarding approved statements to clients for payment.
Litigation is not the only area in which our attorneys excel. Some of our attorneys serve as mediators and arbitrators for our clients. To be asked to serve as a mediator or arbitrator for cases handled by fellow attorneys is considered a compliment of the attorneys' evaluation and resolution skills. Moreover, client surveys indicate that our attorneys excel in explaining legal issues in laymen's terms so that clients are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities. Our down-to-earth approach helps clients understand the laws and legal processes that affect them. Five of our attorneys are included in the publication The Best Lawyers in America,* four since 1995 and one since 2005. Four attorneys have been selected as "Legal Elite"* by Business North Carolina, one in 2002 and 2007; one in 2003; one in 2005, 2007, and 2008; and one in 2006. Five attorneys have been recognized in "Super Lawyers"* by North Carolina Super Lawyers from 2006-2008.
The Litigation Practice Group includes practice groups that correspond to other areas of the firm; for example, Business, Construction (condemnation), Environmental, Financial Institutions, Health Care, Real Estate, and Trusts and Estates. The practice group also subsumes other practice groups, such as Construction; Equitable Distribution; Insurance; Intellectual Property; and Personal Injury and Wrongful Death. Litigation attorneys additionally serve the needs of clients whose cases are handled by other practice groups in the firm, including Bond Financing, Community Associations, Dealer/Distributor and Franchising, Family Law, Immigration, International, Maritime, Nonprofit Organizations, Securities, Tax, and Trusts and Estates. As a full-service law firm, we have the capability of providing all legal services necessary to our clients.
Our attorneys represent clients in matters concerning administrative and regulatory agencies including the Industrial Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and area planning and zoning boards.
Memberships in various legal organizations allow Litigation Practice Group attorneys to serve clients better, whether they be plaintiffs or defendants. Our attorneys are members of the Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, American Association for Justice, Christian Legal Society, Defense Research Institute, Eastern North Carolina Inn of Court, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, and North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys.
Our attorneys practice in the state and federal courts in North Carolina and in the federal courts of other jurisdictions including U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, U.S. Courts of Claims, U.S. Tax Courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
