COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
Our commercial litigation group specializes in the representation of financial institutions, privately held businesses and non-profit and professional organizations. Representative clients include banks, insurance agents and brokers, closely-held businesses and non-profit mutual benefit associations. Our transactional group, which provides business formation and transactional consulting to private companies and professional businesses, complements our litigation expertise.
The scope of our commercial litigation experience is broad; some of our representative work includes:
- Bank Litigation
- Securities Litigation
- Dissolutions & Shareholder Disputes
- Intellectual Property/Unfair Competition
Bank Litigation
We have substantial expertise in representing banks in operations litigation matters. We routinely receive "election to defend" and subrogation assignments from financial institutions and sureties regarding embezzlement and third party fraud losses. We also represent larger self-insured banks such as
Wells Fargo. In addition to our in-depth familiarity with loan and commercial paper claims, we have experience in more specialized areas of commercial litigation. These include wire transfer claims, disputes governed by clearinghouse rules, trust account litigation, government check claims, letter of credit claims and losses arising out of fraudulent documents of title.
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Securities Litigation
Our experience in the securities industry ranges from the representation of directors and officers and professionals in class action litigation to single-investor suitability claims. Representative clients include broker-dealers, investment advisors and commodities futures firms. We frequently represent clients regarding regulatory claims, including practice before the SEC, the California Department of Corporations and the CFTC. We also have experience in NASD and NFA arbitration, as well as CFTC reparations
proceedings.
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Dissolutions and Shareholder Disputes
A substantial amount of our commercial litigation work has involved derivative actions and other litigation arising out of disputes among owners and management. These disputes can be uniquely disruptive, and we take it as our duty to counsel our clients as to the best courses of action that allow them to continue or resume their business as usual. We are experienced in handling both third party claims against directors of non-profit organizations and internal disputes over board or executive control. In litigating these issues, we generally seek to find a quick and economical resolution that reflects the spirit of philanthropy itself.
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Intellectual Property/Unfair Competition
Another important aspect of our commercial litigation work is handling noncompete and trade secret claims. Our experience in copyright and trademark litigation is complemented by expertise among the transactional group in counseling professional and other businesses on protection of their work product and proprietary information.
This early intervention can forestall painful, and often expensive, exposures to intellectual and trade secret theft.
In today's business and technology climate, the protection of work product may be one of the single most important challenges facing American companies. The most successful companies in guarding intellectual assets are the one that most zealously guard their work product, the ones with the most carefully thought-out systems and guidelines in place to avoid such theft, and the ones that hire law firms that defend their interests avidly and thoroughly.
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