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Practice/Industry Group Overview
Gardere has one of the largest and strongest trial practices in the Southwest. Litigation handled by the Trial Group encompasses trials in the United States district courts, all State courts, and appellate matters in both federal and state courts of appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The Firm has represented clients before various state, national and international arbitration boards, and is well known for handling large class action litigation.
Antitrust and Trade Regulation
The Antitrust Team is experienced in all aspects of antitrust litigation and counseling for clients nationwide in state and federal courts throughout the U.S. Representation includes clients involved with class action and other civil litigation; criminal grand jury investigations; civil investigations by the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and State of Texas; issues surrounding mergers, acquisitions, distribution practices, advertising, and pricing and discount; trade association activities; and other trade regulation matters.
Appellate
The Appellate Team handles appellate matters and provides assistance in cases tried by Gardere lawyers, as well as cases tried by outside counsel in state and federal courts. In addition to preparing appellate and trial briefs, the Team assists in all phases of litigation, including summary judgment and other case-dispositive motions, preservation of error, jury charge preparation, case assessment, strategy and analysis, and pre-trial and post-trial mediation.
Arbitration / ADR
Over the past decade, courts, counsel and clients have sought ways to deal with the delays and cost of lawsuits. This has led to the growing use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques, such as arbitration. Gardere has embraced these cost saving techniques and developed the skills to achieve the greatest advantage for our clients in selecting and utilizing the appropriate method of ADR.
Our corporate and commercial lawyers are skilled at crafting agreements that contain ADR provisions developed through utilization of the experience of our litigators and clients in dealing with ADR provisions and their implementation. The utilization of this collective experience has led to the development of clauses that help to avoid major litigation and help to reduce the cost of ADR while increasing its effectiveness.
Aviation
The Aviation Practice provides expertise to all segments of the aviation and aerospace industries. Attorneys have extensive litigation experience in aviation product liability actions, aircraft accident litigation, multi-district litigation and environmental litigation. Attorneys also provide counseling and representation in regulatory matters and enforcement proceedings and have represented clients in the leasing and acquisition of aircraft, international marketing and sales agreements and route awards, and counseling in areas such as airport development, airport noise disputes and aviation insurance matters.
Class Action Defense
Gardere is experienced in all aspects of class action litigation and counseling for clients nationwide. Representation includes cases involving securities fraud, antitrust claims, environmental property damage, underground storage tanks, employment discrimination, RICO, underpayment of oil and gas royalties, toxic tort cases and many others. Attorneys have represented clients in class actions filed in 22 states, from New York to California, and are experienced in many areas of substantive law, including antitrust, securities, intellectual property, RICO and ERISA.
Commercial Litigation
The Firm’s attorneys handle business and commercial litigation matters, including contract dispute, Uniform Commercial Code issues, assorted business fraud claims, franchising, real estate, lender liability, consumer protection issues, insurance disputes, bid disputes, litigation arising under ERISA and other tax disputes, environmental cases, trusts and estates litigation, and litigation involving commercial property and other real estate transactions.
Construction
Attorneys on this Team have extensive experience in commercial and residential construction contracting and litigation. Representation primarily includes contractors, owners, developers and specialty subcontractors. The Construction Team is also involved in many lawsuits involving claims of delay and disruption, misrepresentations, surety performance, RCLA compliance and DTPA violations.
Employment Litigation
Gardere attorneys handle all aspects of litigation in both state and federal courts at all levels nationwide. These matters include individual and class action matters under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, state fair employment statutes and claims of wrongful discharge.
Entertainment
The Entertainment Practice has extensive experience relating to radio and television contracts, sponsor contracts, advertising contracts, licensing and protection rights, and principal agent/player negotiations. Attorneys routinely handle litigation matters representing major corporations and individuals in areas of art, drama, music, film, video and written works. In addition, our lawyers have successfully defended the personal injury claims of both individuals and entities arising out of live entertainment performances and sporting events. The Firm is well known for its long time representation of the world's largest live entertainment promoter.
Environmental Litigation
The Team's expertise encompasses the entire range of environmental, toxic tort, and oil and gas litigation. This includes the litigation of enforcement actions by federal and state regulatory agencies; multi-party claims seeking remediation or cost recovery under CERCLA, RCRA and other statutory schemes; and citizens' suits, civil suits, and governmental actions for damages allegedly caused by contamination of property and other natural resources. The Team also litigates actions involving alleged personal injuries or deaths from exposure to toxic substances released into the environment or sold into the stream of commerce, and claims arising out of indemnity and other contractual provisions allocating environmental responsibility.
Family Law
Gardere’s Family Law attorneys understand that legal matters relating to divorce or family disputes can be stressful. Matters such as child custody and support, paternity, pre and post-nuptial agreements, modifications of child support and custody, and complex property divisions can be overwhelming and emotionally trying events. While some cases may be more suited for resolution through the traditional court system, others may be best served through non-adversarial options such as collaborative law or mediation. In either case, our Family Law attorneys effectively assist and consult with each client to determine the best course of action.
Government Contracts
The Firm has extensive experience in all aspects of public contracting at the federal, state and local levels, including bid and proposal preparation, procurement protests, contract negotiation, change orders, claims, contract compliance issues, disputes and litigation. Representation includes knowledge of procurement laws, contractor accounting systems, purchasing systems, quality control, cost estimating, government property and minority subcontracting requirements.
Insurance Coverage
The Insurance Coverage Team represents a wide spectrum of domestic and international policyholders, brokers, agents, third party administrators, insurers and reinsurers, in litigation and counseling involving primarily complex insurance problems with significant potential exposure.
Intellectual Property Litigation
Gardere’s Intellectual Property Trial Practice is composed of a cross-section of over 30 trial attorneys, patent attorneys, attorneys in highly specialized technical fields, and technical advisors. Clients benefit from their access to the extensive resources of Gardere’s Intellectual Property Group for technical and substantive expertise. Attorneys from the Intellectual Property Trial Practice have represented start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in complex and bet-the-company infringement, copyright, trademark, trade secret and licensing cases.
Internet and Computer Technology
Lawyers assist clients in drafting and negotiating contracts for outsourcing, licensing computer software, protecting trade secrets, infringement of software copyrights, prosecution of patents, and performance of computer systems. Because of the distinctive needs of the computer industry, lawyers also assist computer technology companies with counsel regarding marketing and distribution, environmental regulations, tax matters relating to emerging and developing technology, and technology transfers between U.S. and foreign countries, including international sales, production, marketing, licensing and qualification, import and export regulations and immigration matters.
Mold
Mold Practice is a multi-disciplinary team of insurance, construction, toxic tort and environmental lawyers formed to assist clients in dealing with mold-related issues. Attorneys assist clients in developing programs to effectively deal with a variety of mold-related disputes, including insurance coverage matters. Clients represented include those involved in every facet of the ownership and development of real estate - from developers, builders, contractors, landlords and tenants, to insurers and risk managers.
Oil and Gas Litigation
Gardere has a rich history in successfully addressing the litigation and transactional needs of our clients in the oil and gas business, including independents, public companies and individual mineral owners. In addition to handling issues concerning leasehold operations, royalty and title disputes, farm outs, right-of-ways, and gas purchase agreements, attorneys represent service companies, drilling contractors, pipelines and exploration and production companies. In addition to the traditional needs, attorneys address issues including patent and trademark protection, production financing, and e-commerce to ensure the business transaction proceeds smoothly, or if litigation is involved, that the matter is handled successfully, economically and efficiently.
Products Liability
The Product Liability Team has experience in the defense of product liability, personal injury and property damage claims asserted against product manufacturers, distributors and dealers. Representation covers a broad spectrum of products, including aircraft and aviation products, automobiles, heavy equipment, missiles, appliances, oil and gas equipment, medical devices, boats and marine equipment, herbicides and pesticides, chemicals, petroleum products, and numerous consumer products.
Professional Malpractice
The Professional Malpractice Team has successfully handled and defended through trial or arbitration many fiduciary and malpractice claims brought against accountants, law firms throughout Texas and the United States, bank officers, insurance and securities brokers-dealers, and others charged with breach of these duties, including general partners and independent members of boards of directors. Our attorneys have defended numerous trustees, administrators, and their attorneys in contested estate matters. The Team has also defended clients in the legal field against state bar grievance proceedings.
Real Estate Litigation
The Real Estate Litigation Practice provides full-service legal expertise in a variety of areas related to real estate. Representation includes residential homeowners in boundary disputes to multi-million dollar international development companies—and all others in-between, including commercial and residential tenants/users, owners, developers, contractors and property management companies. Our attorneys handle a variety of issues in addition to litigation, including arbitration and mediation of disputes involving commercial and residential property sales and leases, lender liability, title insurance, boundary disputes, development and property management for residential, retail, commercial, industrial, and multi-family housing projects and premises liability.
Securities Litigation
Securities Litigation lawyers have significant experience in complex securities litigation, including the defense of shareholder class actions and shareholder derivative suits. We have represented clients in both state and federal court settings. Additionally, Gardere has defended numerous Wall Street and regional brokerage firms in arbitration in connection with a myriad of investor claims. Where appropriate, our lawyers leverage the expertise of our full-service firm by working closely with our corporate governance, insurance coverage and white collar criminal defense lawyers in connection with associated issues.
Tax Litigation
Attorneys in the Group handle a wide variety of federal, state and local tax issues before state courts, all federal courts and the Internal Revenue Service, including compliance (examination and collection), Appeals, National Office, and Competent Authority proceedings.
Water Law
Gardere counsels clients on the civil and criminal consequences of activities involving drainage, flooding, storm water management, flood plain management, wetlands and water rights use. We routinely counsel landowners, developers, engineers, construction companies, builders, manufacturers, chemical and energy companies, commercial businesses and municipal water districts on these complex issues and assist them with obtaining permits, defending third party claims and defending regulatory actions regarding these matters.
White Collar Criminal Defense
Gardere represents corporate and individual clients in all phases of white collar criminal analyses, investigations, and trials in both state and federal courts. From consultations through massive internal investigations, Gardere attorneys assist companies in defining issues, assessing problems, and addressing government inquiries and concerns. Attorneys apply technical expertise and in-depth experience as former prosecutors and as defense attorneys to complex situations and cases involving antitrust, banking, customs, environmental, health care, public corruption, securities, technology and trade secret laws and regulations.
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