Practice Areas & Industries: Strasburger & Price, LLP

Strasburger’s surety lawyers similarly provide experienced representation in all facets of the surety industry.  The group’s lawyers have significant experience representing sureties in connection with all types of bonds, including performance, payment, probate, public officials, subdivision, and various other miscellaneous commercial surety bonds.  Our lawyers have successfully handled countless complex contract surety claims, expertly guiding sureties through pre-default investigations and negotiations and completion of construction projects after default, including drafting and negotiating completion contracts, takeover agreements, ratification agreements, financing agreements, and other pertinent surety agreements.  Our lawyers likewise have extensive experience handling complicated and varied commercial surety bond claims, from the initial investigation and analysis to conclusion.  Our expertise and experience extends to protecting the surety’s interests in bankruptcy proceedings, including pre-bankruptcy and post-filing negotiations of reorganization plans, conflicts regarding unpaid proceeds of bonded contracts, negotiations regarding assumption of bonded obligations, and other issues affecting the surety in bankruptcy.  Importantly, our lawyers’ expertise extends well past the conclusion of the claim itself.  We have significant experience handling surety salvage efforts, including claims against principals and indemnitors, owners, subcontractors and suppliers, design professionals, accountants, and other parties potentially responsible for a surety’s loss.  In addition to experience, our lawyers bring the creativity often necessary to arrive at the best possible resolution for our surety clients.  Our surety lawyers have been instrumental in writing and editing some of the most important publications in the industry, such as the Bond Default Manual, and are actively involved with prominent industry groups, including the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the ABA, the Surety Claims Institute, the National Bond Claims Association, DRI’s Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, and the Gulf Coast Fidelity & Surety Law Institute. 
         
Attorneys in our fidelity and surety group are not just litigators but experienced trial lawyers who keep abreast and lecture on the latest techniques involving electronic discovery, evidence and computer technology and are equipped to handle complicated multi-party lawsuits.  For instance, group member Gary Crapster is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates.  Additionally, Strasburger & Price has long recognized the need to protect a favorable judgment and the right to correct an unfavorable one. As a result, lawyers in our group have been involved in numerous appeals resulting in published opinions instrumental to the advancement of the fidelity and surety industry.

Strasburger & Price is committed to having the preeminent fidelity and surety practice in the country.  Our lawyers take their roles very seriously, as evidenced by their significant involvement in various industry groups.  For instance, Michael Keeley is the Immediate Past Chair of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the American Bar Association.  He and group member Duncan Clore were recently appointed as two of only several lawyer Advisors to the Surety & Fidelity Association of America, the leading trade association in the fidelity and surety industry.  Mr. Keeley is also an advisor to the Fidelity Law Association, the current Chief Editor of the Fidelity Law Journal, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Tort & Insurance Law Journal, and a frequent writer and speaker. He is the editor of Handling Fidelity Bond Claims, an ABA publication focusing on the practical issues confronting insureds and insurers in the submission, investigation, and investigation of fidelity claims, and the editor of the Annotated Financial Institution Bond.  Mr. Clore also is a Past Chair of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the ABA, the Editor of the Bond Default Manual and Financial Institution Bonds, and a frequent author and speaker on fidelity and surety topics.

The firm’s significant involvement in the industry does not stop with its more senior partners, but instead extends throughout the group.  Chris Ward is a Vice Chair of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Co-Chair of the Young Professional’s Involvement Subdivision of the FSLC, a member of the Steering Committee of the Defense Research Institute, the Surety Features Editor of the FSLC Newsletter, the Articles Editor for the Surety Claims Institute, and a founding member of the Texas Surety Claims Institute. Mr. Ward also is a frequent writer and speaker on surety and fidelity topics.  Associate Justin Melkus recently was appointed to the Law Division of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee and Associate Melissa Gardner recently was appointed to leadership of the Young Professionals section of the FSLC.  Both Mr. Melkus and Ms. Gardner are speaking and writing on an increasingly frequent basis, as are other members of the group.

We are able to augment our experience and ability in the fidelity and surety area with many of the firm’s other practice areas, including banking, bankruptcy, ERISA, probate, real estate, securities and taxation. The specific expertise of the lawyers in these other groups is an invaluable resource when handling complex claims.  Like the lawyers in the fidelity and surety group, many are well known leaders in their respective areas of practice.

The goal of Strasburger’s fidelity and surety team is to provide the highest level of legal knowledge to our clients in a timely and cost efficient manner. Client service is the cornerstone of our principles. Emphasis is placed upon accessibility and responsiveness. We have been able to achieve excellent results for our fidelity and surety clients in the investigation phase of the claim, in analyzing and handling claims, in preparing the case for trial, in mediating and arbitrating bond claims, and in trying and winning trials and appeals.  As a result, we are national fidelity bond claims counsel for one of the leading insurers in the industry, regional fidelity and surety counsel for other insurers, and we frequently are asked to represent clients both throughout North and South America, as well as overseas.  We have been selected to represent insurers in some of the largest and most significant cases in the history of the industry, including claims involving Enron, Worldcom, and HealthSouth.  Strasburger is truly the “go to” firm for fidelity and surety representation in Texas, across the United States, and abroad.