Find Lawyers in California, United States for Commercial Litigation
Practice Area Overview
Litigation increasingly occurs in various venues, from state and federal courts to private arbitrations and administrative hearings. Proceedings can involve business-to-business disputes or any number of government agencies. Understanding the motivations and outlook of each of the litigation participants is important for determining weak points to exploit and strong points that will persuade the audience in question. During the past decade, commercial litigators have seen a dramatic uptick in multidistrict and inter-disciplinary litigation, making the stakes higher, the cases more complex, the parties more numerous and the discovery more complicated and unwieldy. Firms that are able to develop and implement a creative legal approach to each individual problem, efficiently focus on the key legal and factual issues, and master and manage the various aspects of these complex matters will be the busiest in the years to come.
In the current challenging economic climate, commercial litigators are under increasing client pressure to keep costs in check, which has both sides testing the efficacy of alternative fee arrangements and the scope of reasonable discovery. Whether the “death of the billable hour” is ultimately realized, the keys to a commercial litigator’s success will continue to be strong client relationships, thought leadership, practical management skills, deep experience, and personal commitment.
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Panteha Abdollahi is a seasoned litigator who represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters. She is well-versed in all stages of litigation and has tried numerous cases to verdict or settlement. She has authored and argued dozens of successful motions that have resulted in the early dismissal of claims. In addition to her commercial trial practice, Ms. Abdollahi leads her firm’s Appellate Practice Group. She has briefed matters before the United States Supreme Court, feder...
Eric Acker is a partner and trial lawyer in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. Mr. Acker has tried more than 50 trials (including more than 47 jury trials) in courtrooms across the country. Mr. Acker’s recent trials have involved a variety of technologies and significant legal issues. In the high-profile SCO v. Novell case, following a three-week trial, the jury affirmed our client Novell’s ownership of the copyrights to the UNIX software code and rejected SCO’s c...
Scott Alexander currently serves as the managing partner of Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP. Scott practices business and commercial litigation throughout all California state and federal courts, with a primary emphasis in construction and real estate litigation, public contracts and complex contract disputes. Scott routinely represents public entities, private owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and architects and engineers on a broad array of issues within the construction indus...
PRACTICE AREAS Trials Commercial Litigation Bet-the-Company Trials Class Actions White Collar Criminal Defense EXPERIENCE Kay is a seasoned trial attorney, having tried over 100 jury trials to verdict. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of high-stakes commercial litigation and white collar cases. Chambers USA ranks her among the top commercial litigators in California, quoting sources who describe Kay as “having great instincts and clients listen breathlessly...
Tyler represents plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases, public entity litigation, and high-stakes disputes. His clients range from individuals and closely held businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Tyler also frequently represents defendants and victims in criminal cases. His combined civil and criminal practices have helped him gain considerable experience in courtrooms throughout the Bay Area. His representation of criminal defendants facing potential civil claims, and civil clients with ...
Experienced in all aspects of case handling, Micaela P. Banach has amassed an impressive track record over the course of her career – skillfully representing both plaintiffs and defendants in practice areas that include matters of real estate, employment, products liability, professional liability and business disputes, such as contract issues and fraud. Results driven, she has secured successful results for numerous clients – most notably obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment...
John Bartko is a Founder and a Principal of the firm. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil, criminal and regulatory matters. He has represented many executives ensnared in complex regulatory investigations and has been involved in significant international discovery and complex investigations requiring foreign court appearances, including conducting examinations in Switzerland and Japan through pioneering requests for civil judicial assistance. He has traveled to Euro...
Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr. is a founding partner of Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire. He specializes in plaintiffs' litigation with an emphasis in business disputes, condemnation, and major injury cases. A tenacious litigator, Bartolotta is recognized annually by Woodward/White as one of the Best Lawyers in America -- a recognition he's received every year since 1987. "There's really no secret about what I do," he says, "I really do care for my clients; each case gets a piece of my soul." Bartolot...
Jim Basile is a partner in Kirkland's Bay Area office. He has spent twenty-eight years as a trial lawyer, was a founding partner of Kirkland's San Francisco office and head of Kirkland's San Francisco litigation practice for over a decade. He is the partner in charge of Kirkland's Firmwide trial advocacy program and litigation attorney training program (the Kirkland Institute for Trial Advocacy). Jim is a seasoned litigator with a diverse practice focusing on high-profile, complex litigation ...
When a company or its leaders are at risk, founding partner Daniel J. Bergeson uses his substantial litigation and trial experience to advocate for their rights and reputations in lawsuits involving securities, intellectual property, employment, private equity and venture capital, and commercial law. He focuses on the essential facts to persuade juries, judges, and triers of cases in state and federal courts and arbitration forums in Silicon Valley, Delaware, New York, and other dispute resol...
Whitney Z. Bernstein is an aggressive litigator and accomplished trial attorney with a track record for achieving success for her clients when the odds are against them. She has spent her career successfully defending felony and misdemeanor criminal offenses, leading companies in internal investigations to prevent litigation, and representing companies and individuals in contract and business tort claims and employment litigation. Whitney is a credible, tireless, and respected advocate who ha...
David Biderman, a partner in Perkins Coie's San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, focuses his practice on mass tort litigation and consumer class actions. He heads the firm's Mass Tort/Toxic Tort Defense group. He has represented a wide variety of companies in state and federal courts in California for 30 years. David currently manages the firm’s full-service product liability team responsible for defending over 1000 toxic tort cases pending in Los Angeles and Northern California state...
Thomas “Tom” H. Bienert, Jr. is a highly experienced trial attorney who handles the spectrum of litigation matters. After spending ten years as a federal prosecutor and two years at a national law firm, Tom founded Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP (BKLW) in 2000 and steadily grew the firm to its current size through the addition of other trial attorneys. Since starting the firm, he has obtained many multi-million dollar verdicts for plaintiffs in civil cases, multiple zero-su...
Michael W. Bien is a founding partner of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP where he concentrates his litigation practice on complex commercial litigation, class actions, constitutional and civil rights law, antitrust, intellectual property, disability rights, and attorneys’ fees disputes. He was managing partner for 27 years, stepping down in January 2018. Mr. Bien was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year for 2010 by both California Lawyer magazine and The Recorder and was ...
Terry Bird has been litigating, trying and winning complicated civil and white collar criminal cases for more than 40 years. He started his trial experience as a federal prosecutor in the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office. Before that, he clerked for Justices Lynn “Buck” Compton and Robert Thompson at the California Court of Appeal. His extensive and successful trial experience in commercial business litigation and white collar criminal prosecutions has been recognized by h...
Karl Block has a broad-based practice in the areas of corporate and corporate restructuring law. In his corporate practice, he represents sponsors, acquirers and targets in a variety of business combinations, acquisitions, financings and divestitures. Mr. Block also counsels with respect to competition, trade secrets and confidentiality. He also counsels boards on corporate governance matters, fiduciary duties and risk management. On the restructuring side of the practice, Mr. Block counsels ...
Bob Blum is a litigator who represents contractors and owners on construction claims and clients in many industries on contract and indemnity claims. He counsels lawyers and law firms on professional responsibility matters and represents creditors in bankruptcy cases. What Do You Focus On? With more than three decades of experience, I focus my practice in the following areas. Commercial Contract Litigation I represent construction, energy, vegetation management, financial services and retail ...
Teresa Bonder is the chair of the firm’s Antitrust Practice Group. She focuses her practice on the areas of antitrust and other commercial litigation—including class actions—and antitrust counseling, with respect to mergers, acquisitions and other business ventures. Teresa has successfully represented clients in the financial services, dairy processing, real estate, consumer credit reporting, floor covering, travel, telecommunications and other industries in antitrust and ot...
Ethan T. Boyer dedicates his practice to resolving complex business and commercial disputes, including intellectual property matters, real estate and product liability cases. Boyer has successfully handled all aspects of commercial and business litigation, in trials, arbitrations and appeals. Boyer has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America® by his peers since 2015 for commercial litigation. Best Lawyers has published its list for more than three decades, earning the respect of the...
Kevin Brogan specializes in the trial of real estate and business cases, with a particular emphasis on eminent domain and inverse condemnation matters. He has substantial experience in the trial of jury and nonjury matters in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative tribunals and other forums. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Chair of its Foundation Board.
Gregory G. Brown, Esq. is an accomplished jury trial veteran and Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy, a distinction earned by only 140 lawyers in California. A trial lawyer for over 30 years, he has spent over 200 days as lead trial counsel in jury trials throughout California. A student of the jury trial, Brown has been awardedMartindale-Hubbell’s highest honor, an AV Rating, signifying that his legal abilities are of the “very highest standard” and his professiona...
Robert Bunzel is a Principal of the firm. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in civil, criminal and regulatory matters such as venture finance, business and shareholder disputes, environmental and employment law, class actions, data breach and professional malpractice. His practice has involved significant international discovery and foreign court appearances, including examinations in Zurich and Lugano through pioneering requests for civil judicial assistance to Switzerland, as wel...
Frank Burke is the founder of Frank Burke Mediation and Arbitration PC, and a panel member of the National Rosters of Arbitrators and Mediators of the American Arbitration Association for Commercial, Large Complex Case and Energy Disputes. He is a Member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, California Chapter, recognized for both mediation and arbitration. He also serves as a Mediation Panel Member of the U.S. District Court ADR Program and on several state court mediation panel...
Mr. Burkhalter is the founding partner of BKCG. He is an AV Preeminent rated lawyer, the top ranking in ability and ethics by Martindale- Hubbell. Mr. Burkhalter has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer for Business Litigation every year since 2007, and was selected as one of Orange County’s Top 50 Super Lawyers in 2019. Mr. Burkhalter is also a new member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Burkhalter is a seasoned business trial lawyer who has successfully pro...
PRACTICE AREAS Commercial Litigation White Collar Criminal Defense Appellate Litigation EXPERIENCE Reuben Cahn is a courtroom advocate of rare experience and ability. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict and has argued twice before the Supreme Court (in 2011 and 2018) in addition to numerous arguments before both the 9th and 11th Circuits. This combination of skill and experience at the highest levels establish Mr. Cahn as one of the m...
As chair of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones’s post confirmation practice group, Mr. Caine oversees the entire spectrum of claims and avoidance litigation for debtors, creditors committees, trustees, liquidation or post-confirmation trusts, and defendants, from “mega cases” to smaller, individual matters. While many lawyers handle this type of work few, if any, can produce outstanding recoveries for all parties by calling upon the same case experience and litigation backgro...
Bill Campbell is an attorney at BraunHagey & Borden. He has over 30 years’ experience in insurance coverage, professional liability, and other complex business cases. Bill’s insurance coverage practice includes counseling and litigating on behalf of clients concerning a wide range of insurance coverage issues. He has extensive experience in representing clients in complex civil cases in state and federal courts. He also provides coverage opinions and assists clients in analyzi...
Paul S. Chan is the managing principal of Bird Marella. His practice focuses on the trial and arbitration of complex business disputes, including commercial fraud, class action, securities, and intellectual property litigation. Paul also represents companies and individuals in regulatory and parallel civil/criminal investigations. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College, Paul has particular expertise litigating cases involving the False Claims Act, civil RICO statute, unfair comp...
After leading BigLaw teams for years in high stakes and precedent setting cases in U.S. courts and international arbitration tribunals, Mr. Chao in May 2019 launched a boutique enabling him to sit as arbitrator, mediator, and special master, and to handle selected litigation matters. He was a partner for 29 years at a 1,000 lawyer global firm, where he founded and led the international litigation and arbitration practice; and for 6 years, he served as the U.S. head of the international arbitr...
Ed Chapin is the Managing Partner in the San Diego office of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, a national law firm with offices in the District of Columbia, New York, California, Tennessee, and Maryland. Ed received his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law and his B.S. from Southwest Missouri State University. Ed is a veteran litigator whose practice spans class actions, unfair business practices, professional negligence, insurance coverage, bad faith, toxic torts, serious personal in...
Lou Cisz concentrates his practice on insolvency, restructuring debts, creditors’ remedies and related litigation. His clients include lenders, special servicers, manufacturers, vendors, contractors, health care companies, insurers, indenture trustees, buyers and sellers of assets and business ventures in a large cross-section of industries. Mr. Cisz has also worked in the food and beverage industry and has represented clients in that industry throughout his career. He has represented p...
Steven Cologne was elected Managing Partner of the Firm in 2016. He devotes his practice to complex Tort and Commercial litigation in State and Federal Courts. In 2020, Mr. Cologne achieved the distinction of being certified as a Fellow in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) effective May 2020. On May 4, 2020, he was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia. Mr. Cologne joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack in 1999 after previously enjoying 15 years as an associate, partner ...
Steve Coopersmith is the founder and Managing Partner of The Coopersmith Law Firm, LLP in San Diego, California. The Firm represents clients throughout Southern California in a wide range of business and corporate litigation matters, including those stemming from corporate and partnership dissolutions, securities and financial fraud violations, bet-the-company litigation, executive-level business employment disputes, and fine art law disputes. Mr. Coopersmith also handles select planning and ...
Chuck Cox uses nearly 25 years of experience to advise companies and their directors on their most challenging business disputes. Chuck is the leader of the Los Angeles Litigation Team and a partner in the Securities Litigation Group. He concentrates his practice on complex business disputes, including securities class actions, derivative litigation, fiduciary duty, and other cases resulting from mergers and acquisitions, corporate control disputes, and commercial litigation. Chuck has tried ...
Mark T. Cramer is a Shareholder in the Los Angeles office and Chair of the Firm’s Class Action Practice Group. Mr. Cramer advises clients ranging from Fortune 50 corporations to start-up companies about how to manage actual and potential business disputes in the context of their overall business goals. He collaborates with clients, their executives, and in-house counsel to formulate and implement customized litigation strategies. For example, where the client’s primary business in...
James E. Curry is a partner in the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising Practice Group in the firm's Century City office. Areas of Practice Mr. Curry has represented companies in commercial trial litigation for 25 years, with an emphasis in the entertainment area. He has represented three of the four U.S. Broadcast television networks, and five of the seven major studios, in addition to a myriad of other entertainment companies. In the television area, he has substantial experience in te...
Jeff Davidson is an accomplished trial lawyer whose cases involve contracts, securities, antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, insurance coverage, intellectual property, products liability, toxic tort, and environmental matters in state and federal courts, in federal administrative proceedings, before AAA and NASD arbitration panels, and before the London Court of International Arbitration. He has tried over 40 cases. Jeff has argued appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court (twice), U.S. Courts o...
Craig de Recat is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on complex litigation, and he has a wide range of experience handling commercial, environmental, antitrust, insurance, intellectual property, patent/trademark, and related business matter disputes for national and international clients. Craig is an experienced trial attorney often called on to handle trials for high-profile, high-risk or “bet the company” cases. He has also argued numerous app...
Jack DiCanio’s litigation practice focuses on complex litigation, white collar defense, securities litigation and special corporate investigations. Mr. DiCanio has extensive trial experience representing corporate and individual clients in a variety of civil and criminal actions involving: internal corporate investigations; federal and state securities litigation, including broker/dealer liability; securities fraud, including allegations of accounting improprieties, material misrepresen...
Kirk Dillman is a Principal in the Los Angeles office of McKool Smith Hennigan. Mr. Dillman specializes in complex commercial litigation and trial practice, primarily in the areas of finance, securities, energy, real estate, trade secrets, partnership and health care fraud. He joined the firm in 1998 after co-counseling in the successful prosecution of various securities actions arising out of the Orange County bankruptcy. Mr. Dillman has successfully tried numerous complex commercial dispute...
Mr. Dixon’s practice spans a wide range of litigation in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels and before arbitral tribunals. He focuses on complex business litigation, intellectual property litigation, securities litigation, international arbitration, and other high-stakes commercial disputes. Mr. Dixon also has extensive experience with internal and government investigations. Mr. Dixon has represented clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including Wester...
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