Business Disputes / Commercial
In business litigation, success depends on two keys: experience and strategy. McKenna Long & Aldridge (MLA) is distinguished on both counts. Our business and commercial litigation attorneys bring deep experience handling virtually every type of business lawsuit. We are adept at handling cases of exceptional complexity, particularly nationwide class actions, multidistrict litigation and parallel civil and administrative proceedings. We represent plaintiffs and defendants in all forums in all states.
While experience is our foundation, strategy is our bulwark. For our business clients, that calls for creative thinking and business savvy. It means understanding not just what is at stake in the courtroom, but also what is at stake for the enterprise. At the outset of a case, we examine all the angles and possible outcomes, legal and financial. From there, we develop the game plan and assemble the team that we believe will achieve the result that is right for the client.
Many of our litigators first honed their skills as government attorneys handling the toughest business cases. Some come from the Department of Justice, where they represented the U.S. in criminal, civil, antitrust, environmental and appellate cases. Others came from major regulatory agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. A significant number our attorneys were law clerks in state or federal courts, including some who clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Class Actions
Class action litigation can cause economic havoc for a business. Class actions often shift the focus from the merits of the claim to the value of the amalgamated damages and the attorneys' fees. We work with companies to develop strategies to avoid this punitive effect. In defending class actions, we make every effort to defeat claims before a class is certified or, if appropriate, to defeat class certification.
Our attorneys serve as national counsel, coordinating counsel, and trial counsel in class action litigation in state and federal courts throughout the U.S. Our cases span employment, securities, antitrust, product liability, environmental and occupational exposure, and business practices, and our attorneys are extensively experienced in defending class action litigation brought under consumer protection laws such as the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. MLA’s breadth of experience in class action litigation allows our attorneys to evaluate the relative benefits among the wide variety of options, including proceeding as a class; opposing class certification; obtaining disparities rulings before motions for class certification are filed; seeking alternative litigation coordination techniques to leverage favorable rulings in multiple cases and avoid duplicative discovery; negotiating class action settlements to avoid litigation risks and costs; or, when necessary, trying cases to conclusion.