The Ropes & Gray Complex Business Litigation Practice is extensive and varied, encompassing an array of complex business issues.  In this nationwide practice, we deal with disputes based in all varieties of business agreements, and we handle jury and nonjury trials in the state and federal courts.  Our lawyers have extensive appellate experience, and several of them have been prosecutors or held other government positions.  Our Litigation Department is particularly adept at handling complex business transactions and cases.  In negotiation and in the courtroom, we apply sound judgment with an appropriately aggressive edge.

Equally important, we counsel clients on business issues so that they can avoid litigation.  We work with clients to help anticipate disputes before they erupt.  We believe that litigators who know a client’s business – and who advise as transactions are crafted – can help to avoid lawsuits, create a positive record for actions that do arise, and improve the odds for success when a controversy develops.  This benefits our clients through greater efficiency, less litigation, more successes, and lower cost.

Representative examples of issues we handle in our complex business litigation practice include:

• Controversies between business competitors, including the byproducts of noncompetition agreements;
• Partnership and close corporation disputes;
• Claims of business fraud;
• Actions stemming from agreements on corporate acquisitions;
• Unfair and deceptive business practice claims; and
• Disputes over agreements with suppliers, vendors, customers, distributors, and franchisees.

How We Help Our Clients

• A large utility holding company turned to Ropes & Gray to successfully challenge, in the Supreme Court, a retroactive liability exceeding $100 million presumptively imposed by a 1992 federal statute in connection with coal mining operations that were terminated in 1965. 
• A major brokerage firm asked us to represent it in resisting efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission to seize customer assets held by our client as collateral for a margin account debt.  The case has received substantial publicity and is likely to have major ramifications for the securities industry.
• We represented a large footwear manufacturer in litigation involving claims of breach of warranty and contract for thousands of golf shoes that were defective, and obtained a recovery of several million dollars.
• A nationally recognized private academy called on us to file an action in federal district court in New Hampshire to halt the continued violation of the terms of a will that left a substantial bequest to the academy.
• A well known ice cream manufacturer regularly retains Ropes & Gray to handle vendor, distributor, and franchise litigation across the country, most recently in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
• On behalf of a major mutual fund company, we pursued claims against individuals involving unauthorized trading and other inappropriate, manipulative securities activities.
• We successfully fought off challenges to a high-end car manufacturer from disgruntled dealers and would-be dealers.
• In corporate acquisition-related work, we handled an action in South Carolina to uphold the validity of the termination of a $10 million acquisition agreement, and another action in New York to enforce the post-closing adjustment agreement connected with a $500 million acquisition.
• We successfully defended a major communications company in both federal and state court against claims of fraud, RICO violations, and unfair trade practices in connection with its acquisition of a business.
• We obtained a favorable outcome for a Fortune 500 company accused of breach of contract and fraud regarding a software system failure.
• We represent a well known apparel retailer in its nationwide vendor, landlord, and contractor litigation.
• We handle major litigation in several jurisdictions for the nationwide portfolio companies of our investment fund clients, in recent venues including Massachusetts, Delaware, and New York.
• We successfully defended, at the trial and appellate levels, an affiliate of a major utility against claims by a local cable company of violations of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Contact

For further information on this area of practice, please contact:

• Harvey J. Wolkoff

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