Litigation Lawyers : News/Publications

You want to achieve your goals A lawsuit can be the biggest threat you face—or the best way to defend your vital interests. You know that litigation is a major step that involves time and expense, so you want to work with a lawyer who listens first—to understand your goals, concerns and resources. Clients define winning as achieving what they need—whether it's in a settlement or at trial—and you don't want to begin any lawsuit without your counsel's frank assessment of what you face, along with a plan for achieving the results you seek. You need Porter & Hedges We are committed to achieving the most desirable results for our client. If careful and aggressive pretrial preparation cannot resolve the dispute, we are vigorous advocates in court. Our trial lawyers use the most sophisticated trial management and presentation techniques available, but never as a substitute for the hard work and commitment needed to resolve disputes successfully. Trial capabilities: Flexibility and speed Our trial lawyers have both the experience and resources to meet the complex litigation needs of large national and multi-national corporations, as well as those of small to mid-sized companies and individuals, from pre-litigation negotiation through appeal. We recognize that today's litigation-prone business environment is a major cost challenge for our clients. That's why in every case we constantly monitor and assess the costs and benefits of litigation, and the prospects of settlement. Getting the right result is our prime consideration. Whether it's through litigation, mediation, arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution techniques, we pursue legal solutions that meet your business objectives. Complex commercial litigation: A strong record Porter & Hedges has an impressive record of representing public corporations, banks, closely held businesses, corporate officers and directors, and individuals in complex federal and state commercial litigation throughout the U.S. Our clients are leaders in numerous industries including banking, chemical, energy, manufacturing, securities and technology. We handle all types of commercial disputes, including the interpretation and enforcement of complex contracts, disputes regarding the ownership of various forms of businesses, business torts, banking matters, representation of lenders and borrowers, fraud, real estate, breach of fiduciary duty and cases concerning the respective rights of buyers and sellers. Construction: Effective resolution We represent contractors, sureties, design professionals, construction managers and owners in resolving complex construction disputes, resolved through trial and arbitration. Because construction projects face the dual challenges of high risk and tight profit margins, we know that you can ill afford extensive litigation costs. Getting the best results for you is our prime consideration. When the potential for a dispute arises our lawyers work with your managers to analyze the issues involved, assess the paper trail from the pre-construction to completion phases of the project involved, and map out legal alternatives and projected costs. By helping you to preserve and analyze all project documents and correspondence, including change orders, we identify the responsibility for and prepare for the right resolution of claims involving: Cost overruns Defective design Delay and change orders Payment and performance Surveying errors Breach of contract Bond and lien claims Deceptive trade practices Warranty issues. Corporate investigations: Independent guidance If you are a CEO, general counsel or board committee member, you want experienced, independent guidance to help you determine whether an internal corporate investigation is necessary, and to take any necessary remedial action. Porter & Hedges gives you the help you need, with lawyers who have decades of experience as former state and federal prosecutors. We are intimately familiar with the necessary steps to investigate internal and external fraud as well as white-collar criminal allegations. If you face criminal or civil complaints over alleged insider trading, securities fraud, CFTC violations, or RICO Act violations, you can rely on the experience that we have gained representing a large number of corporations, including their officers, directors, witnesses, and targets, in state and federal investigations and prosecutions. Employment: Vigorous advocacy In today's environment, even the best-prepared employer may face an employment-related claim or lawsuit. Should that occur, our lawyers are fully prepared to defend your rights. We have extensive experience representing employers in complaint investigations and administrative proceedings by state and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Texas Commission on Human Rights, and the Texas Workforce Commission. We also provide tough and aggressive, but cost-effective defenses against employment-related claims in state and federal courts throughout Texas, and help you protect your competitive position in litigation involving employment, non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality and separation agreements. Energy: Business focus We have represented the interests of energy industry clients as plaintiffs and defendants in both state and federal courts and in international arbitration. With decades of work in the industry, we have the experience to try, settle, arbitrate or mediate controversies to a successful conclusion in any forum, efficiently and cost-effectively. Our lawyers understand the business and the legal issues at risk, and advise you on the course of action that best protects your interests in disputes that involve: Derivative contracts Drainage claims Environmental matters Exploration agreements Gas balancing, marketing, plant accounting, purchase and sales agreements Joint operating agreements Royalty and pricing issues Take or pay, title, leasehold and land disputes Unitization agreements. Mass Torts: A strong record Porter & Hedges represents a number of companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of chemical and petroleum products involved in mass tort litigation, including benzene, butadiene and xylene as well as asbestos. We are also involved in mass tort litigation arising from non-chemical products, such as mold and tobacco. We use a thorough understanding of the Daubert rules regarding expert testimony to protect you from pseudoscientific allegations and attack the claims of plaintiffs' experts, while relying on the effective defense provided by our own network of expert witnesses to structure cases for summary judgment or settlement. Our record of defense jury verdicts includes cases involving allegations of brain cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, mesothelioma and cognitive impairment due to exposure to benzene, vinyl chloride, asbestos and pesticides. We have also stopped many more cases from reaching trial following a realistic assessment of the benefits of an out-of-court settlement. Product liability: Extensive experience We defend a variety of product manufacturers and sellers in product liability matters, including complex multiparty product liability litigation. Our lawyers have represented manufacturers and sellers of aviation products, chemicals, consumer products, personal watercraft, pharmaceuticals and medical devices and many other products from a wide variety of industries. We understand the complex business and legal issues presented by these cases, and will aggressively defend you against appeals by plaintiffs' lawyers to emotion and “bad” science. Our lawyers have defended such varied manufacturers as a large valve company in litigation arising out of a refinery explosion, a paint manufacturer in litigation involving tort claims arising from exposure to paint thinners and paints, and a major supplier of breast implants in breast implant litigation. The National Law Journal has ranked our lawyers' work in product liability as among the top defense verdicts in the United States. Professional liability: Varied claims We understand all the professional liability issues that face health care professionals, accountants, lawyers, broker/dealers, architects and engineers, including insurance liability and ethics concerns. If we can resolve the dispute you face through alternative means of arbitration or litigation, we'll craft a settlement that's advantageous to you. If it's necessary to go to court, we are vigorous defenders of architects and engineers (in delay claims, malpractice allegations, design disputes and wrongful death claims), lawyers (allegations from malpractice to criminal tax fraud), physicians and health care professionals (malpractice), and securities broker/dealers (allegations of churning, inappropriate risk and fraud). Our focus is on protecting your reputation and your business interests. Securities: Administrative and enforcement defense Throughout our firm's history we have tried securities cases in state and federal courts in Texas and throughout the country. This includes a distinguished record in arbitrating securities cases before panels of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Several of our trial lawyers serve on the Panel of Arbitrators of the NASD and/or the AAA, reflecting the high regard for the firm's nationally recognized corporate and securities transaction practice. Technology: Strategic focus Patent and copyright infringement litigation is a key business concern for more and more companies who recognize that their intellectual property in their most valuable strategic asset. We have represented clients in a precedent setting case involving electronic reproduction technology used on copyrighted works and in high-pressure trade secret lawsuits. In recent years, we have obtained successful jury verdicts for our clients in patent infringement litigation involving oilfield equipment, electronic manufacturing devices, and chemical catalysts, among others. Our trial lawyers pride themselves on their ability to present even the most complex technology to lay jurors in an understandable and interesting way. We regularly appear before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., the federal court of appeals created to resolve all appeals of patent disputes nationwide. These results demonstrate a disciplined blend of business acumen, technology application and trial skills. Trademark/trade secrets: Industry strength For clients involved in applications such as home building, biotechnology, energy, electronics and software, Porter & Hedges' trademark and trade secret litigation capabilities are extensive. Our lawyers have tried numerous trademark, trade secret and related cases to jury verdicts. Our lawyers have litigated both registered and common law trademark infringement claims to jury verdicts, and have sought and defended against injunctions for theft of trade secrets and confidential business information. Representative examples of the solutions we provide Commercial litigation: Secured a directed verdict following a week of trial on behalf of a FORTUNE 500 company against a claim for tortious interference with an agreement to purchase assets of an oilfield equipment company. Construction: Defended a large chemical company against a $300 million fraud and breach of contract claim by one of the world's largest construction companies. Corporate investigations: Helped a Houston-based oil and gas reserve engineering company defend against claims of securities and common law fraud arising out of estimated reserve reports issued by the company. Employment: Advised a FORTUNE 500 company on the implementation and application of a drug enforcement program, including subsequent union arbitration and state court litigation. Energy/trade secret: Defended GX Technologies, a seismic data analysis business, against allegations by a competitor that the company's startup was based on theft of trade secrets and confidential information. Product liability/mass tort: Defended a major oil company in a wrongful death claim that workplace exposure to benzene had caused the plaintiff's death from acute myelogenous leukemia; our defense verdict marked the first use of benzene "fingerprint" evidence. Securities: Represent broker/dealers and investment advisors in federal court and before arbitration panels of the American Arbitration Association, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange. Technology: Represented StreamCast Networks, a California software firm, in federal appellate court. Our client had been sued by motion picture and music companies over the possible use of its Morpheus software to allow users to make and exchange copies of music and videos online. In today's adversarial society, lawsuits are inevitable for any business. As a plaintiff or a defendant, you want a litigator who understands your best interests and knows how to achieve them. That's what we do at Porter & Hedges. Our lawyers know how your business works, understand the issues at stake and pursue the best strategy to resolve them.