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.
Our experience
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.
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.
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.
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