Business Litigation
Litigation has become a cost of doing business in today’s litigious environment.
But at Zuckerman Spaeder, we are committed to making sure you get value for your litigation costs.
This means being smart about when and where to litigate. It means being rigorous and creative in analyzing complex legal disputes. It means being prepared, so there are no surprises. And most of all, it means being strategic in identifying and pursuing your business goals.
Zuckerman Spaeder handles a broad array of complex commercial disputes, nationally and internationally, including “bet-the-company” lawsuits, private securities and shareholder derivative actions, insurance coverage litigation, professional malpractice claims, antitrust litigation, and class actions, class actions, and intellectual property litigation among others.
We are courtroom lawyers who try civil cases in federal and state courts and in arbitrations. But litigation is a means, not an end, to achieve our clients’ business objectives. We focus on developing strategies and tactics that reflect what you, our client, hope to achieve.
Civil litigation can be costly. We work with every client to define case-specific objectives that allow each matter to be pursued consistent with the client’s goals and resources. We’re also comfortable considering alternatives to the traditional hourly model for legal fees.
"Outstanding litigation boutique, demonstrating excellence in both individual and company representations."Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Antitrust
Whether defending against allegations of anticompetitive conduct in civil, criminal, or regulatory proceedings, or bringing civil antitrust claims in federal or state courts on behalf of class members and companies, the stakes can be make-or-break in antitrust litigation. Success requires legal counsel that understands your industry, knows the law, and has the trial skills to make your case.
Antitrust matters play to our firm’s core strength—the ability to develop and present compelling narratives based on complex fact patterns and legal concepts. At trial, on appeal, in settlement discussions, or in response to civil or criminal investigations, this ability can give our clients the best chance at success.
Insurance
Zuckerman Spaeder develops and implements effective legal strategies for a wide range of insurance issues. Our plan for helping clients solve coverage disputes always starts with ascertaining the best route to success while contemplating the nature of the dispute and the client’s goals. When litigation is the best approach to solving the coverage dispute, our insurance lawyers—backed by the deep bench of our renowned litigation practice—seek a successful resolution in the courtroom.
We have obtained preliminary injunctions requiring D&O insurers to advance the defense costs our clients need to successfully defend themselves, fought multi-jurisdictional battles for insurers facing lead paint claims in the billions of dollars, and tried major insurance coverage cases to judgment. We have also settled dozens of insurance coverage claims for our insurer clients involving billions of dollars.
Contract disputes
Contracts are the centerpiece of commercial activity, and often the most complex and high-stakes business disputes turn on the interpretation of contracts. We represent a broad range of institutional clients in enforcing contractual rights, defending against allegations of breach, and in many cases, both.
Whether enforcing a contract on behalf of a multinational corporate client or extricating a client from a contract that threatens its success, we effectively protect our clients’ contractual interests. At the outset, we evaluate each dispute and advise our clients on the risks and cost of litigation, as well as on available alternatives. We always make sure our approach matches our clients’ goals and concerns.
Intellectual Property
Zuckerman Spaeder's intellectual property (IP) litigation and counseling practice is different from many specialty firms because we are, first and foremost, trial lawyers who handle all manner of complex civil and criminal litigation. We understand new areas of technology and importantly, how to present complex issues in ways that a judge and jury will comprehend.
We have both prosecuted and defended claims regarding the ownership, licensing, and infringement of intellectual property. And we have experience litigating false advertising claims, including those brought under the Lanham Act. Our matters have involved claims and defenses arising in the areas of copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secrecy law. We have represented firms and individuals involved in such varied enterprises as gaming, software, rail technologies, surgical devices, medical research, film production, and media. We have also represented law firms alleged to have breached the standard of care or ethical obligations in their handling of IP filings, registrations, and licenses.
Our deep white collar criminal experience provides us with an unusual depth in IP matters with both civil and criminal dimensions. We have defended clients suspected of IP-related crimes, counseled businesses and individuals concerning potential criminal misconduct related to IP, investigated data security breaches that raised civil and criminal exposures, and presented to federal prosecutors who were considering IP-related criminal charges.
To read more about our experience and capabilities related to our intellectual property practice, click here.
Corporate governance
We advise public and private corporations, boards of directors and board committees, and individuals in litigation and investigations concerning corporate governance. We assist corporate clients in responding to shareholder demands—including establishing and interacting with special litigation and other board committees investigating them—and officers and directors whose conduct is the subject of shareholder demands and internal investigations.
We also advise organizational and individual clients concerning their own fiduciary obligations and the fiduciary obligations of others, both prospectively—in order to avoid costly litigation—and retrospectively—in responding to allegations of wrongdoing.
Real estate
We work closely with real estate developers, investors, financiers, and other clients to address disputes that arise from their real estate assets. Our clients range in size and financial strength from start-up and entrepreneurial ventures to more established players in the real estate industry.
We represent clients in disputes concerning a broad range of real estate activities, including the purchase, financing, leasing, and management of real estate, among others. We are accomplished and comfortable in litigation and in arbitration, but we understand the benefit of achieving our clients’ goals through settlement and identify opportunities to do so as early as possible in our work for real estate clients.
Creditors’ rights and bankruptcy
When creditors’ claims are not satisfied during the course of bankruptcy proceedings, we have successfully pursued litigation to vindicate creditors’ rights. We have acted as special litigation counsel to creditors' committee and litigation trusts and have represented creditors, bankruptcy trustees, and equity holders in adversary suits and other proceedings before the bankruptcy court.
Our attorneys take a solution-oriented approach designed to maximize returns and recoveries for our clients, while minimizing the disruption caused by litigation so that clients can focus on their businesses and their lives.
Securities Litigation
Our attorneys regularly defend private securities claims, including class actions, derivative suits, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) actions. Our experience makes us adept at quickly identifying the specific issues at the heart of claims against our clients, then developing and pursuing a litigation strategy that focuses intensely on those matters. Through this approach, we target our discovery efforts at locating documents and eliciting testimony that bolsters our clients’ defense. We also are skilled at working well with companies’ outside counsel and attorneys representing other defendants, and know how to work within joint defense agreements to best serve our clients’ interests.
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Meet the team

Almas Abdulla
Associate

Nathan M. Berman
Partner

Gregg L. Bernstein
Partner

Leila Bijan
Associate

Dwight P. Bostwick
Partner and Firm Chair

Daniel A. Braun
Partner

Blair G. Brown
Partner

Michael J. Buchanan
Associate

Graeme W. Bush
Partner

Trillium Chang
Associate

R. Miles Clark
Partner

Justin R. Cochran
Counsel

Jay T. Cohen
Staff Attorney/Baseball Specialist

John J. Connolly
Partner

Jason S. Cowart
Partner

Eric R. Delinsky
Partner

Nicholas M. DiCarlo
Associate

Catherine S. Duval
Partner

Mark J. Feaster
Associate

Jon R. Fetterolf
Partner

Adam L. Fotiades
Partner

Devon Galloway
Associate

Samantha M. Gerencir
Associate

Aitan D. Goelman
Partner

Andrew N. Goldfarb
Partner

Scott A. Hanna
Staff Attorney

Melody L. Harness
Staff Attorney

Melinda Harris
Staff Attorney

Marcos E. Hasbun
Partner

Steven N. Herman
Partner

Martin S. Himeles, Jr.
Partner

Alyssa M. Howard
Associate

D. Brian Hufford
Partner

Paul B. Hynes, Jr.
Partner

Robert E. Jaffe
Staff Attorney

J. Benjamin Jernigan
Associate

Lisa M. Kilbride
Staff Attorney

Jason M. Knott
Partner

Carl S. Kravitz
Partner

Sara Alpert Lawson
Partner

Janice Lee
Staff Attorney Manager/Staff Attorney

Christopher R. MacColl
Associate

Ezra B. Marcus
Associate

Joshua T. Mathew
Associate

Andrew S. McWilliams
Staff Attorney

Caroline Judge Mehta
Partner

Alexandra W. Miller
Partner

M Moore
Associate

Daniel P. Moylan
Partner

Ariella E. Muller
Associate

William J. Murphy
Partner

Shawn P. Naunton
Partner

Conor B. O'Croinin
Partner

Margarita K. O'Donnell
Partner

Nell Zora Peyser
Associate

Bryan Reines
Associate

Caroline E. Reynolds
Partner

Aiza H. Siddiqi
Staff Attorney

Michael R. Smith
Partner

Cy Smith
Partner

William W. Taylor, III
Partner

Bryan D. Thomson
Associate

Ivano Ventresca
Associate

Marshall S. Wolff
Partner

David Wong
Staff Attorney

Roger E. Zuckerman
Partner