Business Litigation

Whether through proactive counseling, alternative dispute resolution, negotiated settlements, or full-scale trial representation before judges, juries, arbitration panels and administrative bodies, we approach every matter with a business-minded focus on delivering cost-effective, efficient solutions that align with clients’ strategic goals.

The team’s aggressive, strategic and creative advocacy reflects our lawyers’ thorough understanding of both the legal landscape and our clients’ business objectives. Ranging from innovative startups to multinational Fortune 100 corporations, our clients cross virtually every industry and economic sector.

Regardless of the size or scope of the dispute, we approach each matter with the same level of precision, responsiveness and commitment to results. Our litigators are not only adept in legal analysis and courtroom execution, but also in managing the broader business and reputational implications of litigation, offering counsel that supports clients’ risk management and long-term planning.

To address industry-specific and interdisciplinary issues efficiently, we assemble and deploy tailored teams that draw on the deep subject-matter knowledge of attorneys across the firm. This collaborative, integrated model empowers McGuireWoods to deliver comprehensive solutions that address not only the immediate litigation at hand, but also any underlying regulatory, transactional and operational dimensions. Our ability to scale and adapt in response to the evolving needs of each matter allow clients to benefit from both the focused knowledge and comprehensive resources of our firm.

How We Help

We represent clients in every aspect of business litigation, including:

• high-stakes litigation with reputational and industrywide implications, including punitive damages and corporate responsibility narratives;
• disputes involving complex business transactions, including in high-value mergers and acquisitions;
• large-scale consumer class actions with substantial financial exposure;
• federal and multistate qui tam actions, including retaliation claims under the False Claims Act;
• disputes involving large charitable foundations and trusts, including regulatory scrutiny over fund distribution and governance;
• complex fraud cases involving Ponzi schemes, in conjunction with bankruptcy and investor recovery proceedings;
• breach of contract and warranty claims under state law and the Uniform Commercial Code, including disputes over goods, services and technology assets;
• high-stakes insurance recovery matters, where we exclusively represent corporate policyholders;

Representative Experience

• Major railroad transportation corporation in a racketeering lawsuit against two lawyers found by a federal jury to have conspired with a radiologist to fabricate asbestos claims;
• Investment vehicle led by a major league baseball owner in a victory related to the purchase of a MLB team and portion of a related regional sports network for misrepresenting the network’s value;
• Major aviation company in obtaining the dismissal of a class action brought by nearly 200 million airline ticket purchasers;
• Charitable foundation established to carry out the $5 billion DuPont charitable trust in a long-running dispute with the State of Delaware concerning the trust’s relative expenditures in Delaware compared to other states;
• Major U.S. bank and a major U.S.-based retailer in a dispute involving a $1 billion Rothstein Ponzi scheme fraud and the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of a fraudulent law firm instrument, as well as related investor litigation;
• American energy company in a putative class action asserting seismic activity-related claims in Oklahoma state court;
• Multinational automaker in the securing successful denial of class certification in litigation brought by Texas motorists who purchased trucks equipped with an allegedly defective high-pressure fuel injection pump; and
• American steel company in successfully defending a lawsuit arising from the failure of an oil and gas prospect well that required costly re-drilling during operations.