Business + Commercial Litigation

Companies often face complex disputes with other businesses, government entities, or groups of individuals, which require an understanding of both the business issue and the industry of the client. Our Business Litigation practice specializes in handling these complex disputes, representing leaders in diverse industry sectors, including many Fortune 100 companies, in connection with their most important litigation matters. What sets us apart from our peers is our depth of trial and arbitration experience, class action expertise, and connections to the specialized business litigation courts across the country.

Our ultimate goal is to advance our clients’ interests. We understand that a client’s business plan, balance sheet, and competitive profile are critical elements for successfully positioning litigation matters from the outset. We are committed to developing solutions to help our clients solve their toughest problems, and we approach each new challenge as an urgent business matter to be resolved expeditiously and cost-effectively. We specialize in work for clients across all industries with respect to disputes including:

Breach of Contract/Fiduciary Duty
Business Torts
Partnership Disputes
Private Deals/Post-Closing Disputes
Bad Faith Litigation
Regulatory Investigations and Litigation
Privacy & Cybersecurity
Restrictive Covenant/Trade Secret Litigation
Insurance Disputes
Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings

We aggressively seek litigation solutions short of trial, and we have significant expertise in alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and arbitration. In structuring settlements, we look at the overall insurance, regulatory, and tax implications—both in the near-term and for the future. When trial is called for, we bring exceptional experience and skill to the courtroom as well as an impressive record of success.

Our commitment to innovation and technology allows us to provide a distinct competitive advantage for our clients. We recognize the potentially crippling costs of discovery, particularly e-discovery, in major litigation and are committed to employing creative, cost-saving solutions that will maximize value to our clients without compromising excellence. Our Litigation Technology Group is an in-house operation featuring a state-of-the-art support facility with a full-time staff that allows for increased attorney efficiency, reduced vendor costs, enhanced responsiveness, and leading-edge electronic presentations at trial.

Benchmark Litigation

Ranked as a top national white collar firm by Benchmark Litigation.
Chambers USA

According to Chambers USA, “[an] outstanding practice, renowned for its representation in complex business litigation.”

Complex litigation increasingly takes the form of a class action or mass litigation. These cases can impose a heavy burden on companies, both in terms of time and exposure. For more than 25 years, Goodwin lawyers have defended our clients against national class and mass tort actions across industries, including financial services, securities, insurance, electronics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, food and supplements, and other consumer goods and services. Goodwin trial lawyers have defended more than 500 nationwide or statewide class actions in the past five years alone, including many with potential exposure of billions of dollars.

Companies involved in cross-border transactions face numerous regulatory hurdles relating to issues such as the export and re-export of sensitive goods and technologies; investments and other dealings having national security implications; and relationships with persons and entities that may be governed by U.S. economic sanctions, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption laws. Goodwin’s National Security and Foreign Trade Regulation practice is adept at navigating these hurdles for our clients, who are engaged in a variety of businesses and industry sectors, including technology, clean technology, financial services, transportation, real estate, energy, and defense manufacturing, among others.

Hardrock mining companies around the world face environmental, reclamation, public lands and electric supply issues of every stripe. Since the early 1970s, those companies have relied on Goodwin’s experienced mining practice to overcome those challenges. We have also been heavily involved in negotiating and providing advice with respect to mergers and acquisitions and complex financing transactions.

As businesses today face an increasingly sophisticated threat environment compounded by aggressive regulatory enforcement, companies need a partner who can help you mitigate risk and respond to the unthinkable. Our Privacy + Cybersecurity practice is one of the longest-standing privacy practices of any AmLaw 50 firm. Dating back to the late 1990s and established formally in 2004, it is fully integrated and leverages the firm's core strengths, with the group's lawyers coming from the technology, financial institutions, licensing, litigation, regulatory and appellate practices. This unique approach, focusing on client needs and value, enables us to engage specialists whose experience is framed by a holistic understanding of clients' needs in this threatening environment. Our practice provides a full spectrum of services from advice and counseling, transaction-related advice, defense of class action litigation and government enforcement actions. Having counseled on hundreds of data breaches and litigated landmark cases, we provide practical advice on all aspects of information-related management and risk before, during and after breaches.

Over the past 25 years, Proposition 65 litigation has become a real threat to businesses providing goods and services in California. The potential costs faced by corporate defendants are high – massive civil penalties, mandatory warnings on their products and damage to a company’s brand. Many law firms can process Proposition 65 cases; very few can try them and win. Goodwin has quickly become preeminent among those few firms.

Goodwin has one of the most comprehensive, technology-focused trade secret and employee mobility practices in the nation. Our team is comprised of intellectual property, employment law, patent, antitrust, and privacy and cybersecurity specialists. We have advised and represented hundreds of cutting-edge companies, entrepreneurs, investors and startup founders facing these critical issues and disputes in innovation hubs around the world.

Class Actions

Insurance

National Security + Foreign Trade Regulation

Mining

Privacy + Cybersecurity

Proposition 65 + Food Labeling Litigation

Trade Secrets + Restrictive Covenants