Bryan Cave’s Commercial Litigation practice provides the breadth and depth of experience required by organizations -- both large and small -- to defend today’s complex litigation matters. Our experienced trial teams regularly handle jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, mediations and administrative and regulatory proceedings for all manner of sophisticated business disputes. Our experience combined with our technology, case management approach and attention to cost-effective litigation translate to favorable and prompt results for our clients.

We have successfully represented clients in virtually all areas of litigation and in cases in nearly every state and federal court -- including the U.S. Supreme Court -- and in all of the leading international arbitral institutions, including the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce inParis and the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. We also serve as national or coordinating trial counsel for many clients in jurisdictions across the country.  Our lead trial counsel are seasoned lawyers, including several former United States Attorneys, six Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and former presidents of state and local bar associations. 

Our Trial Experience and Expertise

The members of the Commercial Litigation group have expertise in active litigation as well as in advising clients how to avoid litigation and to resolve disputes without resort to litigation. The group includes trial lawyers who focus on representing financial institutions, real estate litigation, all manner of corporate litigation including securities, unfair competition, employment, environmental, insurance, attorney and accountant liability, international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

The trial lawyers in the group generally practice in one or more of Bryan Cave’s other litigation-oriented practice groups including: antitrust, bankruptcy, class actions, government contracts, intellectual property, product liability, securities enforcement, tax controversy and white-collar criminal defense.

Working in tandem with the Commercial Litigation group, the Appellate group includes seasoned and sophisticated advocates whose experience encompasses more than 1,000 appeals. We have argued before the United States Supreme Court and all of the federal circuit courts of appeals as well as the high courts of many states and specialized venues ranging from administrative tribunals to the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation.

Case Management Approach and Technology

Bryan Cave’s experience and approach set us apart. We understand the underlying business issues inherent in litigation that our clients face and we partner with our clients to address those issues. This philosophy manifests itself specifically in our case management process, which focuses on early case evaluation and case management in accordance with the litigation objectives of our clients. To that end, we have the capacity to incorporate real-time, on-line collaborative case and fee management systems. We can also provide dedicated websites which allow us to share documents and communicate with our clients. We were one of the first law firms to use electronic briefs and video streaming in the courtroom, and we try cases with cutting-edge automated litigation technology.

Cost Effective Litigation

In addition, we understand our clients’ need for cost management. We are sensitive to the “cost curve” - expenses to settle, as well as to defend, rise over the lifetime of a case. As a result, we are open to discussing alternative fee approaches, recognizing that the goal is greater efficiency in producing legal work that meets our clients’ objectives. Our goal is to bring matters to conclusion quickly and efficiently – whether via trial or a settlement – and to do so in a cost-effective manner for our clients.

Litigation Experience and Expertise

The heart of Bryan Cave’s commercial litigation practice consists of resolution of sophisticated business disputes. Those disputes include counseling, preparation for, and trial of all varieties of commercial claims such as breach of contract, breach of warranty and a variety of business torts. Some examples include tortious interference with a contract, negligent misrepresentation, fraud in the inducement of a contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as distributorship and franchise claims.  We pursue and defend commercial litigation claims as traditional as the sale of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code and as esoteric as the uncharted legal consequences of a failed satellite deployment.

Some additional areas of specialized expertise within the Commercial Litigation Litigation group are:

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Attorney and Accountant Liability
• Fiduciary Litigation
• Financial Institutions Litigation
• Franchise and Distributor Law
• Health Care Litigation
• Insurance Litigation
• International Arbitration and Claims Proceedings
• Real Estate Litigation
• Unfair Competition Litigation

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Alternative Dispute Resolution

An increasing number of our clients seek alternatives to conventional litigation to resolve disputes and, increasingly, courts are referring cases to mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In the proper circumstances, mediation, mini-trials, arbitration and other forms of ADR can be more expeditious and economical, as well as provide a more satisfactory result, than traditional litigation. We have experience drafting ADR clauses for contracts, creating ADR protocols for industries and companies, proposing and structuring ADR proceedings after disputes have arisen, representing clients in ADR proceedings, and serving as mediators and arbitrators.

Attorney and Accountant Liability

Bryan Cave’s attorney and accountant liability team includes specialists in the ethics and other professional liability issues facing attorneys and accountants. Our lawyers defend both malpractice actions and formal disciplinary and licensure actions. Our senior trial lawyers practicing in this area testify as expert witnesses in legal ethics cases, teach as adjunct professors of law on professional responsibility and legal ethics and serve on state and national panels and committees on professional responsibility and conduct.

Fiduciary Litigation

The Bryan Cave fiduciary litigation team is made up of experienced trial attorneys who team with Trust & Estates attorneys to focus on representing banks, private trust companies, individual or corporate trustees, attorneys-in-fact, beneficiaries and trust grantors.  This team is well versed in disputes involving the creation of a trust, trust management, breach of fiduciary duty, inappropriate investment of trust principal, failure to distribute proceeds and a wide variety of other matters.  Members of this group include veteran trial attorneys from several Bryan Cave offices.  The team also has experience in the United Kingdom and offshore locales such as Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Financial Institutions Litigation

Bryan Cave’s financial institutions litigation team focuses on representing banks, pension funds, insurance companies, and other lenders. Our lawyers regularly handle the traditional cases associated with lending activities, including disputes with borrowers, collection actions, commercial real estate foreclosures, UCC matters, and credit disputes. The trial lawyers on the financial institutions team work together with Bryan Cave’s bankruptcy specialists on loan work-outs, foreclosure actions, and formal bankruptcy proceedings. Members of the financial institutions litigation team also represent banks, insurance companies, and other lenders in consumer suits and class actions challenging their lending and business practices.

Franchise and Distributor Law

The franchise and distributor law team comprises approximately 30 lawyers throughout the firm, handling issues and cases throughout the United States, as well as parts of Europe and the Middle East.  Members of the team have experience in the representation of manufacturers and franchisors as well as the representation of distributors and franchisees.  The team provides both litigation and transactional experience.  Litigation experience includes not only whether a business relationship constitutes a “franchise,” “dealership” or “agency” entitling the relationship to special protections under the law, but also encompasses claims arising under contractual arrangements and claimed breaches of implied covenants arising as a result of the business relationships.  Transactional experience includes advising clients on issues related to determination of franchise relationships under various jurisdictional and regulatory frameworks; registration of franchises and business opportunities under requisite disclosure laws; preparation and negotiation of franchise and distributorship agreements; and advice related to pricing and sales practices.

Health Care Litigation

Bryan Cave’s health care litigation team provides both litigation and litigation avoidance services to health care clients doing business in the highly regulated and ever-changing health care industry.  Our clients range from large companies, associations, and health systems, to community hospitals and physician practices.  Among those clients served are: for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals and health systems; medical schools; provider associations; pharmaceutical companies; medical device manufacturers; freestanding treatment and diagnostic facilities; home care providers; pharmacies; nursing homes; individual physicians and physician practices. 

Our team represents clients in matters brought before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, peer review boards, and arbitration panels throughout the United States.  These matters include: complex commercial litigation; product liability and tort defense work; white collar criminal investigations; antitrust litigation; False Claims Act and qui tam litigation; fraud and abuse claims; Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement disputes; peer review actions; HIPAA litigation; National Practioner Data Bank reporting; Certificates of Need; covenants not to compete; private inurement claims; and managed care contract disputes.

Given the wide-reaching geographic spread of our firm’s lawyers, our health care litigation team is equipped to provide insights to clients of industry trends as they develop at both regional and local levels throughout the country.   The team works closely with and taps into the expertise of  the firm’s health care transactional and regulatory lawyers, as well as a variety of other practices, including: Insurance; Antitrust; Corporate Compliance; Product Liability; Corporate Finance and Securities; Tax; Labor and Employment; and Employee Benefits.

Insurance Litigation

Bryan Cave’s insurance litigation team has extensive expertise representing and advising clients on insurance coverage issues and insurance industry practices. Our lawyers represent both the insured — from major corporations to individuals — and the insurance industry — insurance companies, brokers, and agents. Our clients call upon the expertise of the insurance litigation team across the spectrum of insurance issues, including life & health, commercial casualty, general liability, professional liability, directors’ & officers’ liability property and personal lines. Our lawyers also represent insurers on some specialty lines, including entertainment completion bonds, copyright infringements, privacy, misappropriation of ideas, and breach of contract.

The trial lawyers on our insurance litigation team represent major institutions in recovering insurance arising out of a wide variety of business disputes. Our lawyers also advise clients on challenging new issues, such as toxic torts and environmental liability. We serve as insurance coverage counsel for a major insurance company in connection an equally wide variety of claims and actions and have defended insurers in class action litigation.

International Arbitration and Claims Proceedings

We handle cases before all of the leading arbitral institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague and the American Arbitration Association in New York, as well as in "ad hoc," or non-administered, arbitrations. We assist clients in disputes relating to investment projects, commercial transactions, expropriations, aviation and aerospace (including satellite launches), insurance, petroleum concessions, and public law matters such as boundary disputes between sovereign states.

Real Estate Litigation

Bryan Cave’s real estate litigation team includes seasoned trial lawyers with broad experience in all types of real estate litigation. The real estate litigation team regularly handles lawsuits and arbitrations presenting the full variety of traditional real estate litigation issues, including disputes arising out of the sale or development of land, joint venture disputes, title and adverse possession claims, fraud or breach of fiduciary duty allegations relating to land sales or development, land use and permitting issues, and commercial landlord-tenant and lease litigation.

The trial lawyers on the real estate litigation team have particular expertise with lender and financing litigation, allegedly breached loan commitments, and wrongful foreclosure claims. Our lawyers also have extensive experience in the trial and appeal of property valuation and condemnation matters both for the condemning authorities and for the affected landowners. Members of the real estate litigation team are also deeply involved in the trial of construction lawsuits and arbitrations, including construction contract claims, construction defect claims, architect’s or engineer’s liability, insurance coverage disputes, payment disputes, and lien claims. The team also handles real estate tax valuation appeals.

Our trial lawyers are regularly involved in real estate transactions Bryan Cave handles to provide the evaluation and counseling necessary to avoid or to prepare for potential litigation. Clients whom the real estate litigation team serves include owners, developers, lenders, managers, contractors, design professionals, government agencies, and commercial landlords and tenants.

Unfair Competition Litigation

Bryan Cave’s employee unfair competition litigation team provides a tremendous depth of experience with the enforcement or avoidance of covenants not to compete, claims of misappropriation of an employer’s trade secrets, breach of confidentiality agreements, employee raiding disputes, and other employee unfair competition issues. Our trial lawyers on this team are veterans of the expedited discovery, temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and other fast-track litigation characteristic of these claims. Our lawyers both prosecute and defend these disputes for corporate clients as well as individual employees. The team has access to data about developing law on employee restrictive covenants, which allows our lawyers to respond quickly when disputes arise and to advise employers on the proper structuring of such covenants wherever their employees are located.