Commercial Litigation

“…They really made remarkable efforts to learn our business: at some points I think they knew more than we did about the company. They would recall details on stuff that I had completely forgotten – they were also scary in the level of grasp they had on the matter.”

— Chambers & Partners interviewee

When stakes are bet-the-company high, you can depend on BakerHostetler’s court-proven commercial litigators. If your company is facing monetary damages, potential criminal sentences and intense scrutiny in the court of public opinion, our more than 360 litigators are a team on which you can rely.

As court-appointed counsel to Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee Irving H. Picard, BakerHostetler has been working since December of 2008 to unravel, deconstruct, and litigate one of the largest and most complex financial frauds in U.S. history – Bernard L. Madoff’s decades-long Ponzi scheme. We were selected to lead this global investigation and ongoing litigation based on the excellence and diverse experience of BakerHostetler attorneys in complex business litigation, bankruptcy law, white collar criminal investigation, securities litigation, e-discovery and corporate finance.
Represented a global engineering company in an indemnity case arising out of the 2009 explosion of a food manufacturing plant in Garner, North Carolina. Following a four-week jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of $108.9 million in favor of the client, two times the amount of the largest verdict in Nebraska at that time. This verdict was recognized by the National Law Journal as a “Top 50 Verdict” of 2016 in its Elite Trial Lawyers report.
Lead counsel for national oil and gas trade associations in the industry’s successful opposition to the United States Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) rulemaking related to hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. Drafted and argued a successful petition to have BLM’s final hydraulic fracturing rule set aside as beyond BLM’s statutory authority and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Defended a major energy company in a lawsuit involving claims of oil and gas lease termination and bad faith trespass. The plaintiffs demanded $2 billion in damages, but we secured a take-nothing judgment and were awarded our attorneys’ fees.
Obtained a settlement of more than $300 million on behalf of over 7,000 dairy farmers in a price-fixing conspiracy case.
Defending one of the first attempts to apply the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act to a data breach incident in a class action lawsuit seeking more than $500 million in damages as a result of the theft of a computer containing information on more than 500,000 individuals.
Secured an award in excess of $10 million in compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees for a major medical center against a competing medical center that used bribes to influence employee benefit plans.
Defending a UK software company in multiyear, multicountry litigation involving copyright claims by a major software competitor looking to secure a worldwide injunction against our client.
Achieved a multimillion-dollar arbitration settlement for a global engineering firm related to the construction of a petrochemical plant.
Successfully appealed a decision that bound our client, a major equipment services provider, to a foreign arbitral award.
Secured a major jury verdict against a global software company in federal court.
Successfully defended a $1 billion claim alleging antitrust violations in federal court in New York.
Handled the largest dealer termination case in U.S. history, terminating a dealer by initiating litigation in 12 different states; all cases were won within six months.