Commercial Litigation

At SGL we have handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, including disputes relating to contracts, business torts, class actions, securities and commodities, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights, restrictive covenants and executive compensation, real estate, construction, commercial financing, and business divorces.   

We also have experience in bankruptcy adversary proceedings and contested matters, and out-of-court restructurings and workouts.  Our attorneys have prosecuted and defended against major fraudulent and preferential transfer actions, represented secured creditors in actions to recover collateral and leased property, and handled claim objection proceedings on behalf of both debtors and creditors.  

TRIAL ATTORNEYS

We are trial attorneys.  At SGL we develop a case strategy from the outset with our clients’ input and use pre-trial discovery as a mechanism to marshal the evidence we need and to develop the convincing story we intend to tell at trial.  In our experience, this approach results in more cost-effective results for our clients, whether through early motion practice, full-blown litigation, settlement negotiations, alternative dispute resolution, or trial.  We do not engage in wasteful discovery or tactics with our adversaries that increase litigation costs without advancing our clients’ interests or contribute to a successful outcome. 

FOCUSED ON CLIENT SERVICE

We believe in proactively communicating with our clients.  This means not only about case strategy and developments, but also on where we think their cases are most likely headed so that they can make well-informed business decisions.  Our attorneys are not only accessible and responsible, but also take the time to understand our clients’ businesses and the challenges they are facing.  We pride ourselves in tenaciously handling our clients’ cases while at the same time remaining focused on their broader business interests.      

MINDFUL OF LITIGATION COSTS

We are sensitive to our clients’ needs to establish budgets, place a realistic value on litigation matters, and not be surprised by unforeseen costs.  Our attorneys establish realistic budgets at the beginning of an engagement, routinely revisit those budgets as the cases develop, and make sure our clients are kept abreast of any changes that could impact the budgets along the way.  We also staff our cases leanly.  Seasoned partners handle the cases with one to two younger lawyers.  This approach ensures that the partners have hands-on control over the development of the case from beginning to end and that the actions taken and work performed by the attorneys involved are consistent with the overall case strategy. 

We also enter into fee arrangements that make sense for our clients.  For some of our clients, this means by the hour.  For others, it means a structure that includes a contingency or flat fee component, or some other structure that we create with the client’s input.  Whatever the case might be, we are creative and willing to partner with our clients to achieve the most cost-effective solutions to their litigation matters.