Businesses and individuals across the globe turn to K&L Gates to handle their "must win" disputes. With more than 800 litigation and dispute resolution lawyers across the United States, Europe and Asia, K&L Gates' litigators have the breadth and depth of experience to resolve the most complex engagements in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Our litigation group stands apart not only for the experience of our personnel and rigor of our approach, but also because we are intensely committed to the goal of meeting our clients' objectives.
Our litigation and dispute resolution lawyers are best known for their marquee practices in Insurance Coverage; Construction and Engineering; Energy, Environment and Natural Resources; Telecommunications; Business Fraud; Antitrust, Unfair Trade Practices and Competition; Sales and Procurement Disputes; White Collar Crime/Criminal Defense; Corporate Governance, Government Disputes and Internal Investigations; Securities Enforcement; Product Liability; Toxic Tort; Class Action Defense; Appellate; Tax Disputes; Bankruptcy/Insolvency; Professional Liability; Intellectual Property; Employment and Labor; Complex Personal Injury; Probate, Trust and Fiduciary; Entertainment and Sports; Real Estate; Pension Fund and ERISA; and Franchise litigation. But our experience extends well beyond those areas.
Our International Reach and Industry Knowledge
From Berlin to Beijing, K&L Gates litigators have recognized experience in nearly every state and federal court in the United States, including the U.S. Supreme Court, all divisions of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords in England, multi-jurisdictional disputes in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Russia, and many states from the former Soviet Union, as well as offshore tax jurisdictions. The breadth of our experience is reflected not merely in the geographic span of our work, but also in the industries we know. K&L Gates has litigated major cases in nearly every industry and market sector. Our litigation team brings optimal levels of practical experience and industry insight to each engagement. We employ early case assessment techniques to help our clients develop creative dispute resolution strategies, often leading to "win-win" outcomes.
Our Experience
K&L Gates' litigation experience ranges from simple commercial debt claims to complex multi-party, cross-border litigation. At K&L Gates we frequently deal with high profile, high stakes litigation. We have the resources, sophistication and track record to obtain successful results in cases with regional, national and international significance. Recent major engagements include:
- Acting for World Wrestling Entertainment in its long running dispute with the Worldwide Fund for Nature over the use of the initials "WWF".
- Acting for Microsoft Corporation in a high stakes employee mobility case against Google and Dr Kai-Fu Lee, in which K&L sought and obtained injunctive relief against a former high level Microsoft employee.
- Acting for Advo, Inc defending a claim for rescission of a $1.4 billion merger agreement. After expedited discovery (including over 80 depositions) and after plaintiff had put in its case at trial in Delaware Chancery Court, the matter settled and the companies have since merged.
- Acting for Alcoa in securing a $75 million jury verdict in a breach of UCC warranties case against a supplier of defective aluminum alloy used in the construction of boats;
- Acting for a corporation in a derivative suit arising out of alleged stock options back-dating (Re Black Box Shareholder Derivative Litigation: USDC WD PA).
- Acting on behalf of financial institutions in the United States and Canada to recover over $96 million in contract damages against the United States as a result of the government's breach of contract through the imposition of overly restrictive regulatory capital requirements.
- Acting for a leading firm of actuaries in the English High Court and Court of Appeal, successfully defending a claim relating to an allegedly negligent pension scheme valuation.
- Acting for a venture capital firm in successfully defending a US$250 million claim commenced by one of its portfolio companies for alleged breach of investment agreements and theft of trade secrets, resolved by way of a 5-month jury trial.
- Lead defense counsel and nationwide coordinating counsel for national consumer lender in class action challenging the method for asserting claims in bankruptcy court.
- Regular outside regional counsel for nationwide consumer lender in defense of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Unfair Debt Collection Act, North Carolina Debt Collection Act and other consumer protection acts.
- Defense of alleged class action "predatory lending claims" in North and South Carolina.
- Represented portfolio company of private equity firm in twelve separate lawsuits and and arbitration proceedings filed throughout the United States alleging that portfolio company (a franchisor) had fraudulently induced franchisees to enter into franchise agreements.
- In major pro bono National Environmental Policy Act matter, sued United States Navy to prevent development of an outlying landing field and won permanent injunction barring construction.
- Represented plaintiffs in a class action alleging violation of ERISA in connection with amendments to a pension plan following leveraged buyout of publicly held multi-national corporation; suit resulted in one of the largest class action settlements then on record.
Leveraging the Power of Technology
We recognize the importance of providing value to our clients through handling disputes efficiently and cost-effectively. One example of this is our approach to cases involving vast quantities of electronic documents. While many law firms struggle to manage an increasingly electronic world, the use of technology has been fundamental to our approach for more than a decade. Our e-Discovery Analysis and Technology (e-DAT) Group uses cutting-edge technology tools, business processes and trained discovery lawyers and paralegals to effectively manage document-intensive litigation. The e-DAT Group can analyze more information in days than firms using traditional methods can assess in weeks-and at a substantially lower cost-providing our litigators with a critical head start in any engagement.
What Our Clients Are Saying
We take great pride in what our clients say about our capabilities.
- Citing K&L Gates' litigation accomplishments, DuPont awarded the firm its "Meeting the Challenge" Award in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007 for extraordinary achievement within its Global Primary Law Firm Network.
- PPG Industries, Inc. has conferred its PPG Excellent Supplier Award on K&L Gates, the first law firm so recognized in the history of the award. In selecting K&L Gates, PPG focused on the firm's creativity, dependability, quality, and reliability in rendering litigation services to the corporation.
- The Legal 500 (UK) has described our commercial litigation team as being "recommended [by clients] for 'its dedication and courage in really difficult litigation'" (2005 Ed'n). The 2006 Edition of Chambers (UK) states that "clients are the best advocates for this litigation practice: 'The team is a joy to work with. You can put members in front of a legal director and know that everything will be fine. They don't clutter you with legalese and combine practicality with commerciality and good humour'".
Partnering and Innovative Fee Structures
We recognize that in many instances clients seek a closer relationship with their law firms as well as a willingness on the part of the law firm to invest in the relationship. The firm has pioneered the concept of "partnering" and is responsive to client requests for innovative and alternative fee structures where appropriate.