King & Spalding helps leading companies advance complex business interests in more than 160 countries. Working across a highly integrated platform of more than 1,300 lawyers in 24 offices globally, we deliver tailored commercial solutions through world-class offerings and an uncompromising approach to quality and service.
Trial and Global Disputes: Our experienced disputes lawyers try and arbitrate high-stakes cases every year across the globe in the most challenging jurisdictions for corporate clients. Recognized for creativity, meticulous preparation, and top-rate advocacy, our lawyers help clients navigate the litigation lifecycle, working together from day one to identify business objectives, develop a strategy to meet those objectives, and then execute that strategy. With more than 450 lawyers in 17 offices worldwide, we are uniquely able to staff and manage large and cross-border disputes from filing, to trial, and through appeal. Our lawyers have a variety of expertise across substantive areas, including Appellate Law, Class Action Defense, Commercial Litigation, Construction & Engineering Disputes, Corporate & Securities Litigation, E-Discovery, Insolvency Litigation, Insurance Coverage & Recovery, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, Labor & Employment, Product Liability, Professional Liability, and Toxic & Environmental Torts. Working together—one area of expertise informing another—our disputes lawyers provide clients with seamless and efficient representation in the most complex and sensitive matters.
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Government Matters: Clients ranging from Fortune Global 50 corporations to high-profile individuals in every region of the world entrust King & Spalding’s Government Matters practice to guide them through rapidly changing regulatory landscapes, complex investigations by U.S. and foreign enforcement authorities, highly sensitive internal investigations and related, often parallel civil proceedings.
Hundreds of lawyers across the United States, Europe and Asia bring decades of prior government service and industry experience to our regulatory and investigative practices, which serve the financial services, pharmaceutical and medical device, healthcare, energy, automotive and technology sectors in particular. The team includes six U.S. Attorneys, 24 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and former senior officials from the highest ranks in regulatory and enforcement organizations that are most significant to our clients.
Our experienced team includes former leaders at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Bank of England, the U.K’s Financial Reporting Council and the World Trade Organization.
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Corporate, Finance and Investments: Our Corporate, Finance and Investments team brings a collaborative approach to help clients execute complex, high-value transactions. We have a fully integrated platform with more than 330 lawyers in 17 offices, offering clients the benefit of global specialists with local knowledge and industry expertise. We work side by side with our clients to execute transactions efficiently and effectively—we understand what matters to both our clients and opposite parties and we explain the actual, practical risks to our clients.
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Updated Sep 2024
Who We Are: BFKN was founded in 1984 with a vision focused on delivering efficient team-oriented services of the highest quality. The firm has continued to focus on this vision and has grown and evolved into a sophisticated, first-class legal practice with a diverse client roster of national and international clients. We’ve accomplished this by practicing law in a different way. Our strategic vision is to continue growing organically by helping our clients succeed, by constantly evaluating and implementing ways to better serve our clients, and by recruiting the highest caliber of diverse talent. Our growth has been steady and measured and we’ve chartered our own unique path to success which is different than any other firm.
BFKN has more than 120 attorneys in ten practice groups. BFKN regularly serves a wide array of industries, but has particular experience serving: Luxury, Financial Services & Fintech, Manufacturing & Distribution, Motor Vehicle, Private Equity & Venture Capital, and Real Estate.
BFKN represents a wide array of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 corporations across all industries. Our clients are sophisticated and located across the globe, from the Midwest to the East and West coasts to Europe and Asia. Our firm is lucky to have nurtured several generational client relationships, where we have served as outside counsel to those clients for many decades and have grown with them through changes, challenges, and triumphs. We also have a mix of new generation clients that appreciate our creative and customized approach to representation.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: BFKN is committed to the establishment, maintenance, and growth of a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are respected and intentionally valued by implementing initiatives and programs that will foster collaboration and accountability. We strive to attract the most qualified professionals from all backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities and to create a rewarding and fulfilling environment in which our people feel valued and appreciated and can grow and advance their careers. BFKN’s DEI Committee oversees equitable reviews of the firm’s policies and procedures, its accreditation into and implementation of the Midsized Mansfield Rule program, diversity, equity and inclusion training, and holistic recruiting procedures on an ongoing and forward-looking basis.
BFKN is proud to have achieved Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification Plus in 2023 and 2024. The Mansfield Rule, an initiative from Diversity Lab, measures the achievement of certain structural metrics designed to better ensure our paths to leadership – including lateral hiring, client pitch teams, promotions, and appointments – are open and transparent to all qualified attorneys. BFKN remains dedicated to broadening our networks for recruiting highly-qualified candidates from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the legal profession.
Litigation: Our firm has assembled a group of highly skilled trial lawyers – seasoned partners and well-trained associates – who represent clients both forcefully and efficiently. Unlike some litigators, who spend years engaging in expensive discovery only to recommend settlement on the eve of trial, we are always ready to try cases when necessary, but strive to achieve business resolutions early and economically when appropriate.
BFKN is a mid-sized firm that handles many of our clients’ most significant matters. We take pride in our efficient approach to dispute resolution. Even for the biggest matters, our litigation teams are lean, typically comprised of experienced partners and small numbers of associates and paralegals who can manage large amounts of data by leveraging our in-house discovery technology. A litigation team is assembled for each assignment based on the skill and experience required for that engagement.
We represent a diverse group of businesses in resolving these disputes, ranging from the world’s largest luxury goods company to large financial institutions, major telecommunications service providers, REITs, motor vehicle manufacturers, hedge funds, law firms, and consumer goods companies.
Our litigators have extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States, at both the trial and appellate levels. We understand that we are asked to help resolve business problems, and we recognize that a trial is only one potential solution.
Because our clients’ success often rests on our ability to design thoughtful, cost-effective solutions to complex scenarios, a significant part of our time is focused on strategic counseling and alternative dispute resolution.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Members of our group are experienced in a broad range of alternative dispute resolution techniques, including mediations, binding and non-binding arbitrations, mini-trials, and settlement trials with floors and caps.
Counseling: The Litigation Group also has extensive experience in strategic counseling designed to minimize the likelihood of litigation or reduce the exposure to litigation when potential problems arise. For engagements requiring a certain legal or industry focus, we assemble strong interdisciplinary teams designed to leverage the talents of attorneys in other practice areas. BFKN’s Litigation Group is often involved in complex corporate and real estate disputes that benefit from the comprehensive experience of our corporate, real estate, and bankruptcy attorneys. Such a cross-functional approach has proved successful in resolving controversies ranging from dissenting shareholders’ rights disputes to take-over litigation.
Benchmark Litigation Profile
UB Greensfelder LLP is a full-service super-regional law firm focused on exceeding client expectations and delivering superior, customized legal solutions. The firm’s 275 attorneys advise regional, national, and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters across more than 25 specialized practice and industry groups. Created in 2024 through the merger of Ulmer & Berne LLP and Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., UB Greensfelder has nine primary office locations.
Our clients’ businesses depend upon our ability to provide timely, practical, and effective legal counsel tailored to their unique challenges, and we work tirelessly to meet their needs and exceed expectations. We are dedicated to providing top-notch client service, quick response times, and innovative legal solutions, while never losing sight of our clients’ goals.
Litigation Overview: UB Greensfelder’s Litigation Department has a strong tradition of solving problems and delivering excellent results for a diverse group of clients. Our litigators have extensive experience handling matters in trial and appellate courts and before alternative dispute resolution forums nationwide. With trial experience and industry knowledge, we reduce or eliminate the learning curve, enabling us to zealously defend our clients with cost-effective results.
Business Litigation: Our business litigators are problem solvers and accomplished trial lawyers adept at handling complex commercial cases and litigation arising out of business disputes of all kinds, including M&A, shareholder, and investor issues; contracts; business torts; business ownership; accountant and attorney malpractice; property disagreements; and restrictive covenants.
Construction Litigation: Our construction litigation team understands our clients’ visions for success and then draws on its significant experience within the industry to turn those visions into reality. We partner with owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and developers to create intelligent solutions to complex problems. We assist clients with various claims, such as construction defect, delay, and lien claims, and defend against construction site accidents and workers’ compensation claims.
Employment and Labor Litigation: Our employment litigators assist our clients with the array of challenges facing their organizations, ranging from strategic counseling to defending complex litigation matters, including claims involving employee discipline and termination, unlawful discrimination, unfair labor practices, wage and hour issues, employment contracts, collective bargaining, and more.
Energy Litigation: UB Greensfelder has a long history of working with large clients in the energy industry to resolve their disputes and litigation with the most favorable outcome possible. Our team has extensive first-chair experience in the courtroom, trying cases for energy clients nationwide, and we excel in collaboration, offering deep industry knowledge and experience. We often lead energy litigation in partnership with local or national counsel, and we guide clients through disputes if a relationship breaks down.
Financial Services and Securities Litigation: We have the deep knowledge required to guide clients safely through an evolving regulatory and economic landscape. We represent financial institutions of all sizes in complex court and arbitration actions and in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by regulatory agencies, including FINRA and the SEC. We routinely litigate claims involving breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, consumer violations, lending violations, churning, and other securities claims.
Franchise Litigation: Our practical experience derived from daily involvement with franchisors and distributors informs our aggressive representation of clients’ interests during litigation. In addition to negotiating state franchise, relationship, or sales representative disputes and dealing with federal and state administrative agencies, we litigate industry-specific matters such as those involving state franchise relationship and disclosure laws, state motor vehicle franchise practices statutes, the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act and state motor fuel marketing laws, and state consumer protection statutes. In addition to statutory claims, we are also experienced in handling claims that arise frequently in franchise/distribution litigation.
Immigration Litigation: We are dedicated to the zealous representation of immigrants facing deportation and have represented countless individuals charged with serious immigration violations before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and federal district and appellate courts. We are experienced in all phases of immigration litigation, including trials, administrative appeals, and federal court litigation.
Intellectual Property Litigation: We know industry disputes involving business-critical technology can threaten the viability of businesses. Our attorneys have technically diverse backgrounds and provide counsel in cases concerning a wide variety of technologies and scientific processes. We provide core IP litigation services involving patent infringement, ownership, and validity; copyright, trademark, and trade dress infringement; unfair competition and false advertising; trade secrets; and software and licensing.
Product Liability Defense: We are an authority in defending class action, multidistrict, and mass tort litigation involving drugs, medical devices, dietary supplements, manufactured products, consumer goods, and other technologies. We also represent clients in matters involving toxic tort and exposure claims. We have served as lead national defense counsel in high-impact litigation involving everything from antidepressants, contraceptives, and pain medications to cardiovascular and diabetes management devices and biologic products. Our practice is strengthened by its many attorneys with degrees in various scientific disciplines.