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Ulmer & Berne LLP takes pride in understanding our clients’ businesses from the ground up, and the firm provides comprehensive legal services to an international client base from our locations in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Columbus, New York, Washington D.C., and Boca Raton. Our attorneys represent dynamic companies of all sizes across a wide spectrum of industries, including publicly traded and privately held companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, emerging businesses, and nonprofits. Since the firm’s founding in 1908, Ulmer has had just four managing partners, which speaks to the consistency of our mission — solving our clients’ issues with pragmatic counsel of the highest quality.
Our firm is built on understanding our clients’ legal and business objectives and helping them achieve their goals. We are a leader in the legal industry, providing the competency and breadth of larger firms infused with the client-centric service and efficiency of smaller firms. We work tirelessly to create unique and innovative solutions to address our clients’ ever-changing needs. We are passionate client advocates who deliver practical, effective legal strategies while never losing sight of our clients’ goals. Our objective is to deliver exceptional value and exceed expectations.
Litigation Overview: With more than 75 attorneys dedicated to litigation matters, Ulmer’s Litigation Department and resources are comparable to those of larger firms, and are augmented by our efficient staffing practices, flexibility, and unwavering focus on delivering top-tier services. Our unique positioning allows us to direct attorneys with the right mix of substantive expertise to each matter, customizing our service to fit the particular needs of each client. In addition to class actions, complex commercial litigation, mass torts, and regulatory proceedings, Ulmer regularly represents clients in internal investigations, white collar matters, bankruptcies, and ADR proceedings. The firm maintains nationally respected practices in multiple areas, including:
Business Litigation: We recognize the amount of distraction and dislocation that can result from complex business litigation, and we work with our clients to minimize such effects. Ulmer’s business litigators are problem solvers and accomplished trial lawyers adept at successfully handling business disputes of all kinds including complex commercial cases, M&A, shareholder and investor disputes, contract, business torts, cybersecurity and privacy, business ownership, accountant and attorney malpractice, property disputes, insurance coverage, restrictive covenants, and trade secret-related matters.
Construction Litigation: Our construction litigation team starts by understanding our clients’ vision for success and then draws on its significant experience and expertise in the construction industry to turn that vision into a reality. Throughout the country, our attorneys partner with owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and developers to create smart solutions to complex problems, including managing disputes through mediation, arbitration, and litigation. We assist clients with a variety of claims including but not limited to construction defect, delay, and lien claims, and defend against construction site accidents and workers’ compensation claims.
Employment and Labor Litigation: We understand human capital is one of the most valuable resources and biggest expenses for businesses. We provide the full spectrum of employment and labor representation, ranging from strategic counseling to the defense of complex litigation matters. We have substantial experience in: employee discipline and termination; unlawful discrimination; unfair labor practice allegations; extensive internal investigations; affirmative action plan development and implementation; wage and hour issues; employment contracts; FLSA, OSHA, and ERISA compliance and defense; collective bargaining negotiations; immigration challenges; and workers’ compensation claims.
Financial Services and Securities Litigation: Ulmer attorneys have the deep knowledge and broad experience required to guide clients safely through an evolving regulatory and economic landscape. The group represents financial institutions of all sizes nationwide in complex court and arbitration actions and in regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by regulatory agencies including FINRA, the CFTC, the OCC, and the SEC. We routinely litigate claims involving breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, common law and statutory consumer violations, UCC, lending violations, unsuitable investments, and churning and other securities claims.
Intellectual Property Litigation: In the high-stakes world of intellectual property, industry disputes involving business critical technology can threaten the viability of businesses. Ulmer attorneys use their technically diverse backgrounds to provide counsel in complex cases concerning a wide variety of technologies and scientific processes. We provide core IP litigation services to clients in cases involving: patent infringement, ownership, and validity; copyright, trademark, and trade dress infringement; unfair competition and false advertising claims; software and licensing disagreements; and disputes regarding e-commerce and internet domain names, disclosure or theft of trade secrets, and breaches of confidentiality agreements.
Product Liability Defense: Ulmer is a leader in defending class action, multidistrict, and mass tort litigation involving drugs, medical devices, and dietary supplements. Our attorneys have served as lead national defense counsel in high-impact litigation matters involving: antidepressants; contraceptives; testosterone replacement therapy; ADHD, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, oncology, and pain medications; cardiovascular and diabetes management devices; biologic products; weight management products; and performance training supplements. They also counsel pharmaceutical, medical device, and dietary supplement companies on regulatory and risk management matters. The practice is strengthened by its many attorneys who have degrees in various scientific disciplines. Every day, we put our clients first. We are committed to providing practical, meaningful solutions that make sense for you, and focus on delivering outstanding results.
Updated Sep 2023
Using our unique “first-in-service” client-centric model, Benesch’s Litigation Practice Group litigates our clients’ matters to deliver an unmatched experience in terms of results and value. Our approach, along with our clients’ trust in our skills, work ethic, and breadth, has made Benesch a “go to” firm for our clients’ most complex, sophisticated commercial litigation across the categorical spectrum of matters. Over the last year, we delivered victories for our clients in the appellate arena, in the trial courts, in arbitrations and mediations, and in dispositive motions.
Our approach and results have earned our group national accolades for client service. In 2023, Benesch was named a “Recommended Firm” by Benchmark Litigation for the sixth consecutive year and was listed in Chambers USA. Additionally, 2023 U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” ranked Benesch a first-tier firm for Commercial Litigation in Chicago and Cleveland. Further, individual members of the group have been named State and Local Litigation Stars by Benchmark Litigation and have also been ranked by Chambers USA. For the eleventh consecutive year (2014-2024), Benesch has received a national first-tier ranking in Transportation Law by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.” Benesch also received the distinction of being named Transportation Law Firm of the Year by Best Lawyers in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, and 2023. Only one law firm per practice area in the U.S. receives this recognition each year, making this award a particularly significant achievement.
At Benesch, experience makes up only half of what we offer to our clients. We take advantage of our industry exposure to also give fully customized service. Our attorneys immerse themselves in their client’s business and take the time to understand their needs. Then, using their industry knowledge and legal skills and a multi-disciplinary team approach, our attorneys develop a customized solution for each client.
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Updated Sep 2023
DiCello Levitt was founded in 2017 as a new kind of law firm—one that is organized around the basic premise that everyone at the firm is a vital team member with a voice and talents that add value in any situation. Boasting best-in-class teams across a wide array of practice areas, DiCello Levitt cultivates a diverse roster of skilled litigators to advance the cause of justice for individuals, businesses, and public clients through class action, business-to-business, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, civil rights, and mass tort litigation.
The firm’s attorneys are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases, resulting in billions of dollars in recoveries for their clients and other class members. They are regularly appointed to leadership positions in headline-grabbing, high-stakes cases—composing some of the most diverse leadership teams in multidistrict litigation history—and continually achieve landmark victories across practice areas, earning accolades and recognition for their innovative approaches to complex matters and tireless advocacy on behalf of their clients. Built on a strong foundation of integrity and experience and driven by results, DiCello Levitt has helped raise the bar for corporate conduct, governmental responsibility, and civil and human rights, paving the way for a more just and equitable world.
Venture Partners With Clients: DiCello Levitt has forged a reputation for success in complex litigation and arbitration, and the firm delivers results in innovative ways by venturing cases with its clients as partners, aligning our collective interests and enhancing our clients’ management of litigation risk. Because of these close venture partnerships, our clients are confident that we will pursue their matters with unmatched tenacity and assess their mission-critical needs as we would for our own business. In our case analysis and preparation, we focus on the end result—a successful settlement or trial verdict. Our singular focus delivers cohesive and compelling thematic and evidentiary foundations. We don’t use a set playbook; rather, we adapt our broad toolkit to each client’s unique goals and needs. Correspondingly, our flexible billing arrangements demonstrate our commitment to every client’s particular circumstances, creating opportunities to litigate the most challenging of cases to a successful resolution.
Innovation in Trial Science: Through its trial-first approach, DiCello Levitt crafts practical and effective legal and business solutions for its clients. At the heart of that approach is the DiCello Levitt Trial Center. Trial Center Team Leader Bobby DiCello and Trial Center Coordinator Ken Abbarno collaborate with other talented advocates at DiCello Levitt, such as Chris Stombaugh. The Trial Center’s lawyers are among the nation’s most sought-after trial lawyers because of their knowledge and experience with the decision-making behavior of contemporary jurors and the art of trial messaging. The center is founded on a proprietary, scientific system that reveals the nuances of a jury’s mindset and enables the pursuit of truth with clear insights into what persuades, connects, and wins. The center’s seasoned team leads high-stakes trials for clients, wielding our advanced strategies to gain an edge over adversaries who cling to traditional trial methods. Our team also trains lawyers to achieve a higher-level performance in their trial strategies, case preparation, and courtroom presentations.
Our firm has led more than 500 focus groups in the last ten years, including comprehensive studies about a myriad of issues. Bobby DiCello is among the most sought-after trial attorneys in the United States for his unique experiences and expertise in the art and science of modern courtroom advocacy. He is frequently called on to teach his “The Art of Messaging” workshop, which draws on the neuroscience of communication to help other attorneys develop and shape how they convey critical concepts to judges and juries.
The insights and strategies that DiCello Levitt has developed through its trial center have materially enhanced the firm’s productivity and effectiveness. By researching and testing the biases, schemas, and prejudices of thousands of mock jurors, DiCello Levitt attorneys sculpted their arguments to achieve successful outcomes in litigations concerning AndroGel, General Motors engine defects, and a host of other matters, including an opiate overprescription case, police misconduct litigation, and the largest individual civil rights verdict in U.S. history. This hard work resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements—and that doesn’t even account for the trial center’s contributions to victories by other firms across the United States.
Taken as a whole, the trial center’s success, support, and research efforts continue to set DiCello Levitt apart as a truly unique and cutting-edge firm.
Steadfast Consumer Advocates: DiCello Levitt has a strong reputation as one of the foremost consumer advocacy firms in the country, having secured more than $20 billion in recoveries since our founding. Our attorneys have successfully led—and are presently leading—many large class and multidistrict actions, including against industry titans such as Boeing, Syngenta, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Apple, Intel, Abbott Laboratories, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Marriott, and Equifax, and they represent businesses and investors in litigation and arbitration in multiple courts across the United States and internationally.
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Updated Sep 2023