Hogan & Hartson has a nationally recognized practice in complex commercial litigation, with almost 350 litigators in 18 offices worldwide who represent clients in every type of commercial business dispute. Our size and geographic reach give us the capability to handle the most complex and demanding business litigation matters. Why have we been so successful?

First, our litigation practice is built around "hands-on" trial lawyers who have an intimate knowledge of the bench and bar in major jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Second, the firm's exceptional regulatory experience cuts across a wide range of industries, providing great tactical and cost advantages in litigation involving those areas.

Third, because of our diverse client base, we have an equally diverse litigation practice, with attorneys skilled in nearly every type of civil litigation.

Fourth, since many large commercial disputes are multi-faceted, our proficiency in domestic and international arbitration, regulatory and administrative proceedings and legislative work is also invaluable in developing strategy and achieving our clients’ objectives.

Fifth, we have decades of experience in serving as national or regional coordinating counsel for manufacturers, insurers, and other clients faced with litigation in multiple jurisdictions.

Finally, we have a premier appellate practice that The American Lawyer hailed for its "prowess" in 2004. Our appellate attorneys regularly appear before the U.S. Supreme Court and handle regulatory review proceedings and appeals that require highly specialized capabilities.

Related Experience

• The firm advised Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited in connection with a two-phase tender offer Harmony made to the shareholders of Gold Fields Limited. In connection with the first phase of that offer, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Gold Field's injunction request, finding that Gold Fields had failed to offer sufficient evidence to support its claim that Harmony's offering documents were misleading and failed to make a showing of irreparable harm necessary to support its request for injunctive relief. Gold Fields subsequently withdrew its complaint.
• In combined state and federal court proceedings in Alabama, we are representing a major insurance company in a rescission action arising out of the HealthSouth corporate scandal, in which numerous HealthSouth directors and officers have pled guilty to participating in a securities fraud that is estimated to have involved $4.6 billion in fraudulent entries in HealthSouth's financial statements.
• Resolving long-standing claims arising from the United States v. Microsoft antitrust case in the mid-1990s, in 2005 we helped IBM to secure a significant settlement with Microsoft in which the company will pay IBM $850 million.
• We are representing three pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies in numerous multidefendant cases, including putative class action proceedings and actions commenced by the Attorneys General of several states, in which the plaintiffs allege that pharmaceutical manufacturers have engaged in fraudulent pricing, sales, and marketing practices which have led consumers, insurers, and others to pay excessive prices for medications.
• We convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to reverse the District Court and grant summary judgment to our client, Federal Insurance Company, in a landmark decision against Level 3, Inc. The Seventh Circuit held that amounts paid in settlement of a claim against Level 3 for fraud in its purchase of shares were not a “loss” because they constituted the return of allegedly ill-gotten gains.
• For years, a large computer manufacturer has turned to Hogan & Hartson to handle a broad variety of complex litigation matters around the world. These cases have involved matters such as antitrust, copyright, patent, Lanham Act, licensing, contract, and employment issues and have spanned the full range of computer hardware, software, and service offerings as well as manufacturing, distribution, and sales.
• Thirteen and a half years after suit was filed in the Central District of California in 1991, on behalf of the Government of The Bahamas' flag carrier Bahamasair, we successfully obtained a dismissal of all charges of conspiracy in connection with a series of aircraft transactions.
• We are regularly called upon to represent defendants in high-profile securities litigation involving public companies such as Enron, Worldcom, Waste Management, and Xerox.
• In a misappropriation of trade secrets case involving damage claims exceeding $400 million, we represented Hughes Network Systems in a six-week trial in the Circuit Court for DuPage County, Illinois, winning a jury verdict in our client’s favor.
• Claims that our client Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Inc. had conspired with Blockbuster, along with other major studios, to fix prices to independent video retailers were quickly halted through a directed verdict and summary judgment recently upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• In a dispute concerning a post-closing adjustment for the sale of a business, we obtained a recovery of over $10 million for our client Imo Industries, Inc., and we defeated counterclaims asserting that Imo had breached representations and warranties contained in the parties' asset purchase agreement.
• We are litigating in federal district and bankruptcy courts issues arising out of a major insurance company's rescission of a D&O liability excess insurance policy issued to a cable and high-speed Internet company, which filed for bankruptcy as a result of what the company has described as "one of the largest cases of corporate looting and self-dealing in American corporate history."