Duly Noted

 Warner Norcross& Judd named to BTI’s Most Feared Litigation Firms

Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has been named one of the 2015 Most Feared Litigation Firms by BTI Litigation Outlook.

BTI’s study of the litigation market is based on 300 interviews with general and in-house litigation counsel of companies in industries from banking and construction to transportation and utilities — a comprehensive analysis of client spending, goals, priorities and needs — to analyze more than 160 individual law firms.  
 
“We are incredibly pleased to be recognized as one of the ‘Most Feared Litigation Firms’ by BTI Consulting,” said Edward J. Bardelli, partner/litigation practice group chair at Warner Norcross. “For nearly eight decades, our litigators have been winning cases in state, federal and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.  There’s truly no litigation problem that we haven’t handled.

“We are business counselors as well... We partner with our clients to develop a practical, cost-effective solution to the issues they are facing, whether it’s a quick settlement... or a full-court press to trial.”

Warner serves as litigation counsel for many leading Michigan companies. In addition, the Litigation Practice Group has a strong track record in lawsuits in many key practice areas, such as:

Patent and intellectual property: Douglas A. Dozeman and James Moskal led the Warner Norcross litigation team in a successful defense of Michigan-based ND Industries and Linear Group Services, who were accused of infringing on patents.  The one-week jury trial was a “complete victory for our team and our technology,” according to ND.

Trade secrets:  Bardelli successfully represented Whirlpool after an employee resigned and tried to go to a major competitor with confidential and trade secret information, and obtained an injunction preventing the employee from working for the competitor, despite the absence of a non-compete agreement.
 
Class action: Partners Dean F. Pacific and Molly E. McManus secured summary judgment for MAHLE Engine Components, dismissing claims by the United Auto Workers, former employees and a proposed class of employees who had requested pension benefits totaling several million dollars.  The complex case involved bankruptcy law, ERISA, the Labor Management Relations Act, and other law.

Employment:  In a federal case in Texas, Andrea J. Bernard led a team of Warner attorneys defending Haworth, Inc. in a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action filed by a group of former sales representatives seeking millions of dollars in unpaid wages.  The plaintiffs claimed they were not properly classified as exempt  under the FLSA, an argument that was dismissed by the court.

Utilities:  Partner Jeffrey W. Bracken identified a little-known statute that allowed an energy company to condemn a portion of its own property to comply with Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules after 9/11.

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