LITIGATION

Since 1965, our litigation practice has included trying more than 300 civil jury trials to verdict. We have litigated all manner of disputes in over 22 states, the District of Columbia, and in federal courts throughout the country. The firm represents clients in civil actions brought in state and federal trial and appellate courts on matters ranging from intellectual property disputes and contract enforcement to employment discrimination and complex tort actions.

Our lawyers have years of litigation experience and varied backgrounds. Our litigators have handled multi-million dollar lawsuits with an unprecedented level of success. With backgrounds in engineering, intellectual property, accounting, labor and employment, insurance, business, and management, our lawyers bring more than just legal know-how to the table. Our varied backgrounds have proven to be an invaluable resource available on a daily basis to all of our clients, large and small, and have enabled our litigators to address and adapt to virtually any situation. Indeed, the firm routinely litigates cases against the largest and most reputable regional and national law firms. This experience, combined with the vast resources available to us, has enabled the Firm to become influential and respected in the practice of large scale litigation.

Lawsuits brought by and defended by our clients include actions for trademark and copyright infringement, patent infringement, breach of contract, contract enforcement, commercial tenant cases, toxic tort claims, chemical and radiation exposure and product liability claims, construction and electric utility claims, employment discrimination, unfair labor practices, negligence claims, statutory violations, and general business litigation.

Turner Consulting Group, Inc.

“We knew within weeks of their first assignment for us that we would use Freeman & Freeman for all of our legal matters. Their attorneys understood our needs overnight, and got us to where we needed to get, quickly, and efficiently… The open, collaborative legal service they deliver provides us with a level of confidence on our business planning that we otherwise would not have.

James R. Turner, President

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW

Our labor and employment practice primarily involves management-side representation in labor and employment related litigation, and advisory and transactional work relating to a wide range of labor and employment matters.

We represent and advise our clients on a vast array of employment law matters, including sexual harassment, employment discrimination and wage and hour claims, EEOC and state human rights agency investigations, federal and state department of labor investigations, wage and hour compliance audits, in-house investigations of employee claims, contingent workforce issues, and the preparation of various legal documents including, inter alia, comprehensive employee handbooks, individual employment contracts, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, severance agreements, and releases.

We keep all of our clients abreast of changes and new developments in the laws affecting their businesses, and offer training courses and seminars on sexual harassment, employment discrimination, privacy issues, effective in-house investigations, and the hiring and termination process. We also advise our clients on employee rights in the workplace, COBRA requirements, fair credit reporting requirements, OSHA safety requirements, interviewing guidelines, employee disciplinary procedures and documentation, overtime pay, fluctuating workweek pay plans, company reorganizations, employment classifications and independent contractor status, and equal pay concerns.

Our traditional labor experience includes management representation in unfair labor practice proceedings brought under the National Labor Relations Act and related court litigation brought under Labor Management Relations Act; management representation in union organizing drives, unit clarification and/or representation proceedings before the NLRB, and union election campaigns; extensive drafting of collective bargaining agreements and related bargaining provisions and side letters; participation in collective bargaining sessions on behalf of management; and advising clients on complex questions of federal labor law including, inter alia, federal preemption, recognition, majority status, the duty to bargain, permissive and mandatory subjects of bargaining, impasse, recognitional and area standards picketing, neutrality agreements, lawful economic coercion, primary and secondary employers, joint employer status, secondary boycotts, lock-outs, temporary and permanent replacements, strike injunctions, outsourcing of unit work, successorship, employer coercion, and retaliation.

Our attorneys’ experience has encompassed dealings with the following labor organizations or their local affiliates: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, International Union of Operating Engineers, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees, Actor's Equity Association, and the American Federation of Musicians.

CONTRACTS

Our contracts practice is the culmination of years of experience protecting our client’s interests and furthering their business goals. Whether a joint venture, buy-out agreement, licensing arrangement, commercial lease, contract for services, indemnity agreement, settlement agreement, or independent contractor agreement, our clients have come to rely on our legal expertise and meticulous drafting to protect their business and ensure their legal rights. Depending on our client’s needs, we serve as advisors from initial contract negotiations through execution of a final document. Additionally, the same lawyers that negotiate, draft, and review legal agreements are also experienced litigators ready to enforce those agreements, and have successfully done so time and again in courts throughout the country.

Our contracts practice goes far beyond standard form agreements and boilerplate legalese. Our agreements are specifically tailored to meet our clients’ particularized needs, and oftentimes form the very foundation upon which our clients launch their business directives and secure their competitive position in the marketplace.

Along with negotiation strategies, contract language, and litigation, we advise our clients on a vast array of matters arising under contract law, including contract basics, the statute of frauds, parol evidence and judicial interpretation, promissory estoppel and detrimental reliance, capacity, mistake, misrepresentation and non-disclosure, novations, unconscionability, fraud, breach, specific performance and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, liquidated damages, accord and satisfaction, assignment, and choice of laws.

P.E. Training, LLC:
“With Freeman & Freeman advising me on the legal end, I feel the confidence and freedom to be aggressive in my business plan and feel empowered in all of my business negotiations and dealings. By making Freeman & Freeman a part of my team, I feel as if the law now works for me rather than against me, and I am now able to avoid the legal pitfalls which have devoured so many other new business owners. Most importantly, Freeman & Freeman is sensitive to the cash flows of small business, and has provided a payment plan that financially allows me to utilize their service on a regular basis.”

Paul Evans, President

PUBLIC UTILITY DEFENSE

In the field of public utilities, the Firm is at the forefront of litigation involving electric power transmission and distribution, having obtained defense verdicts in numerous multi-million dollar lawsuits in both the state and federal courts. Over the past 28 years, attorneys in the Firm have handled the investigation and litigation of accidents involving the mechanical and electrical contact of persons, tools and equipment with electric supply or communication conductors, utility poles, towers, high voltage switchgear, and related equipment. The Firm litigates trial and appellate matters involving all issues relating to the construction, maintenance, and design of both overhead and underground distribution and transmission systems with particular emphasis in defending electric shock and electrocution claims. Members of the Firm regularly lecture at regional and national conferences to attorneys, claims adjusters, engineers, and utility company management on the legal impact of the latest industry standards, practices, and regulations governing the utility industry. The Firm is also engaged on a prophylactic basis to evaluate and audit specifications for distribution installation facilities and to ensure compliance with industry standards.

The Potomac Electric
Power Company:

“In the past twenty-eight years, Freeman & Freeman has represented PEPCO in various lawsuits in the metropolitan Washington area with very favorable results. Their attorneys understand our business and engineering, work alongside all of our key personnel with ease, and have consistently sought to keep our legal expenses within budget. We’re fortunate to have them with us.”

 H. Edward Holtz, Esquire
Assistant General Counsel
 

PERSONAL INJURY

Our personal injury practice continues to raise the bar for injured victim’s rights. In 2003, the firm was awarded Case of the Year by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and settled yet another two cases in the million dollar plus range. These recent successes in our personal injury group are but the latest in a long history of favorable results for our personal injury clients, not only in Colorado but also in Maryland, Washington D.C. and in federal courts throughout the country.

The practice has extensive experience in both individual plaintiff claims and group and class actions. In 35 years of prosecuting victim’s rights, we have successfully represented both individual victims and groups who have suffered physical and mental injuries as a result of defective products, negligent construction, negligent provision of professional services, negligent medical care, tobacco products and asbestos, radiation and chemical exposure, and the general negligence of others.

We succeed because, unlike many plaintiffs’ firms that take an assembly-line approach to processing plaintiff’s cases, our attorneys understand that no two cases are alike and that the only formula for success is hard work and attention to detail. Prevailing legal strategies are not canned, but are carefully developed through long hours of legal work and time with our clients. As we like to say; “at work, always sweat the small stuff.” And because our personal injury clients typically do not have the financial resources to pay for costly and protracted litigation, we do not require our clients to pay any legal fees unless and until we obtain a settlement or secure a favorable judgment at trial.

Personal injury litigation is inherently adversarial and hotly contested in today’s climate, and as such, demands experienced litigators who have been in the trenches and understand the intricate processes of the legal system and our courts. Because our firm also has an extensive defense practice and our attorneys have years of experience working with and against prominent and reputable defense firms, we understand the strategies used by defense lawyers and can thus position ourselves in most situations to obtain the advantage in settlement or at trial. With scores of cases resulting in high six-figure to multi-seven figure settlements or judgments, our success is evidenced in the numbers.