Our automotive attorneys offer a full range of legal services in areas such as:

Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights

• Representing secured creditors, debtors and creditors committees in bankruptcy cases and workout transactions
• Structuring business transactions designed to anticipate bankruptcy problems

Related Attorneys: Robert H. Skilton III

Commercial Litigation

• Supply chain terms and conditions negotiations, dispute resolution and litigation
• Standard terms of purchase and sale
• Dealer and distributor agreements
• Sales representative agreements
• Requirements and exclusive dealing contracts
• Tooling contracts, recovery and lien disputes
• Consignments
• Review and negotiation of loan documents
• Buyer financing of custom production lines and equipment
• Seller financing arrangements, such as purchase money security interests and letters of credit
• Supplier litigation including breach of contract, supplier resourcing, purchase order conflicts, raw materials surcharge recovery and general commercial litigation

Related Attorneys: Douglas A. Dozeman, Thomas J. Manganello, Michael G. Brady, Douglas E. Wagner

Construction and Real Estate

• Real estate acquisition, financing, development, leasing and disposition
• Zoning
• Condemnation
• Tax abatement and property tax appeals
• Litigation
• Contract drafting and preparation
• Construction liens, filing and enforcement
• Dispute resolution including mediation, arbitration and litigation

Related Attorney: Christian E. Meyer

Contract Drafting, Review and Negotiation Advice

• Represent suppliers in drafting, reviewing, interpreting and negotiating automotive supply and commercial contracts
• Assist both large publicly traded companies and small privately owned companies with lease, purchase, sale and distribution of goods and services
• Negotiate and document development, supply and manufacturing agreements, software licensing agreements, equipment purchase and/or leasing agreements, nondisclosure agreements and terms and conditions of sale and purchase

Related Attorney: William R. Jansen

Employment Litigation

• Wrongful discharge litigation
• Discrimination litigation
• Harassment litigation
• Covenants not to compete
• Public accommodation litigation

Related Attorney: Andrea J. Bernard

Environmental

• Acquisitions, divestitures and development
• Air quality issues, including NSR, PSD, NSPS, NESHAPs
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Enforcement proceedings and litigation
• Environmental audits
• Solid and hazardous waste management
• Superfund negotiation and litigation
• Water quality issues

Related Attorneys: John V. Byl, Steven C. Kohl, Scott D. Hubbard, Daniel K. DeWitt

Human Resources

• Union election campaigns and collective bargaining
• Grievance and arbitration procedures
• De-certifications
• Strikes and picket line activity
• Wage and hour issues
• Employee benefits
• Contract drafting and preparation
• Workplace violence and harassment
• Discrimination
• Workers’ compensation

Related Attorneys: Anthony J. Kolenic, Jr., Louis C. Rabaut

Immigration

• Critical immigration issues in mergers and acquisitions
• Visas for executives and managers of multinational companies
• Visas for high-tech workers
• Special issues relating to Canadian workers under NAFTA

Intellectual Property

• Patents
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• Litigation of infringement actions, licensing agreements, and unfair competition and antitrust issues

Related Attorneys: Charles E. Burpee, William P. Dani, Douglas A. Dozeman

International Business Transactions

• Foreign acquisitions
• Export and import sales
• Doing business in China
• Licensing and distributor agreements
• International tax
• Legal issues of foreign subsidiaries of domestic corporations

Related Attorney: Jeffrey A. Ott

IT Procurement

• Quality procurement processes
• Software audits, including an inventory of all IT contracts
• Form software contracts
• Contract processes, including serving as part of the negotiating team

Related Attorney: Janet P. Knaus

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Divestitures
• Reorganizations
• Joint ventures

Related Attorneys: Jeffrey S. Battershall, James E. Romzek, Gregory E. Schmidt, Stephen C. Waterbury

Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations

• TREAD Act
• Vehicle Safety Act
• NHTSA reporting requirements
• Defect and noncompliance investigations
• Recall requirements
• Rulemaking Activities

Related Attorney: Christopher J. Predko

Nonroutine Securities Matters

• Domestic and foreign securities offerings, public and private, including equity and debt
• Financing and development of financial products
• No action letters and interpretive advice
• Proxy contests and solicitations
• Compliance and regulatory issues involving Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Securities litigation including class-action defense

Related Attorney: Jeffrey A. Ott

Product Liability Litigation

• Automotive product liability
• Class-action defense
• Breach of warranty and lemon law
• Automotive supplier issues, including breach of contract, supplier resourcing, purchase order conflicts and bankruptcy
• Risk management

Related Attorneys: Douglas A. Dozeman, Thomas J. Manganello, Edward J. Bardelli, Douglas E. Wagner

Real Estate Tax Appeals

• Appeals concerning assessed value, taxable value and tax exemptions

Related Attorney: Christian E. Meyer