Commercial Litigation
Adept at combining business practicality with creative litigation strategies, Arnold & Porter has an established track record for resolving high-stakes disputes across the commercial landscape. As seasoned trial lawyers, we bring the analytical and strategic firepower to achieve your objectives — however you define success — whether it be through early motions, summary judgment, favorable settlement, trial, or arbitration. Our litigation teams are diverse and combine subject-matter expertise with sophisticated advocacy skills to deliver effective solutions to complex or seemingly intractable disputes. Our record of success spans the full range of business issues, including breach of contract and fiduciary duties, licensing, M&A (including earn-out and CBE clauses) and indemnification disputes, RICO, fraud, state consumer protection laws and consumer fraud, and alter ego and veil piercing claims.
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Trusted Advisors Who Can Try Cases: We work closely with our clients to define and achieve their litigation objectives. Our deep bench of first-chair trial lawyers prepares each case for trial at the outset, enabling clients to pursue their desired result aggressively.
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Renowned Regulatory and Industry Experience: Integrating the distinctive expertise of our firm's leading regulatory practices gives us an edge in devising creative, effective solutions.
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Premier Class and Mass Action Defense: We are known for developing innovative ways to defeat class actions and we are frequently called on to serve as national counsel in multidistrict or multiforum mass actions.
Experience Highlights
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7-Eleven in successful defense against purported class action claiming that 7-Eleven franchisees are employees of 7-Eleven and entitled to overtime and expense reimbursement.
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Gilead Sciences, HBO, Honeywell, and Tandem Diabetes in obtaining dismissal of putative data breach and privacy class actions.
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Carnival Corporation and its subsidiaries as co-lead counsel in defense of multiple class actions and 200+ individual wrongful-death and personal injury claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Obtained dismissal with prejudice or favorable resolution of all actions and established ground-breaking precedents in COVID claims.
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Planned Parenthood, as lead trial counsel, in securing multimillion-dollar jury verdict, which was affirmed on appeal at the Ninth Circuit, on all claims against anti-abortion activists for RICO, trespass, fraud, illegal recording, and contract violations.
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Nucor Corporation, as lead counsel defending against $500 million antitrust group boycott lawsuit by competitor related to U.S. national security tariffs on imported steel, resulting in dismissal of all claims with prejudice on multiple grounds and affirmed by the Fifth Circuit.
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Nike in obtaining a favorable jury verdict in the Southern District of New York for Nike in a lawsuit involving multiple patents related to footwear technology.
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Samsung Electronics America in obtaining dismissal of a nationwide data breach class action MDL in the District of New Jersey, where plaintiffs asserted class-wide and statutory claims in a 97-count consolidated complaint.
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Marine mutual liability insurer as lead counsel, securing resolution of all 50+ injury and wrongful death claims before trial arising from the highly publicized collision between defendant's oil tanker and missile destroyer, after prevailing on several key procedural motions.
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FS Medical Supplies in a $1 billion dispute enforcing its contractual rights against a Chinese medical device manufacturer, including securing an anti-suit injunction against the manufacturer’s counter-suit in China.
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Novartis Pharma AG in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Amgen relating to the parties’ collaboration in connection with the development and sale of a new migraine therapy, Aimovig®, in the U.S. and over 25 other countries.
Focus Areas
Key Contacts
Related Services
Recognition
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Chambers Asia-PacificDispute Resolution: International Firms (South Korea) (2024-2026)
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Chambers GlobalCommercial and Corporate Litigation (UK) (2023-2024)
Disputes (International & Cross-Border) (USA) (2021-2025)
Dispute Resolution: International Firms (South Korea) (2021-2025) -
Chambers USALitigation: General Commercial (California) (2025)
Litigation: General Commercial (Colorado) (2007-2025)
Litigation: General Commercial (Illinois) (2016-2025)
Litigation: General Commercial (Texas) (2024-2025)
Litigation: General Commercial (New York) (2008-2025)
Litigation: General Commercial (Washington, D.C.) (2006-2025) -
Benchmark LitigationHighly Recommended — Dispute Resolution (District of Columbia) (2024-2026)
Recommended — Dispute Resolution (California) (2024-2026)
Recommended — Dispute Resolution (New York) (2024-2026) -
Best Law Firms Ranked by Best LawyersCommercial Litigation (Boston) (2025-2026)
Commercial Litigation (Colorado) (2025-2026)
Commercial Litigation (Houston) (2024-2026)
Commercial Litigation (National) (2010-2026)
Commercial Litigation (San Francisco) (2024-2026)
Commercial Litigation (Washington, D.C.) (2010-2026)
Bet-the-Company Litigation (San Francisco) (2020-2026)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law (San Francisco) (2026)
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BTI Consulting GroupIntimidating Opponent in Litigation (2023-2026)
Commercial Litigation Powerhouses (2026)
Complex Commercial Litigation Powerhouses (2024-2026)
Gen AI Litigation Leaders (2026)
Best of the Best Law Firms in Class Actions (2024-2025) -
The Legal 500 UKDispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation (Premium) (2017-2026)
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The Legal 500 USGeneral Commercial Disputes (2015-2025)
International Litigation (2018-2025)
Securities Litigation: Defense (2014-2025) -
Chambers EuropeCommercial and Corporate Litigation (UK) (2023-2024)
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Chambers UKCommercial and Corporate Litigation (London) (2018-2024)
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FT Innovative Lawyers“Standout” North America (2023)
