Trial Lawyers Who Get Things Done

At McNair we believe there’s a big difference between litigators and trial lawyers. Litigators are members of big, bureaucratic firms who spend months running up the bill while conducting discovery and deposing people, and then settle. Trial lawyers work efficiently to quickly discover the essential facts, make sure the client understands the issues involved, then head to court or mediation to get the best results possible.

We are a firm of trial lawyers, with all the credentials you expect from a top trial firm: 10 trial lawyers who are listed in The Best Lawyers in America ^® 2008, team members who have served in such positions as Assistant South Carolina Attorney General and Senior Superior Court Judge, representation as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. But our most important credential is that we are committed to getting the best possible result for our client. We focus both on the economics of it, as well as the efficiency.

Our trial lawyers have both the experience and resources to meet the complex litigation needs of large national and multinational corporations, as well as those of small to mid-sized companies and individuals, from pre-litigation negotiation through appeal. We recognize that today's litigation-prone business environment is a major cost challenge for our clients. That’s why getting results is our prime consideration. Whether it’s through litigation, arbitration, mediation or settlement, we pursue legal solutions that meet your business objectives.

We are committed to achieving the most desirable results for our client. If careful pretrial preparation cannot resolve the dispute, we are vigorous advocates in court. Our trial lawyers use the most sophisticated trial management and presentation techniques available, but never as a substitute for the hard work, clear head and commitment needed to resolve disputes successfully.

Bankruptcy

Litigation can be a necessary part of the bankruptcy process, and our lawyers are accomplished at representing clients in all the points of contention that come before the bankruptcy courts. We act on your behalf in fraudulent conveyances and preferences, valuation disputes, claim objections and disputes over violation of the preference period and automatic stay.

We have also handled cases where developing creative litigation strategy was essential to preserving business interests. Although we are comfortable wearing the trial lawyer’s hat, we realize that the real goal in bankruptcy is not a courtroom victory—it’s getting paid if you’re a creditor, or staying in business if you’re a debtor. We take pride in knowing when to urge our clients to continue the fight, and when to settle advantageously and cost-effectively.

How we Get Things Done
One high-stakes bankruptcy dispute involved a highly technical controversy over the validity of a ground lease. Our client, a multinational hospitality company, leased land for a resort development from one of the country’s largest pension trusts. The trust sought to void the lease by declaring bankruptcy – even though no debt and no creditors were involved – and arguing that, because our client allegedly had not properly recorded the lease, the lease should be set aside.

McNair strongly argued that this was improper and unfair because it used the equitable power of the bankruptcy code as a sword rather than a shield, and because no creditors would benefit from the action. In the end, the court denied the debtor’s attempts to reject our client’s ground lease.

Commercial Litigation

Because the issues in commercial litigation are so varied and the stakes potentially so large, McNair can give your company several distinct commercial litigation advantages – whether you’re a plaintiff or a defendant, and whether we represent you as "general counsel" or as counsel in a specific case.

We handle a wide range of commercial disputes, including those that involve contracts, insurance coverage, partnership controversies, professional malpractice and violations of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). No matter what your commercial dispute resolution need is, you get a personal commitment that puts an experienced McNair partner in the courtroom. Because seasoned trial partners directly handle every case from start to finish, you get a creative strategy that less experienced lawyers often overlook. Your commercial dispute will receive the same kind of commitment and attention, no matter what the stakes or points at issue.

How we Get Things Done
McNair is outside general counsel to a chemical manufacturer in a wide range of commercial disputes. In one complex trade secrets matter, we effectively represented our client’s interests in North Carolina and in Belgium against its European distributor.

Construction

Because of their complexity, even the best-planned construction projects can require dispute resolution upon completion. McNair lawyers work to proactively avoid or resolve issues that can lead to litigation, and frequently apply our substantial experience in the mediation and arbitration of disputes involving claims over cost, design error and project management. We add value to the litigation process by involving colleagues with experience in governmental relations, environmental and insurance law, intellectual property and labor relations – so you aren’t put at a disadvantage by a narrow focus only on immediate issues.

How we Get Things Done
McNair defended a manufacturer of soil anchors used to secure mobile homes, in a class action lawsuit that was heard by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Not only did we win summary judgment for our client, we also subsequently secured partial coverage for some damages and attorneys’ fees from the client’s insurer.

Environmental

Whether you are a plaintiff or defendant in private cost recovery litigation under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation & Liability Act) and RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act), we can represent your interests. Our lawyers have defended potentially responsible parties (PRPs) against claims by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reimbursement of remediation costs, and defended prior property owners against CERCLA and RCRA claims seeking to make them pay for site cleanup.

You get the same environmental litigation defense skills applied to any environmental controversy in which we serve as your counsel. We can defend your company and individual executives and managers against claims alleging violation of CERCLA and the Clean Air and Water Acts, as well as in toxic tort claims. We have also successfully negotiated and mitigated claims brought against clients by the EPA and state environmental agencies.

How we Get Things Done
McNair defended a past owner of a manufacturing facility against a private action brought under the CERCLA and RCRA statutes. The current owner sought in federal court well over $10 million in cleanup costs and damages, and we demonstrated that provable damages were less than half that. On the second day of trial we reached a favorable settlement for less than the provable damages.

Estates and Trusts

Estate and trust controversies are always highly sensitive and often complex. We vigorously represent you at trial and in negotiation, often using our knowledge of effective tax and business planning to craft the best solutions. We have resolved a variety of will and trust contests (including contested bequests and charitable pledge disputes), up to and including at the state supreme court level. When necessary, we will work to resolve tax disputes with state and federal tax authorities.

How we Get Things Done
A will is the centerpiece of an estate plan, and if the terms of a will are contested, McNair lawyers will effectively defend them in court . In one instance we argued and won a case before the North Carolina Supreme Court in which multiple family member plaintiffs challenged the language of the will. We presented to the Court what we held to be the proper interpretation of language that defined how much each beneficiary would receive, and the Court agreed – thus ensuring that our client received the intended benefit.

Health Care

Any health care provider could face allegations of fraud and abuse under federal and state laws regulating kickbacks and physician self-referral, as well as Medicare and Medicaid billing and reimbursement rules. We give you informed guidance on how to structure litigation defenses to deal with government actions. If you face False Claims Act controversies, you can confidently turn to us knowing that we have represented providers in administrative proceedings and trials.

McNair also regularly defends health care providers and provider organizations against claims alleging malpractice, wrongful death and patient abuse. We represent hospitals and large hospital systems, long-term care providers, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, physician organizations and other health care providers in trial and appellate proceedings arising out of allegations of medical negligence. We understand that the elements of a negligence lawsuit—duty of care, breach of duty, injury—aim at the heart of a health care professional’s skill, commitment and reputation.

Our defense on your behalf is aggressive and informed, and we have had consistent success at countering emotional plaintiff arguments with the factual requirements of the law and science.

How we Get Things Done
Other law firms with health care practices often lack trial experience in medical malpractice cases. McNair has tried dozens of such cases to verdict, defending not only providers but also medical device companies that face product liability litigation over such critical care tools as needles and syringes. Our malpractice and liability lawyers know the standard of care requirements that courts expect, and are skilled at identifying expert witnesses who effectively support our clients’ defense.

Intellectual Property

No matter what the court or forum, McNair has the capabilities to protect your intellectual assets from infringers and to assert your competitive rights when other companies have not followed effective protection strategies. We have represented IP clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, and the Patent Office Board of Appeals.

Our definition of winning in IP litigation is to achieve your business objectives, whether the issue involves patent, trademark or copyright infringement, trade secrets misappropriation, cybersquatting and domain name rights, or software development contracts. That can mean aggressive representation at trial – or alternative forms of dispute resolution that achieve competitive goals without the expense of litigation.

How we Get Things Done
For more than 50 years, competing companies had made replacement parts for the military aircraft produced by a global aerospace client. We reviewed the competitive issues and concluded that our client’s unique parts numbering system could be trademarked, thus requiring other parts manufacturers to use the parts numbers and pay royalties to our client. It took 18 months of complex litigation and mediation among all the parties, but we secured a consent agreement that required all parts manufacturers to use the numbering system, creating a significant new income stream for our client.

Labor and Employment

Labor and employment litigation often involves high stakes and intense time pressure. Issues like sexual harassment and workplace violence demand immediate attention, and we provide it. Any protected class of your employees – by age, race, gender, disability, religion – could bring suit under the discrimination statutes, and we have successfully litigated and resolved all types of discrimination matters.

We have also represented many employers in complaint investigations by such state and federal agencies as the United States Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Employers increasingly face lawsuits claiming back pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime pay exemptions, and we work to make sure your employees are properly classified while mounting a vigorous defense against any claims.

Our lawyers are also skilled at handling the time-sensitive injunctions and restraining orders that often involve partnership agreements or non-compete agreements, and we have defended the interests of employers on all sides of such controversies. There are also plenty of other workplace controversies that our lawyers help resolve. Your company might face tort allegations involving everything from workplace defamation to infliction of emotional distress. In these and many other controversies, we’ll defend you in administrative forums and in state or federal court.

How we Get Things Done
Our client’s business partner , who had responsibility for day-to-day operations of the business, tried to buy out our client's 51% ownership interest for substantially less than its actual value. She refused to acquiesce, and sought McNair’s help. We brought suit on her behalf, alleging breach of duty and loyalty against the other partner. The judgment that we won in favor of our client was the first ever secured on these grounds in South Carolina, and it resulted in a damages award four times larger than the revenues of the business.

Mediation and ADR

McNair’s trial lawyers have represented clients in arbitration and mediation, and are effective advocates on your behalf in presentations to arbitrators and in negotiations with the help of a mediator. Eight of our lawyers are certified arbitrators and mediators and have appeared in proceedings of the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce. In addition to formal proceedings, we have also conducted mediations at every stage of litigation – before, during and after trial, and on appeal. Disputes in which we pursue ADR involve professional malpractice, personal injury, environmental claims, commercial claims, construction disputes and securities claims, among many other controversies.

How we Get Things Done
Our client was being sued along with other companies as a principally responsible party for a Superfund site, and we entered into a three-day mediation to resolve the issue. Our client originally offered to pay a seven-figure contribution to the cleanup costs. As the result of our negotiation the client received a settlement that was almost as large, used it to pay cleanup costs – and got to keep its share of the property.

Product Liability

We defend a variety of product liability matters. If you’re faced with damage claims alleging injury from design or manufacturing defects, failure to warn, product misuse and hazardous exposure, look to us to develop the best defense on scientific, technical and legal grounds. Our lawyers understand the complex business and legal issues presented by these cases, and will aggressively defend you against appeals by plaintiffs’ lawyers, and their frequent reliance on emotion and bad science.

How we Get Things Done
In a case that was a cover story in South Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly, we successfully appealed a multi-million dollar products liability verdict brought against a small manufacturer of airplane parts in the crash of a crop dusting plane. We were hired after the verdict and secured a reversal of the verdict by employing a never-before used application of the court’s rules.

Because our client was not insured, we also had to secure relief from a default judgment after the appeal itself that otherwise would have put the client out of business. We then obtained dismissal of the claim by demonstrating that our client’s products were not responsible for the crash.

Professional Liability

We understand all the professional liability issues that face health care professionals, accountants, lawyers, broker/dealers, architects and engineers, including insurance liability and ethics concerns. If we can resolve the dispute you face through arbitration or mediation, we’ll compose a settlement that’s advantageous to you. If it’s necessary to go to court, we are vigorous defenders of architects and engineers (in delay claims, malpractice allegations, design disputes and wrongful death claims), lawyers (allegations from malpractice to criminal tax fraud), physicians and health care professionals (malpractice) and securities broker/dealers (allegations of churning, inappropriate risk and fraud).

Tax

Many clients seek our help when faced with an audit by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities. You will get an effective defense in audit disputes and administrative hearings before the IRS and other taxing authorities, thanks to an approach that combines a willingness to litigate with the skill to work out a negotiated settlement.

Our state tax practice in South Carolina is unsurpassed for our ability to handle audits, appeals and criminal tax investigations. If litigation is necessary, particularly in U.S. Tax Court or other federal courts, the focus shifts to resolving the most significant issues. You get the benefit of our thorough familiarity with the procedures of the IRS and other authorities to reduce penalties, advise on IRS demands for documents and challenge administrative summonses.

How we Get Things Done
McNair successfully represented a major food retailer in precedent-setting tax litigation involving ERISA provisions. A decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the gross misconduct exemption to offering COBRA benefits coverage by defining the 15-day plan administrator and 30-day employee time requirements. The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear the case; therefore the Fourth Circuit decision remained in place.