Practices

Professional Liability

The measure of the quality of our practice is reflected in the reputation and demands of our clients, who come from a wide range of professions and leading consultancies. We counsel accountants, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals in civil matters that affect their livelihood, reputation, license, and right to practice.

Our attorneys litigate professional liability matters in state and federal courts and other forums—including arbitrations—throughout the country.

Experience 

Accountants' Liability Matters

  • We represent a Big Four accounting firm in a federal securities class action brought by investors who owned certain notes in a major credit card issuer that went into bankruptcy. In addition to suing the former officers and directors of the company for preparing allegedly misleading financial statements, the investors sued our client, the company's outside auditor, for issuing a clean opinion on those financial statements. While the plaintiffs' motion for class certification was pending, and before any substantial merits discovery occurred, the parties agreed in principle to a settlement that is very favorable to our client.

Professional Liability Claims against Lawyers

  • A prominent national law firm retained us in connection with a $45 million professional liability claim. We prevailed after a six-week arbitration.

Other Professional Liability Matters

  • We won a jury trial for an insurance broker in a professional negligence action brought by an insurance company after one of the insured's employees was injured on the job. The insurance company alleged that the broker submitted a workers compensation insurance application that inaccurately described the insured's operations. In federal court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the broker, awarding the insurance company nothing.

Government Investigations

  • We represent a partner in a public accounting firm in three separate investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission into the audits of China-based public companies formed by reverse mergers. The client has received Wells notices for all three matters, and we are in the process of defending the client in relation to those notices.

Audit Committee Investigations

  • The audit committee of a nationally known weight-loss and nutrition company retained us in a Sarbanes-Oxley investigation relating to the timing and propriety of a number of stock-option grants.

Counseling

  • We serve as outside counsel to a large multistate law firm on various internal or external issues, including threatened or actual lawsuits, issues arising from terminations of employment, and potential conflict of interest claims.