The Firm vigorously and effectively defends and pursues its clients' interests in both state and federal courts throughout California, as well as in all alternative dispute resolution forums.

The Firm's particular litigation expertise includes:

• Commercial and franchise agreements
• Commercial collections
• Business torts, including trade secret and unfair competition disputes
• Employment discrimination and sexual harassment
• Personal and property injury claims
• Environmental contamination liability
• Partnership disputes

Litigation partner George Leal has significant experience in representing individual, corporate and governmental clients in all phases of litigation including all pre-trial, trial and appellate appearances while defending and prosecuting a wide array of claims and defenses relating to complex business disputes. In both public and private practice, Mr. Leal has appeared as trial counsel in numerous bench and jury trials.

Mr. Leal also has extensive experience in resolving civil disputes through mediation and arbitration and has successfully resolved scores of cases without the need for trial.

The following representative list of matters handled by the Firm highlights the depth and scope of its litigation and trial expertise:

• Successfully defended and favorably settled (on the fourth day of the jury trial) a $1 million plus breach of contract claim brought against former Hilton Hotel franchisee by the Hilton Corporation;
  
  
• Successfully defended a major California utility as to various environmental tort claims filed by numerous homeowners; currently defending same utility in multi-party CERCLA action.
  
  
• Successfully litigated client's trade secret claims against competitor started by former employees;
  
  

• Obtained very favorable settlement, by means of mediation, of sexual harassment and employment discrimination claims asserted against client's computer-support business;
  
  

• Filed, litigated and favorably settled various employment-related sexual harassment and racial discrimination claims filed on behalf of plaintiffs in state and federal courts;
  
  

• Defended Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in major personal injury claim;
  
  

• Acted as co-counsel with major San Francisco law firm, on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, in the litigation and mediated settlement of environmental claims arising from the construction of the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport;
  
  

• Obtained favorable mediated settlement, on behalf of parents, for the wrongful death of nine-year old child;
  
  

• Participated as government counsel in various federal antitrust prosecutions, including US v. AT&T, involving monopolization, post-merger divestiture and criminal price fixing claims.
  

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