- Paternity
- Wrongful DeathProduct liability claims, especially in the context of Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death, can result in multi-million-dollar judgments and, in some cases, bankruptcy.
- Sex Crimes
- Assault
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Business DisputesFee, Smith & Sharp’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group represents the firm's individual and corporate clients regarding business disputes in both state and federal courts throughout Texas.
- Business TransactionsFee, Smith & Sharp attorneys represent municipal government entities throughout Texas. For several decades years, our expansive knowledge of Texas municipal law has shaped our many long-standing client relationships with cities, water and sewer districts, public utility districts, police and fire departments, special purpose districts, and other local government agencies. Our government clients rely on our Government and Municipal attorneys for their seasoned professional judgment, high ethical standards, and sound business sense. Our attorneys have broad expertise in all aspects of municipal law including land use and environmental regulations, labor & employment and workplace investigations, insurance and coverage issues, and commercial transactions. Representing municipal entities, officials, and employees in all phases of administrative proceedings, court hearings, and at trial, our attorneys appear in Texas state courts, the Texas Supreme Court as well as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Our Government and Municipal team drafts and negotiates contracts, assists in drafting legislation, advises entities regarding regulatory compliance and code enforcement, and works with entities to manage revenue collection and fine enforcement.
- Trade Secrets
- Intellectual PropertyExperience in the courtroom and knowledge of Intellectual Property Law allows our firm to effectively and efficiently represent clients in this area.
- Unfair CompetitionThe firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice includes the handling of litigation related to patent infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets/unfair competition, trademark/trade dress infringement and copyright infringement claims. Experience in the courtroom and knowledge of Intellectual Property Law allows our firm to effectively and efficiently represent clients in this area. Our team approach amongst the lawyers in our firm and our clients enhances the ability to focus on resolving disputes, whether by trial or settlement, in a streamlined fashion.
- Wrongful TerminationWhile our preventive measures and litigation avoidance strategies create tremendous cost and time savings for our clients, we are effective litigators. The Fee Smith Labor & Employment team’s success in defending claims of wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, workplace harassment, and workplace injury, is grounded in our experience and talent as Texas trial lawyers. We take pride in immediately identifying your business objectives and working promptly and efficiently to meet those objectives. We have successfully achieved early resolution of numerous claims in administrative hearings and through nominal settlements. We aggressively defend claims through the administrative process, trial, and appellate courts in both state and federal jurisdictions throughout Texas. Our goal is to defend you while your business remains fully operational.
- Employment DiscriminationTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which includes race discrimination, gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, racial harassment, national origin discrimination, religious discrimination, retaliation, and failure to provide a religious accommodation.
- Employment ContractWe want our clients to focus on their business and let our Labor & Employment team worry about minimizing and managing the day-to-day problems that arise on the job site, factory floor, and your place of business. Our attorneys carefully evaluate each of our clients for a broad spectrum of employment litigation scenarios unique to your industry in conjunction with our firm’s practice groups such as construction, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, and transportation. We equip our clients with the tools they need to avoid employment-related litigation, including creating and implementing personnel and worksite policies and drafting and updating employee handbooks. We consult with clients before discipline and termination, reassignment, or lay-offs, and we provide pre-suit investigative, evaluative, and counseling services. When it is time to hire, our team advises, negotiates, and constructs employment agreements that fit your business, and when it is time to part ways, we protect our clients with litigation avoidance strategies and separation agreements that lessen a departure’s impact on your business.
- Employment Litigation
- Non-compete AgreementThe FTC’s Noncompete Agreement Ban Has Been Blocked by a Texas Federal Judge – What Employers Should Know – Fee, Smith & Sharp LLP
- Sexual Harassment
- Real Estate LitigationOur Business & Commercial Litigation team handles the full spectrum of client litigation needs in partnership with our core practice areas including construction, government & municipal, healthcare, insurance, labor & employment, and transportation. The team litigates matters involving breach of contract, fraud, class actions, patent and trademark infringements, and real estate disputes. When litigation necessitates specialized training and experience, Fee Smith works with a variety of accounting, tax, intellectual property, real estate, and other professional experts to achieve the best results for our clients. Fee Smith’s Commercial Business Litigation team also resolves pre-suit business disputes involving lease agreements, debtor and creditor issues, construction liens and bonds, warranty claims, claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, partnership disputes, directors and officer liability, mergers and acquisitions, and the enforcement of foreign judgments. For any challenge that arises in today’s business world, from routine to the most complex, rely on the strength of Fee Smith’s cross-functional Commercial Business Litigation team.
- Premises LiabilityRepresenting both national and local restaurant, hospitality and retailer clients in the Southwest region, aggressively defending premises liability cases.
- Construction LitigationIn conjunction with Fee Smith’s Construction Defect Group and its Transportation Group, the firm also manages Commercial General Liability (CGL) disputes related to construction defect claims and coverage disputes in high-exposure interstate trucking cases, including the applicability of the federal MCS-90 endorsement and coverage requirements imposed on interstate and intrastate motor carriers.
- Property DamageIn Texas, damages arising out of personal injury, death, or property damage allegedly caused by a defective product are a strict liability offense. This means that without a clear statutory defense such as an assumption of risk or an unrelated contributing injury, the circumstances that led to the injury do not matter.
- Personal InjuryProduct liability matters are incredibly complex to defend. Whether you are a manufacturer of a product that led to harm, or a seller of a product alleged to have caused an injury, rely on Fee Smith’s personal injury trial attorneys to protect your interests. With many years of product liability defense experience, we represent defendants in product defect matters related to ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), truck and automobile parts and accessories, fitness equipment, and industrial and heavy equipment, and many other various and unique products. Our Products Liability team works with engineering, manufacturing, design, bio-mechanical and medical professionals to develop strong defense strategies that challenge claimants to meet Texas’ heightened burden of proof in establishing an alleged defect. When warranted, we negotiate reasonable settlements that allow you to run your business without disruption.