When a dispute reaches the point of a lawsuit, a subpoena, or a demand letter with a deadline, you need a team that can assess it quickly and tell you what it will take to win, settle, or end it. MC Law handles litigation for companies, founders, boards, and executives in federal and state courts nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC, and Knoxville. Our work concentrates on intellectual property, technology, and business disputes, and our founding partner, Casey Scott McKay, was a software engineer before he became a lawyer. That background matters when the facts live in source code, databases, or product specifications. This page describes the litigation services we group together and how an engagement with us actually runs.
What Our Litigation Work Covers
Our litigation service spans the full life of a contested matter: pre-suit investigation and demand letters, pleadings and early motions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their state counterparts, discovery of electronically stored information, depositions, summary judgment, trial, post-trial motions, and appeal. It also covers proceedings that are not ordinary lawsuits, such as government investigations, books-and-records demands, arbitrations, and proxy contests. We represent plaintiffs and defendants. Some clients come to us to enforce their rights, others because they have been sued or served, and many because a commercial relationship is coming apart and they want to know where they stand before anyone files. Patent litigation is a separate service group, described on its own page, because district court, ITC, and PTAB patent practice runs on its own rules and timelines.
Commercial, IP, And Media Disputes
Business and commercial litigation covers breach of contract, fraud and other business torts, partnership and LLC disputes, and emergency injunctive relief when a counterparty's conduct cannot wait for trial. Trademark, copyright, and media litigation enforces and defends brands and creative works under the Lanham Act and the Copyright Act. Trade secret litigation pursues or defends misappropriation claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state law, often starting with a temporary restraining order. Our defamation work runs on both sides of libel, slander, and online reputation claims, including the actual malice standard for public figures and Section 230 issues for platforms. Antitrust and competition matters include private Sherman Act and Clayton Act claims, DOJ and FTC investigations, and merger review. Employment litigation defends employers against discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, and executive departure claims.
Securities, Governance, And Investigations
Securities and shareholder litigation defends companies, directors, and officers in Rule 10b-5 class actions, derivative suits, and SEC enforcement, where the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's pleading standard and discovery stay shape the early fight. Chancery and corporate governance litigation handles fiduciary duty claims, M&A disputes, Section 220 books-and-records demands, and control contests in the Delaware Court of Chancery and other business courts. Shareholder activism work advises companies and investors on proxy contests, the universal proxy rules, and settlement agreements with activists. Class action defense focuses on certification under Rule 23, early dispositive motions, and settlements that deliver real finality. Government investigations covers subpoenas, civil investigative demands, privileged internal investigations, and negotiated resolutions. Appellate work, from issue preservation at trial through briefing and oral argument, supports every matter in the group.
Counsel Before And Around The Lawsuit
A good share of litigation work happens before anything is filed, and some of it is transactional. We assess claims and defenses before you send or answer a demand, and we put a litigation hold in place so relevant email, chat messages, and code repositories are preserved. We review contracts for forum selection, arbitration, fee-shifting, and limitation of liability clauses that will control any later fight. We notify insurers and press for coverage under D&O, general liability, cyber, and errors and omissions policies. When a matter resolves, we draft settlement agreements, consent judgments, and releases that actually end it, with confidentiality, non-disparagement, and payment terms that hold up. On the deal side, we evaluate pending and threatened litigation for buyers, sellers, and investors so the risk is priced into the transaction.
How A Litigation Engagement Runs
Every matter starts with an intake call and a conflict check, followed by an early case assessment. You receive a written memo identifying the claims and defenses, the key documents and witnesses, the likely forum and schedule, realistic outcomes, and a phased budget. From there we build the case in stages: pleadings and early motions, discovery under an ESI plan sized to the dispute, depositions, dispositive motions, and trial preparation. You get regular written updates, drafts of significant filings before they go out, and a decision point before each phase that changes cost or risk. Timing depends on the court and the case. A temporary restraining order can move in days, many federal civil cases take two to three years to reach trial, and an appeal usually adds a year or more.
Where Technology Decides The Case
Many of the disputes we take on turn on how a product works: whether code was copied, whether a former employee's download included real trade secrets, whether a software deliverable met the contract, or whether a performance claim in an advertisement can be substantiated. Lawyers who can read the source, follow the forensic report, and question a technical witness without a translator save time and build stronger arguments. That is the firm's edge, and it carries into commercial, securities, and employment cases that have a technical core. Our clients include software and SaaS companies, AI developers, fintech and blockchain businesses, consumer product brands, manufacturers, media companies, and healthcare and life sciences firms, along with the founders, investors, and executives who run them.
Budgets, Fees, And When To Call
Litigation is usually open-ended, so we scope it and give you a written estimate by phase before work begins, and we revisit the estimate when the case changes. Defined pieces of work, such as a demand letter, a response to a cease and desist letter, or an early case assessment, can often be handled at a flat fee with a stated scope and turnaround. Call us as soon as you receive a complaint, subpoena, demand letter, or government inquiry, because response deadlines are short; a federal answer is generally due 21 days after service. Call us too when you first suspect a breach of contract, a theft of data, or an infringement. Early action preserves evidence, keeps remedies such as preliminary injunctions available, and often makes a lawsuit unnecessary.
