Case Studies

Holland & Knight helped the Dominican Republic and its agency, Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos, reverse a $50.1 million default judgment awarded to two Miami-based companies, arguing that the District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the Dominican Republic, and that a consulate's mishandling of served papers was a clerical error and therefore constituted excusable neglect.

Holland & Knight M&A attorneys represented CGI Group, a leading provider of information technology and business processing services, in its acquisition of Stanley Inc. Our team provided a full array of M&A and securities law services and defended against lawsuits challenging the transaction.

In 2018, housing was targeted in 60 percent of all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuits against construction projects in the state, a new study by Holland & Knight's land use and environmental attorneys finds. "California Getting in Its Own Way" concludes that this litigation is a major contributor to the state's housing crisis.

Litigation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is worsening the state's housing crisis, according to a new Holland & Knight study. "California Environmental Quality Act Lawsuits and California's Housing Crisis" analyzes all CEQA lawsuits filed statewide between 2013 and 2015 and reveals that housing remains the top target of CEQA lawsuits.

U.S. companies facing trademark challenges in international markets have a trailblazing advocate in Holland & Knight. Our Intellectual Property team established the first industry group to compile a "report card" on countries that fail to adequately protect trademark rights – and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is listening.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank that laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable. Using Alice, Holland & Knight's Intellectual Property Group has won several patent-infringement cases for clients. The attorneys challenged the patents at the outset, saving clients from costly discovery and prolonged litigation.

A litigator from Holland & Knight's Public and Charitable Service Department, which coordinates pro bono initiatives, successfully represented a 76-year-old Florida man who served 42 years for a crime he didn't commit. It was the first case reviewed by the State Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which reviews claims of wrongful conviction.

Holland & Knight represented information technology provider GTSI in its complex merger with UNICOM. Our team, which included members of the firm's Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate, Securities, Litigation and Government Contracts practices, addressed every aspect of the complicated transaction.

When a defect investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a subsequent recall of more than 14 million tires threatened the viability of Bridgestone/ Firestone, the company turned to Holland & Knight to assist in managing the legal crisis.

When a well-known media holding company with 11 alternative newspapers nationwide and Pulitzer Prize winning content became the target of a TCPA class action lawsuit, the company turned to Holland & Knight's Class Action Litigation and Arbitration Team to show that there was no evidence of thousands of persons who had been affected by its text messages.

Holland & Knight represented the Tejon Ranch Company in defending the project approvals for its Tejon Mountain Village development. Our West Coast Land Use and Environmental Practice Group served as lead environmental and land use counsel during the negotiations and proved that the project's environmental studies and mitigation requirements met or exceeded all applicable legal requirements.

The Holland & Knight Intellectual Property Group helped Finnish company Polar Electro Oy, a global maker of wearable training and activity devices and heart rate monitors, secure two separate legal victories in ongoing patent cases.