Practice Areas

The best trial firms work efficiently and creatively in a variety of practice areas, leveraging decades of experience to deliver superior results.

Trial practice requires efficiency and initiative. We distill complex matters into persuasive narratives for judges and juries.

We are a go-to law firm for the toughest cases, and are often retained by clients with make-or-break matters or those looking for new counsel to refocus their cases.

  • Sawyer & Labar LLP provides legal counsel to individuals and business owners who are being treated unfairly by their insurance company. Regardless of the type of dispute, our goal is to provide insurance policyholders with all of the benefits that their insurance companies promised.

    Our attorneys represent insurance policyholders in actions against their insurers for breach of contract, bad faith, misrepresentation, reformation, and other legal claims. We also represent policyholders on appeal and in class actions.

    Our experienced team can also assist you with pre-litigation matters such as claim negotiation, examinations under oath (“EUO”) and appraisals. Indeed, because insurance companies know of our tenacity and willingness to take cases to trial, we are often successful in resolving disputes without litigation.

    Sawyer & Labar LLP has successfully litigated against insurance companies on claims arising from:

    • Business and residential property insurance

    • Comprehensive general liability (“CGL”) insurance

    • Directors and officers liability insurance

    • Errors and omissions insurance

    • Cyber Liability Policies

  • Sawyer & Labar LLP represents plaintiffs and defendants in a wide array of complex business and commercial litigation, including disputes among partners and LLC members, trade secrets and employee mobility litigation, and copyright and trademark matters.

    We work to understand our clients and their business needs, and tailor our approach to those needs. Our clients trust us with their high-stakes litigation, and we take that trust seriously: for each case, we develop a coherent strategy and consistently focus on preparing for trial or other final resolution.

  • Sawyer & Labar LLP has broad experience litigating individual and class action cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower protections and wage and hour violations. The firm has successfully resolved complex matters involving simultaneous, overlapping class and PAGA claims spanning multiple jurisdictions, saving years of litigation and allowing clients to return to their core business. We also have represented numerous companies in cases alleging wrongful employee poaching, theft of trade secrets, and breach of restrictive covenants in state and federal courts in California and across the country.

  • We frequently represent dissenting shareholders or company management in cases involving allegations of mismanagement, misappropriation, and breaches of fiduciary duty. We have pursued and defended shareholder derivative actions, and have represented clients in SEC investigations and enforcement actions, including at trial against the SEC.

  • Sawyer & Labar LLP has litigated trust disputes with hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute, taking the cases through trial or successfully resolving them prior to trial. We have represented trustees, beneficiaries, and disinherited heirs alike. Our practice encompasses the wide range of claims and practical nuances encountered in these types of cases, and where appropriate we partner with attorneys experienced in trust administration to further our clients’ interests.