Construction Litigation

Marcus & Shapira represents clients in all sectors of the construction industry, including engineers, architects, general contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, construction managers and insurance companies.

When disputes arise, we litigate construction cases in state and federal courts and have extensive experience in arbitration and mediation. Our attorneys handle matters involving both public and private projects, including hotels, condominiums, residential developments, schools, sports stadiums, sewage treatment plants and collection systems, prisons, office buildings, transportation projects, retail buildings/complexes and industrial sites.

We also excel at helping our clients stay out of court by advising them during all stages of construction, from conception to closeout. Some of our other services include:

• • • Negotiation of project delivery packages, including construction and design contracts
    • Evaluating application of state and federal agency regulations
    • Mechanics lien disputes
    • Risk management counseling
    • Employment-related disputes
    • Bidding issues/protests

Construction Litigation Attorneys

Insurance Coverage

A major portion of our litigation practice involves insurance coverage disputes. While Marcus & Shapira historically represented some of the largest insurers, including Lloyds of London and Aetna, in major toxic tort and other coverage actions, we now principally represent insureds whose insurers have wrongfully denied them coverage. Relying on our breadth of experience, Marcus & Shapira has successfully litigated insurance coverage claims on behalf of insureds throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring jurisdictions. For both individuals and businesses, Marcus & Shapira has been victorious in seeking coverage under director & officer liability policies, commercial general liability policies, technology services liability policies, professional malpractice policies, employment practices policies, homeowners policies, and motor vehicle liability policies.

In a bellwether case for the insurance industry, Marcus & Shapira recently filed suit on behalf of a large pharmacy chain client seeking millions in defense and indemnity coverage for public nuisance claims involving the opioids epidemic. Nearly every major CGL insurer is involved in this coverage dispute. Industry observers are closely watching the outcome of this case.

Marcus & Shapira also recently obtained coverage for different insureds sued in different actions for patent infringement. After extensive litigation, Marcus & Shapira also recently obtained coverage under a homeowners policy for defamation claims asserted against a prominent lung transplant surgeon.

Insurance Coverage Attorneys

Intellectual Property

Marcus & Shapira lawyers have extensive experience representing parties in intellectual property litigation, whether patent infringement, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, rights of publicity, breach of non-disclosure agreements, breach of license agreements, and the like. We have obtained intellectual property protection for clients, and we have provided opinions about third party patents, trademarks and copyrights. We also draft and negotiate contracts involving intellectual property rights. Our attorneys have represented clients in intellectual property cases litigated in federal district courts, federal appeals courts and even in state courts.

Intellectual Property Attorneys

Labor & Employment

Marcus & Shapira provides practical, sophisticated, and cost-effective advice on all aspects of labor and employment issues, to both unionized and non-unionized employers. Our labor and employment attorneys have represented some of the largest employers in the region, along with many smaller and mid-sized companies, individuals, and trustees of employee benefit funds. Marcus & Shapira partners with clients to implement creative solutions and business-focused strategies. Our work on behalf of our clients includes:

• • • Handling contract negotiations with labor unions, including negotiations involving strikes and replacement issues and
      business closure and decision and effects bargaining
    • Representing unionized corporate clients from the grievance stage through arbitration hearings in disciplinary and contract interpretation matters
    • Litigating wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and age, sex, race, and disability discrimination cases
    • Evaluating compliance with all state and federal labor and employment and labor laws and regulations including, for example, the NLRA, ADA, FMLA, ADEA, Title VII, HIPAA, ERISA, and the FLSA
    • Defending discrimination complaints before government agencies including the PHRC, OCRC, and EEOC, and representing employers in proceedings before the NLRB, OSHA, DOL, and DOT
    • Drafting handbook and policy manuals and covenants against competition
    • Assisting clients in developing and implementing engineered labor standards and progressive discipline policies
    • Counseling employers on proper employee classification under wage and hour laws, hiring and firing, conducting effective workplace investigations, utilizing performance evaluations, and unemployment compensation issues
    • Presenting seminars for management personnel on improving management and leadership skills, conducting effective workplace investigations to avoid litigation, ADA issues, and preventing and managing sexual harassment claims

Labor & Employment Attorneys

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Clients seek out Marcus & Shapira to handle high-stakes trials and arbitrations, important appeals, critical settlement negotiations, and all manner of litigation challenges including complex, commercial, corporate, tax, estate, and employment litigation. We represent a wide variety of clients that range from small companies and individually owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Whether we represent a plaintiff or a defendant, an individual or a major corporation, our litigators know how to cut to the heart of a dispute. We have a deep bench of experienced and dedicated trial lawyers, and our out-of-court advocacy and negotiating skills often resolve disputes before a lawsuit is filed.

We also strive to minimize the cost of litigation for our clients without sacrificing the quality of its representation. For a law firm with such a diverse and sophisticated litigation practice, our efficiency sets us apart. Marcus & Shapira does not send three lawyers to a deposition or hearing where only one is needed. Our clients often pay less than they would elsewhere for essential communication among the lawyers working on their matter. And we go to great lengths to avoid needless motions and pointless research to prevent unnecessary costs for our clients.

Above all, we are extremely proud of our performance in the successful representation of and loyalty to our clients and remain committed to our standard of excellence.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution Attorneys

Personal Injury

Unlike most firms, we have wide-ranging experience both pursuing and defending personal injury claims. From its founding, Marcus & Shapira has represented individuals seriously injured or, even more tragically, whose lives were cut short due to the carelessness of others. Some notable examples of our successful representation of accident victims include:

• • • a young woman who fell down an elevator shaft due to the negligence of a building maintenance worker
    • an 11 year-old child who was killed when older children chased him into the path of an oncoming car
    • a bicyclist who suffered paralysis when a vehicle ran a red light
    • a person who suffered permanent paralysis due to a building code violation involving a handicap access ramp
    • a young newlywed killed when a small airplane crashed
    • a young woman who suffered a spinal cord injury due to a defective nail gun

Over the years, Marcus & Shapira has developed considerable expertise involving motor vehicle accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, product defect injuries, and plane crashes.

We also routinely defend businesses facing potential liability for myriad types of personal injury and product liability claims. We believe our expertise in handling claims for accident victims helps guide our representation of businesses when they are sued by accident victims. An extremely high percentage of our cases involving the representation of businesses sued by accident victims end with a desirable settlement or defense verdict. The types of cases we have litigated on behalf of businesses include:

• • • Wrongful Death
    • Asbestos Defense
    • Business Liability
    • Pharmacist Liability
    • Aviation Disaster

Personal Injury Attorneys