Surety Fidelity

Surety/Fidelity

The Firm’s practice in the area of Surety and Fidelity litigation is a major component of our business. Our team regularly handles cases in court proceedings, state, federal and appellate, and in the arbitration and mediation arenas. We have represented our surety clients throughout the Eastern Seaboard as well as in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Venezuela, the United States Virgin Islands and Mexico. The Firm has represented bonding companies in connection with both payment and performance bond claims and our litigators are experienced in dealing with extra-contractual claims such as bad faith. The firm’s depth in the surety area is comparable to the strength of a large law firm’s surety department, but without the large overhead attendant to the mega firm’s practice.

We have represented bonding companies on small and large projects, both public and private, always bearing in mind the particular desires, requirements and preferences of the individual client. The Firm has also represented our bonding company clients in recovery actions in the United States and internationally.

Our representation of bonding companies, however, is not limited to cases involving litigation. For example, the Firm's attorneys routinely represent and protect the surety's interests during pre-litigation negotiations with project owners, principals, contractors, subcontractors and architects/engineers. In this regard, our attorneys review and analyze claims in the pre-litigation stages, monitor claims' activity and otherwise assist the surety in all aspects of pre-litigation claims handling. In addition, the Firm's attorneys regularly handle pre-litigation and post-litigation workouts with owners and/or principals in order to avoid litigation altogether or to more purposefully manage accounts that are troubled. In this connection, our surety team routinely handles workout negotiations, drafts the appropriate documents to effectuate the workout terms and obtains competent qualified consultants to further minimize the bonding company's ultimate exposure.