Business Law

Business Litigation

For generations, Hemenway & Barnes has helped clients navigate and prevail in some of their most sensitive, high-stakes, and complex business and commercial disputes. Our attorneys are seasoned litigators who regularly appear in state and federal courts throughout Massachusetts, including the Supreme Judicial Court, the Business Litigation Session of the Superior Court, the Probate Court, and the Appellate Tax Board and other administrative agencies.

Our experience includes:

• Governance and shareholder disputes
• Claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
• Partnership dissolutions and “business divorces”
• Claims for breach of fiduciary duty
• Claims for misrepresentation, fraud, and other business torts
• Noncompetition and employment disputes
• Tax litigation, including challenges to unconstitutional or discriminatory tax laws
• Regulatory and enforcement matters
• Claims for unfair and deceptive business practices

Our Clients

Our clients include corporations, closely held and family-owned businesses, portfolio companies, investment advisors, leading nonprofit institutions, partners, shareholders, trustees, and directors and officers.

Our Goal

In every case, we strive to understand our client’s objectives and to achieve them in the most practical and efficient manner possible, whether that be an early negotiated resolution or litigation all the way through trial and appeal.

Representative Experience

• Successfully represented a cancer research scientist in her breach of contract lawsuit against a healthcare company after it withdrew its contracted institutional support for her grant-funded cancer program. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of our client and affirmed a $10.2 million judgment. Hlatky v. Steward Health Care System LLC
• Serving as co-counsel to plaintiff-trustees in a dispute over control of the Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Trust, and the media empire it controls.
• Prevailed at trial and before the Supreme Judicial Court in one of Massachusetts’ most prominent cases involving the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, securing a judgment for our client in excess of $40 million. Robert and Ardis James Foundation v. Meyers 474 Mass.181
• Successfully representing a closely held family corporation in recovery of assets following embezzlement by former CFO.
• Representing corporations, nonprofit institutions, charitable foundations, and trustees of significant business assets in disputes over governance and control.
• Representing companies and individuals before commercial and professional licensing boards with disciplinary actions, registration and licensing.