Wargo French & Singer LLP

Wargo, French & Singer LLP (“WFS”) is a full-service law firm with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida.

WFS focuses on building a mutual sense of trust and confidence with our clients. We partner closely with our clients to understand their challenges and goals and to provide guidance so they can attain their objectives. As a result of our high-quality work product and emphasis on client service, the firm has developed long-standing relationships with a wide variety of clients. Notably, many of our clients have been represented by members of the firm for over two decades. This is the hallmark and founding principle of our firm: providing excellent legal work with an outstanding level of service and responsiveness.

The firm’s unwavering commitment to excellence, inclusion, and client service and dedication has allowed us to attract bright and creative attorneys who know how to deliver. Many of our attorneys either began their careers or have spent considerable portions of their careers with large law firms and were recruited to WFS based on their exceptional credentials, career accomplishments, and attitude toward client service. Our attorneys include honor graduates from prominent law schools, with many having served in clerkships for the federal judiciary. The quality, experience, and personality of the attorneys in the firm are our most important assets and distinguish our firm from other law firms.

Visit the firm at https://www.wfslaw.com.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Wargo French Singer’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) practice was developed to assist our clients in managing conflict in today’s litigious business environment.

Many companies are learning the hard way that a successful organization must be able to respond to all business disputes promptly and effectively. The existence of claims and litigation should not be the only reason to consider ADR. Proactive solutions, such as implementing an effective ADR program and enforcing existing contractual obligations through ADR processes, can substantially reduce the likelihood that your company will face future lawsuits, multiple-plaintiff claims or class actions.

WFS specializes in working with organizations and their legal departments to deliver a full array of ADR services. Moreover, our attorneys routinely act as mediators and arbitrators in civil disputes, which provides our firm with a unique perspective in representing clients in alternative dispute resolution forums. For example, Joe Wargo and Mike French are panelists on the American Arbitration Association’s roster of mediators and arbitrators, while David Pernini is a registered mediator and arbitrator for the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution.

Appellate Litigation

Wargo French Singer attorneys routinely litigate appellate matters in state and federal courts across the nation, and on numerous occasions succeeded in significantly changing the law in favor of our clients’ interests.

While a portion of our appellate work is generated from cases which our attorneys litigated from their inception in the trial court, our attorneys also serve as dedicated appellate counsel to clients in various different industries. In fact, WFS is often called upon to step in for a previous firm or firms immediately upon the filing of an appeal to resolve any complex questions of law that might be implicated thereby.

Class & Collective Action Litigation

Wargo French Singer attorneys have a long history of successfully handling class actions filed in state and federal courts across the country.

Our attorneys have represented clients in virtually every type of class action case, including matters involving employment, insurance, consumer protection, fraud, RICO, Fair Labor Standards Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Truth in Lending Act, toxic torts, environmental issues, products liability, securities and breach of contract.

Complex Commercial Litigation

Wargo French Singer has been entrusted by some of the nation’s most successful companies to handle their complex litigation matters on a wide range of issues.

Our attorneys routinely handle complex matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. We work closely with clients to aggressively and efficiently resolve disputes in a manner consistent with the client’s goals.

Commercial Transactions and Business Services

Wargo French Singer is value-add focused and offers innovative legal solutions to our clients’ business needs across a variety of industries.

We regularly negotiate a broad range of contracts on behalf of both procurers and providers (including OEMs, developers, manufacturers, resellers, logistic enterprises and other types of businesses) across the United States and in international markets. Our attorneys have broad experience working directly with supply chain management and sourcing teams to accomplish cost-savings and company initiatives. We are laser-focused on responsiveness to our clients’ needs and provide comprehensive legal support options, from assisting with implementing supplier and purchasing relationships to providing counsel on branding and white-labeling customer-facing solutions for market distribution.

Corporate Governance & Private Equity

A strong governance structure is the bedrock of a successful company. Our attorneys invest in understanding the business of our clients to provide practical solutions to corporate challenges and advise on growth strategies to build the value of the enterprise.

Wargo French Singer attorneys have extensive experience representing clients on general corporate formalities, corporate compliance and securities. Our attorneys routinely advise boards of directors, special committees and executive management regarding their fiduciary duties and corporate governance best practices.

Creditor’s Rights & Bankruptcy

Wargo French Singer attorneys have extensive experience representing banks, financial institutions and other secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy, litigation and receivership matters throughout the United States.

Our attorneys defend and prosecute numerous litigation matters in federal bankruptcy courts throughout the United States. We are capable of handling claims submission, motions for relief from stay, the prosecution and defense of adversary proceedings and all other aspects of bankruptcy practice all the way through trial and denial of discharge proceedings. Further, our attorneys handle various state-law and other receivership matters, guiding our clients to the most efficient methods of preserving and recovering capital and other assets.

Data Privacy & Security

Given the current age of technological innovation and digital change, Wargo French Singer understands that protecting client data is critical.

WFS routinely advises sophisticated national and international companies across industries regarding data privacy, compliance, security breaches, and risk management. Our attorneys are well-versed in the constantly evolving privacy and data security legislation landscape, including state and federal regulations in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and European Union. We counsel clients on compliance issues raised by the collection, aggregation and use of personally identifiable information and other data from consumers, customers and other data sources, and assist clients in developing effective, widespread strategies for addressing cybersecurity, data, and privacy matters. Additionally, we are well-equipped to develop risk mitigation plans for clients that have experienced security breaches or losses of data, including the defense of privacy-related class action and single-plaintiff litigation in the event necessary.

Defamation Litigation

Wargo French Singer attorneys have extensive experience prosecuting and defending defamation, libel and slander claims in federal and state courts across the United States, along with related issues such as the litigation of First Amendment defenses and anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motions.

When the First Amendment right to free expression runs up against every person’s right to be free of unwarranted character and reputational attacks, we step in to ensure our clients’ rights are vindicated. We understand intimately the delicate nuances of such issues, including the distinction between protected opinion and false statements of fact; between trade libel and inactionable “puffery.” Our attorneys have successfully pursued claims for damages and injunctive relief on behalf of our clients and defended against frivolous claims aimed at muzzling our clients’ free speech rights. We have particular experience defending publicly-traded companies from online cyber-smearing campaigns and short-seller attacks, which are often coordinated by highly-sophisticated and well-heeled competitors or traders seeking to profit at our clients’ expense. Additionally, we pursue and defend against related claims for tortious interference with contract and business relationship, false light, and invasion of privacy.

Employment Litigation & Preventative Services

Wargo French Singer’s employment practice is nationwide in scope, with our attorneys having represented clients in every region of the country. Our attorneys provide our clients with a full complement of employment-related legal services. From single-plaintiff employment claims, to business disputes relating to employee restrictive covenants, to class-action wage and hour and employment discrimination litigation we take pride in working with our clients to anticipate and efficiently resolve the employment issues that arise in today’s challenging workplace environment.

Our experienced employment litigators aggressively defend client interests in federal and state courts, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and other state and federal agencies. We have particular expertise in class and collective action wage and hour litigation, having successfully handled over 20 class/collective action wage and hour lawsuits in the past several years.

Through our preventive services program, WFS attorneys assist clients in implementing policies and programs that allow for the early detection and resolution of potential employment disputes. Our attorneys ensure that clients take full advantage of the legal protections available to employers by providing practical counseling and advice on day-to-day employment issues, drafting and reviewing employee agreements, handbooks and policies, and providing training in all areas of employment law.

One of the trademarks of our employment litigation practice is our practical and efficient approach to litigation. We do not believe in applying a “cookie-cutter” approach to any lawsuit. Instead, each case stands on its own, and we take pride in identifying strategies that allow for early dismissal or most effectively position the case for summary judgment or an advantageous settlement. We litigate every matter in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible, consistent with providing the highest standards of legal service to our clients.

Over the past several years, the employment group has handled over 20 federal and state wage and hour class and collective actions. We have successfully obtained dismissal of many of the lawsuits on first motion, obtained summary judgment or denial of class certification in numerous cases and have settled many of the other lawsuits for nominal amounts on an individual plaintiff basis. The key to our success is understanding that class and collective actions are frequently won long before the case ever proceeds to the certification phase. Because certification drastically raises the stakes of the litigation, we pride ourselves on being particularly creative and aggressive in identifying and asserting meritorious dispositive motions prior to the certification phase.

Financial Services Litigation

Wargo French Singer has represented clients in the financial services industry for decades and understands the significant regulatory and litigation challenges facing such companies.

WFS attorneys have significant experience representing banks, loan servicers, investment companies, brokers, developers and other companies and professionals in a variety of disputes, including single party and class action commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings. We have litigated hundreds of matters involving state and federal consumer protection statutes targeted toward the financial services industry (such as the Truth in Lending Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Billing Act, and California Homeowner’s Bill of Rights), mortgage and foreclosure issues, insurance and title issues, retail banking issues, along with claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and successor liability.

Insurance Coverage

Wargo French Singer’s Insurance Coverage and Defense attorneys have a broad and deep level of experience across insurance products and disputes. Our attorneys routinely provide counsel to clients regarding their diverse insurance products and have extensive experience litigating matters involving first- and third-party liability, bodily injury, property damage, premises liability, and bad faith or extracontractual disputes. Our attorneys focus their client service on preventing disputes before they materialize and resolving disputes as efficiently as possible. Accordingly, a significant portion of our coverage work is outside of litigation, solving problems before they occur.

When litigation is unavoidable, WFS attorneys have developed litigation strategies to reduce both risk and legal spend. We routinely litigate insurance related disputes and participate in arbitration and mediation proceedings when appropriate, advise on claims handling issues, and assist clients with evaluating and resolving insurance and risk-management issues to minimize exposure and reduce claims. We are able to focus the dispute on the client’s best argument, efficiently maximizing leverage for resolution. This is our distinction with a difference.

Intellectual Property & Trade Secrets

Wargo French Singer attorneys have extensive experience handling intellectual property matters from both transactional and litigation perspectives, with particular experience representing technology and media companies.

WFS attorneys have extensive experience handling intellectual property matters, including protecting copyrights, trademarks, and patents, enforcing confidentiality agreements, and prosecuting and defending trade secret misappropriation cases. We also represent established and emerging clients in connection with complex and strategic technology transactions. Our attorneys routinely assist clients in the development, acquisition, licensing and commercialization of technology, intellectual property and data and advise clients on issues relating to ownership and use of intellectual property that arise in connection with the operation of their businesses. Further, our attorneys have written and lectured extensively in the trade secrets area. For example, Mike French has served as a co-author and member of the editorial board for the American Bar Association’s Trade Secret Handbook for Franchise and Distribution Companies.

In the trademark area, we routinely assist clients in the very beginning stages of their branding efforts by helping select and “clear” strong, protectable trademarks that fit their business and marketing needs. We then obtain state and federal registrations for those trademarks and oversee all maintenance requirements such as renewals and responses to inquiries from the registering authorities. We have substantial experience in such proceedings and have obtained the reversal of several adverse determinations by the USPTO, including before its Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”). Furthermore, to the extent that our clients require international trademark protection, we are experienced in registration proceedings under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) and have relationships with intellectual property counsel in many countries who assist in the event that WIPO protection is insufficient or unavailable.

We also prosecute and defends patent, trademark and copyright litigation. When we have been called upon to protect our clients’ intellectual property against potential business competitors or infringers, we provide robust yet sensible enforcement advice and execute upon that advice. Depending on the situation, these enforcement efforts may range anywhere from informal cease and desist correspondence aimed at reaching an amicable resolution of the dispute, to the initiation of domain name conflict proceedings, to the filing of infringement or cancellation proceedings. Conversely, if our clients find themselves accused of infringement or other similar conduct, we have deep experience in defending such matters both in and out of court, including successful trial defense. We serve as dedicated copyright counsel to a major media company and defend our client against multiple copyright infringement lawsuits each year. In these and similar cases, our goal is to reach a prompt resolution of the matter, though we are sensitive to both our clients’ business needs and the “repeat filer” or “troll” phenomenon in copyright litigation and take an aggressive approach when called for.

Last, we also offer a full array of related intellectual property consulting services. For example, we provide counseling with respect to both current and prospective pieces of intellectual property and advise on how our clients’ intellectual property development efforts should be integrated into their broader marketing strategies. We routinely prepare a variety of intellectual property and technology related agreements, such as licensing agreements, concurrent use agreements, and assignments. Moreover, we have experience managing cyber-smearing campaigns and effecting the removal of damaging content from the Internet, including popular search engines. Our clients’ brands are very valuable, and with this in mind we strive to provide not only traditional advice and representation, but also strategic, business-oriented advice geared toward increasing the value of goodwill associated with clients’ intellectual property portfolios.

Internal Investigations

Wargo French Singer’s internal investigations team has extensive experience in handling internal and regulatory investigations related to workplace issues, fraud, embezzlement, antitrust, securities improprieties and data security breaches. Our attorneys are responsive to the urgent needs of a corporate environment by conducting thorough investigations in a manner that both meets our clients’ objectives and is pragmatic. We work with in-house counsel, senior management, boards, and special investigations committees to develop and implement work plans and corporate compliance programs.

Objective and impartial, our attorneys guide businesses through troubled times by conducting meticulous investigations that will protect the attorney-client privilege and work product, while maintaining the confidential nature of the investigation. Our attorneys quickly identify the scope of the issues in order to help mitigate weaknesses in business operations. We utilize superior document management resources for the collection and review of documentation, conduct thorough witness interviews, and provide expert analysis at every step of the investigation process. Our clients include companies in the financial, insurance, and technology industries.

WFS is value-add focused and has a proactive approach to handling internal investigations and auditing.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Wargo French Singer attorneys provide top-notch quality and service in advancing the strategic goals of our clients through successfully executing complex transactions that shape markets and expand business lines.

WFS attorneys have extensive experience representing clients on general corporate formalities, corporate compliance and securities. Our attorneys routinely advise boards of directors, special committees and executive management regarding their fiduciary duties and corporate governance best practices.

WFS attorneys assist clients in structuring, negotiating and executing complex mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic business combinations as well as conducting due diligence review for such transactions.

Technology & IP Transactions

Wargo French Singer understands that rapid advances in our clients’ industries change the way our clients interact and conduct business and present new business opportunities and legal challenges. We solve these challenges with our clients by assisting in the development of strategic business initiatives and providing unparalleled responsiveness and support to move business forward.

We routinely represent established and emerging companies in connection with complex and strategic technology transactions. Our attorneys have broad-based experience assisting clients in the development, acquisition, licensing and commercialization of technology, intellectual property and data, as well as advising clients on issues relating to ownership and use of intellectual property that arise in connection with the operation of their businesses. We work with clients across industries regarding new and emerging technology and expansion into new markets, new distribution channels, and new product lines.

Atlanta: (404) 853-1500 - 1175 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 1650, Atlanta, Georgia 30361

Miami: (305) 777-6001 – 1 Alhambra Plaza, Suite 1410, Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Los Angeles: (310) 853-6333 – 515 South Flower St., 18^th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90071