McAfee & Taft
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| McAfee & Taft | |
| Headquarters | Oklahoma City |
|---|---|
| No. of Offices | 2 |
| No. of Attorneys | 140 |
| Major Practice Areas | Aviation, Business Law, Corporate and Securities, Employee Benefits, Entertainment, Environmental Law, Healthcare, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Litigation, Oil and Gas, Real Estate, and Tax and Family Wealth |
| Key People | Richard Nix, Managing Director |
| Date Founded | 1952 |
| Company Type | Professional Corporation |
| Website | www.mcafeetaft.com |
McAfee & Taft is an Oklahoma-based law firm with 140 attorneys serving clients throughout the Southwest and nationally. The firm's major areas of practice include aviation, business law, corporate and securities, employee benefits, entertainment, environmental law, healthcare, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, oil and gas, real estate, and tax and family wealth.
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[edit] Rankings & Achievements
- Largest law firm in Oklahoma, as ranked in the 2008 Book of Lists published by The Journal Record. ([1])
- McAfee & Taft was top-ranked in Oklahoma in all five ranked practice areas — corporate/commercial law, labor and employment law, energy and natural resources law, litigation and real estate law — by Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2008. ([2])
- 25 McAfee & Taft attorneys were listed as leading lawyers in their respective ranked areas in Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2008. ([3])
- 56 McAfee & Taft attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2008. ([4]) ([5])
- 36 McAfee & Taft attorneys were named to the 2007 edition of Oklahoma Super Lawyers. In addition, John Hermes was recognized as a “Top 10" Oklahoma lawyer; Elizabeth D. Tyrrell and Susan Shields were named to the list of “Top 25 Women" attorneys; Chris Coleman, Frank Hill, Michael Joseph, John Kenney, Susan Shields and Peter Van Dyke were honored as “Top 50" Oklahoma lawyers. ([6]) ([7])
- McAfee & Taft was named to the national Guide to Go-To Law Firms published by ALM, the nation’s leading legal journalism and information company, in the May 2007 edition of Fortune magazine. ([8]) ([9])
- McAfee & Taft senior attorneys John Hermes and Frank Hill were honored for their outstanding individual contributions to the community by the Oklahoma Bar Association at its 103rd annual meeting (2007) ([10])
[edit] Recent Notable Work
- An innovative "super 401(k)" retirement plan developed by McAfee & Taft employee benefits attorneys for its client Devon Energy was spotlighted by local and national media, including Business Week and The Oklahoman ([11]) ([12])
- The firm won a five-year patent infringement dispute over equipment for making rumble strips along highways. A federal jury ruled in favor of firm client Dickson Industries, Inc., awarding the Tecumseh, Oklahoma-based manufacturer more than $500,000 in actual damages and nearly $1.04 million in punitive damages ([13]) ([14])
- The firm won one of Oklahoma's largest jury verdicts in recent years, on behalf of an Oklahoma City cardiologist in a patent infringement case. The jury awarded firm client Dr. Jan Voda, who held a patent on a "guiding heart catheter," a 7.5 percent royalty, "a judgment worth an estimated $10 million over the life of the patents." U.S. District Judge Tim Leonard subsequently awarded an additional $10.3 million in punitive damages and attorneys' fees. ([15]) ([16])
[edit] Areas of Practice
The primary practice groups provide in-depth services in nine major areas:
- Aviation: Aircraft Financing; Aircraft Title and Registration; Aviation Litigation; Cape Town Convention
- Business Law: Administrative Law; Agricultural Law; Antitrust, Competition Law and Trade Regulations; Business and Commercial Transactions; Construction Law; Energy, Oil and Gas; Franchise Law; Immigration; Native American and Gaming Law; Real Estate Law; Secured Transactions
- Corporate and Securities: Corporate Governance and General Corporate Matters; Financial Institutions; Investment Companies, Advisors and Broker/Dealers; Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestures; Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Business Entities; Securities Offerings; Corporate Finance; Private Equity and Venture Capital
- Employee Benefits: Employee Benefits Related Corporate Transactions; ERISA Litigation; HIPAA, COBRA and USERRA Matters; Executive Compensation; Fiduciary Counseling; Health and Welfare Plans; Plan Consulting, Design and Implementation
- Entertainment and Media Law: Acquisition and Sale of “Underlying Rights” for Motion Picture and Television Productions; Motion Picture and Television Production, Financing and Distribution; Employment of Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and other key production personnel; Executive Employment with Studios, Networks and Other Media Companies; Agency and Talent Management Company Representation; Record Companies and Musical Recording Artists; Book Publishing Deals; Online and Interactive Media; Live Stage and Events; Infomercials and Product Endorsements; Fine Artist and Art Gallery Representation
- Environmental Law: Environmental Permitting; Compliance; Enforcement; Litigation; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; Solid Waste Disposal Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), including the 2002 Brownfield Amendments; Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; Occupational Safety and Health Act; Oil Pollution Act, USA PATRIOT Act; Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
- Healthcare Law: Administrative and Regulatory Compliance; Healthcare Litigation; Transactions and Business Consulting
- Intellectual Property: Advertising Law; Copyrights; Intellectual Property Litigation; Internet Law; Licensing; Patents; Software and Computer Law; Trade Secrets; Trademarks
- Labor and Employment: Administrative Actions; Age Discrimination; Alternative Dispute Resolution, including Arbitration; Collective Bargaining and Negotiations; Disability Discrimination; Discrimination Litigation; Drug and Alcohol Testing; Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) matters; Employment Agreements Contracts; Employment Harassment; Employment Training; ERISA Litigation; Executive Compensation; Family and Medical Leave (FMLA); National Labor Relations Board; Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Enforcement; Occupational Safety and Health; Organizing Drives and Elections; Personnel Management, Policies and Procedures; Professional Employer Organizations; Reductions in Force; Retaliation; Trade Secret and Confidential Information; Unfair Labor Practices; Unemployment Claims; Wage and Hour Issues; Workplace Investigations
- Litigation: Administrative Proceedings; Agriculture Litigation; Antitrust Litigation; Aviation Litigation; Banking Litigation; Bankruptcy Litigation; Complex Business Litigation; Construction Litigation; Directors’ and Officers’ Liability; E-Discovery; Records and Information Management; Energy, Oil and Gas Litigation; Environmental Litigation; ERISA Litigation; Family Law Litigation; Healthcare Litigation; Insurance Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation; Labor and Employment; Mass Torts Litigation; Mediation; Multidistrict Litigation; Native American Litigation; Product Liability Defense; Public Contracting; Real Estate Litigation; Securities Litigation; White Collar Criminal Defense;
- Tax and Family Wealth: Business Taxation; Family Wealth; Tax Controversy and Procedure; Tax-Advantaged Activities; Transaction Taxation
- Workers' Compensation Defense: Focused exclusively on the representation of employers and insurance clients in all workers' compensation matters; Risk-management and Safety Programs Consulting, Claim Reduction Methods and Proper Claims Reporting Consulting
[edit] Key People
- Richard D. Nix, Managing Director
- Richard D. Craig, Director
- John N. Hermes, Director (and immediate past Managing Director)
- Michael E. Joseph, Director
- Michael F. Lauderdale, Director
- Elizabeth D. Tyrrell, Director
- Steven R. Welch, Director
- Erin M. Van Laanen, Practice Group Leader, Aviation
- Philip B. Sears, Practice Group Leader, Corporate and Securities
- John A. Papahronis, Practice Group Leader, Employee Benefits
- Jay Shanker, Entertainment and Media Law
- Mary Ellen Ternes, Environmental Law
- S. Gregory Frogge, Practice Group Leader, Healthcare Law
- Clifford C. Dougherty, III, Practice Group Leader, Intellectual Property
- Nathan L. Whatley, Practice Group Leader, Labor and Employment
- M. Richard Mullins, Practice Group Leader, Litigation
- Myrna Schack Latham, Practice Group Leader, Real Estate
- T. Michael Blake, Practice Group Leader, Tax and Family Wealth
- Jacque Brawner Dean, Workers’ Compensation Defense

