What is Litigation?

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot has an extensive practice in construction law. Whether helping owners, contractors or project managers with funding and financing issues during conceptual design phases; providing legal advice and guidance during construction; or assisting in the successful resolution of post-completion claims or litigation, our attorneys have broad experience supporting clients through all phases of construction projects.

The firm’s construction law practice has included the representation of large corporate and public clients and the provision of construction defense as Alaska counsel for many national insurance companies. We consistently focus on carefully managing client risk in a manner that controls legal costs. This requires early and careful evaluation of disputes to identify strengths and weaknesses so that our clients can pursue settlement or litigation based on realistic appraisals of the risks and benefits of alternative courses of action.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot attorneys draft and review complex construction contracts and multiparty agreements, always with a careful eye toward protecting the client’s interests and reducing unnecessary risk. We have found this practical approach to litigation avoidance during construction contracting to be particularly effective, helping our clients focus their valuable resources directly on the project.

Our construction law group is well versed in various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including such tools as mediation, proceedings under the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and dispute review boards. This experience provides our attorneys with important breadth and depth in the construction law practice.

If disputes or issues arise that cannot be resolved through informal means, we have the skills and resources to litigate in virtually any forum, including state superior court, U.S. District Court, boards of contract appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and myriad administrative claim resolution processes. Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot construction law attorneys have both the experience and tenacity to pursue the client’s interests to a successful conclusion.

Our firm’s core construction law group is led by shareholder Adam W. Cook. Mr. Cook has extensive trial experience, litigating construction cases in state and federal court as well as before the Court of Federal Claims and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.

Appellate practice requires a specialized set of legal skills. At Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot, we’ve built a world-class team of appellate lawyers with superior academic and practical skills honed by years of rigorous experience. Our small but remarkably able cadre of advocates includes several former appellate law clerks and attorneys who have briefed and argued appeals and other proceedings before the following courts:

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
• Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 9th Circuit
• Alaska Supreme Court
• Alaska Court of Appeals

Our appellate experience covers a wide range of substantive legal fields: civil, criminal, business and administrative, with an emphasis in constitutional law, construction litigation, commercial law, contracts, business torts, labor and employment, and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and Alaska Native law.

When Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot represents a client at trial, we also handle any related appeals. But a major segment of our practice is serving as independent appellate counsel, such as in cases where we are retained to attack or defend a trial court judgment in which we did not participate. In those cases, we’re fully capable of assuming primary responsibility for the appeal. However, we can also serve in a supporting role by reviewing the trial record; conducting moot courts to develop and refine issues; explaining practice and procedural rules; critiquing written briefs and oral arguments; evaluating post-decision questions such as petitions for rehearing, en banc review or certiorari; and more.

Reported cases include:

• Alaska Interstate Construction, LLC v. Pacific Diversified Investments, Inc., 279 P.3d 1156 (Alaska 2012)
• Roberson v. Southwood Manor Associates, 249 P.3d 1059 (Alaska 2011)
• Hagland Aviation Services, Inc. v. Harms, No. 6379, 210 P.3d 444 (Alaska 2009)
• Beal, et al. v. McGuire, et al., 216 P.3d 1154 (Alaska 2009)
• The Progressive Corp. v. Peter, 195 P.3d 1083 (Alaska 2008)
• Guerrero ex rel. Guerrero v. Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, 123 P.3d 966 (Alaska 2005)
• Casciola v. F.S. Air Service, Inc., 120 P.2d 1059 (Alaska 2005)
• Laidlaw Transit, Inc. v. Anchorage School District, 118 P.3d 1018 (Alaska 2005)
• Anderson v. State ex rel. Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Ass’n, 78 P.3d 710 (Alaska 2003)
• Tush v. Pharr, 68 P.3d 1239 (Alaska 2003)
• Delolli v. State, 2003 WL 22143282 (Alaska App. 2003)
• K&K Recycling, Inc. v. Alaska Gold Co., 80 P.3d 702 (Alaska 2003)
• Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Ass’n v. Anderson, 54 P.3d 271 (Alaska 2002)
• Peter v. Schumacher Enterprises, 22 P.3d 481 (Alaska 2001)
• Holderness v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, 24 P.3d 1235 (Alaska 2001)
• Lynden Inc. v. Walker, 30 P.3d 609 (Alaska 2001)
• City of St. Mary’s v. St. Mary’s Native Corp., 9 P.3d 1002 (Alaska 2000)
• Coster v. Piekarski, 3 P.3d 333 (Alaska 2000)
• Peter v. The Progressive Corporation, 986 P.2d 865 (Alaska 1999)
• State Farm Automobile Insurance Company v. Raymer, 977 P.2d 706 (Alaska 1999)
• Neal & Co., Inc. v. Association of Village Council Presidents Regional Housing Authority, 895 P.2d 497 (Alaska 1995)

One of the risks inherent in living in Alaska is the potential for a plane crash, especially due to the terrain and weather that is unique to Alaska. In the event of a crash, the potential for serious bodily injury or death is likely. When such an event takes place, and you, a friend or a family member is injured or even killed, it is critical that you have a team of lawyers on your side that will be able to help you every step of the way. Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot has experienced litigators in place to make sure your case is handled properly.

Our attorneys know every key element to handling a case involving a plane crash. From opening a dialog with the investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board to communicating promptly with insurance companies, our attorneys have decades of experience in working with this industry. They have the skills and knowledge necessary to ensure that you or your loved ones obtain the maximum recovery possible.

In addition, plane crashes often evolve into product liability cases. When dealing with the aircraft manufacturer, you need an attorney who has experience in handling these types of cases and has a close working relationship with the necessary experts to address the issues involved in the crash. Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot has active relationships with experts in this field along with a proven record in handling product cases, including over a dozen plane crashes.

If you have a case involving a plane crash, do not take any chances. Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot has a team of dedicated lawyers ready to be on your side. We have been representing injured Alaskans for over 40 years and can put our attorneys’ experience to work for you.

If bidders believe a bid process was handled improperly, they may be able to protest the bid outcome. Whether a contractor believes the bid process was unfair or the owner accepts a bid that should have been disqualified, it’s important that these protests are made quickly after the selection process. BHBC lawyers have the experience and knowledge necessary to handle these protests efficiently. Our dedicated team has the skills needed for a successful protest, where bidders may be able to obtain reconsideration of award or recovery of bid preparation costs.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s business torts and commercial litigation practice group, with offices in Anchorage and Washington, D.C., represents business clients in litigation as diverse and complex as antitrust, government contracting, financial forensics, professional liability, qui tam, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), white collar crime, federal criminal tax litigation, compliance and enforcement, class actions, construction law, health care, and business torts of all kinds, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, interference with economic advantage or contractual relations and Unfair Trade Practices Act violations.

This comprehensive scope of focused representation allows us also to excel at assisting clients with related issues such as risk assessment and litigation avoidance.

Whether defending or prosecuting a claim, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot litigators keep clients in the decision-making loop to ensure that litigation decisions correspond with business goals. We do this through a combination of budgetary, reporting and risk analysis that builds trust, instills confidence and underscores our commitment to our clients’ goals.

With an experienced and aggressive group of lawyers – including former prosecutors and attorneys seasoned in both plaintiff and defense work – Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot is uniquely positioned to assist clients who have been harmed in the business environment. Sometimes the injury may threaten the very existence of the business itself. In these and other situations, we can adapt the fee arrangement to ensure that our clients’ interests are protected.

As one of the largest Alaska-based law firms in the state, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot possesses both the resources and the resolve for pursuing cases in the highest courts. Likewise, we have the experience to recognize and resolve claims early, saving clients millions of dollars in payouts. Our litigators try cases that should be tried and aggressively seek alternative solutions when they should not.

Our interdisciplinary approach to commercial disputes enables us to address contract, energy, construction, bankruptcy, real estate, and insurance and financial issues as business concerns, not just as elements of trial strategy. Our varied experience in assisting both plaintiffs and defendants has allowed us to develop strong strategies and anticipate opposing arguments so that we can deliver an effective approach to our clients’ cases. Perhaps most significantly, our comprehensive breadth enables us to create the most effective and efficient litigation team for any type of matter.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot attorneys understand that it is best when disputes are quickly and amicably resolved without the burden and expense of a lawsuit. However, when litigation is required, our litigators are second to none.

With many years of experience, National Institute for Trial Advocacy training and many jury and bench trials among them, our aggressive litigators are forces to be reckoned with in the courtroom. But they’re also well versed in alternative dispute resolution processes, including arbitration; mediation; adversary hearings before state, federal and private sector hearing officers (including borough personnel and state commissioners); and administrative hearings in areas as diverse as those required by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

This breadth and depth of expertise also enables us to provide a litigation client an early analysis of likely outcomes and an estimate of the reserve that ought to reasonably be established against a potential liability. With the experience of representing a number of the most well-known organizations in the business, we also have the capacity to provide our clients with proposed litigation budgets that are practical and consistent and lead to excellent results.

Representative clients have included:

• Lloyds of London
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough
• Nabors Industries Ltd.
• Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
• Alaska Interstate Construction LLC
• Association of Village Council Presidents Regional Housing Authority
• Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
• Alaska Energy Authority
• Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
• Alaska Native village and regional corporations
• Several of Alaska’s leading architectural design and engineering firms

Reported cases include:

• Hagland Aviation Services, Inc. v. Harms, No. 6379, 210 P.3d 444 (Alaska 2009)
• Beal, et al. v. McGuire, et al., 216 P.3d 1154 (Alaska 2009)
• Guerrero v. Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, 123 P.3d 966 (Alaska 2005)
• Casciola v. F.S. Air Service, Inc., 120 P.2d 1059 (Alaska 2005)
• Laidlaw Transit, Inc. v. Anchorage School District, 118 P.3d 1018 (Alaska 2005)
• Anderson v. State ex rel. Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Ass’n, 78 P.3d 710 (Alaska 2003)
• Tush v. Pharr, 68 P.3d 1239 (Alaska 2003)
• K&K Recycling, Inc. v. Alaska Gold Co., 80 P.3d 702 (Alaska 2003)
• Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Ass’n v. Anderson, 54 P.3d 271 (Alaska 2002)
• Lynden Inc. v. Walker, 30 P.3d 609 (Alaska 2001)
• Alaska Continental, Inc. v. Trickey, 933 P.2d 528 (Alaska 1997)
• Neal & Co., Inc. v. Association of Village Council Presidents Regional Housing Authority, 895 P.2d 497 (Alaska 1995).

Insurance plays a large role in your life, whether you are an individual, business or Fortune 500 company. We all rely on the protections that insurance affords. However, when an insurer seeks to avoid its obligations, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot attorneys are prepared to step in and help. Our experience in insurance coverage litigation includes both state and federal courts, and our attorneys have shaped insurance policy in Alaska through published opinions. We have the skill and experience to assist you with any coverage-related issue, whether the dispute is in the early stages or has progressed to a declaratory judgment action.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s insurance coverage practice focuses on maximizing insurance recovery for corporate policyholders, professionals and other claimants. Our insurance attorneys pair their knowledge of insurance law with exceptional litigation capabilities to resolve disputed insurance claims successfully on behalf of policyholders from a broad range of industries in all types of dispute resolution proceedings, ranging from pre-litigation advocacy and mediation to litigation and arbitration.

In addition to resolving coverage disputes, a substantial portion of our practice involves partnering with clients to offer strategic advice on an array of coverage and risk management issues. Working as aggressive and zealous advocates for our clients, we provide business-oriented, no-nonsense representation and counseling that delivers prompt, favorable and cost-effective results.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot focuses its practice on the following services:

• Coverage ligation
• Counseling on policy procurement and renewals
• Analyzing proposed and existing policy language
• Advising on insurance requirements

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s experienced litigators also understand professional liability litigation and have experience conducting liability litigation in order to maximize the use of insurance to settle and cover claims. Our cumulative knowledge and experience means that we can provide clients with perspective, strategy and possible outcomes without investing clients’ time and money in researching the basics in coverage law.

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which a third party, the mediator, attempts to facilitate an agreed-upon resolution. Mediations are often conducted at the order, direction or urging of courts, and many court systems have established elaborate programs for making mediation accessible to litigants. Litigants and counsel also use privately conducted mediations to resolve cases. Over the last few decades, mediation has been accepted by parties, counsel and courts as a principal means of resolving civil disputes that saves the parties from substantial financial expense and eliminates uncertainty in their litigation risk.

The lawyers at Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot have represented clients in a full range of mediations over the years. We prepare for and present each aspect of the case that takes advantage of the benefits of mediation. Our lawyers have amassed broad experience with local mediators, and our litigators have the skills and knowledge necessary to take full advantage of the mediation process, which often leads to successful resolutions while saving costs.

Product Defect

More and more, society relies on the products around them for just about everything, including transportation, communication, and household services. At the same time, some of these products can be defective and cause injuries. Among the recent examples of such defects are air bags that do not deploy, cellphones that catch on fire, tires that explode, and aircraft parts that do not function properly. Of course, many of these defects are completely unknown to the public. When you, or someone you know, has been injured by a defective product, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot‘s personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and experience needed to determine the responsible party. We will fight for victims, for the families who have suffered the loss of a loved one in a wrongful death claim, and for those who have been injured in accidents of all kinds through no fault of their own.

When it comes to product defect cases, the manufacturer of the defective product will often do whatever it takes to avoid liability. They will most likely have an army of experts ready and willing to testify that the product is safe, even when it is not, and they have the resources to hire big law firms to defend their cases. Therefore, in order for you to compete with the corporations that create defective products, you need a law firm that is willing to stand up against the manufacturer and has the resources available to go toe-to-toe with the defense lawyers. At Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Personal Injury, we are affiliated with one of the largest law firms in Alaska and have the resources to hire our own experts to demonstrate that a product is defective. With our background and experience, we will level the playing field which will allow you to seek maximum recovery.

For decades, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot has represented law firms and medical care providers in relation to the challenging and sensitive issues regarding professional liability. We initially try to advise our clients in a manner that avoids litigation, but when that is not possible, we will defend those clients that may be facing claims alleging that they violated professional or ethical standards. We have also represented clients in connection with internal investigations and collateral ethical and client-related obligations, including those arising from alleged billing improprieties.

Any type of malpractice claim typically presents unique and complex legal, ethical and reputational issues. Understanding the intersection between ethical standards, conflict of interest and disciplinary rules, and professional negligence is essential. Although mastery of the law of legal malpractice is a prerequisite to practice in this area, malpractice attorneys must also understand the substantive law of the practice area at issue in the particular claim. Thus, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot attorneys regularly draw on the experience and judgment of colleagues in class actions, product liability, corporate, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other subject matter areas.

This work often extends beyond civil litigation to congressional, administrative and grand jury investigations. Our cases have included claims arising from a wide array of fields, including corporate advice and deal structuring, financial fraud, and regulatory advice and compliance. With Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s team of litigators, we will provide a vigorous defense for your company and pursue all avenues of redress.

There are very few areas of the law that have had a greater impact on the practice of law than Alaska’s consumer protection law, also known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPCPA). Amid a national movement to strengthen consumer protection laws, the UTPCPA uses broad language to encompass a wide range of conduct. This law has expanded the law in ways that may not have been anticipated, and it is important that you have a law firm by your side that knows the ins and outs of the UTPCPA.

The lawyers at Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot have been on the cutting edge of this ever-evolving law and have been responsible for many of the landmark decisions interpreting the scope of the UTPCPA. For example, we litigated a case that resulted in the UTPCPA being used as a weapon to address a corporate president’s misappropriation of funds, resulting in a $21 million award. We were also responsible for pushing back against the scope of the UTPCPA by obtaining a ruling from the Alaska Supreme Court that found that transactions related to the lease of a mobile home park space were outside the scope of the law. Whether you are seeking to advance a claim under the UTPCPA, or you are seeking to avoid liability, our attorneys have the depth of experience that will give you the best representation possible.

When dealing with the UTPCPA, it is critical that you have lawyers who are experienced in the scope of the law, with a clear understanding of the damages that can be recovered, and who have the ability to work with the Alaska Attorney General’s Office in bringing or defending a claim. Our attorneys have all the knowledge needed to put you in the best possible position to prevail.

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot‘s white-collar defense attorneys defend companies and individuals at every stage of the investigation. When prosecution does occur, we work to secure the best possible outcome, either through settlement or vigorous trial defense. Our attorneys have experience in defending clients against a wide range of conduct and finance-related offenses.

Generally, white-collar crimes are non-violent offenses committed for financial gain. Typically occurring in businesses, these crimes often involve deceit to defraud another person and deprive them of property or money. Although a person may not be physically injured when victim to a white-collar crime, that does not mean that these offenses are not taken seriously. Often large agencies, such as the FBI or IRS, investigate such matters for months to develop a strong case against the accused. Additionally, the prosecution will work hard to obtain a conviction and seek maximum penalties.

If you’ve been accused of a white-collar crime, it’s imperative to reach out to our skilled team as quickly as possible. A conviction could result in job loss, imprisonment, asset seizure, fines, and a damaged reputation, making it difficult for you to rebuild your life after you have completed your sentence. BHBC understands the impacts a conviction can have on your life. We will fight hard to protect your rights and freedoms.