McAfee & Taft
McAfee & Taft is an Oklahoma-based law firm with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, serving clients throughout the Southwest, nationally and internationally. The firm's major areas of practice include: Aviation; Business Law; Business Restructuring, Workouts and Bankruptcy; Corporate and Securities; E-Discovery and Records and Information Management; Employee Benefits; Entertainment; Environmental Law; Healthcare Law; Intellectual Property; Labor and Employment; Litigation; Oil and Gas; Real Estate; and Tax and Family Wealth.
Rankings & Achievements
- Largest law firm in Oklahoma, as ranked in the 2009 Book of Lists published by The Journal Record. (1)
- McAfee & Taft was named to the 5th Annual Go-To Law Firms of the World's Leading Companies published by ALM, the nation’s leading legal journalism and information company. "Go-To Law Firms" were identified through research conducted by ALM whereby researchers asked general counsel at the top 500 companies which outside law firms they turn to for assistance.
- McAfee & Taft's litigation practice earned top marks in the 2009 edition of Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to America's leading business litigation firms and attorneys. Ten attorneys were singled out for recognition in this year's guide named as "local litigation stars" and "future stars." (2)
- 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. (3)
- 26 attorneys were listed as leading lawyers in their respective ranked areas in Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2008. (4)
- 65 attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2009. (5)
- 37 attorneys were named to the 2008 edition of Oklahoma Super Lawyers, with two attorneys named to the list of “Top 10 Oklahoma Lawyers,” three attorneys named to the list of “Top 25 Female Oklahoma Lawyers” and nine attorneys named to the list of “Top 50 Oklahoma Lawyers.” (6)
- 10 attorneys were named to the inaugural edition of Oklahoma Rising Stars. (7)
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 (8) (9)
- 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 (10) (11)
- 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. (12) (13)
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 Restructuring, Workouts and Bankruptcy: Business Reorganizations and Restructuring; Debt Workouts; Bankruptcy Law; Bankruptcy Litigation; Creditor's Rights
- 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; [...] 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
Key People
- Richard D. Nix, Managing Director
- Richard D. Craig, Director
- Michael E. Joseph, Director
- Michael F. Lauderdale, Director
- M. Richard Mullins, Director
- Elizabeth D. Tyrrell, Director
- James R. Webb, Director
- John N. Hermes, Immediate Past Managing Director
- Erin M. Van Laanen, Practice Group Leader, Aviation
- Steven W. Bugg, Practice Group Leader, Business Restructuring, Workouts and Bankruptcy
- W. Chris Coleman, Practice Group Leader, Corporate and Securities
- Drew D. Webb, Practice Group Leader, E-Discovery and Records & Information Management
- John A. Papahronis, Practice Group Leader, Employee Benefits
- Jay Shanker, Practice Group Leader, Entertainment and Media Law
- Mary Ellen Ternes, Practice Group Leader, Environmental Law
- J. Michael Nordin, Practice Group Leader, Healthcare Law
- Clifford C. Dougherty, III, Practice Group Leader, Intellectual Property
- Nathan L. Whatley, Practice Group Leader, Labor and Employment
- John A. Kenney, Practice Group Leader, Litigation
- Robert L. Garbrecht, Practice Group Leader, Real Estate
- T. Michael Blake, Practice Group Leader, Tax and Family Wealth
- Jacque Brawner Dean, Workers’ Compensation Defense