Madu, Edozie & Madu attorneys are involved in a number of appellate matters each year. The firm's attorneys have appeared in both state and federal courts in several states.

In addition to participating in appeals of matters handled by Madu, Edozie & Madu at the trial level, our appellate practitioners also undertake appeals where another law firm appeared at trial.

One of the fastest-growing areas of litigation in recent years has been the area of alternative dispute resolution (commonly referred to as ADR). Indeed, in addition to a wide range of litigation services, Madu, Edozie and Madu is regularly called upon to resolve disputes through the use of various forms of ADR without resorting to traditional litigation.

Although still the mainstay for the resolution of many disputes, traditional litigation is not always necessary or appropriate to achieve the desired strategic objectives. In many instances, an equal or better result can be obtained through an ADR option and with the added bonus of substantial reduction of the time and money the client must spend.

Because of its greater flexibility, ADR can often alleviate some or all of the shortcomings of traditional litigation by structuring and utilizing a custom-made dispute resolution strategy. ADR can be applied to virtually every form of dispute and can be strategically designed to achieve a wide variety of goals, including streamlining and speeding up the dispute resolution process; substantially reducing litigation costs; limiting interruption to the client's business activities; increasing a client's awareness of issues and risk; protecting a client's ongoing business relationships; achieving a better result by utilizing arbitrators with special skills and knowledge to decide complex technical issues; accommodating complex international laws; and preserving the confidentiality of a dispute.

Because Madu, Edozie and Madu is fully committed to meeting its clients' needs for finding solutions best suited to their individual objectives, its attorneys are constantly scanning the legal landscape for new and better alternatives. This practice, coupled with Madu, Edozie and Madu's already extensive experience in ADR, results in added value for clients.

The ADR arena continues to evolve and currently takes on a wide variety of shapes and forms, including mediation, conciliation, minitrials, summary jury trials, private trials, early expert investigation, neutral evaluation and, perhaps the most well-known ADR option, nonbinding and binding arbitration.

Even mainstream options such as arbitration and mediation can be tailored to fit the specific needs of the parties through the use of innovative techniques such as high-low formats designed to minimize the risks to the parties. The firm's commercial litigation team has utilized ADR options in a variety of areas, including contract, securities law, corporate, fiduciary duty, construction, real estate, employment and insurance coverage issues. In fact, many of the firm's attorneys have acted as arbitrators and mediators in many different ADR forums, presiding over cases dealing with the entire gambit of modern-day commercial issues and disputes. Madu, Edozie and Madu attorneys draw on this vast hands-on experience in recommending the settlement options and ADR procedures that are best suited to the specific goals unique to each case and client.

In addition to advising clients on ADR strategies, Madu, Edozie and Madu attorneys are able to draw on that same experience to recommend and choose those arbitrators and mediators best suited to the case. Nothing can have a more devastating effect on the ADR process than choosing the wrong ADR option or selecting an unqualified arbitrator or mediator.

Class action law suits provide a means whereby large numbers of claimants may have their causes involving common questions of fact or law adjudicated in a unitary proceeding. Prior to certification of a class, the court must find a sufficiently large number of class members exist to make joinder impractical. Therefore, since all claimants cannot be named parties in the lawsuit, the action is by its very nature a representative proceeding. The named class plaintiff representatives in addition to prosecuting their own claims serve on behalf of and pursue claims belonging to the absent class members. Further, the attorneys and named plaintiffs representing the ostensible plaintiff class assume fiduciary responsibilities to protect the interests of the absent class members.

Inherent in any class action is the potential for conflicting interests among the class representatives, class counsel, and absent class members. The interest of lawyer and class may diverge, as may the interests of different members of the class. Both class representatives and class counsel have responsibilities to absent members of the class . The class action procedure represents an exception to the general rule that one cannot be bound to a judgment rendered in a proceeding wherein one was not joined as a party.

Litigators in Madu, Edozie and Madu's Commercial Litigation Department have represented clients in a broad spectrum of business and commercial litigation matters in state and federal jurisdictions in the United States as well as in Canada and Africa. Their clients include government and private domestic and international corporations, banking and financial institutions, real estate development companies, partnerships, foundations, nonprofit associations, professional corporations, sole proprietors and individuals. Their litigated matters include a wide variety of commercial transactions as well as contract matters, business and securities litigation, restrictive covenants, trade secrets and confidential information disputes, bank fraud claims, municipal and government liability, civil and constitutional rights, business torts, real estate disputes, trust and estate cases.

When appropriate and cost-efficient, they represent clients in alternative dispute settings such as mediation, arbitration, appraisals and other effective alternatives to the traditional litigation model. The department's attorneys have tried cases to verdict, or have successfully defended, numerous matters.

Attorneys in the department have been able to attract such a diverse roster of clients, and to secure successful results for them, for two reasons. The first is their skill, creativity and wide-ranging experience. The second, and of equal importance, is their emphasis on direct relationships with clients on a personal level, with a particular sensitivity to each client's business and financial needs and time constraints.

The Firm has been actively involved, on behalf of its clients, in matters involving claims to damage to buildings and residential structures by construction contractors. Madu, Edozie and Madu represents these clients in litigations in state and federal court with respect to claims.

The firm has also represented clients in disputes between construction contractors. The firm has represented both general and sub-contractors.

Over the years, the firm has been involved in a number of cases involving the procesution or defense of mechanc liens filed by construction contractors, and have achieved significant results for its clients in these matters.

Madu, Edozie and Madu is able to handle a broad range of matters in the area of Corporate and Partnership Law Litigation, including cases involving consent and proxy solicitations, controlling and minority shareholder issues, misappropriation of corporate opportunities, director and shareholder meeting formalities, enjoining competitors from appropriating trade secrets, the fiduciary duty of directors, formation and operation of special committees, officers, shareholders and partners, indemnification, interested director transactions and questions concerning limitations of liability and piercing the corporate veil.

The firm is also positioned to handle disputes arising under stockholder and trust agreements; actions seeking review of elections to determine the rightful directors and officers of the corporation; inspection of the stock lists, books and records of a company; appraisal of securities; dissolutions; and appointment of custodians and receivers for insolvent or deadlocked corporations.

Corporate and partnership disputes frequently involve businesses from different states, many of which often file an action in their home state in order to secure some strategic benefit. The firm is also able to represent clients regularly in such cases, including conflicts concerning first-filed forum selections, choice of law determinations, proper assertions of personal jurisdiction, effective service of process, questions of inconvenient forum and the preclusion of judgments obtained in different courts. Madu, Edozie and Madu therefore is uniquely positioned to assist clients in resolving issues of corporate and partnership law governance, fiduciary duty and operation whenever such is needed.

The attorneys within Madu, Edozie and Madu's Family Law Department undertake a wide range of matters involving the most personal and complex legal issues that affect every aspect of family life and domestic tranquility.

The firm's family law practitioners frequently interact with other practice groups including the Corporate and Real Estate departments so as to provide a comprehensive and unified approach to complex family law matters, disputes and litigation.

Among the broad range of services provided by Madu, Edozie and Madu's family law attorneys are the following:

Divorce

Support

Alimony

Alimony pendente lite

Custody

Equitable distribution

Adoption

Change of name

Juvenile criminal law

Appointment of a guardian

Petition for determination of incapacitated person

Appointment as guardian ad litem

Arbitration

Meditation

Madu, Edozie and Madu's Commercial Litigation Department is able to call upon its dedicated and knowledgeable attorneys to assist clients with litigation needs arising out of their real estate interests. Whether by way of leasehold or ownership, substantially all commercial entities at one time or another face issues attendant to their real estate holdings. When these issues arise, Madu, Edozie and Madu's litigators are adept at resolving disputes, through either traditional litigation or alternative dispute resolution.

Firm attorneys have pursued and defended actions in federal and state court in which claims for breach of agreements to sell commercial real estate or for fraud in connection with commercial real estate agreements is asserted. These actions involve disputes arising out of aborted closings because of a seller's alleged inability to deliver marketable title and circumstances in which a seller is alleged to have made misrepresentations as to the condition of the property or zoning or other land-use restrictions.