OFFICES

The White Plains office of Eckert Seamans is located 30 minutes from mid-town Manhattan and represents clients throughout the New York Metropolitan area, as well as the rest of the State.  The firm’s New York attorneys concentrate in many practice areas, including commercial law and litigation, environmental, toxic/mass tort litigation, products liability, bankruptcy, construction and hospitality law.

Substantive areas include:

Litigation and Commercial Law

The office's commercial law and litigation practice provides representation to a broad range of local, national and international clients in federal and state courts.  Attorneys in the office have experience with a variety of alternative dispute resolution proceedings including arbitration, mediation and mini-trials.  Our services go beyond traditional legal practice to include general business advice, input into business planning and development, risk assessment and advice on business strategies of many types.  We give our clients practical advice in a timely, efficient manner to assist them in achieving their desired objectives.  Our commercial litigation attorneys understand that a thorough knowledge of our clients' products and services and the surrounding business environment is essential to providing superior service.

Environmental

In environmental matters, the White Plains office assists clients with compliance, enforcement, government rulemaking, strategic planning and other matters that are subject to statutes such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act.  The office’s attorneys represent clients in a broad array of environmental issue-related litigation.  Our attorneys help clients avoid environmental liabilities and turn environmental programs into business advantages.  We work as trusted advisors to our clients and assist them in developing strategies that are responsible, prudent, cost-sensitive and consistent with their business goals.

Toxic/Mass Tort Litigation

Our broad experience includes virtually every type and size of lawsuit arising from the manufacturing, handling, sale and disposal of chemicals and other allegedly hazardous substances.  Our Toxic Tort/Mass Litigation Group is adept at working with experts in matters ranging from complex forensic investigation to causation and responsibility for environmental contamination to the cross-examination of experts of opposing parties.  Our case experience spans numerous types of facilities such as petroleum distillate processing sites, refineries, chemical plants, landfills, gasoline service stations and metal fabrication facilities.  Our lawyers also regularly represent clients in proceedings involving tort and contract claims related to contaminated land.

On a local, regional and national basis, Eckert Seamans has defended lawsuits arising from exposure to numerous substances, including:

• Prescription and OTC medications
• Asbestos
• Benzene
• Silca
• Isocyanates
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• Organic solvents
• Formaldehyde
• Pesticides
• Contaminated groundwater

These lawsuits have involved diverse circumstances of exposure and a wide variety of medical conditions and diseases including restrictive and obstructive lung diseases, occupational asthma, muscle disorders, strokes, cancers of various types, dermatological problems, neurological dysfunctions, reproductive and genetic disorders, and claims of immune system suppression/alteration, disease phobia and the alleged need for medical monitoring.

Our attorneys counsel clients about how to reduce the risks associated with toxic/mass tort, and how to minimize the pitfalls of these claims in the event that they are brought.  We bring a cost-effective approach to every case we handle.  Early case evaluation, using both formal and informal discovery, allows us to provide a thoughtful analysis of litigation risks from the very commencement of a dispute.  Our tort litigation attorneys are well known as problem-solvers who are committed to bringing lawsuits to prompt, cost-effective conclusions.

Product Liability

The White Plains office represents domestic and foreign manufacturers of diverse consumer and industrial products such as automobiles, buses, cables, game devices, media recording equipment, trucks, televisions and washing machines.  The firm serves as lead trial counsel in national, regional and local counsel programs in defending product liability cases.