Public Sector Litigation

Loeb & Loeb offers a multidisciplinary litigation practice serving public sector entities, including states, cities, counties, and municipal agencies at all levels. Our attorneys possess decades of experience helping public sector clients address complex issues in areas where the law intersects with politics, public policy and fiscal concerns. We provide practical advice that ensures legal compliance, mitigates risk and resolves controversies efficiently, recognizing that our actions are taking place in the public eye. We offer a fully integrated public sector team with litigation and regulatory experience that spans a wide range of industries. Our core areas of experience include:

Transportation

Our attorneys have represented public transit agencies and transportation authorities in connection with a wide range of litigation matters, and have advised major international airports and public port authorities in litigation and regulatory matters, including a series of landmark cases involving airport rates and charges. We have represented public sector clients before the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Maritime Administration, and federal and state environmental agencies. Our team has also counseled airports with respect to the bankruptcy of their major airline tenants and the restructuring and rationalizing of the leases and bond indentures relating to airport terminals.

Unclaimed Property (escheat)

We have successfully represented senior state officials in enforcing unclaimed property laws to recover billions of dollars of funds. We offer one of the only national escheat practices dedicated to representing the interests of states in complex unclaimed property matters, including the states of Delaware and California -- among the nation’s largest recipients of unclaimed property. We have experience across a wide range of unclaimed property types, including abandoned corporate stock, amounts payable under insurance policies or annuities, unclaimed oil and gas royalties, and unclaimed financial instruments. The work of our unclaimed property attorneys has received national recognition, particularly in the life insurance industry, where the team’s recoveries of billions of dollars in unpaid life insurance and annuity proceeds from the nation’s largest insurance companies is changing the practices of the industry regarding compliance with state unclaimed property laws, and was the subject of a “60 Minutes” investigative report.

Bankruptcy

Our team has guided municipalities and other government clients through the most difficult of public entity workouts and bankruptcies. We have successfully represented the interests of state and municipal entities in Chapter 11 and Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings, including acting on behalf of a state power exchange in various restructuring matters, and on behalf of a large international airport in connection with major airline bankruptcies.

Public Sector Fiscal Issues

We have experience counseling public sector clients in a wide range of issues relating to budgeting and budget gaps, and in advising governmental entities on compliance with appropriations and disbursement law, including the Federal Antideficiency Act. While our goal is ultimately to resolve issues before litigation arises, our team is one of a select few with litigation experience involving fiscal issues.