Appellate
When AXS wins at trial, we protect those victories on appeal. And when clients come to us after an adverse ruling, we know how to reverse it. Our appellate work is inseparable from our trial practice. Because we try cases ourselves, we understand what makes a record that holds up—and what fractures under appellate scrutiny. That integration has produced a track record of wins from federal and state appellate courts.
Representative Appellate Victories:
Civil Rights Judgment against Miami Commissioner — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed our $63.5 million jury verdict against a sitting City of Miami Commissioner for First Amendment retaliation. The Commissioner sought to dismiss the case on qualified immunity grounds; we defeated that argument on appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision. The judgment stands.
Motorsports Media Defense — After securing summary judgment for the world’s largest motorsport media company against a $10 million claim by its former CEO, we defended that victory in the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida and recovered our client’s attorney’s fees.
CIGNA Healthcare Arbitration — When CIGNA filed an emergency appeal in the Eleventh Circuit to derail an arbitration on behalf of hospitals and physicians, we won dismissal—clearing the path to a $16 million award.
We handle appeals in state and federal courts nationwide, including administrative mandamus actions, writs, and complex regulatory challenges. Whether defending hard-won judgments worth tens of millions of dollars or seeking reversal of trial-court errors, AXS delivers the strategic insight and relentless advocacy that our clients expect at every level of the judicial system.
Business Disputes
Business litigation is the foundation of the firm’s practice. We represent plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial disputes that include fraud, breach of contract, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duty, partnership dissolution, trade-secret misappropriation, and unfair business practices. Our trial lawyers have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients and successfully defended against claims seeking equally significant sums.
Our approach to business disputes is informed by our understanding of what motivates both sides of any commercial conflict. Because we regularly represent both plaintiffs and defendants, we see the case from our opponent’s perspective as well as our own—and we use that insight to develop winning strategies. From emergency injunctive relief to multi-week jury trials and appeals, AXS handles every phase of business litigation with precision and tenacity.
AXS litigates across the country. From our offices in Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., we handle matters in federal and state courts nationwide. We are equally experienced in arbitration, whether before the AAA, JAMS, or ICC. And we prosecute and defend class actions with the same intensity we bring to direct disputes. Whether the case is a bet-the-company class action or a two-party contract dispute, or the forum is a federal courthouse or an arbitration panel, we prepare for trial and position our clients to win from the outset of every case.
Our clients include entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, private-equity firms, real-estate developers, and enterprises across industries including aviation, entertainment, hospitality, healthcare, sports, media, and technology. And we handle business conflicts within a wide array of subject matters:
- Fraud and other business torts
- Civil rights and constitutional claims
- Creditor rights and insolvency
- Cross-border disputes and international arbitration
- Cryptocurrency and fintech
- Entertainment law
- Executive compensation and employment disputes
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Real-estate and construction disputes
- Securities fraud
- Shareholder disputes and M&A litigation
- Trademark infringement and brand protection
- Trade secrets and unfair competition
Defamation And First Amendment
Defamation litigation demands speed, precision, and a willingness to fight for remedies that other lawyers assume are unavailable. When a well-known Miami restaurant was targeted by a social-media influencer and reality television personality who falsely accused the company of reprehensible criminal conduct, the attack wasn’t just reputational—it generated death threats against our clients. The influencer declared she would not be silenced.
Within days, AXS filed suit, secured an emergency hearing, and obtained a court order permanently enjoining the defendant from ever repeating the defamatory statements. We achieved this swift result by presenting the defamation claims alongside other tort theories and moving with overwhelming speed and force to demonstrate that irreparable harm was ongoing.
We understand that defamation cases are often about more than money. They’re about stopping the bleeding, protecting a client’s livelihood, and restoring what was taken. We pursue aggressive remedies—injunctions, emergency relief, expedited discovery to unmask anonymous defendants—because reputational destruction doesn’t wait for the ordinary pace of litigation.
Our $63.5 million verdict against City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, though brought as a First Amendment retaliation case, arose from government action designed to destroy our clients’ businesses and reputations in punishment for their political speech. We understand how speech, power, and economic harm intersect—and we know how to fight back.
White-collar Defense
When the government targets a company or an individual, the stakes extend beyond the courtroom. Careers, reputations, and liberty hang in the balance. AXS brings trial-tested criminal defense experience to these matters—because white-collar enforcement increasingly ends in trial, and we know how to win.
Our white-collar defense team includes former federal prosecutors and public defenders with deep white-collar experience, federal judicial law clerks who understand how judges think, and other seasoned trial lawyers who have spent decades litigating high-stakes business cases before juries.
AXS defends individuals and corporations facing investigations, grand jury proceedings, and criminal prosecutions involving allegations of fraud, corruption, regulatory offenses, money laundering, FCPA violations, and a variety of other white-collar violations. We conduct internal investigations for corporations facing potential liability and represent clients in parallel civil and criminal proceedings that require coordinated strategic responses.
We understand that many white-collar matters are addressed—and resolved favorably—before charges are ever filed. Strategic engagement during the investigation phase can prevent indictment entirely. But if trial becomes necessary, AXS trial lawyers have the courtroom skills to take cases to trial and maximize the chances of a win. When everything is on the line, our clients trust AXS to protect them.
Whistleblower And False Claims Act
The False Claims Act is the government’s primary weapon for recovering funds lost to fraud—and it has created a system where insiders with knowledge of misconduct can become the catalyst for billion-dollar recoveries. Whistleblower awards under the FCA typically range from 15% to 30% of the government’s recovery, and those recoveries often reach into the hundreds of millions. AXS represents both whistleblowers who expose fraud and companies defending against FCA allegations.
Our whistleblower practice includes FCA litigation under federal and state statutes, as well as submissions under whistleblower programs at various agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. We understand how to craft compelling whistleblower submissions and qui tam complaints, and we work closely with relators from initial disclosure through investigation, intervention decisions, and trial or settlement. We also defend companies facing qui tam claims and government investigations, bringing the same rigorous advocacy to these matters that we bring when representing whistleblowers.
FCA investigations can run in parallel with criminal inquiries. A qui tam complaint may be filed under seal while the Department of Justice investigates for months or years without your knowledge. When you learn of the investigation, the government may already have the evidence it needs.
AXS understands that FCA cases involve enormous potential exposure—and we bring the same aggressive, trial-ready posture to FCA defense that we bring to all our litigation. Our team includes lawyers with federal criminal trial experience who understand how prosecutors build cases and what factors influence intervention decisions. We work to resolve matters before they escalate, but we prepare every case as if it will go to trial.