Commercial Litigation
Ashley's main practice area is commercial litigation. He represents companies of all sizes in many different industries with respect to business-related disputes. Examples include breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, consumer law claims, and various other commercial issues.
Ashley has litigated specialized cases such as shareholder derivative suits and other corporate matters. With respect to banking and finance disputes, Ashley has experience ranging from simple collection cases to complex lawsuits involving numerous federal statutes and the laws of foreign countries.
Ashley has significant experience representing companies in the automotive industry (dealers, suppliers, and manufacturers), and has handled numerous matters involving insurance broker liability. Ashley regularly counsels business owners on issues related to insurance coverage and associated claims.
In construction matters he has presented project owners, subcontractors and suppliers as plaintiff and defendant.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LITIGATION
Ashley has represented companies of all sizes in trademark disputes, from local businesses to major international conglomerates. His cases have involved some of the most famous and valuable trademarks in the world. Ashley's experience includes cases filed in Texas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Kansas, and Michigan.
Among other areas, Ashley has experience in trademark litigation discovery, expert witness issues specific to trademark cases, surveys, motion practice (including preliminary injunctions and contempt), trial, appeals, and pre-litigation policing.
In addition to trademark litigation, Ashley has experience with many other types of intellectual property cases. Examples include copyright disputes and related issues, prosecution and defense of trade secret litigation, trade dress claims, policing against counterfeit goods, claims related to breach of computer network security, and John Doe suits to identify individuals involved in illegal Internet activities. Specific examples of past experience in these areas include:
Defense of a major international media company in federal copyright litigation, including defense of a temporary restraining order request which would have prevented the season finale of a highly-rated television show from airing;
Representation of a New York advertising agency in a copyright dispute;
Representation of a national health insurance company in US federal court and related Canadian proceedings to stop Internet fraud.
PRODUCT LIABILITY, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, AND OTHER PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION
Ashley has represented clients in product liability, wrongful death, and other personal injury cases in many different venues throughout Texas. In addition to matters in Austin and the surrounding areas, he has handled cases in East Texas and counties along the border between Texas and Mexico.
Ashley’s experience in product liability lawsuits includes design, warning, and manufacturing defect claims with respect to products such as:
Automatic sliding doors
Medical devices
Grinding wheels used to polish granite and other stone
Safety devices used in the electrical industry
Pneumatic nail guns
He has represented clients in health care liability suits—including medical malpractice and nursing home negligence—in cases involving many different types of medical specialties.
Beyond the handling of individual personal injury and product liability cases, Ashley has experience at a number of levels working on mass tort cases. For example, Ashley has represented clients in mass tort cases including asbestos claims, pharmaceutical litigation, and claims against companies in the semiconductor industry that the use of certain chemicals cause birth defects. His experience includes primary responsibility for certain expert witness issues, fact and expert witness depositions, and many other areas.
EMployment litigation
Ashley has significant experience representing both plaintiffs and employers in employment lawsuits. His experience includes prosecution and defense of cases involving race and sex discrimination, sexual harassment, age discrimination, disability discrimination, and many other variations.
Representation of assault and sexual assault victims in an employment context is particularly meaningful to Ashley. He seeks to find creative ways to bring or defend claims in this sensitive and complex area of law.
Ashley has also handled disputes on both sides of the docket that involve employee confidentiality issues, theft of trade secrets, non-competition agreements, and related matters.