Washington, DC Lawyers

Immigration Law

1629 K St. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006

Civil Litigation

4725 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA

Charles J. Laduca’s tenure at the firm began over twenty-four years ago as a messenger working his way through college. He rose from messenger to paralegal to law clerk to attorney to be named partner, within just four years of graduating law school. As of January 1, 2017, Mr. LaDuca assumed the role of firm chairman. Over the past eighteen years, Charles LaDuca has served as Lead Counsel, or in the leadership structure, in dozens of defective building products and consumer cases. To date, his cases have recovered over $2 billion for Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca’s clients. Mr. LaDuca’s most noted achievement has been to use the legal system to help millions of homeowners obtain compensation to fix their homes after suffering from flawed, leaky roofs, faulty plumbing, and defective siding. Specific examples of Mr. LaDuca’s accomplishments include: Mr. LaDuca was co-lead counsel in the efforts of homeowners with heating systems outfitted with “Entran II” piping, which the homeowners believed were defective. After a fifteen month investigation, and having overcome motions to dismiss, Mr. LaDuca forged a North American settlement under which homeowners on average each received $60,000 to fix their homes. This $364 million settlement came about as a result of aggressive litigation by Mr. LaDuca’s team against the defendant and other homeowner lawyers that involved two “All Writs” injunctions. Serving as co-lead counsel, Mr. LaDuca represented homeowners who purchased Ipex brass fittings that turned out to be defective. The case has allowed thousands of home owners to recover thousands of dollars each in compensation for their losses. The total fund for homeowners’ compensation is $125 million, and the claims period is still pending for another five years. In his largest case, Mr. LaDuca was co-lead counsel representing owners of over 1.8 million homes who purchased CertainTeed roofing shingles that the homeowners believed were defective. And thanks to Mr. LaDuca’s determined legal work, more than 75,000 homeowners to date have recovered up to thousands of dollars each. As a result of Mr. LaDuca’s efforts, the claims period will continue for another twenty-three years. The estimated value of the settlement exceeds $700 million. Mr. LaDuca was the Chair of the Executive Committee in the Zurn defective brass fitting litigation. After the plaintiff’s team certified the national class, the defendants appealed unsuccessfully all the way to the Supreme Court. The case settled for roughly $30 million. The Final Approval was granted in March, 2013. Mr. LaDuca served as co-lead counsel in the GAF roof shingles litigation which was consolidated before Judge Childs in South Carolina. He represented homeowners who believe their roof shingles were defective. The plaintiffs successfully beat back 14 Motions to Dismiss and certified a South Carolina class. The case then settled for over $200 million. The settlement claims period is ongoing. Please contact Charles LaDuca at [email protected] more details. Mr. LaDuca is co-lead counsel in a case which represents homeowners with Owens Corning roof shingles, which the homeowners believe are defective. The court initially granted judgment for Owens Corning, and Mr. LaDuca’s team won reversal in a federal appeals court. Discovery is ongoing. Mr. LaDuca and his family are active in the community, especially in helping to repair, rebuild and raise money for better homes for the disadvantaged. Mr. LaDuca’s charitable contributions have included his support for education programs for under-resourced children in third world countries such as Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. Mr. LaDuca currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Kid Museum and is actively involved in the New York State Society of Washington, D.C.

International Law

555 12th St NW suite 1200, Washington, DC 20004, USA

As a first generation American, Christine Sohar Henter exemplifies a passionate commitment to the practice of international trade law. She represents companies, trade associations, and governments on international trade matters including import trade remedies, customs compliance, export controls, sanction laws, and international business transactions, based on her public and private sector experience. Christine started her legal career in public service. She was a senior attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration (now the Office of Enforcement & Compliance) at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). There, she advised U.S. government officials on compliance with U.S. trade laws and represented the U.S. in judicial appeals domestically before courts and internationally before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panels. Christine was also the lead attorney for Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel, drafting implementation regulations, counseling on the application and negotiation of international textile and free trade agreements. Prior to DOC, Christine served as a legal adviser for a Commissioner and Chairperson at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), assisting with trade remedy decisions, responding to inquiries from Congressional members, and overseeing 337 reviews. Before pursuing her government legal service in Washington, D.C., she assisted numerous companies with their export business through the Denver US Export Assistance Center. Christine's import trade practice includes advising clients on customs compliance, trade remedy proceedings (antidumping duty, countervailing duty and safeguard cases), Foreign Trade Zones, Buy America requirements, and Section 337 intellectual property investigations. She also helps clients successfully navigate the complex rules of international trade agreements, trade legislation and regulations before the DOC, ITC, and the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as import requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Fish and Wildlife Services, and Department of Agriculture. Additionally, Christine has helped companies develop import or customs compliance programs and safeguard supplier relationships and supply chain management to mitigate risks, and has represented U.S. and non-U.S. companies before U.S. government agencies. She advises on trade restrictions, tariff classifications, valuation, marking, country of origin, ruling requests, internal advice requests, responses to information requests, and protests. She also assists company and trade association clients with tariff matters under Section 301 and Section 232, including exclusion requests and appeals related to these tariffs. Christine also assists companies with complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), including supply chain tracing, compliance training, implementing compliance procedures and policies, and development of comprehensive business compliance programs. Her experience in export controls issues ranges from assisting companies with a wide range of compliance matters, such as classification of encrypted technology, software, computer and aerospace products, to navigating ever-evolving export regulations and sanctions laws. Christine also represents clients for voluntary disclosures, developing compliance programs, and obtaining export licenses and other export authorizations under the Commerce Control List of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the U.S. Munitions List of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). She also counsels clients on U.S. sanctions and embargoes enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and foreign investment matters before the departments of State, Commerce, Defense and Treasury. In addition, Christine advises U.S. and non-U.S. businesses regarding foreign direct investment in U.S.-based corporations, and represents clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) by conducting due diligence, drafting notices and developing risk mitigation plans for sensitive infrastructure. She also counsels companies on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by developing compliance programs, analyzing transactions for potential liability, conducting internal reviews, and drafting contracts for agreements with non-US-based representatives. She co-leads three subject matter expert teams assisting the Special Compliance Coordinator appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce to monitor, assess and report on the U.S. export control compliance of Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation, of Shenzhen, China, and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. of Hi-New Shenzhen, China (collectively, ZTE). Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Christine was in private practice, where she was involved in litigating the most recent trade remedies case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Eurodif S.A. v. United States. Additionally, Christine teaches basic and advanced level courses across the country on compliance with U.S. export control laws and regulations, such as the ITAR, EAR and OFAC restrictions.

Personal Injury Law

1055 Thomas Jefferson St NW, Washington, DC 20007

During the past two decades, Todd Mathews has secured numerous multimillion-dollar trial verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients, successfully representing plaintiffs nationwide across product liability, personal injury, employment, sexual abuse, class action, mass tort, and whistleblower cases. Todd served as co-lead trial counsel to the Official Committee of Talc Claimants in the Johnson & Johnson bankruptcy of its special purpose subsidiary LTL Management. For more please visit here. His courtroom efforts have not gone unnoticed. Todd is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, an invitation-only organization composed of premier trial lawyers from each state or region, and is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in America. A partner in Bailey Glasser’s St. Louis office, Todd joined the firm in September 2021. Todd serves on the plaintiff’s executive committee of both the Atrium Hernia Mesh Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) in New Hampshire and the Smith and Nephew Hips MDL in Maryland. He also holds leadership committee positions on the Bard Hernia Mesh Coordinated Cases, Mirena PTC MDL, and Taxotere MDL. He serves the Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers as a representative to the American Association of Justice’s board of governors. A regular organizer of and speaker at legal symposiums worldwide, Todd designs events that facilitate leadership roles, reflect organizational structure, and encourage coordinated litigation efforts. His conferences have featured hundreds of U.S. law firms. Todd holds a J.D. from Nova Southeastern University School of Law, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University.

Immigration Law

888 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA

Danielle Beach utilizes her 26 years of experience in immigration law to help individuals immigrate to the United States for humanitarian reasons. Born in Brussels, Belgium, Ms. Beach has lived in England, Belgium, Italy and Ivory Coast and has traveled extensively to many countries. Ms. Beach advocates for clients from around the world who seek freedom from torture in their country, or who are victims of domestic violence and trafficking. She has facilitated and litigated for family reunification and promoted employment for professionals, creating jobs for the economy. She has worked with numerous expert witnesses who have testified on her cases for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), forced marriage, illegal organ transplants, female genital mutilation, and political country experts for various countries all over the world. Ms. Beach is President and Managing Partner at Beach-Oswald Immigration Law Associates. She represents clients who suffer persecution and abuse in their native countries and focuses on helping them obtain a better quality of life in the United States. Ms. Beach actively advocates for her clients and assists them as they integrate into United States culture. She has also represented her clients at U.S. Consulates in Romania, China, Canada, Mexico, and several African countries. With her extensive experience in family-based and employment-based immigration law Ms. Beach not only assists her clients in obtaining a better standard of living in the United States, she also helps employers obtain professional visas and petition for family members. She also handles many complex naturalization issues. Ms. Beach has unique expertise representing clients in immigration matters pending before the Federal District Courts, Circuit Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals and Immigration Courts. She has won over 900 humanitarian cases in the United States.