Taking On Fortune 500 Companies in High-Stakes Business Disputes

Sophisticated Commercial Litigation on Contingency Fees

When businesses and individuals face substantial commercial disputes against major corporations, they confront a harsh reality: their opponents have unlimited resources to hire the most expensive legal teams. The Calabro Law Office levels the playing field by providing sophisticated legal representation on a contingency fee basis—you only pay attorneys’ fees if you recover.

Attorney Toji Calabro represents clients in complex commercial litigation against some of the nation’s largest corporations. Licensed in California, New York, and Missouri, with extensive federal court experience throughout the country, the firm focuses exclusively on substantial business disputes where significant damages justify sophisticated representation.

Why Contingency Fee Representation for Major Commercial Disputes

Small to medium-sized businesses rarely have the resources to compete with Fortune 500 companies in protracted federal litigation. Sophisticated business litigators charge hourly rates that quickly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars and more—costs that are prohibitive for most plaintiffs, regardless of the merits of their claims.

Contingency fee representation solves this problem by eliminating upfront costs and aligning attorney and client interests. The Calabro Law Office receives attorneys’ fees only if the case results in recovery through settlement or verdict. This means clients can access the same caliber of legal representation as their well-funded opponents without the financial risk of hourly billing.

However, not all contingency fee lawyers handle complex commercial litigation. The Calabro Law Office takes a different approach: selective case acceptance focused on high-value disputes. This selectivity ensures that each client receives the focused attention, strategic thinking, and courtroom skill necessary to achieve optimal results against sophisticated defense firms.

With experience handling business disputes involving tens of millions of dollars and achieving significant settlements in RICO, class action, business and employment cases, the firm brings both the expertise and the resources necessary to prosecute complex commercial claims effectively.

What We Handle

Civil RICO Actions

The firm has particular expertise in civil RICO litigation under 18 U.S.C. § 1962, having achieved significant results. RICO provides mandatory treble damages and attorney fee recovery for victims of systematic fraud, extortion, and other patterns of racketeering activity. These cases are among the most complex in commercial litigation and require sophisticated understanding of federal racketeering law, pattern requirements, and enterprise elements.

Section 1981 Civil Rights Claims

Section 1981 prohibits racial discrimination in contracting and provides powerful remedies when individuals or businesses are denied opportunities based on race. The firm can represent clients facing race-based discrimination in contracting, corporate supplier diversity programs, and employment—including claims challenging race-conscious DEI initiatives that cross the line into illegal discrimination. With no statutory cap on damages and no EEOC exhaustion requirement, Section 1981 provides superior remedies to Title VII for substantial discrimination claims.

Business Fraud and Systematic Misrepresentation

Fraud claims arising from business acquisitions, vendor relationships, and commercial transactions support punitive damages and enhanced remedies beyond simple breach of contract. When corporations or business partners engage in systematic misrepresentation or fraudulent concealment, aggressive fraud litigation combined with RICO claims can result in substantial recovery.

High-Value Contract Disputes

Major contract breaches involving distribution agreements, licensing relationships, supply contracts, and other high-value commercial relationships require sophisticated litigation strategy. The firm handles substantial contract disputes where damages justify extensive litigation and where understanding both contract law and business context is essential.

Business Torts

The firm handles business tort claims including conversion, tortious interference with contracts and prospective business relationships, unfair competition, and civil conspiracy. Business torts provide remedies against third parties who wrongfully harm business interests and often support punitive damages beyond what contract claims allow.

Class Actions and PAGA Representative Actions

The firm represents plaintiffs in consumer class actions, employment class actions, and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions against major corporations. Class actions provide mechanisms for individuals to pool claims and hold corporations accountable for systematic misconduct.

Partnership and Shareholder Disputes

When business partners or shareholders engage in theft, self-dealing, or other breaches of fiduciary duties, the financial consequences can be catastrophic. The firm represents partners and shareholders in disputes involving misappropriation of assets, diversion of business opportunities, derivative actions, and shareholder oppression. These cases often involve complex valuation issues and sophisticated analysis of fiduciary duty law.

Employment Discrimination and Whistleblower Claims

The firm selectively handles high-value individual employment disputes involving substantial damages—typically cases with potential recovery exceeding seven figures. This includes executive wrongful termination, discrimination claims involving significant lost compensation, whistleblower retaliation under federal and state statutes, and disputes over deferred compensation or equity.

Why This Approach Works

Level the Playing Field Against Well-Funded Opponents

Fortune 500 companies and major financial institutions retain elite defense firms with substantial resources. Success against such opponents requires matching their investment in the case. By handling cases on contingency fees, the firm invests its own time and resources in developing claims, conducting extensive discovery, retaining expert witnesses, and preparing for trial without clients bearing fees for such work unless there is recovery.

Federal Court Expertise

Complex commercial litigation often involves federal court practice, whether due to diversity jurisdiction, federal question jurisdiction, RICO claims, or class actions. The firm has extensive experience in federal district courts throughout California, Missouri, and other jurisdictions, handling cases involving federal civil procedure, complex case management, and federal appellate practice.

Proven Results Against Major Corporations

The firm has represented plaintiffs against Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, and international competitors. Representative matters include significant settlements in RICO litigation, residential mortgage-backed securities fraud cases, and employment class actions. These outcomes demonstrate both the legal skill and the willingness to invest substantial resources necessary to achieve results against well-funded defense firms.

Selective Case Acceptance

The firm evaluates potential cases based on several critical factors: substantial provable damages (typically seven figures or higher), strong evidence supporting legal claims, collectible defendants who can satisfy significant judgments, and legal complexity requiring sophisticated federal court representation. This rigorous evaluation benefits both attorney and client by ensuring resources are focused on cases with genuine merit and significant recovery potential.

Geographic Scope

The Calabro Law Office is licensed in California, New York, and Missouri and maintains an active federal court practice throughout the United States. While based in Kansas City, Missouri, the firm regularly handles cases in California state and federal courts, as well as in federal district courts and courts of appeal nationwide.

California represents a significant focus of the practice due to favorable substantive laws for plaintiffs in class actions, employment disputes, business fraud, and commercial litigation. The firm has particular experience with California-specific causes of action including PAGA representative actions, employment disputes, Penal Code 496(c) and conversion claims, Unfair Competition Law claims, and California consumer protection statutes.

Free Confidential Case Evaluation

If you are involved in a substantial business dispute—whether business fraud, partnership theft, RICO violations, Section 1981 discrimination, employment claims, or other complex commercial litigation, the Calabro Law Office offers a free, confidential case evaluation.

During the evaluation, attorney Toji Calabro reviews the facts of your dispute, analyzes potential claims, assesses case strength, and provides honest advice about whether litigation makes sense. This consultation is completely confidential and creates no attorney-client relationship unless both parties agree to move forward.

How Contingency Fee Representation Works

In contingency fee representations, the firm receives attorneys’ fees only if the case results in recovery through settlement or verdict. The standard contingency fee in complex commercial litigation typically ranges from 33% to 40% of recovery, depending on the stage of resolution and complexity of the case.

Cost arrangements—the expenses of litigation such as expert witnesses, deposition costs, filing fees, and document production—are determined case-by-case based on the specific facts and circumstances. In substantial cases with strong potential for significant recovery, the firm may advance costs to be reimbursed from any settlement or judgment.

Contingency fee representation provides critical advantages: no upfront legal fees eliminates the financial barrier to accessing sophisticated counsel, aligned incentives ensure the attorney only benefits if the client recovers, and the ability to make litigation decisions based on merits rather than mounting hourly fees.

* Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.  Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.  Some clients on a contingency fee may be responsible for certain costs and expenses.