Practice Areas

Blaies & Hightower focuses in serving clients involved in high-stakes and complex commercial disputes and serious personal injury or death litigation. We research the case, prepare our positions, determine if settlement discussions, arbitration or litigation is the appropriate avenue, discuss our recommendations with the client and then argue our points in a focused and forceful way.

Wes Hightower, Jim Hryekewicz, & Staci Collins


If litigation is the necessary course, we combine our lawyers who provide expert knowledge and insight on relevant statutes and case law with our insightful and battle-tested courtroom advocates. Together with a highly trained professional staff, our team sets its course and proceeds on your behalf.

Unlike most boutique litigation law firms, Blaies & Hightower has expertise in managing an entire portfolio of litigation for clients. For years we have represented a large multi-national manufacturer and handled dozens of cases, ranging from employment disputes to contractual issues to product liability. Our attorneys successfully handle the company’s litigation from the time the legal dispute arises through the appellate process. The long-standing relationship also puts us in a position to provide counsel focused on preventing or avoiding litigation.

Effective advocates can help either side. Because we understand legal defense, we are excellent plaintiff attorneys. We understand how to win for the plaintiff because we have been successful as defense counsel. Our experience allows us to understand every angle in the courtroom.

While our litigation capabilities and experience spans a broad spectrum, we do concentrate our practice in the following areas:

  • Appellate Law
  • Complex Commercial Litigation and Arbitration
  • Antitrust
  • Competitive Practices
  • Copyright
  • Fiduciary Responsibility
  • Intellectual Property
  • Restraint of Trade
  • Construction and Real Estate Litigation
  • Government Liability Litigation
  • Healthcare Litigation
  • Insurance Related Litigation
  • Labor and Employment Litigation and Arbitration
  • Medical Malpractice Litigation
  • Oil and Gas Litigation
  • Personal Injury Litigation
  • Premises Liability Litigation
  • Private-Sector Security Litigation
  • Product Liability Litigation
  • Sexual Torts Litigation
  • Transportation Litigation
  • Wrongful Death Litigation

Having Blaies & Hightower in your corner counts. When the largest airline in the world encountered a complex civil litigation case that was precedent setting in aviation law, our lawyers made a big difference.

A competitor had infringed upon the airline’s scheduling system. We were charting new legal territory. Since we had no established case law to rely on, we had to find our way. We studied every angle of the issue from a legal and a business perspective. After extensive analysis and research, we decided that how we argued the case was important, but even more so was where we argued the case. Our team at Blaies & Hightower believed the case belonged in state, not federal, court. We successfully briefed and argued that the case be remanded to state court and then obtained the key injunctive relief our client needed.

That’s what Blaies & Hightower does for its clients everyday and what we can do for you.