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Phone: 615-724-6207

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E-mail: howell@mcolawfirm.com​

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Martindale Hubbell AV Howell O'Rear Nashville Trademark Copyright Music Litigation Lawyer
Howell O'Rear Super Lawyer Litigation Na

Howell O'Rear

Howell O’Rear is a founding member of McInteer & O'Rear PLC.  His practice focuses on disputes and business litigation.  Howell handles cases involving breach of contract, construction, real estate, disputes among partners and shareholders, business torts such as fraud and misrepresentation, consumer protection, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and Internet matters.  His clients span a wide variety of interests and industries.  Howell's litigation experience extends to both state and federal courts.  He also prepares and files trademark applications, and assists clients in developing enforcement procedures to protect their intellectual property rights.  

 

Howell is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and since 2014, he has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers® for the practice areas of Intellectual Property Litigation, Copyright Law, Trademark, and Entertainment Law.  The 2020 and 2023 editions of Best Lawyers® named Howell the "Lawyer of the Year" in the Nashville area for Intellectual Property Litigation. Since 2015, Howell has been named and included in Super Lawyers for business litigation.   

 

Howell earned his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was the Editor of Articles Development for the Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Law & Politics. Howell also graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. degree in Media Studies.

 

Recent Experience

Education​

University of Virginia

School of Law, J.D.


University of Virginia

Media Studies, B.A.


Admissions​

Tennessee State Bar​

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Alabama State Bar

 

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

 

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

 

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama​

 

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama​

 

U.S Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

 

Memberships​
Tennessee Bar Association
Alabama Bar Association
Nashville Bar Association

Commercial/Business Litigation

  • Multiple business disputes and trials in Chancery Court and Tennessee Business Court;

  • Obtained $2 million judgment in LLC valuation trial;

  • Represented individuals in partnership / LLC disputes;

  • Represented record label in action against artist; representation enabled settlement;

  • Defended out-of-state corporation in jurisdiction fight and secured dismissal on motion to dismiss;

  • Represented both artists and managers in music business disputes;

  • Defended client against Communications Act claim, representation enabled settlement;

  • Represented individuals in property disputes against insurance company; and

  • Gayngs LLC v. CJ Starbuses, Inc.: Obtained a jury verdict and judgment on behalf of a critically-acclaimed band involving a tour bus dispute at ACL Music Festival.  (Verdict mentioned by New York Times).

 

Real Estate/Construction Litigation

  • Jury trial over commercial real estate lease, representation enabled settlement after trial;

  • Numerous cases involving construction defects and disclosure requirements;

  • Represented construction company in multiple actions involving contract, insurance, and lien disputes;

  • Represented numerous individuals in actions against contractor for residential construction;

  • Cases involving wrongful construction liens;

  • Represented individuals in partition actions;

  • Represented companies in commercial construction dispute;

  • Represented individuals in lending dispute; and

  • Represented individuals in easement/property disputes.

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Copyright Litigation

  • Numerous music-related copyright infringement actions involving high-profile artists and major labels;

  • Litigated over twenty-five copyright infringement matters in federal court;

  • Secured dismissal of complaint on personal jurisdiction grounds for legendary entertainer.  Estate of Chatmon v. Warner Music, et al, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107276 (M.D. Tenn. June 27, 2018);

  • Numerous copyright infringement actions involving interpretation of statutory damages;

  • Served as an expert witness in a copyright infringement lawsuit;

  • Numerous lawsuits involving photography online infringement; and

  • Numerous lawsuits involving building plans and copyright infringement.

 

Trademark Litigation

  • Represented clothing retailer in multi-million dollar infringement claim in federal court, representation enabled settlement;

  • Represented artist in right of publicity action against book publisher, representation enabled settlement;

  • Represented car dealership in trademark litigation, representation enabled settlement;

  • Represented animal feed company in trademark litigation;

  • Represented company in trademark dispute of its brand in national advertising campaign;

  • Arbitrated cybersquatting disputes; and

  • Registered numerous state and federal trademarks on behalf of clients.

 

Employment Litigation

  • Complete defense verdict at trial on behalf of dentist and professional corporation;

  • Numerous non-compete disputes;

  • Represented executive in employment dispute; representation enabled settlement;

  • Represented manager of large business in breach of contract suit; and

  • Represented sales manager in wrongful discharge matter.

 

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News & Publications​

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