Doug Mansfield is a trial lawyer with a nationwide litigation and arbitration practice and nearly three decades of experience handling complex commercial disputes. He has represented clients as plaintiffs, individual defendants, and class action defendants in a wide variety of matters.  Doug has tried cases before state and federal courts, state administrative agencies, Self-Regulating Organizations (SROs) and arbitration tribunals around the country, and has argued appeals before multiple federal circuit courts as well as state courts.

Doug’s experience spans across many industries, including automotive, insurance, food, manufacturing, agricultural, telecommunications, broker-dealer, banking, health care, real estate, and construction. The disputes have ranged from complex litigation to securities arbitration and SEC administrative proceedings, distributor and franchise terminations, trade secrets, non-compete matters, government investigations, white collar criminal proceedings and general commercial or contract disputes.

Before deciding to pursue a career in law, Doug was a securities analyst for SBCI Securities Asia, Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan covering the paper & pulp, beer and steel industries and before that a writer and editor for a Japanese investor relations company, IR Japan, Inc., writing the English-language annual reports and other disclosure materials for Japanese companies with shares listed on U.S. exchanges. Doug spent four years in the U.S. Army as a Chinese linguist, and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. Doug is a member of the Ohio State and Columbus Bar Associations and is active in pro bono matters.  Prior to founding Lape Mansfield Nakasian & Gibson, Doug was a partner in the Columbus office of Jones Day.

Doug is the proud father of three kids – Marr, a graduate of Denison University, who lives and works in Denver, Colorado; Meg, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, who lives and works in San Francisco, California; and Tommy, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, who lives and works in Washington, D.C.  Doug and his wife Eri enjoy the arts, music, reading, travel and outdoor activities (including gardening, golfing and tennis). Doug is also an avid woodworker and restorer of old cars.

Education

• J.D., University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1994
• B.A., in International Relations, 1988, Stanford University

Memberships and Affiliations

• Ohio State Bar Association
• Columbus Bar Association
• Ohio Super Lawyers

Representative Experience

Litigation and Arbitration Matters

• Represented General Motors Corporation in its national defense efforts in hundreds of arbitrations by dealers seeking reinstatement of their franchises following GM’s bankruptcy.
• Represented a Mt. Vernon, Ohio middle school student and his family in a case involving separation of church and state in which the student’s teacher, John Freshwater, burned a cross on the student’s arm with an electrical device in science class.
• Represented American Electric Power in a multimillion dollar dispute involving termination of derivatives contracts under an International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) master agreement with the Bank of Montreal.
• Represented the motorsports division of GM in a dispute with a promoter over various sponsorships of NASCAR racing teams.
• Represented several Japanese auto parts manufacturers in federal criminal antitrust proceedings brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Represented the buyers of a national food company in a dispute over terms of an asset purchase agreement with the sellers.
• Represented the Belgian bank, KBC, N.V., in an action seeking foreclosure and the appointment of a receiver in a large commercial project.
• Represented First American Title Insurance Company in a putative class action in Illinois federal court seeking recovery of title insurance premiums paid on residential real estate transactions by Illinois citizens.
• Represented various individuals and companies in general commercial, contract or other business-related litigation.

General Business and Regulatory Matters

• Formed a broker/dealer and advised the company concerning compliance and regulatory issues.
• Created a Health Care Alliance for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
• Advised a large insurer on state regulatory and licensing approval issues.
• Provided advice to The Scotts Company on seed, feed, and fertilizer compliance issues in jurisdictions across the country.
• Represented numerous small business entities, including corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, in contract, employment, compliance and other matters.

Publications

October 2011 — Federal Court Awards Preliminary Injunction Against Terminated Franchisee, LJN’s Franchising Business & Law Alert, Vol. 18, No. 1

December 2009 — Appellate Court Declines Look at Subjective ‘Good Faith’ in Contract, LJN’s Franchising Business & Law Alert, Vol. 16, Number 3

October 2009 — New “Dualing” Amendments to Dealer-Protection Laws Pass Legislatures, LJN Franchising Business & Law Alert – PDF only June 2009 — MO Supreme Court Denies Auto Dealer’s ‘Bad Faith’ Statutory Claim, LJN’s Franchising Business & Law Alert, Vol. 15, Number 9

February 2009 — Contributor, How to Fix the U.S. Auto Industry: A Dealership Perspective, Franchising Business & Law Alert, Volume 15, Number 5

January 2009 — Auto Dealer Can Bring ‘Bad Faith’ Statutory Claim, Franchising Business & Law Alert, Volume 15, Number 4

December 2008 — Appellate Court Says Waiver Enforceable, Notwithstanding Statute, Franchising Business & Law Alert, Volume 15, Number 3

October 2008 — Franchisors May Have Standing to Seek to Quash Subpoenas Directed to Third Parties, LJN’s Franchising Business & Law Alert

Bar Admissions

• Ohio
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio