Fredric D. Bellamy, a seasoned litigator in Dickinson Wright’s Phoenix office, focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, including insurance coverage and bad faith cases, often involving scientific and technological disputes. Fredric also has extensive experience in intellectual property litigation, data privacy and cybersecurity law, labor and employment, and environmental and toxic tort cases. With over 30 years of litigation experience, Fredric’s clients rely on his strong grasp of the technical aspects of their business to handle intricate, lengthy cases with care.
Fredric is capable of communicating complicated legal and technical matters in terms his clients understand. He was honored with the prestigious Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Achievement from the Burton Foundation and the Library of Congress for outstanding writing on complex legal subjects in plain English. Fredric previously served as a long-standing member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Technology Council, and currently serves as chairman of its Law & Technology Committee.
Fredric’s practice has included several high-stakes, “bet-the-company” cases, and Chambers USA (2007) stated: “[Fredric’s] litigation practice has seen him involved in some very sizable cases. He is widely perceived as a ‘substantive lawyer’ with a quick grasp of scientific issues and a creative approach.”
Education & Credentials
Education
Harvard Law School
J.D., 1986- Articles Editor, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
- Winner, Ames Moot Court Competition (1985)
Harvard University
A.B., Psychology & Social Relations, 1983- cum laude
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators for Arizona (2021)
- Best Lawyers in America
- Technology Lawyer of the Year, Phoenix, Arizona (2018)
- Technology Law, Phoenix (2009-2023), and Information Technology Law, Phoenix (2008-2023)
- Southwest Super Lawyers
- Intellectual Property Litigation, Phoenix (2007-2016)
- Chambers USA
- Environment (Including Water Rights) (2007-2012)
- Burton Award of Distinguished Legal Achievement (Awarded by the Burton Foundation and the Library of Congress for Excellence in Legal Writing)
- Winner, 1985 Ames Moot Court Competition, Harvard Law School
Prominent Assignments
Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage, Financial Fraud, Real Estate, and Lender Liability
Fredric frequently represents businesses in high-stakes cases involving complicated issues, including bad faith, insurance coverage, breach of contract, real estate, and financial fraud cases involving complex fact situations with millions of dollars on the line. His experience in this area includes:
- Insurance coverage litigation and counseling, including regarding environmental contamination, toxic torts, financial fraud, intellectual property, and cyber-risks
- Defending against lender liability suits, including serving as lead counsel at a lengthy jury trial in one of Arizona’s largest lender liability cases, and through appeals, with highly favorable results
- Defending a major homebuilder in financial fraud litigation concerning the financing of a master-planned community in Arizona
Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
With over three decades of experience in litigating technology-related cases, Fredric helps businesses understand and manage their legal risks relating to cybersecurity and protecting data privacy. Fredric has experience helping businesses in the following and related areas:
- Preparing and updating their policies that affect cybersecurity risks, including Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and other technology use policies
- Managing data breach notifications, including informing government agencies and managing the legal aspects of investigations
- Providing advice regarding privacy policies, including under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy laws
Intellectual Property Litigation
Fredric has been recognized by his peers as a leading lawyer in Intellectual Property Litigation in Southwest Super Lawyers (2007-2016). He has represented technology and telecommunication companies, software developers, municipalities and airports, and manufacturers and retailers, and his experience includes:
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Resolving numerous branding disputes over product names, packaging, and related branding themes in mediation, arbitration, and litigation
- Defending telecommunications companies against patent infringement claims in multi-party litigation brought in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas
- Testifying as an expert witness on copyright issues relating to mathematical formulas in college textbooks
Labor and Employment Litigation
Fredric has extensive experience in representing employers in labor and employment cases, and his experience includes:
- Representing businesses in trade secret misappropriation and covenant not to compete cases involving former employees
- Defending employers against racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, and whistleblower charges and claims in government investigations and litigation
Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation
Chambers USA (2012) wrote: “Fredric Bellamy shines in complex matters of environmental litigation, and has extensive experience in handling intricate, lengthy cases in the mining, aviation, and waste management sectors.” Fredric has a strong track record of handling cases involving science, technology, and engineering issues, and his experience includes:
- Representing leading copper mining companies in environmental and toxic tort litigation in a complex, multiple-party series of cases that lasted nearly two decades, including two interlocutory appeals, and defending against a class action
- Representing a major jet plane manufacturer in environmental litigation focusing on complex issues relating to corporate successorship
- Representing one of Arizona’s largest cities in a complex case involving issues relating to the construction and maintenance of a landfill washed out in a flood with allegations of both Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act violations
Professional Involvement
- Task Force on Countering Disinformation, Arizona Supreme Court Committee
- Member, 2019-2022
- Arizona Supreme Court Task Force on Countering Disinformation, Member
- Maricopa County Bar Association
- Member, Board of Directors, Litigation Section
- State Bar of Arizona
- Former Chairman, Intellectual Property Section
- Former Chairman, E-Commerce & Internet Law Section
- Former Chairman, Technology Committee, Young Lawyers Division
- Former Editor in Chief, Environmental & Natural Resources Law Update Newsletter
- Former Editor, Toxic Tort and Insurance Developments, Environmental & Natural Resources Law Update Newsletter
Community Involvement
- Arizona Technology Council
- Chairman, Law & Technology Committee
- Former Member, Board of Directors
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Author, "Illinois court decisions acknowledge biometric privacy act’s damages a potential business killer,” Reuters Legal News, April 2023
- Author, "U.S. data privacy laws to enter new era in 2023," Thomson Reuters, January 2023
- Author, "Data Breach Class Action Litigation and the Changing Legal Landscape," Thomson Reuters, June 2022
- Author, "Looking to the Future of Biometric Data Privacy Laws," Reuters, April 2022
- Speaker, "What Every Business Lawyer Should Know About Business Insurance," Maricopa County Bar Association, December 2021
- Moderator, "Complex Civil Litigation and Tier 3 Cases in Commercial Court: Everything You've Always Needed to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask!," Maricopa County Bar Association, October 2021
- Co-Presenter, “Cybersecurity? Everything Has Changed!”, Business Clubs of America Special Event, August 2021
- “Cybersecurity and Mandatory Data-Breach Notifications,” Intellectual Property Deskbook for the Business Lawyer: A Transactions-Based Guide to Intellectual Property Law, Fourth Edition (American Bar Ass’n 2019).
- “The Present and Future of Greenhouse Gas Regulation: Key Considerations for Industry,” Recent Developments in Greenhouse Gas Regulations: Leading Lawyers on Understanding the Impact of Global Politics, Navigating Climate Change Concerns, and Staying Up-to-Date on Reporting Requirements (Thomson West, Aspatore Books 2010)
- Opening Keynote Speaker, “Recent Developments in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law,”Fourth Annual Cybersecurity Lunch Forum, Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Cyber Threat Response Alliance (ACTRA)/Arizona InfraGard (Scottsdale, Arizona Dec. 4, 2019)
- “Robots and RECs!: Technology Enablement in Real Estate,” Environmental Bankers Association 2019 Winter Conference (New Orleans, Jan. 21, 2019)
- “Ten Myths of Cybersecurity,” FBI and Arizona Bankers Association Fraud & Security Conference (Phoenix, Sept. 5, 2018)