Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a global law firm with more than 3,000 attorneys representing clients in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, restructuring, and intellectual property matters. The Firm has offices in 19 cities around the world: Austin, Bay Area, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, New York, Paris, Salt Lake City, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.
Litigation: Kirkland & Ellis is renowned for its experience in complex litigation and arbitration. The Firm believes that the best litigation results occur when the lawyers are fully prepared to try the case through verdict. Because of Kirkland’s trial-ready philosophy and training, the Firm is able to offer clients a deep bench of lawyers who have been taking cases to verdict since the early stages of their careers. Whether in the courtroom, at the bargaining table or helping clients avoid risks without litigation, Kirkland has a long and proven track record of generating successful results for clients in their most high-stakes cases matters.
The Litigation Practice Group comprises approximately 600 attorneys throughout the firm’s worldwide offices. Kirkland represents clients in trial and appellate courts at the federal and state level, before administrative tribunals, and in arbitrations and other dispute resolution proceedings. The Firm also represents clients in connection with proceedings involving government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, US Attorneys General Offices, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange, the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.
Kirkland litigators have successfully litigated cases in virtually every substantive area and business segment including accountant liability, antitrust and competition, appellate, class action, mass tort and toxic tort, insurance, data privacy, labor and employment, breach of contract and securities litigation.
Kirkland has been recognized by clients and the media for its achievements in litigation:
Intellectual Property Litigation: Kirkland & Ellis’ Intellectual Property Practice Group is one of the oldest such practices in a full-service firm in the country, having been an integral part of Kirkland since 1925. Kirkland has approximately 200 intellectual property lawyers who are experienced in a variety of technical disciplines and registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office. More than 70 percent of the lawyers are engineers and scientists trained with degrees and professional backgrounds in technical areas.
Kirkland has one of the most respected intellectual property litigation practices in the country, with particular experience in large-scale patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret misappropriation and advertising matters. The work of the group frequently extends to antitrust, securities/compliance, products liability and appellate matters.
Kirkland’s experience in venues where IP cases are most often litigated is extensive. The Firm tries cases before juries, judges and arbitrators in venues across the country including state courts, district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Kirkland has one of the most active trial practices in the country. Our success rate at trial is among the best, with only a few of losses over the last 10 years despite handling some of the most challenging litigation cases in history.
The Intellectual Property Practice Group has been recognized by numerous publications for its achievements:
Please visit our website at www.kirkland.com for additional information about Kirkland and office contact information.
Updated Aug 2023
Mintz is a leading national law firm with more than 500 diverse and talented attorneys working to provide our clients with unmatched legal advice in the global market’s most competitive industries. Ours is a firm built on excellence and driven by change. We create breakthrough legal strategies that help clients solve problems and forge ahead. Through a combination of legal and business insights, we have continuously helped our clients navigate shifting challenges, comply with evolving regulations and compete in emerging markets.
To ensure our clients continue to see excellent results, we emphasize talent retention through the mentorship of our world class associates and a commitment to a diverse and inclusive culture. As such, we are able to integrate a full spectrum of viewpoints into all that we do, recognizing that a range of perspectives drives the best legal solutions.
We have one of the largest and most distinguished litigation practices nationwide, with a deep bench of trial lawyers and regulatory experts who cover all aspects of complex business litigation. Our attorneys approach problems with an aggressive drive and a strong sense of doing what’s best for the client. While our litigators are experienced trial lawyers who are fully prepared to take every case to trial, we keep a singular focus on the client’s business objectives in every case to make sure that the litigation strategy will help achieve those objectives, and employ tactics designed to achieve successful, early resolutions of cases wherever possible.
Central to our approach is immersing ourselves in our client’s business and tackling problems as if they were our own. We strive to be the leading legal counsel in our client’s industries — dedicating ourselves to developing the canny, insider insight needed to create successful, nimble strategies. Clients trust us with their most complex litigation issues because we approach problems with the understanding that each business has its unique challenges and characteristics. As litigators, we work closely with our colleagues in other disciplines to advise on key legal and industry matters that can impact a client’s dispute resolution. This collaborative, holistic approach allows us to ensure that we are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to crafting the best strategy for our clients’ businesses.
At Mintz, we understand that litigation is our business, not our client’s and that with each new engagement we must work to earn our reputation for excellence. Our top tier team of attorneys focuses on delivering prompt, high quality resolutions for our clients so that they can continue to compete above the rest, today and down the road.
Updated Sep 2022
Since its founding in 1996, Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP has provided the most sophisticated counsel to clients across the country in their highest-stakes matters. The firm remains small by design, preserving a model that demands the utmost standards, personal attention, and a focus on efficiency.
HNRK lawyers bring decades of experience at leading Am Law 100 law firms and government agencies, and are recognized for excellence in commercial litigation generally, and in the specific areas of insurance recovery, employment, white collar defense, construction disputes, and the representation of public agencies.
Main Areas of Practice:
Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution: HNRK lawyers litigate large-scale, complex, and sophisticated matters in federal and state trial and appellate courts and arbitral forums nationwide. HNRK has successfully represented individuals and businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, in a full range of business disputes and has handled numerous matters with billions of dollars at stake. HNRK attorneys are creative and resourceful in identifying best approaches to resolve client matters and in quickly assembling effective, efficient, and tightly focused teams to address and resolve potential or actual disputes cost-effectively and with maximal benefit to the client. Among other high-profile trials, the firm recently represented plaintiffs in an intellectual property licensing dispute involving the famous Palm restaurant, resulting in a $120 million award at trial, unanimously affirmed by the New York appellate court.
Insurance Recovery Litigation & Counseling: HNRK represents policyholders only. Beyond that, the firm places no limits on its leading insurance practice, which has secured hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. HNRK is regularly sought out by corporate and individual policyholders to advise and represent them in complex and valuable insurance coverage disputes. The firm is known for its ability to aggressively and creatively develop solutions to maximize clients’ insurance recoveries. Among other engagements, HNRK serves as coverage counsel to the world’s largest agrochemical company, Syngenta, and the communications, media, and automotive conglomerate, Cox—regularly advising and representing them in connection with losses and claims implicating numerous different types of coverage. The firm is also coverage counsel for high-profile individuals and has obtained coverage for clients facing headline-grabbing claims. The firm has delivered successful outcomes for clients through litigations in courts around the country, as well as through arbitrations and mediations in the U.S. and internationally, and negotiated settlements.
Employment Litigation & Counseling: HNRK’s Employment Litigation & Counseling practice is unique in that its employment attorneys have significant expertise in litigation through trial and arbitration, including at administrative agencies. HNRK stands ready to further clients’ interests, whether they are startups or large multinationals, public sector or private, international or domestic. HNRK represents management clients in employment litigation involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or illegal pay practices; prosecuting or defending claims arising from restrictive covenants; and other employment-related agreements. HNRK also conducts internal investigations for company clients regarding all kinds of discrimination and retaliation claims, and its partners are members of the Association of Workplace Investigators.
Construction Litigation & Counseling: HNRK has extensive experience counseling, litigating, and arbitrating on behalf of public and private clients in the construction, engineering, and real estate fields in matters involving project delays, change order disputes, differing site conditions, and other contract issues. This experience includes, for example, the firm’s longtime representation of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York and its affiliated operating authorities in connection with its capital construction program, in addition to the firm’s representation of private contractors. HNRK’s insurance recovery practice also includes representation of policyholders in construction-related insurance claims, where insurance for alleged construction damage may be challenged by the insurer.
White Collar Defense & Government Investigations: HNRK represents individuals and corporations facing a broad spectrum of complex government investigations, regulatory issues, and civil and criminal litigation, including foreign criminal and tax investigations. The successes secured on behalf of clients include favorable outcomes in cases involving: internal corporate investigations of alleged securities fraud; government investigations of alleged corporate wrongdoing; and the Securities Exchange Act, Investment Company Act, Investment Advisers Act, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
HNRK is certified by the State of New York and the City of New York as a Women Owned Business Enterprise.
Practice Areas and Industries:
Updated Sep 2023
With more than 120 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall (TX), New York, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. The firm has secured 13 nine-figure jury verdicts and15 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other law firm. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” McKool Smith represents leading clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.
Commercial litigation: McKool Smith specializes in complex commercial litigation. The firm litigates and regularly tries complex cases across a broad range of practice areas including antitrust, bankruptcy, entertainment, class action, contract, corporate governance, energy, fiduciary duty, insurance recovery, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, securities, and qui tam/whistleblower, among others. The firm’s attorneys also routinely appear in leading arbitral forums (e.g., JAMS and AAA) and appellate courts nationwide, including the US Supreme Court.
Intellectual property litigation: McKool Smith’s courtroom track record in intellectual property (IP) cases is unrivaled. Over the past 20 years, this distinguished trial team has won more patent litigation damages than any other firm (3 billion+). The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants in all aspects of IP litigation including patent litigation; ITC/Section 337 disputes and investigations; copyright, trademark, and false advertising litigation; and trade secret disputes. The firm’s attorneys also represent clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The IP practice has been recognized as the US “Plaintiff IP Firm of the Year” by Managing IP, “Intellectual Property Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and “IP Group of the Year” by Law360, among other honors.
Insurance recovery: McKool Smith’s litigators have more than 30 years of experience effectively leading clients through high-stakes coverage and liability disputes against their insurance providers. Collectively, the firm’s lawyers have obtained more than $5 billion in insurance-related recoveries for clients across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, chemical, entertainment, pharmaceutical, financial, education, and healthcare, among others.
White-collar defense: The firm’s white-collar defense practice is led by former federal prosecutors with experience in virtually every type of government investigation and prosecution. They defend alleged art, bank and securities fraud; insider trading; and antitrust, environmental, FCPA, OFAC, and tax violations, among other matters. The firm’s attorneys have also been appointed to monitorships and guided corporations, boards, and committees through internal investigations.
Bankruptcy: The firm’s bankruptcy practice focuses on complex disputes arising under bankruptcy and related state and federal laws, representing trustees, debtors, creditors’ committees, and other parties. The firm also handles complex reorganization proceedings and out-of-court restructurings.
Diversity & Inclusion: McKool Smith is the proud home of a team of top-notch lawyers who, without limitation, celebrate diversity and the creativity and innovation it promotes. The firm understands the value of collaboration among lawyers with a range of backgrounds and experiences and the synergies gained by drawing from a variety of perspectives. Our commitment to hiring and retaining a diverse team enables us to provide superior service to our clients in a workplace where elite trial attorneys attain the highest level of professional satisfaction.
Communicating with juries is at the heart of what we do, and no two jurors are the same. Top to bottom, McKool Smith has taken steps to ensure, that our lawyers can make connections where it matters most, that we reflect the communities we serve, and that diversity is woven into every stitch of the firm’s fabric. Together. Stronger.
Diversity is a core value and a force multiplier. Study after study has shown that diverse teams perform better, irrespective of industry or geography. Diverse companies attract top talent, enjoy greater employee retention, and elevate decision making and customer service to achieve better results. It’s how you win.
As outlined in our Diversity Policy, McKool Smith is committed to recruiting, retaining, and promoting a diverse team of lawyers and legal professionals and fostering a culture of inclusion. To honor this commitment, our Diversity Committee is charged with ensuring the continuous improvement of the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts and oversees the administration of our Diversity Action Plan, which features strategies to help meet these goals. The action plan includes mandates for:
In January 2020, McKool Smith retained Coston Consulting, a certified minority/Black-owned business advisory firm, to oversee development and implementation of the firm’s diversity initiatives in collaboration with the Diversity Committee. Michael Coston, the firm’s CEO, acts as McKool Smith’s external diversity & inclusion officer.
Other Offices: Austin · Houston · Los Angeles · Marshall · New York · Washington, D.C
Updated Sep 2023