Headquartered in Boston, where it remains a market leader, Goodwin has since morphed into a global firm, with 10 offices (six in the US, covering both coasts) housing approximately 1,000 lawyers.
Consistent with its Boston roots, the firm enjoys a particular niche in the life sciences area, with several wins on the part of its litigators in patent and patent-related actions. Christopher Holding provides lead counsel to Actavis in antitrust litigation challenging a patent settlement agreement between the client and another pharmaceutical entity concerning generic versions of Intuniv, an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication. Holding is also playing a role in a case led by another Boston partner, Anthony Downs, for Teva USA as the company faced a $235 million judgment following a seven-day patent infringement trial. Goodwin persuaded the federal district court in Delaware to set aside the jury’s verdict as lacking support, and to find for Teva on the issue of infringement. Beyond IP and life sciences, Holding is also successfully defended BarBri, a provider of bar exam prep courses, in antitrust litigation involving claims of monopolization and collusion (including allegations of bribery) between 12 law schools. Holding secured a dismissal of all claims in the 13-count complaint. Downs meanwhile successfully defended longstanding client Applied Materials and its largest customer against infringement claims concerning a series of patents, employed by the client in a tool for creating very high-density semiconductor chips, allegedly owned by a sole inventor. Downs secured a favorable settlement for Applied and its customer in mid-2018. Boston ERISA authority Jamie Fleckner won a complete bench trial victory for American Century Investments in a class-action brought by former employees participating in American Century's defined-contribution 401(k) retirement plan who claimed that the client breached ERISA fiduciary duties by creating a 401(k) plan that included only American Century-affiliated investment options, when supposedly better-performing and cheaper investment alternatives existed.
In the New York office, Elizabeth Holland regularly works on high-profile patent litigation cases for companies including Actavis, Teva, Boston Scientific, Ceva Sante, Enzymotec, Celltrion, and Lupin. A peer voices on Holland’s behalf, “I’ve never witnessed Elizabeth at trial but I have interacted with her and she presents excellently and I like her personally.” New York commercial partner Marshall Fishman acts for BNP Paribas, one of 12 defendants in a series of putative class actions and two individual actions alleging that the financial institutions conspired to maintain control of the over-the-counter interest rate swap market and exclude fund managers and other buy-side investors from trading IRS on electronic exchanges. Fishman is also representing Citigroup and several of its wholly owned subsidiaries in commercial litigation arising under an option a hedge fund purchased in the residual value of an undivided interest in a nuclear power facility pursuant to a complex sale and leaseback transaction. Brian Pastuszenski is another favorite among peers, with one insisting, “He is fantastic, and you should consider him for a national level securities listing. We see him in a ton of work.” In one such matter, Pastuszenski represents Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation in multiple securities class action, shareholder derivative, and related matters arising out of its September 2016 announcement that it had identified certain potentially improper payments made to government officials in India, where it operates nearly 45 facilities and has several tens of thousands of employees, in connection with obtaining permits for certain of its facilities. White-collar specialist Richard Strassberg represents John Stumpf, the former Chairman & CEO of Wells Fargo, in litigation and investigations arising from the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and City of Los Angeles, to settle allegations that it opened unauthorized accounts and issued unauthorized products for customers, as well as other recent reports concerning Wells Fargo's alleged sales practices. Acting with Strassberg on this matter is another white-collar partner, Grant Fondo, based in the firm’s Silicon Valley office.
Another Silicon Valley partner who has made quite a name for himself, Neel Chatterjee, who joined the firm from Orrick in 2017, has kept particularly busy in his tech-focused IP practice. Among several high-profile appointments for buzzy, Valley-centric clients, Chatterjee is representing Anthony Levandowski, star engineer at the heart of the widely publicized Google/Uber dispute over self-driving car technology. Chatterjee is also well known for defending social media network Facebook and at its founder Mark Zuckerberg against claims that the internet entrepreneur stole the idea.
The DC office’s appellate practice has also seen a vibrant spike in activity, with Willy Jay keeping particularly busy. Jay argued on behalf of a group of Indian tribes from western Washington State in the Supreme Court in a matter involving the interpretation of a set of historic treaties that protect the tribes’ fishing rights. Washington State has redirected numerous salmon-bearing streams through culverts that are impassable to fish, endangering the fragile fisheries. The tribes have successfully argued that refusing to repair these culverts violates the tribes’ treaty-protected rights. Goodwin was hired after the Supreme Court granted certiorari to defend the decision in favor of the tribes. Jay is widely admired, with a vocal contingent of peers offering plaudits on his behalf. “I’m a HUGE fan,” raves one highly regarded and seasoned peer in the appeals space. “He’s young enough that I would say he’s ‘up-and-coming,” but nah, he’s ‘there’ already. Clients just love him, he’s like a walking encyclopedia of the law. He’s just awesome, very charming.” Another peer testifies, “We co-wrote briefs with Goodwin, and we have a great relationship with them. Willy Jay is just personally a very good guy and is a team player, who is not about trying to take all the credit for anything. He was very gracious in recognizing the contribution that we made to the briefs in a way that frankly you don’t always see. He is excellent, the go-to guy for appeals court work, and he was excellent in his presentation to the Supreme Court.”
