Milbank

With domestic offices in New York, Washington, DC and Los Angeles, Milbank has a steady and uninterrupted ascent in its profile. “Milbank remains a force to be reckoned with,” confirms a peer. Another adds, “They occupy a space in the market that is kind of unique to them, a very interesting offering of practices.” Clients are equally appreciative, with one offering the plum accolade, “They have a deep bench of very skilled litigators that have actually gone to trial.

The firm’s LA office, and its intellectual property practice overall, got a significant boost in August 2019 when it lured a sizeable IP team from Irell & Manella to the firm’s bench. This includes the especially auspicious acquisition of David Gindler, a routinely revered patent and licensing partner. “This is big news,” offers a peer in the IP space. “Milbank definitely scored here, and their already strong IP team in New York is now complemented by a West Coast component.”

A member of the New York IP team, Errol Taylor, scored in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for Tris Pharma in a lawsuit concerning patents that cover Tris's ADHD treatment. In November 2018, the appellate court cemented Taylor’s hard-fought victory. “Errol is underrated and deserves more notice,” ventures a peer. “He is just awesome.” In a particularly novel matter spanning IP and international arbitration, New York IP specialist Chris Gaspar and DC-based international arbitration partner Michael Nolan chalked up a win in March 2017, when the Federal Circuit affirmed a $450 million arbitration award on behalf of client Bayer CropScience in an international-level dispute concerning infringement of a patent on a gene used by farmers to modify their crops to withstand weed-killing herbicides. The two cemented that win with a December 2017 order from Supreme Court denying certiorari. Nolan also represented the Government of Mongolia, prevailing in an arbitration brought by Chinese state-owned entities pursuant to the investment-protection treaty between the two countries over Mongolia’s revocation of a license for the Chinese entities to mine a vast iron ore deposit. The leases were cancelled in 2006 after the Chinese entities allegedly breached Mongolian laws and the terms of the license. The Chinese entities sought to recoup their investment, as well as potential profits and arbitration costs. The tribunal’s issued a unanimous award as of June 2017, dismissing all claims. Nolan logged another win for the developers and owners of a 148.5-MW wind farm in northeast Mexico against a subsidiary of the Spanish conglomerate Abengoa. In the award issued in the summer of 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal ruled that Abengoa had breached its obligations as general contractor for the construction of the wind farm. In 2019, the Southern District of New York confirmed the award in favor of Nolan’s clients. Fellow New York partner and securities enforcement and white-collar practitioner, George Canellos, who returned to the firm in 2014 after a stint with the SEC, receives plentiful plaudits from peers. “George has really built a nice practice over there,” confirms one, who concedes, “More litigators should try to be like him, not just in his work but in his approach. You feel like you can trust him, he has immediate credibility.” Another peer reinforces this claim. “George is just fantastic - one of the best and most experienced enforcement lawyers you’ll find, and, it should be said, one of the nicest and most easygoing. That’s a rare find.” Canellos represents the founder and managing partner of a private equity firm in connection with a federal government investigation of insider trading activity in the securities of a semiconductor entity. In January 2019, the court rejected the prosecution's request for a sentence of between six and a half to eight years' imprisonment, and sentenced the client to just three months’ imprisonment. New York’s Dan Perry is representing Primero Mining in a putative securities class action in the Central District of California, related to the Canadian company’s allegedly false or misleading disclosures regarding its Mexican subsidiary, which allegedly harmed investors when the company’s share price dropped. The matter is currently on appeal in the Ninth Circuit. A client weighs in on Perry’s behalf, “Dan is a highly skilled trial lawyer who strikes the right balance of taking the time to understand the details/nuances of a matter or issue while still being efficient and mindful of costs. He also communicates well with the business side where necessary.”

Managing partner of the Washington, DC office, Andrew Leblanc was recently a part of the lead counsel team (which also included Dennis Dunne and Atara Miller) who achieved a significant victory on behalf of Ambac Assurance Corporation before the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in a case that threatened to derail Puerto Rico’s efforts to reach consensual resolutions with its creditors. This decision allows negotiations to move forward without the distraction of creditor litigation, and supports important principles concerning the application of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay. Leblanc enjoys a unanimous reputation as one of the leading genuine bankruptcy litigators in the US. “Andy is the real deal,” confirms a competitor. “He’s not just a restructuring lawyer, he’s not a litigator who just dabbles in bankruptcy, he is a true insolvency court fighter. Other clients go out of their way to avoid him - they didn’t want him cross-examining their CEO!” One peer quips, “Andy Leblanc is the one bankruptcy litigator that I’m really worried about going up against.”