Winston & Strawn

Winston & Strawn has grown from its Chicago roots and expanded strategically to the point of being entrenched in most of the world's major financial markets. "Winston has a very balanced litigation team," observes a peer. "They have some of the best people in their respective capacities, and these people are distributed evenly throughout its overall national bench." An appreciative client champions the firm's "no-nonsense litigation culture that emphasizes performance over pedigree. They are nimbler and, frankly, hungrier litigators than many of their more expensive 'white-shoe' counterparts. They're trial lawyers! It's a breath of fresh air."

The firm has flexed its muscle in some particularly high-profile litigation matters that have grabbed headlines of late. Chicago-based intellectual property, white-collar and commercial litigation trial lawyer George Lombardi led a team that scored a huge victory for Warner Chilcott, invalidating the patent for Merck's NuvaRing, the first combined contraceptive vaginal ring marketed in the U.S. The path is now clear for Winston client Teva Pharmaceuticals (which now owns the Warner Chilcott ANDA) to obtain FDA approval to market a generic version of Merck's drug. Another trial lawyer not wanting for national recognition, Chicago's Dan Webb still routinely receives near-unanimous praise. "Dan is like the Cary Grant of trial lawyers," raves one. "He keeps calm, cool and collected even when handling the most intense cases. [He] Never even raises his voice! He doesn't have to – he manages to be convincing without resorting to that."

New York antitrust and sports partner Jeffrey Kessler is also a routinely noted star. "In the antitrust world, we see him all the time. He's definitely a big name on that scene." Jeffrey Kessler and his partners are the best in the world in the labor law and sports practice, and they get results," testifies a client. One matter of considerably high profile over the past year is a landmark antitrust suit, filed in 2013, against the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) and the five NCAA "power conferences." On behalf of a group of current college football and basketball athletes, and a class of similarly situated players, Kessler charged the defendants with illegally restraining competition for the services of players, challenging under federal antitrust laws the limits the NCAA and the conferences impose on the remuneration that top division football and men's basketball players are permitted to receive apart from their athletic scholarships. The case seeks permanent injunctive relief against the restraints on a class-wide basis, and individual damages for the player plaintiffs. Kessler defeated a motion to dismiss. The firm's antitrust capacity boasts several other key players as well. In particular, DC-based Elizabeth Papez is a client favorite. One such client testifies, "Elizabeth is lead counsel on an antitrust matter and she is a powerhouse. [She has] Excellent credentials, [is] extremely smart and practical and very charismatic. We've been incredibly pleased with her writing, her expertise, and her guidance. She also did antitrust training for senior leaders, which was well-received." Papez is representing Discover Financial Services in a putative class action filed in March 2016 in which a putative class of mid-size merchants allege that the four major credit card networks, including Discover, violated federal and state antitrust laws by conspiring to unlawfully shift fraud liability to the merchants despite complications in switching to a new security chip system. Yet another antitrust star, New York's Paul Victor is said by peers to be "widely recognized as a dean of the cartel bar."

Still another "undisputed trial star" in Winston's ranks, New York white-collar partner Gerald Shargel is revered almost without exception. A peer raves somewhat hyperbolically, "I think Gerry Shargel could rule the world if he also did civil work. But he's strictly criminal! He wants to stick with that and he's obviously one of the best at it and so it would appear he sees no reason to change up his game." Shargel represented Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane in connection with criminal charges related to alleged grand jury leaks. Shargel ultimately wound up defending his client at a jury trial in in August 2016.

The firm has been on a steady recruiting streak in Texas as of late as well, with a Dallas office being opened in March 2017 when the firm lured former Fish & Richardson "trial ace" Tom Melsheimer to its ranks. Revered for his string of high-level representations, including the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and its billionaire owner, Mark Cuban, Melsheimer juggles a portfolio composed of commercial litigation and intellectual property. Melsheimer represented Bayside Land Partners, a developer of a billion-dollar lakeside residential, commercial, and entertainment development east of Dallas, which had been sued by a local marina operator who was seeking to enjoin the development. After discovery and motion practice, the injunction was vacated and the all the claims made by the plaintiff were dismissed. Another hire in this office, Steve Stodghill was an erstwhile colleague of Melsheimer's at a separate firm and is acknowledged by peers as, "a very unique lawyer. Steve is an advisor, he is a guy that is a trusted advisor to so many clients. He doesn't do a lot of the stand-up work himself, but he is something like a master strategist behind the scenes, whether it's private equity or the movie business. [He has] Those kinds of connections. Steve is a tremendous connector and clients go to him for advice and counsel. He's a wise-man, that's what they used to call them in the DC area."