District of Columbia

With 20 offices worldwide, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld saw its genesis in DC and to this day remains a vital presence in the legal community. "Akin Gump is obviously a national firm at this point, but they still have great people right here [in DC]." A particular peer favorite is Anthony Pierce, who, although primarily thought of as a general commercial litigator, recently triumphed in the intellectual property capacity when, in July 2013, District Court of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of client Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, ending a protracted patent infringement battle between Amphastar and its generic competitor. "I would give Anthony an A+ in every regard, he is a fabulous lawyer," testifies a peer. "I can't say enough good things about him, and believe me I was on the receiving end - it was not fun!"

While it has since blossomed to international proportions, with additional offices in Brussels, Denver, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley, Arnold & Porter's beginnings lie in Washington, DC, and indeed the firm is thought of by peers as a "classic DC firm." The firm maintains a specialized government investigations practice group, regarded as "one of the deepest and most established," in the eyes of peers. "Their work is very cross-border-focused, and they help a lot of companies stay on the right side of the line."

In this capacity, DC-based John Nassikas, a near-constant mention, is said to do "a ton of off-label marketing work." Another frequent DC mention, Kirk Ogrosky, who, peers note, "was for many years a DoJ deputy chief for health care fraud," is "very involved in internal investigations. He often gets pulled in where a real problem looks like it's going to arise and you need steady, assured counsel." Baruch Weiss is praised for his servicing of "some major clients that have been under an enormous amount of government scrutiny." Not surprisingly, the firm's famed DC office is also active in the District's premier appellate arena. In particular, Lisa Blatt is said to have "really got a 'hot hand' in appellate work for life sciences companies." A peer in the patent-related intellectual property area testifies, "I tried a case against Matthew Wolf recently, and I think he's very good and develops very convincing arguments."

Founded in 1964, Caplin & Drysdale is a litigation boutique that considers itself "a combination of boutiques." The firm's lawyers have mostly been in the bankruptcy courts and in asbestos creditors' committees, although the firm is actually a combination of people who are actual bankruptcy lawyers and others who are more commercial-oriented litigators. "Caplin & Drysdale OWNS the asbestos bankruptcy space," exclaims a peer. "This has been a very active area since 2000!" A loyal client meanwhile enthuses, "Over the last 30 years, we have repeatedly called upon Caplin & Drysdale to represent asbestos victims in the bankruptcy setting, and continue to do so today. I would think the highest compliment I could pay them is when my law firm needed counsel for an internal law firm dispute, we chose Caplin & Drysdale as counsel." Peter Van Lockwood has recently been representing the Asbestos Creditors Committee in the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation bankruptcy. Trevor Swett leads the firm in its representation of the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants in the highly contentious reorganization of a gasket and packing manufacturer driven into bankruptcy by mass tort litigation. The reorganizing company is attempting to use the bankruptcy court as a forum for advancing its defenses against asbestos claims, so as to minimize the amount it will have to contribute to a trust for tort victims in order to emerge from bankruptcy. The firm represents the interests of the committee's constituency in resisting the debtor's aggressive tactics and seeks to demonstrate that asbestos tort liabilities render the company insolvent, and therefore that ownership of the company should be transferred to a trust for the benefit of the debtor's present and future tort victims. Kevin Maclay and James Wehner, both tipped as future stars in DC, lead a team representing the airline pilots' union for US Airways in the bankruptcy of American Airlines and advise on and litigate issues regarding the proposed merger of US Airways and American Airlines and the resulting integration of the two airlines' pilots' unions.

Atlanta-based firm Eversheds Sutherland (formerly Sutherland Asbill & Brennan), established in 1924 as a tax firm, has grown to encompass a location in Washington, DC as its other coordinating office. Among the firm's top strengths are corporate disputes, financial services, intellectual property, insurance, real estate, energy and environmental and in keeping with its roots, a busy tax controversy practice. Lewis Wiener, the head of the firm's financial services litigation team, recently garnered $10 million in tax penalty refunds on behalf of wholesale electricity generator GenOn Mid-Atlantic, specifically with regards to the constitutionality of a greenhouse emissions tax imposed on the company. Weiner won the case on appeal before the Fourth Circuit. Also handling tax controversies out of Sutherland Asbill's DC office is future star Daniel Schlueter. Steuart Thomsen, the head of the DC office's litigation group, handles a variety of civil commercial disputes.

The DC office of full-service global conglomerate Hogan Lovells boasts a worldwide book of business and a strong roster of practitioners addressing primarily antitrust and investigations-related matters. "Hogan Lovells definitely has the horsepower," confirms a peer. "They are not known exclusively for litigation but in certain areas, specifically the like DC-centric ones like appeals and agency enforcement matters, they are definitely in the mix."

White-collar and enforcement practitioner Peter Spivack generates generous levels of peer praise. "He's a former prosecutor and is a good representation of the strength of the firm's work with respect to regulatory issues. He possesses deep substantive knowledge." Class actions specialist Craig Hoover secured a June 2015 defense verdict for Anthem, beating a class action brought by thousands of Connecticut state employees seeking nearly $100 million from the insurer's conversion to a publicly traded company in 2001. The lawsuit was filed in 2002, when plaintiffs sued on behalf of a proposed class of Connecticut state employees who received health insurance through Anthem, alleging that they should have received compensation as mutual members. Anthem instead distributed this money to the State of Connecticut, which provided coverage for these employees. Appellate specialist Neal Katyal represents Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Entertainment Group, which were sued by unpaid interns who worked on the movie "Black Swan" and in Fox Entertainment's front office. The interns claimed they should have been paid, and had convinced a district court to grant them summary judgment on the issue of whether they were employees and to certify a class that would include many of Fox's interns in New York between 2005 and 2010. A July 2015 ruling by the Second Circuit found in the clients' favor.

DC boutique Ifrah Law is an twelve-lawyer litigation shop attending to what peers consider "some interesting and neat niches." Owing primarily to the reputation and expertise of its namesake, Jeff Ifrah, the firm attracts clients seeking counsel in very specialized areas, with a pronounced emphasis on gambling law. A recent example of this concerns two class actions in the Southern District of Illinois concerning online gambling. The first addressed alleged gambling losses sustained as a result of playing on the Full Tilt Poker website, through which the client was implicated via its addition of Rational FT, which allegedly acquired the assets of Full Tilt. The second case dealt exclusively with alleged gambling losses sustained while playing on the PokerStars websites. In both instances, the courts ruled in the clients' favor and dismissed the cases with prejudice after Ifrah won numerous motions that caused the defendants to amend their ultimately unsuccessful complaints. The firm also represented one of the majority shareholders of Pinnacle Sports, one of the most profitable offshore sports betting sites, in a matter dealing with individuals who were taking bets on the street and accessing the client's website through Canada to get around the geo block.

The trial and appellate litigation boutique Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel was founded in 1993. Of the firm's more than 50 attorneys, most have served clerkships with federal district or circuit court judges, a third with US Supreme Court justices, and it boasts previous assistant attorney generals, assistant US attorneys, and assistants to the solicitor general. Kellogg Huber Hansen is recognized for its high-quality US Supreme Court and appellate, commercial litigation, and telecommunications practices. It is also noted by peers that "they get a lot of telecom work, they're really deep in this." Appellate star David Frederick recently defended a jury award for an injured employee against CSX Transportation, Inc. in a US Supreme Court case regarding Federal Employer's Liability Act coverage. Michael Kellogg handles appellate matters, and antitrust litigator Mark Hansen represented AT&T during its attempts to acquire T-Mobile. A peer is also insistent that "Aaron Panner should be listed. He is completely overshadowed by Michael and David, but from what I've seen, he is a superstar and a really nice guy. If there's any one person in DC I think is underrated, it's him. He just got cert in a big case. If you look carefully at Aaron's record, you'll be completely wowed." Securities- and antitrust-focused name partner Reid Figel is another partner that generates an increasing level of peer plaudits.

A litigation boutique of only 29 attorneys, Robbins Russell Englert Orseck Untereiner & Sauber retains a team of litigators skilled in antitrust, appellate, and white-collar defense matters. The firm boasts a record of securing 37 wins out of 48 cases argued in the Supreme Court, with six partners having argued there. The firm has also argued in every appellate circuit in the US and numerous state appellate courts. Roy Englert, at one point considered a "dyed-in-the-wool antitrust lawyer," concentrates on antitrust and appellate litigation, and has argued 20 cases in the Supreme Court. Although Englert is noted as being "all appellate, all the time," the firm as a whole is observed by peers to have far more on offer. "Robbins Russell has this reputation as an appellate boutique but that should change - appellate is not all they do. They are a tiny firm that mostly does work for institutional clients but also does a lot of one-offs, more than most law firms. For instance, the state of Vermont likes to use them! They also make sure that the younger partners actually get up there and argue cases." Richard Sauber handles white-collar litigation and advises clients during government investigations, having represented clients like Northrop Grumman, Las Vegas Sands, and Venetian Casino Resort. Gary Orseck is said to have had "a lot of major commercial cases that have gone to trial, which is unusual in this sphere."

The litigation boutique Schertler & Onorato is highly regarded among its competitors in Washington, DC for the skill its 10 attorneys bring to client matters, particularly with its respected white-collar defense practice. Many of the litigators at Schertler & Onorato previously served as attorney generals, federal prosecutors, and attorneys with the department of justice, bringing a depth of skill in federal civil and criminal actions that has gained notice from clients and peers. "They are solid guys, real gentlemen, really decent folk to deal with," testifies a competitor. Danny Onorato practices white-collar defense and has represented executives from companies like KPMG, Fannie Mae, and Enron. Civil and criminal litigator David Schertler has argued more than 50 jury trials and conducted over 100 grand jury investigations, and formerly served within the Department of Justice and then as an Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Although it operates nine offices total in the US, Asia and Europe, Steptoe & Johnson's most celebrated presence in the litigation market is by far its Washington, DC headquarters, which opened in 1945. The firm is perhaps best known for its footprint in the white collar field, firmly cemented by the presence of Reid Weingarten, considered by many to be one of the leading white collar defense lawyers in the country. "Reid Weingarten is certainly a heavy," concurs one peer. "He's got an awesome presence and is known by everyone. Beyond that, he also has the skills and the confidence. He's scary good - and he knows it." Insurance coverage-focused commercial litigator James Rocap is cheered by a peer as "one of the smartest people I know. He is a former Jesuit priest and that comes through in his whole manner. It's always a pleasure working with him."

Founded in 1996, Trout Cacheris continues to compete with national firms in court and for clients. The firm's seven-attorney bench is respected for its depth of experience in both civil and criminal cases on the trial and appellate level. Trout Cacheris is particularly revered for its white-collar defense practice, led by firm co-founder Plato Cacheris. Cacheris has engaged in highly publicized defense trials for individuals like Robert Hanssen, the prolific FBI double agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Cacheris is currently defending John Kiriakou in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia. Kiriakou is being accused of leaked classified information relating to CIA activities and the identity of an undercover CIA operative and for attempting to mislead the CIA Publications Review Board in trying to publish classified information.