United States (National)

A&O Shearman is the newly combined entity composed of US-based Shearman & Sterling and UK-headquartered Allen & Overy, both of which were individually global powerhouses even prior to the merger, giving the new arrangement a massive global footprint. Within the States, the firm is called upon most often for its experience and acumen with matters of the securities and white-collar and enforcement variety and is quickly developing a leading profile in the antitrust space as well. A&O Shearman’s domestic operations showcase litigation star power in its offices in New York, DC and increasingly Texas.
          New York’s Adam Hakki has long been a perennial peer favorite and remains one, with glowing reviews offered on a unanimous basis. Hakki’s practice is largely focused on, but not limited to, the securities, antitrust and governance fields, with experience in both the criminal and civil capacities. “Adam is very, very good, especially for the underwriters,” testifies a peer. Another contemporary remarks, “Adam just seems to be in everything, and is very involved all the time. He doesn’t just pop in and out on a surface level, he gets in the trenches.” Hakki secured a complete victory on behalf of Barclays in a class action litigation arising out of the mining operations of Brazilian mining giant Vale’s “Iron Quadrangle,” which has one of the largest concentrations of iron ore deposits in the world. The plaintiffs, Brazilian homeowners and municipalities, alleged that US banks, including Barclays were strictly liable for various environmental damage caused by Vale’s mining activity by providing over $17 billion in financing to Vale despite their alleged awareness of the environmental risks. The complaints exclusively brought claims arising pursuant to Brazilian law. In September 2024, the Southern District of New York granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds, concluding that these cases must be litigated in Brazil. Hakki, along with Agnès Dunogué  and Lyle Roberts, obtained a significant victory on behalf of PayPal Holdings in a putative securities class action alleging that PayPal made material misstatements and omissions related to a metric the company uses to track net increases to the number of active PayPal accounts, which, through incentive campaigns, allegedly gave rise to fraud and led to the creation of illegitimate accounts, causing the company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices. In January 2025, the court dismissed all of the claims. “Agnes is terrific, I see her a lot,” confirms a peer. Hakki, along with Richard Schwed and DC-based star Todd Stenerson, also represented PayPal in an antitrust capacity in a case in which plaintiffs allege that PayPal uses illegally restrictive merchant contracts that insulate its high transaction fees from competition and inflate online retail prices for consumers. “Todd is a fantastic antitrust lawyer,” declares one peer of Stenerson’s. “He’s creative and he's a trial lawyer! You don’t always have trial lawyers in antitrust cases – so many of them settle!” White-collar-focused John Nathanson led a team that represented crypto exchange KuCoin in a DoJ criminal indictment and CFTC and NYAG civil enforcement matters, all of which claim that the client and its two China-based founders failed to implement anti-money laundering protocols and thus allowing suspicious transactions associated with substantial sums to flow through its trading platform. A team composed of Hakki, Dunogué and Thad Behrens obtained a significant victory representing the underwriters of seven note offerings for Norfolk Southern. The plaintiffs alleged that the offering materials for these note offerings failed to disclose alleged material facts and trends related to safety risks that eventually materialized with train derailments in February and March 2023, after which the prices of these dropped significantly. In July 2024, that defendants obtained a partial motion to dismiss. Behrens, based in Texas, is called “just a brilliant lawyer” by a peer, who testifies, “and he can try anything. He is building out that [A&O] office in Dallas.”

Initially headquartered in Seattle and still considered a dominant force in that city’s legal community, Perkins Coie is unique in its ambitious strategic expansion. Its West Coast origins have enabled to establish a considerable footprint in the western half of the US as well as in Asia, specifically China and Taiwan. Perkins Coie is also somewhat unique in its distribution of litigation talent; rather than clustered in one specific city or metropolis, the firm has stars in a variety of disciplines throughout its offices in more recently developed offices such as Madison, Wisconsin and Anchorage, Alaska. One peer notes, “Perkins Coie is still the big brand name in Seattle – they get all the Boeing work! – but some of their best litigators are actually spread throughout its other far-flung offices.”
     Perkins Coie scored a considerable coup, and immediately established a burgeoning New York presence, with the recent absorption of the entire litigation team of the former Richards Kibbe & Orbe firm when that firm decided to divest itself of its litigation practice in 2020. In doing so, Perkins Coie also received a significant augmentation to its securities and white-collar operations on the East Coast. Lee Richards, a seasoned star in this capacity, is revered by all peers in the white-collar and enforcement field who are familiar with him. Richards remains an active force in this field, with several high-level appointments to his credit in just the past year alone. He represented Liberty Health Sciences in a securities class action alleging that Liberty made materially false and misleading statements about certain of its policies. In March 2020, the court granted Liberty’s motion for leave to file a motion to dismiss the class-action complaint. Richards is also counsel for the former director of CBS, Charles Gifford, in a federal class action against CBS and various officers and directors alleging violations of the securities laws related to #MeToo allegations against former CBS CEO Les Moonves and other CBS employees. The motion to dismiss filed by Gifford and the other director defendants was granted in January 2020. Richards also represents ICAP in a settlement with US and UK regulators over its alleged role in Yen LIBOR rate manipulation. Another former Richards Kibbe partner, Shari Brandt, acts on this particular matter. Brandt, a consistently recognized nominee in Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation over the past several years, is also counsel to a (confidential) company as well as to former senior executives involved in a federal class action alleging antitrust violations arising out of a claimed conspiracy among bank defendants to stymie the growth of open access markets for interest rate swaps on swap execution facilities following implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. Other former Richards Kibbe stars acquired include James Walker and Daniel Zinman.
     Beyond its recent buildout in securities and white-collar, Perkins Coie has also established itself as one of the leaders in insurance coverage cases, particularly through its DC office where Selena Linde is a noted standout. A peer observes, “Shadow insurance suits are becoming a real phenomenon, and Perkins Coie is really becoming a leader in this space, on the plaintiff side.” The firm is also a noted contender in the intellectual property arena. A peer in this space confirms, “We recently tried a really hard case against David Anstaett, who is kind of Mylan’s trusted counsel. It was a three-ring circus, all remote, with witnesses all over the world. We won, but Dave is a very skilled lawyer who managed the case very effectively.”

Bartlit Beck is celebrated among peers for forging a template of what many aspire to; the firm’s name is one of the most frequently referenced by maverick litigators who calve off of larger “Big Law” institutions and forge their own shops. One peer declares, “They set the standard for litigation boutiques in the US. Most people setting up litigation shops owe at least some debt to Bartlit Beck, whether they know it or not.” Ironically, the runaway success that the firm has experienced with its business model has caused it to outgrow its “boutique” status; the firm now has more than 40 partners practicing in its offices in Chicago and Denver. “Bartlit Beck has its offices in two great epicenters, but they’re barely doing any work that’s confined to either of these locales,” declares a peer. “They’re just an elite litigation shop that’s gone national, and their lawyers are on the road constantly. Wherever there are big trials, they will be there.” The firm continues its staggering run as being recognized as one of Benchmark’s Top 20 Trial Firms every year since 2015 with yet another appearance in 20215.
     Bartlit Beck also logs another candidate to Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers with the addition of Sean Gallagher this year. Gallagher’s addition is considered long overdue by some, and is enhanced by a raft of peer and client commendations. One client sums Gallagher up as “a highly skilled first-chair trial lawyer, a great listener, a very clear communicator.  The best trial lawyer at a firm of great trial lawyers.  [He is] Among the best in America.” Another raves, “[Sean is the] dictionary definition of the perfect lawyer: incredibly smart, [a] tremendous leader of his team, [with a] deep understanding of all aspects (legal and commercial) of a circumstance, [and with] creative solutions. And a gem of a human being.” Based in the Chicago office, Gallagher is lead trial counsel for Pratt & Whitney in environmental tort cases involving more than $1 billion in alleged property damage and personal-injury claims arising out of the declaration of a "cancer cluster" by the Florida Department of Health in a neighborhood near Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach facility. Claims involve complex allegations of water and soil contamination with radionuclides and other contaminants. Several hundred property owners sued individually and on behalf of a putative class of many thousands of plaintiffs. Andrew McNally, another Chicago partner, acts with Gallagher on this case. McNally is another favorite of clients, with one addressing him as “one of the smartest and hardest working lawyers I've worked with, and he really grasps complex scientific and medical issues quickly and thoroughly.” Another client testifies, “Andrew has an uncanny ability not only to find the ‘devil in the details’ of the evidentiary record, but also to communicate those details in a way that is easy for the client (or the court) to understand. He has done an exceptional job managing his team.” Rebecca Weinstein Bacon, also based in Chicago, has also been a steady mention on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and on the Top 250 Women Litigators in the US. “Rebecca is a pleasure to work with,” confirms a client. “She's responsive, thoughtful, brilliant, warm, and very client focused.” Bacon, along with Adam Hoeflich, is representing Walmart in putative class-action lawsuits claiming that Walmart is violating consumer protection statutes in various jurisdictions due alleged discrepancies between the prices posted on Walmart's shelves and the prices actually charged at the register. Plaintiffs claim these discrepancies add up to hundreds of millions of dollars (or more) each year.
     The Denver office boasts its own stacked deck of stars. Glen Summers and Karma Giulianellirepresent a class of California residents who used mobile devices with the Android operating system who allege that Google has designed the Android operating system to constantly take information from plaintiffs’ phones without regard to whether they are on WiFi or cellular connections. Unbeknownst to people who use Android devices, this constant surveillance, and the transmission of information to Google consumes plaintiffs’ cellular data – data that they purchased, and that Google has consumed without permission.  Trial is scheduled for June 2025 in Superior Court of California. Giulianelli, an “antitrust rockstar,” also works with Sundeep “Rob” Addy as counsel for a group of large corporations, including American Airlines, who have brought state and federal price-fixing claims against over 50 generic drug manufacturers for engaging in a wide-ranging conspiracy to fix the price of hundreds of generic medications since at least May 2009. These agreements are claimed to have led to staggering price increases for critical medications and forced consumers and their health plans to shoulder the cost.  Kat Hacker serves as lead national coordinating counsel on the fraudulent transfer claims for three DuPont entities in over 6,000 cases pending across the country related to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In these cases, plaintiffs allege that DuPont engaged in a series of corporate transactions to try to fraudulently transfer assets to avoid paying potential judgments. “She is an excellent oral advocate and can distill complex issues in a very simple way to appeal to a jury,” declares a client on Hacker’s behalf. “She has expertise in trial graphics that and has quite the depth of knowledge and experience in studying the best graphics for jury trials.” Andrew Baak represents UnitedHealth Group in a dispute under the False Claims Act brought by the US DoJ and a purported whistleblower to recover treble damages and civil penalties. Plaintiffs are seeking damages for amounts they claim were unlawfully retained from the federal Medicare program by UnitedHealth Group and its affiliates involved in the Medicare Advantage Program. Plaintiffs allege that UnitedHealth submitted invalid diagnostic data related to the health status of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. Joseph Doman, a Denver partner making his debut as a future star in this edition, is championed by a client as “a wonderful litigator that understands how to weave a story and [provides] great client service.”

Cahill Gordon & Reindel remains a favorite with its stable of loyal long-time clients, which include global cornerstones of the financial industry, as well as embattled individuals who turn to Cahill practitioners for counsel but probably hope to never see the firm (or any litigator) again. One of Cahill’s clients voices appreciation for the “comprehensive advice, with excellent strategic game plan” that the firm has become known for. Cahill is best known for its concentration in the commercial, securities, antitrust and white-collar crime capacities.
     Operating from both the firm’s New York flagship as well as its DC location, Brad Bondi has become known as a trusted advocate for white-collar and securities enforcement matters. Bondi leads a team that is representing five large hospital funds as plaintiffs in connection with potential claims against Allianz Global Investors arising from the catastrophic implosion of Allianz’s Structured Alpha investment products. The allegations concern violation of federal securities laws and state common law claims. Total losses claimed exceed $10 billion. Bondi also represents former a KPMG senior partner and executive who is charged, along with four others, in a high-profile case with wire fraud and other offenses relating to the misappropriation by the defendants of confidential inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. “Over the years I have some to know Brad well and have trusted him on several important projects,” testifies a peer. Bondi is not the only partner in this group earning acclaim; Nola Heller represents a former asset manager who is charged for her alleged role in a $63 million scheme to place fraudulent bonds in discretionary client accounts. In March 2020, Heller served as lead trial counsel in a four-day evidentiary hearing regarding the client’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea. The response is also strong for Anirudh Bansal, a younger partner who is making a swift ascent. “I think Anirudh is first-rate,” opines a peer. “He was a junior to [celebrated former Cahill partner] David Kelley so he got excellent training and then had big shoes to fill, which he did. He stepped up in a big way, and I expect you’ll see more of him.”
     In the commercial capacity, Tammy Roy is another younger partner making a rapid rise. A client addresses Roy as “a rock star” who “[has] command of facts without getting lost in details. [She has a] bright future.” Roy has taken the lead on several notable engagements as of late. She represents S&P Global in five related actions alleging that S&P made reckless misrepresentations in connection with the rating of a life settlement securitization. In March 2019, several claims were dismissed but others were allowed to proceed and are now in discovery. Roy also represented UBS in connection with a defamation claim filed by a former UBS employee-turned-whistleblower after UBS publicly refuted the plaintiff’s claims, which were published in a book, regarding the details of his role in a tax-evasion scheme allegedly implicitly endorsed by UBS. UBS also denounced the plaintiff and highlighted lapses of credibility in his story. The parties settled the matter in September 2020. Roy also represented UBS Financial Services in a putative class action filed in the Southern District of New York in October 2020.  The named plaintiff sought to represent an alleged class of US citizens living abroad who she claimed had their UBS investment accounts frozen, converted to cash or closed without timely notification. At a pre-motion conference that was filed for in January 2021 in anticipation of UBS’s motion to dismiss, the plaintiff conceded that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and subsequently filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal of all claims.
     Cahill has long serviced Credit Suisse in cases straddling an intersection of securities and antitrust issues. Joel Kurtzberg, a recent addition to Benchmark’s litigation stars, has proven his mettle in having taken the lead on several of these matters. “Get Joel on your radar,” advises a peer. “He has earned it.” The team also includes long-time stars Herb Washer and Elai Katz, the latter known primarily for his antitrust acumen and the former frequently pivoting between securities, antitrust and commercial cases. “Elai is an antitrust secret weapon,” confides a peer. “He comes on like a bit of a street fighter, but you can tell by his writing – and he does a lot of it – that he is really studious and geeks out on this stuff.” Washer is said to be able to “do it all, while all the while being one of the more pleasant and well-spoken litigators you’ll encounter.” Others servicing Credit Suisse in various capacities include Sheila Ramesh and future star Jason Hall, as well as David Januszewski, a seasoned partner who receives near-universal acclaim from peers in the market. “David is fantastic, he should get national recognition,” insists a peer. Beyond his work for Credit Suisse, Januszewski also acts for Deutsche Bank. On behalf of this institution, Januszewski led a team (including Ramesh) that litigated a six-day bench trial in Connecticut seeking to enforce a judgment, secured by the bank in a UK court in 2013, against Alexander Vik and his offshore investment entity Sebastian Holdings, seeking to hold Vik liable personally as the Sebastian Holdings’ alter ego in Connecticut. Januszewski also prevailed on behalf of Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, securing a July 2020 dismissal in the Northern District of Illinois for a suit filed in March of that year in which plaintiffs filed their complaint against the bank, asserting claims for negligence, conversion, and contribution in connection with the transfer of securities alleged to have been funneled among various entities as part of a third-party’s long-running Ponzi scheme.

Cohen Milstein covers the Eastern seaboard with offices in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Palm Beach Gardens and Raleigh, and services the Midwest through a Chicago office. Peers on both the defense and plaintiff sides of the “V” have voiced appreciation for the firm’s zealous approach. “I have always regarded them highly,” declares one plaintiff peer. “They have been mainly regarded as an antitrust firm, but they also so some work in securities and appear to be doing more of this. We happen to have a case where we are co-lead with them. They are smart lawyers.” The firm also has a noted employment, civil rights and ERISA practice. The firm made news in 2019 when a federal judge in Illinois to co-lead shareholder litigation against money transfer entity MoneyGram International, who, in November 2018,  agreed to pay $125 million to resolve allegations that it failed to crack down on fraudulent money transfers.
     The majority of Cohen Milstein’s star power is concentrated in its DC home base. Managing partner Steven Toll is a celebrated figure among the plaintiffs bar and a “feared but respected adversary” of defense lawyers. Toll has been at the helm of several recent milestone wins, including securing a ruling from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that reinstated a suit against electronics maker Harman International Industries. A $28.25 million settlement was achieved in this action in 2017. Toll was also co-lead counsel in the BP Securities class action securities fraud lawsuit that arose from the Deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the certification of the class of investors alleged to have been injured by BP’s misrepresenting the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, and thus minimizing the extent of the cost and financial impact to BP of the cleanup and resulting damages. In February 2017, the court granted final approval to a $175 million settlement reached between BP and lead plaintiffs for the “post-explosion” class. Julie Reiser attends to a practice that straddles antitrust, securities and ERISA matters. Reiser has led litigation teams in several major class actions and has secured landmark settlements, including a $500 million settlement related to Countrywide’s issuance of mortgage-backed securities and a shareholder derivative suit against Wynn Resorts, with a net settlement value of $90 million. More recently, Reiser made news in September 2020 as co-lead counsel in negotiating a settlement with Google parent company Alphabet regarding credible claims of a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination within the company. Reiser's efforts precipitated a $310 million settlement that Alphabet pledged to commit to diversity efforts.
     While the DC partners are some of the firm’s most established, partners in other offices, particularly on the younger end of the spectrum, are also moving to the fore and garnering peer attention. Lauren Posner in the New York office is tipped by peers as a future star. “I’m sure she’ll be put in charge of many of their high-end cases,” forecasts a peer.

Cravath Swaine & Moore continues to set the standard for other major business law firms. Its elite status as one of the “white-shoe” firms is acknowledged by contemporaries on a coast-to-coast basis and always with tones of reverence. “The Cravath style” has been used as a descriptor for firms aspiring to the same level of pedigree. The firm also draws acclaim from several of its blue-ribbon roster of clients. “They provide excellent strategic advice and written work product. They also prepare for trial/hearing in a very thorough manner,” confirms one such client.
     For decades, Cravath managed to elicit this remarkable level of national prestige from its one office in Manhattan in New York. That changed last year. While Cravath’s reputation remains as unassailable as ever, it has finally expanded its operations to a DC office, a bold gambit that immediately caused a buzz in the nation’s capital and beyond. “Like everything Cravath does, this was not just some kind of desperate expansion for expansion’s sake,” declares one peer. “They saw an opportunity and exploited it quickly, netting themselves some great recruits in that office.” These strategic hires include Jennifer Leete, a former associate director in the SEC’s enforcement division who handles regulatory and investigations work, and Noah Phillips, an antitrust practitioner and former FTC commissioner. “They are still getting established here,” surmises one DC-based peer, “but between the talent they attract and the allure of the Cravath brand, I’ve no doubts they’ll do well in no time.”
     While the firm’s inroads into DC are not going unnoticed, the hub of Cravath’s major litigation activity remains its New York office, which has been a lodestar for generalist trial lawyers. While longtime icon Evan Chesler has officially retired, Dan Slifkin upholds Cravath’s trial pedigree at the senior level. Slifkin is representing certain directors designated by companies within the TotalEnergies group, a set of global multi-energy companies, to SunPower Corporation’s board of directors in a stockholder-derivative action filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging defendants breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the sale of SunPower’s commercial and industrial business to a subsidiary of TotalEnergies. Helam Gebremariam, a younger star who juggles antitrust, securities and commercial work is acting with Slifkin on this matter. “I got to see Helam cross-examining witnesses and it was really a tour de force,” testifies a peer. Kevin Orsini continues to hold firm to his growing reputation as another all-purpose trial powerhouse. “Kevin can do it all – antitrust, ‘event-driven litigation’ – and he never stays in one place,” commends a peer.“He’s doing antitrust one day and wildfire cases the next!” David Marriott’s profile continues to elevate on the strength of his prodigious trial aplomb. Marriott, the recipient of Benchmark’s coveted “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award for 2024, demonstrates courtroom acuity across a number of areas; most recently, his antitrust actions have generated widespread acclaim. He led a team (which also included Timothy Cameron, Rachel Skaistis and Margaret Segall) that represented biopharma entity Amgen in successfully defending an FTC challenge to Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics—securing a consent order in September 2023 that ended all litigation and cleared the path for the transaction to close. This win comes hot on the heels of similar triumphs in the previous year for Illumina, again against the FTC, and Louis Dreyfus/Imperial Sugar against the DoJ. The managing partner of the firm’s litigation group, Karen DeMasi, is championed by a peer as “the ultimate consummate professional.” DeMasi is yet another partner known for her diverse practice portfolio. DeMasi, along with future star Lauren Rosenberg, scored big for First Solar, winning back-to-back dismissals in January and June 2023 to defeat putative class action securities litigation filed against the company and certain of its senior executives in Arizona federal court.  Plaintiffs, two pension funds that purchased First Solar stock, alleged defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the company’s solar module and its project development business. 
     While Cravath’s dedication to breeding versatile trial lawyers is proven, the firm does also boast a roster of specialists, with the aforementioned antitrust being the most prominent. “Antitrust is kind of the beating heart of Cravath,” notes a peer. Cravath has led Epic Games – the creator of the wildly popular Fortnite game, to multiple victories in its high-profile antitrust actions against Google and Apple challenging core aspects of the companies’ app store policies. As lead trial counsel, a Cravath team led by Gary Bornsteinand also including Yonatan Even and Lauren Moskowitz, won a unanimous jury verdict against Google on all counts in December 2023.
    Omid Nasab led West Coast utility entity PG&E in its successful defense against a massive putative class action seeking $2.5 billion in damages for emergency power shutoffs conducted by PG&E in 2019—first securing dismissal of the action in the bankruptcy court, then affirmance in the district court and, ultimately, winning a decision from the California Supreme Court shielding PG&E from liability. “I want to shout out Omid,” testifies a DC-based peer. “He stepped in and played a big role in an insider trading case we had for [dating app] Bumble! He’s on the younger side but already getting some more first-chair roles.” A white-collar/enforcement team composed of Benjamin Gruenstein, John Buretta and Evan Norris represented British American Tobacco (BAT) in reaching a global settlement, announced in April 2023, with the DoJ and OFAC to resolve sanctions breaches arising from historical business activities in North Korea between 2007 and 2017 in violation of the bank fraud statute and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In a matter straddling the intersection of fraud and intellectual property, Gruenstein acts with IP specialist Keith Hummel in representing cardiovascular-focused medical device entity Abiomed as the plaintiff in a trade-secret and breach-of-contract action against a German medical device company, and its founder, alleging that the defendants entered into consulting agreements concerning Abiomed’s compressible heart pump. In September 2023, the Cravath duo defeated defendants’ motion to dismiss, which had sought dismissal on jurisdictional grounds. 

Davis Polk & Wardwell is a consistent leader in litigation, earning its place as one of the top-tier firms in antitrust, securities, and white-collar crime especially. The firm’s growth over recent years has strategically established its presence in the New York, Washington DC and California markets. The accomplishments of its bench across practice areas have further driven the firm’s acclaim in high-profile litigation. A peer addresses Davis Polk partners as “outstanding financial litigators, very sharp across the board." Another insists, "They deserve their reputations for being really good lawyers."
     Davis Polk New York office continues to be revered as one of New York’s elite firms and is equipped with numerous respected lawyers. Greg Andres serves as the firm’s co-chair of the white-collar crime and investigation group and is one of the leading lawyers in the practice area, enjoying a spot on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list since its inception. Andres led JPMorgan Chase to a March 2024 triumph when the DoJ moved to dismiss with prejudice a two-count criminal information filed against the financial institution in 2020 in connection with a 2020 deferred prosecution agreement, which arose out of spoofing activity in the precious metals and treasuries futures markets by traders on the bank’s precious metals and US.Treasuries desks between 2008 and 2016. This agreement compelled the bank to cooperate with numerous detailed conditions of the DoJ’s prosecutions. The court granted the government’s motion on the same day, holding that the bank “fully complied with all of [its] obligations under the agreement.” Andres also, along with Dana Seshens and lead partner James Rouhandeh, led Morgan Stanley to victory in a matter, stemming from 2012, common law fraud claims brought by a German bank arising from the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007. The Davis Polk team obtained partial summary judgment in 2023, but the court still permitted the plaintiff bank to proceed to trial on two other purported misrepresentations alleged in the complaint. The court heard oral argument in August 2024. Seshens and Martine Beamon scored for Attorney General Letitia James in February 2025, securing dismissal of harassment claims filed by a plaintiff alleging that James’s former Chief of Staff (who is separately represented in the action) sexually assaulted her at an event in November 2021 and that James and her Office were liable for his alleged conduct.

     Andrew Ditchfield has emerged as another one of the firm’s most prominent players. “Andrew is a complete rockstar and we’re seeing him more and more,” confirms a peer. “He’s suddenly everywhere, and it’s kind of out of nowhere!” Ditchfield  obtained a May 2024 victory for Exxon Mobil in a breach-of-contract action brought in New York State Supreme Court. The plaintiffs were former shareholders of InterOil Corporation, a Canadian oil-and-gas company that was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2017. The plaintiffs sued ExxonMobil four years after the transaction closed, alleging that it breached its contractual obligations by failing to pay the full amount of post-closing contingent consideration due to them under a Contingent Resource Payment agreement that was executed in connection with the acquisition. In April 2022, Ditchfield moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue their claims because the agreement barred individual shareholders or small ad hoc groups (like plaintiffs) from instituting any action to enforce the agreement. The court agreed and dismissed the complaint. The plaintiffs appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department, which affirmed the dismissal in a 3-2 decision in March 2023. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which unanimously affirmed the dismissal of the complaint. Ditchfield also represents Novo Nordisk in connection with three lawsuits filed in Delaware Chancery Court relating to its acquisition of Emisphere Technologies. Bankruptcy star Elliott Moskowitz won an appellate victory in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department in December 2024 for a group of lenders that participated in an October 2022 financing transaction undertaken by a major Canadian telecommunications provider. Following the 2022 transaction, the participating lenders were sued, in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of New York, by other lenders that did not participate in the 2022 financing. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs challenged liens securing more than $850 million in debt owed to the participating lenders and sought money damages on the basis that the restructuring transaction allegedly violated the terms of preexisting credit agreements, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, among other claims. Paul Spagnoletti has carved out a premier spot in the professional liability capacity, generating particular acclaim for his defense of law firms. One peer testifies, “I witnessed Paul do a terrific job. He was effectively in the lead of a very complicated dispute with multiple law firms and billions at stake.”

 

Goodwin has steadily expanded from its Boston roots, arriving at its current status as a national player in several key markets and industries, most notably the finance and life sciences sectors. It now houses litigation stars in nearly every one of its offices on the East and West Coasts. The firm receives resounding applause from clients, as well as peers, some of whom have worked alongside the firm on matters. “I was co-counsel with Goodwin on pro bono federal immigration litigation,” testifies one such peer. “The team of Goodwin attorneys who worked on the case were phenomenal. [They brought] great analytical, research, writing and oral advocacy skills.”

     Boston’s Christopher Holding is the co-head of the firm’s antitrust practice and manages a practice largely devoted to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. In a case illustrative of the link between antitrust issues regarding patents, Holding represents Actavis in a challenge to the settlement of patent litigation between Shire and Actavis about the drug Intuniv. The plaintiffs assert that the agreement contained an implicit reverse payment that delayed generic entry. Holding also represents Teva in a pharmaceutical antitrust case raising reverse-payment allegations. The litigation was mostly settled after years of litigation, but a number of indirect purchasers who opted out of the settlement challenged the opt-out procedures set by the district court, and that challenged was briefed and argued in the Second Circuit in 2019. Anthony Fiotto, the Boston-based co-chair of the firm’s securities and white-collar capacity, recently achieved significant New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division and Court of Appeals victories on behalf of The Pyramid Companies, a developer of shopping malls with 16 properties that are separately owned by partnerships, with Pyramid being the majority partner in each. The dispute began when a minority partner sought to dissolve and force the liquidation of one of the partnerships on numerous grounds.
     The securities practice is also exemplified by Richard Strassberg in the New York office, whose practice also crosses over into more of a white-collar crime element, an area in which is revered by many other leaders in this practice. “Rich Strassberg is very smart and great with clients,” enthuses one peer. Another confirms, “We worked side-by-side with Richard on a large securities class action -- we represented the company and he represented an individual -- securing dismissal of all counts.” Other New York-based securities partners include Marshall Fishman, who represents Citibank and multiple affiliates in connection with a number of lawsuits that have been brought by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Board Special Claims Committee, and Brian Pastuszenski, who is called out as “fantastic,” with one peer testifying, “I see him in a ton of work. He should be on your national securities list for sure.”

     In the firm’s DC office, Thomas Hefferon is nationwide litigation and trial counsel to Think Finance, a provider of technology, analytics, and marketing services to financial businesses in the consumer lending industry. Hefferon has coordinated the simultaneous defense of three major litigation matters: a lawsuit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a lawsuit by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a substantial number of coordinated consumer putative class actions—all in separate federal courts across the country.  All three controversies concern the alleged improper issuance of consumer loans, allegedly in violation of state usury and licensing laws. Also in DC, Willy Jay is a unanimously revered appellate practitioner. One peer, also one of DC’s leading appellate lawyers, raves, “I’m a HUGE fan of Willy. Clients love him, he’s like a walking encyclopedia of the law. He’s just awesome, very charming.” Jay is equally celebrated for his demeanor as well as his acumen; one peer testifies, “We co-wrote briefs with Goodwin, and we have a great relationship with them. Willy Jay in particular is just personally a very good guy and is a team player and 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.” In one recent matter, Jay represented the Town of Aquinnah, Massachusetts, in successfully reinstating its injunction against a Native American tribe seeking to build a casino in the Town without obtaining local permits. Jay was retained after the Town (and other parties) lost an appeal on the issue. 
     Goodwin has become a notably strong player in the intellectual property capacity as well, a status recognized by both peers and clients. One such client testifies, “Goodwin handled a patent infringement suit against Apple in the Eastern District of Texas on encryption/decryption technology. Their handling of the matter was outstanding and resulted in a $308 million verdict.” One celebrated practitioner in this area, New York’s Elizabeth Holland represents plaintiff Novartis in a patent infringement action filed in June 2020 against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the District Court for the Northern District of New York. Novartis seeks damages and an injunction for Regeneron’s sales of its newly-launched EYLEA Pre-Filled Syringe (PFS) product. Holland also represents this client as co-counsel as a defendant in an antitrust-oriented action filed by Regeneron in the Southern District of New York. Regeneron’s suit is based on the allegation that Novartis sought to hamper Regeneron’s ability to bring its EYLEA PFS to market through assertion of a patent that Regeneron argues is unenforceable. In addition, Regeneron argues that Novartis worked together with another company to impair Regeneron’s ability to market this product. The IP capacity is also bookended on the West Coast by Neel Chatterjee, a Silicon Valley-based star who not surprisingly attends to a largely tech-based practice. Chatterjee represented the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, a public higher education and research institution in India. After 11 years of litigation, the Northern District of California definitively rejected the plaintiff's claims that the client breached an oral joint venture agreement, breached a nondisclosure agreement, and misappropriated the plaintiff's trade secrets. Chatterjee also represents Facebook, recently obtaining dismissal of a multi-patent case brought against the social media behemoth.

Greenberg Traurig is an expansive full-service law firm with a global presence in a variety of practice areas. The firm hosts more than 2,000 attorneys in 41 offices across the world, which positions them to effectively serve both domestic and international clients. One of these clients appreciates the firm’s “quality of team; knowledge of law but also practical approach to the development of the defense” and addresses the team as “thorough in preparation, with good relationship management of the client.”
     The firm is highly regarded for its product liability capabilities, largely attributed to the efforts of Lori Cohen, who chairs the pharmaceutical, medical device and health care litigation practice, in addition to serving as co-chair of the global litigation practice group. Cohen has the distinct honor of consistently ranking as a litigation star who also enjoys a multi-year run as one of Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation as well as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the US. Domiciled in the firm’s Atlanta office but recognized on a coast-to-coast basis for her appearance in matters of national magnitude, Cohen has wowed both peers and clients from a diverse range of industries and jurisdictions. An all-purpose trial lawyer by training and temperament, Cohen’s aptitude and gravitas has been particularly evident in the product liability capacity, where, often appearing as lead trial counsel, she has displayed an enviable streak of wins on behalf of clients in the pharmaceutical and medical device field concerning products ranging from pelvic mesh to contact lenses. Cohen is national trial counsel, national coordinating counsel, and national settlement counsel for all claims concerning pelvic mesh against C. R. Bard. Over the last year, she has solidified two significant victories as well as other additional dismissals in what has been described as one of the largest and most complex mass torts in history. Cohen is also a member of Novartis’ PF3.0 panel counsel program, which includes representation of subsidiaries Sandoz, Eon Labs, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Cohen is national counsel for Sandoz and its subsidiary Eon in the national amiodarone litigation. She also represents Bausch Health subsidiary Bausch + Lomb in product liability litigation relating to the Trulign Toric intraocular lens, a Class III medical device approved by FDA pursuant to the Premarket Approval process. In March 2020, she secured the complete dismissal of all of plaintiffs’ claims in a closely watched case in the District of Connecticut.
     Based in the firm’s Dallas office, Karl Dial was sole defense counsel for a group of foreign defendants that were sued in a mass action by 44 plaintiffs alleging securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duties related to securities sold in Canada to invest in real estate in the US. This cross-border dispute was the first case filed by more than 200 investors who have threatened suit against the Canadian issuer. This case has ramifications as to under what circumstances a foreign issuer may be hauled into court in the US on claims made by investors outside the country.

     Operating out of both the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, Robert Herrington focuses his practice on class actions, with this practice touching on a wide spectrum of industries. Herrington is a new star addition to this year’s edition of Benchmark, propelled on the strength of vibrant peer and client review. One client asserts, “In the consumer protection context--both in class actions and mass consumer arbitrations--Greenberg does an absolutely fantastic job. Rob Herrington, in particular, is an exceptional advocate. Day or night, he and his team respond in a timely fashion, providing top-drawer work. In addition to the quality of their work and exceptional client service, they are very price-competitive. Robert is a great communicator, innovative and strategic thinker.  He's my favorite class-action lawyer.” Herrington and New York’s Richard Edlin won significant motions to defeat a class action alleging that Samsung’s Galaxy S7 series phones are falsely advertised as “water resistant.” The case began in 2016 in the Central District of California, asserting claims for common law fraud, violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law, and unjust enrichment. The Greenberg pair obtained a multi-year stay of proceedings pending appeal of a motion to compel arbitration under California law, resulting in the sole named plaintiff losing interest in the lawsuit. Another class-action authority, New Jersey’s Philip Sellinger represents Marriott and Ritz-Carlton entities in a putative class action brought on behalf of approximately 1,000 owners of fractional interests in The Ritz-Carlton Club, St. Thomas who are alleged to have paid an average price of $150,000 for their respective fractional interests.
     Miami’s Elliot Scherker represents the Government of the Virgin Islands in an appellate matter concerning the alleged 20 years’ worth of unpaid employer contributions into the Government Employees Retirement System, totaling more than $63 million. Another Miami-based star, David Coulson currently defends Champion Petfoods USA in a suit filed in the Federal Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin alleging the client's dog food was tainted with dangerous levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury which in turn rendered some of the statements on Champion's packaging misleading. The plaintiff asserted claims for breach of express and implied warranties, unjust enrichment, and alleged violations of state consumer protection and unfair competition statutes. In February 2019, the District Judge granted summary judgement and dismissed plaintiff's complaint with prejudice on the basis that the small amounts found in Champion's dog food were naturally occurring, safe, and did not render any of Champion's statements on its packaging misleading or deceptive. Shortly after, consumers in 15 additional states, including another in Wisconsin, filed suits against Champion making similar allegations – for a total of 17 matters now being litigated state-by-state, rather than in a multi-district litigation proceeding. In October 2019, the Greenberg Traurig team won the denial of class certification in the Central District of California.

 

Hausfeld has emerged as a plaintiff-side firm to be reckoned with in several categories. Unlike many other companies of its ilk, however, the firm has not opted for taking the “boutique” route and has instead embedded itself globally, with litigators practicing in 11 offices throughout the US and in Europe. Primarily in the antitrust capacity, Hausfeld is an undisputed trailblazer, identified as a ubiquitous presence by peers on both the plaintiff and defense sides of the “V.” One major defense peer confirms, “Hausfeld is who we almost always see on the plaintiff side if there is antitrust class action. Even if it’s not exclusively them, they are always somewhere in the mix.” Another frequent opponent notes, “They have a wide scope regarding antitrust actions, and they are also huge in sports. I do a great deal of this work, and it’s nearly always against Hausfeld, at least in the biggest and best cases.” Still another sums up the firm’s stature by saying, “Many firms try to do what they do, but Hausfeld is one of the few that gets it right and one of the ones we take the most seriously.” Over the past several years alone, the firm has landed national headlines for its dogged pursuit of antitrust and sports claims. The firm was chosen by the DC Attorney General’s office in May 2021 to spearhead its efforts in a massive antitrust case against online retail juggernaut Amazon. More recently, Hausfeld scored big as co-lead counsel in a major case alleging that more than 30 Blue Cross/Blue Shield entities across the country have entered into agreements not to compete with each other for customers of health insurance. The litigation sought damages on behalf of a proposed class of more than 100 million subscribers, along with injunctive relief that would increase competition in the market for health insurance. After eight years in litigation, the plaintiffs scored a $2.67 billion settlement in October 2020. In addition to monetary relief, the settlement proposes systemic injunctive relief that will change the landscape for competition in healthcare. This settlement was approved in August 2022 – Judge Proctor approved the $2.67 billion settlement on behalf of employers and individuals.

While the DC office – where firm founder and former name partner Michael Hausfeld is based – has long been viewed as the firm’s center of gravity, with his transition to a “chairman emeritus” position, several California-based partners are taking bigger roles. “It’s more about the team now,” observes one peer. Megan Jones in the San Francisco office has been identified by several peers as “a leader at Hausfeld now,” with one peer testifying, “I have been very impressed with her, she has been leading quite a few cases.”

Melinda Coolidge, based in the DC office, serves as managing partner for the firm as well as attending to her own litigation matters that have earned her a debut as a future star in this edition. In July 2022, Coolidge led a team that reached a $90 million settlement in a ground-breaking case on behalf of app developers nationwide challenging Google’s 30% revenue share imposed on apps and in-app products sold on the Google Play Store. Coolidge is also part of a team is at the forefront of antitrust litigation over allegations that the nation’s four largest freight railroads – Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, and Norfolk Southern – colluded on fuel surcharges and overcharged customers by billions of dollars collectively.

Celebrated boutique Hecker Fink has earned itself a pride of place in the crowded New York litigation market. Peers and clients stand united in their reverence for the firm and appreciation for its structure and operations. “They’re a firm that’s at the tips of our tongues if there’s a trial that it wouldn’t make sense for us to do,” testifies a peer. “If they can handle it, it goes to them. I know a lot of people who are coming out of the government are excited about the prospect of working there.” The firm is also noted for keeping its eye on cultivating the future levels of talent. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the momentum behind David Gopstein, who made his debut as a future star in the last edition of Benchmark and has already made a swift ascent to litigation star only a year later on the strength of plaudits from various corners of the market. One peer insists, “David is definitely someone you need to look into!” A client raves, “David is an elite writer, a gifted oralist, and a better person. He is especially skilled at trials and in oral arguments before US Courts of Appeals.” Another extols, “David is smart, creative and responsive. His approach is client centered, and he seeks to provide the best results for the situation.” Shawn Crowley makes her debut in this edition on the strength of client praise. “Shawn is exceptionally intelligent and great with clients. She also has a great way with people generally.” The firm also benefited from the addition of Damaris Hernández, a young star formerly with Cravath.
     Michael Ferarra and Sean Hecker are two stars of the white-collar bar. “Mike Ferrara and Sean Hecker are two people that I would call if I was in the crosshairs,” declares a peer, going on to quip, “Who doesn’t love Sean Hecker?” A client calls Hecker “a smart, responsive, creative lawyer,” and addresses Ferrara as “a strategic thinker with excellent legal and advocacy skills.” One peer also insist, “Everyone knows Sean but you have to give more notice to Jenna Dabbs – she’s also terrific.”  Dabbs, along with debut future star Kate Doniger, represents Amentum, formerly known as AECOM Government Services, in a False Claims Act lawsuit, alleging false labor billing on a contract AECOM and related entities performed for the US Government in Afghanistan. Following a 2020 motion to dismiss and appeal, the Second Circuit subsequently affirmed the dismissal of most of the  claims, and the parties engaged in fact and expert discovery on the remaining claim. In the fall of 2024, the Court converted the motion to dismiss to one for summary judgment and, after motion practice, granted summary judgment in AECOM’s favor. Dabbs also acted with DC-based Joshua Matz representing a plaintiff in his suit against the President and other Administration officials challenging as unlawful his purported removal from office as the Special Counsel of the US Office of the Special Counsel. While the plaintiff ultimately lost this case, the firm was able to secure him a month in office after the President purported to fire him. During that month, the obtained reinstatement for nearly 6000 unlawfully terminated federal employees. Dellinger’s restoration to office after the President purported to remove him was groundbreaking, and the case was the first against the Administration to reach the Supreme Court in the President’s second term. Matz is cheered by a client as “outstanding, brilliant, hard working and compassionate.”

While Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has been a mainstay of the New York legal community since its inception, it has, in recent years, expanded in a modest and measured fashion, starting with an office in Silicon Valley, and moving full steam in to the DC market by storm with its auspicious acquisition of prized local shop Robbins Russell, incorporating a deep team of celebrated practitioners across several practice areas. “That’s a big deal,” sums up one local peer, voicing the general consensus. “Robbins Russell was a classic DC firm and now the platform has given both sides many new opportunities.” Key among these new recruits is appellate “dynamo” Roy Englert, a frequent visitor to the Supreme Court and an authority in the practice. Englert is “all appeals, all the time,” and respected by a vocal percentage of the leading figures in the DC appellate community. “Roy is fantastic,” testifies one peer. “He brought an amicus in a case we are working on, and we were very impressed.” Gary Orseck is another recruit with fluency in appeals, as well as a broad-based commercial, securities and white-collar practitioner. “Gary is a tremendous lawyer,” extols a peer. “He has a really good sense of judgment and is a great writer.” Orseck’s achievements exemplify these ringing endorsements; he defended United Health Services’ officers and directors in a derivative suit alleging securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and other claims, relating to alleged improper patient-admission practices at the client’s affiliated behavioral-health facilities throughout the country. The claims were dismissed in 2019 but went to appeal In December 2021, at which point the parties resolved the matter, originally valued at more than $1.5 billion, on the basis of non-monetary reforms regarding corporate compliance. In a similar matter, Orseck leads a team defending Community Health Systems and certain of its affiliates and former officers against fraudulent transfer, breach of contract, illegal dividend, and related claims brought by the Litigation Trustee for the QHC Litigation Trust. The Litigation Trustee seeks to avoid, among other things, a $1.2 billion transfer from QHC to CHS in connection with a 2016 spinoff transaction. The DC group comes with some youth factor to balance out the senior talent; future star William Trunk is part of Orseck’s team on the aforementioned Community Health matter, and Ariel Lavinbuk comes equipped with a practice that encompasses commercial litigation as well as a bankruptcy element, an area for which Kramer Levin, through its New York office, has historically been seen as Tier 1. 

     The bankruptcy practice has earned plaudits from fellow leaders in the area. “It is run by Ken Eckstein and Tom Mayer, who are great in court, great at deals, and just great at bankruptcy everywhere,” declares one peer, who further attests, “I see them all the time and they give me and anyone else a run for the money.” Eckstein leads a team that, for the past three years, has served as lead bankruptcy counsel to represent the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) of 10 state attorneys general, six municipalities, and the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the multidistrict litigation and a federally recognized Native American Tribe in the ongoing bankruptcy saga of embattled opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. White-collar crime is another field in which Kramer Levin boasts an unanimously lauded roster. “The Kramer Levin team actually does trials! That’s rare in the white-collar world, and these are actually for some very high-profile individuals,” marvels one peer. Barry Berke is an undisputed leading presence. He was recently thrust into the limelight when he was called into service as special counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives in connection with its investigation and impeachment proceedings of Donald Trump, and as of February 2020, Berke returned to Kramer Levin with newly burnished credentials. Not that he needed them; even before this engagement, Berke has been routinely identified by peers as “absolutely one of the best,” with one elaborating, “Especially at his age point, he has some of the best experience you could ask for and credibility beyond question.” Clients agree; one calls Berke “a counselor, a litigator, and a strategist,” and goes on to assert, “No one is better.” While Berke’s profile in the community is undisputed, others in this group are making their mark. Dani James acted with Berke in representing Theodore Huber, a partner and analyst at Deerfield Management, in parallel actions brought by the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission arising from Huber’s trading based on purportedly confidential government information relating to Medicare reimbursement for healthcare services. Both celebrated white-collar stars Berke and James represented biotech giant Amgen in a commercial litigation capacity in the client’s dispute with Novartis over the latter’s alleged breach of contract and tortious conduct arising out of the parties’ collaboration agreement to commercialize a migraine drug. On a counterclaim, Amgen alleged that Novartis breached the contract when it allowed its subsidiary to manufacture a competing migraine drug, and then actively concealed this from Amgen. The Kramer Levin team on this matter also included Norman Simon, who typically deals with cases involving the Lanham Act and false-advertising claims, niche areas in which Kramer Levin has been noted as being one of the few major players.
     The firm has recently developed a more “hard IP” practice, spearheaded by Dr. Irena Royzman, who is noted by peers to “occupy a definite presence in the pharma patent space.” Royzman has historically represented Janssen, and on behalf of this client sued several generic manufacturers under the Hatch-Waxman Act for infringement of patents protecting Symtuza, a treatment for HIV/AIDS. The action is in active fact discovery and claim-construction proceedings, and a bench trial is scheduled for October 2023. The IP area is bookended on the West Coast by Lisa Kobialka in the Silicon Valley office (opened in 2011). Kobialka, whose practice is primarily devoted to the tech space, brought patent infringement actions against Xerox and Ricoh relating to systems and methods covering various aspects of printers and/or copiers as well as their processes, performance and maintenance, and workflow management. 

     The firm upholds its dedication to labor and employment litigation, regularly representing high-profile clients in a variety of respects, particularly emphasizing – though not limiting itself to – highly sensitive and complex single-plaintiff employment disputes. No stranger to the public eye, employment law chair Kevin Leblang of New York is regularly active at the forefront of the most highly exposed disputes in employment litigation. Leblang currently defends Stifel in a sexual harassment lawsuit that has gained significant market attention. In 2022, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) passed, leading the court to reverse its initial order to compel arbitration. Leblang has since appealed the decision to the Second Circuit. Leblang is routinely prepraing for trial. He is also active in discovery and pre-trial practice, defending Société Général in a sexual orientation and harassment lawsuit. Eliza Kaiser, also of the firm’s New York office, represents leaders across a variety of industries in disputes and investigations. Kaiser represented Facebook against a Department of Justice action that alleged that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices in the US in relation to its immigration policies. She negotiated a settlement with the DOJ as well as a parallel matter with the Department of Labor. Leblang and Kaiser’s fellow partner Robert Holtzman was recently engaged in three separate arbitrations on behalf of Natixis, all of which were successfully resolved.

Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney continues to distinguish itself as a formidable force in its native New York as well as nationally. “They have some ‘Big Law’ credentials while having that kind of personal touch you can only get from boutiques,” declares a peer. Indeed, the firm’s founding partners do come equipped with experience from global juggernaut firm White & Case and have since forged ahead on building out this boutique with a high-touch approach. While the firm has some particularly strong niche areas – insurance and labor and employment, most notably – founding partners Dorothea Regal and Fredric Newman have instilled a culture that welcomes work that one partner quips is “pike law – anything that comes down the pike.” Whereas Regal represents international and domestic clients at trial and on appeal in complex commercial and insurance coverage litigation, Newman dedicates his practice to commercial trial representation.
     While Regal and Newman remain active in these matters, the torch is being passed to younger generations of talent at the firm. Most notably, Joshua Blosveren has proven an especially visible and active member of the group. “Josh is a very good litigator who offers very good insurance analysis.” Blosveren leads a team that represents Syngenta Crop Protection in an insurance coverage litigation filed by its primary and umbrella insurance companies in Delaware Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment of no coverage for long-tail personal injury exposure claims made against Syngenta arising out of the manufacture and sale of Paraquat pesticide products by Syngenta and its predecessor companies. The basis for the insurers’ denial of coverage is that Syngenta’s notice of the claim was allegedly late and should have been noticed before the claim was filed against Syngenta. In August 2020, the Hoguet team secured Syngenta summary judgment on the threshold issue of the timing of the claim, which secured Syngenta $24 million in coverage. At the same time, the firm team defeated the insurance company’s pre-discovery motion for summary judgment, alleging that Syngenta made a misrepresentation in its application for insurance. A bench trial was held in October 2022 and in March 2023 – the court issued a post-trial decision that handed Syngenta a complete victory. Zurich appealed the court’s two summary judgment decisions in the Delaware Supreme Court which, in February 2024, affirmed the two summary judgment rulings. The firm team behind this matter also included John Curley and Miriam Manber. This same team, along with Bradley Nash, also acted on a case, led by Regal, for this same client in an insurance coverage litigation filed by Syngenta in Delaware Superior Court against various insurance companies that issued primary and excess insurance policies to Syngenta’s corporate predecessors in the years 1971-1986—providing over $800 million in coverage—for losses arising from long-tail personal injury exposure claims made against Syngenta arising out of the manufacture and sale of Paraquat pesticide products by Syngenta and its predecessor companies. The firm’s labor and employment capacity is largely run by Damian Cavaleri, who has an active docket of matters for a novel and varied roster of clients. Cavaleri led a case for Cosmax USA and Nu-World against plaintiffs, who are a contract manufacturer specializing in beauty products, who brought an action upon the client’s breach of a contract in an attempt to recover approximately $2 million owed pursuant to the contracts. The client asserted counterclaims related to several alleged agreements that it claims were breached and resulted in lost profits as well as other damages, including fines from major retailers. Manber also works with fellow future star Helene Hechtkopf on a labor and employment matter for the New York MTA, a longtime mainstay client for the firm.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is widely and duly revered as among the preeminent litigation boutiques both in New York City’s congested market and nationally. Peers and clients stand united as admirers of the firm’s approach and litigation acumen. The firm elicits a remarkable level of accolades from former and current co-counsel as well as referring lawyers. “I am working with them a lot, [on] some very big-ticket litigation of other kinds besides Chancery work,” testifies one co-counsel “I worked with them on [a case regarding] Rite-Aid concerning coverage for liabilities for opioids.” Another declares, “We brought them in for a significant matter that wound up not being litigated but would have been a big deal if it had, and I had the utmost confidence them.” Still another confirms, “I tried this implied-covenant trial with them, which virtually never happens in bankruptcy world, and the lead trial lawyer on this case was from Holwell Shuster.” Another peer insists, “You need to recognize Holwell Shuster in the insurance category more! They are getting a ton of that Chubb work now.”
     By way of example, a firm team composed of Michael Shuster, Matthew Gurgel and Avi Israeli recently added to a series of victories that it has earned for Chubb as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel in the insurer’s docket of over 20 insurance-coverage cases related to the opioid crisis, in the past year alone securing summary judgment victories in litigation against CVS, Publix, and a Mallinckrodt trust—building on prior summary judgment victories against Rite Aid, Zogenix and McKesson. The cases place at issue Chubb’s insurance contracts with some of the largest players in the industry, including distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson; manufacturers like Mallinckrodt, Endo, Amneal, and Zogenix; and pharmacies like CVS, Kroger, Costco, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Albertson’s, Giant Eagle, Publix, UNFI, and Walmart. Continuing to serve at the forefront of the firm’s team, founding partner year after year further cements his position as a complex commercial authority, including landing himself a coveted position among Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America. Among the most active of Holwell’s litigators, Shuster continues to offer representation to regular client Visa in numerous complex and long-running antitrust matters, both in the class-action and opt-out capacities. In the opt-out cases, the country’s leading merchants are challenging credit and debit card rules that go to the heart of the industry and seeking billions of dollars in damages, pre-trebling. Shuster also acts with Vincent Levy and Neil Lieberman for LCM XXII and other issuers of collateralized loan obligations in a dispute with Serta Simmons Bedding over its COVID-related refinancing. In 2020, Serta entered into a transaction where it received $200 million of new-money financing from a group of lenders—which did not include plaintiffs in this case—who also agreed to redeem their first- and second-lien loans for a new category of super-priority debt with payment rights ahead of the first-lien loans. Levy, along with Scott Danner, also secured a significant jury verdict against Boeing in litigation alleging the aerospace behemoth stole substantial trade secrets from aircraft startup Zunum Aero related to the development of electric and hybrid-electric aircrafts. The jury awarded Zunum damages of $81.3 million for trade secret misappropriation, $67.08 million for breach of contract, and another $11.56 million for tortious interference. “Vince Levy is an exceptional lawyer,” declares a peer. “[He is] Very good and thorough.”

Since its genesis in 2015, Los Angeles litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan has seen an ascent that can only be described as astonishing. Formed by a group of commercial litigators who peeled off of California institution Irell & Manella to launch this venture, Hueston Hennigan has forged itself a coveted position as a local litigation shop that has achieved state-wide and even national prominence. The firm is noted for its mission of putting a premium on trial work, a mission that has been fulfilled with rapid momentum on several high-level appointments. “They have just been massively successful,” sums up one East Coast litigator, stating a consensus shared by many. The firm’s client base is remarkably diverse, ranging from individuals to a variety of entities encompassing tech giants, Native American tribes, the Boy Scouts and the California State Bar (to name but a few), with very little repeat business and virtually no “routine” cases. “Hueston Hennigan doesn’t do the ‘cookie-cutter.’ They do really cool, cutting-edge work,” declares a peer, who goes on to confide, “I admit it makes me jealous, and I’m sure I’m not alone!” Seemingly not content with dominating the Los Angeles area, the firm has discreetly planted a flag in the New York market as well, with a further buildout expected.
      Firm founder and name partner John Hueston is a trial trailblazer who has carved himself an enviable position even among others in the elite trial lawyer circuit. “I’ve seen trial lawyers rise and fade but John is young and vibrant enough to be in this for the long haul,” opines one peer. A client testifies on Hueston’s behalf. “John is incredibly smart and strategic. He is a true trial lawyer – he relishes the fight and is unafraid of a courtroom.” Hueston’s proven activity as lead counsel on a number of high-level appointments more than supports this near-unanimous acclaim. Hueston is not alone in his trial prowess and activity, however. Moez Kaba has staked himself a position as another of the firm’s lead trial counsel, acting in tandem with Hueston or on his own on some of the firm’s most high-stakes disputes. Kaba made his debut as one of the Benchmark Top 100 Trial Lawyers before his fortieth birthday, and his position on that list remains secure again this year, as does that of Hueston, who has appeared every year since the list’s inception. This duo secured a complete defense victory for Boeing when the court overturned the $72 million jury verdict in favor of [now defunct] aerospace startup Zunum (in which Boeing invested) in a high-profile trade-secrets case alleging Boeing’s actions caused Zunum to go out of business. Zunum sought nearly $500 million from Boeing. Acting as replacement trial counsel, Hueston and Kaba handed Boeing a win, defeating Zunum’s claims as well as securing $12 million from Zunum on Boeing’s cross claim. A team composed of Hueston, Kaba and Alison Libeu (who argued the matter before the panel) prevailed at the Ninth Circuit in April 2025, persuading the judges to uphold the firm’s $311 million false-advertising trial judgment and permanent injunction against Vital Pharmaceuticals and its former owner and CEO Jack Owoc. This victory built upon a $293 million jury verdict the firm obtained in 2022 for energy drink entity Monster in a high-profile lawsuit involving claims of false advertising, tortious interference and trade secrets theft against VPX. The jury found VPX and Owoc falsely advertised the alleged “Super Creatine” ingredient in VPX’s billion-dollar Bang energy drink. The jury awarded $272 million against both VPX and Owoc for false advertising and another $21 million against VPX itself for tortious interference and trade secrets theft. In its post-trial judgment, the court added over $43 million in attorneys’ fees, expenses and prejudgment interest to the jury’s award, with over $39 million of that tacked onto the false-advertising claim. Kaba also acted with Robbie Klieger, whose practice has a dedicated entertainment industry niche, in securing a March 2025 triumph when a federal jury awarded client Disney a complete defense verdict in a high-profile suit brought by an animator who alleged Disney infringed his copyrights to develop the blockbuster film, “Moana.”  The plaintiff alleged he had passed his materials to a family member who worked on a Disney lot, but the jury decided that the creators of “Moana” never had access to the plaintiff’s outlines and script.

Since its genesis in 2015, Los Angeles litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan has seen an ascent that can only be described as astonishing. Formed by a group of commercial litigators who peeled off of California institution Irell & Manella to launch this venture, Hueston Hennigan has forged itself a coveted position as a local litigation shop that has achieved state-wide and even national prominence. The firm is noted for its mission of putting a premium on trial work, a mission that has been fulfilled with rapid momentum on several high-level appointments. “They have just been massively successful,” sums up one East Coast litigator, stating a consensus shared by many. The firm’s client base is remarkably diverse, ranging from individuals to a variety of entities encompassing tech giants, Native American tribes, the Boy Scouts and the California State Bar (to name but a few), with very little repeat business and virtually no “routine” cases. “Hueston Hennigan doesn’t do the ‘cookie-cutter.’ They do really cool, cutting-edge work,” declares a peer, who goes on to confide, “I admit it makes me jealous, and I’m sure I’m not alone!” Seemingly not content with dominating the Los Angeles area, the firm has discreetly planted a flag in the New York market as well, with a further buildout expected.
      Firm founder and name partner John Hueston is a trial trailblazer who has carved himself an enviable position even among others in the elite trial lawyer circuit. “I’ve seen trial lawyers rise and fade but John is young and vibrant enough to be in this for the long haul,” opines one peer. A client testifies on Hueston’s behalf. “John is incredibly smart and strategic. He is a true trial lawyer – he relishes the fight and is unafraid of a courtroom.” Hueston’s proven activity as lead counsel on a number of high-level appointments more than supports this near-unanimous acclaim. Hueston is not alone in his trial prowess and activity, however. Moez Kaba has staked himself a position as another of the firm’s lead trial counsel, acting in tandem with Hueston or on his own on some of the firm’s most high-stakes disputes. Kaba made his debut as one of the Benchmark Top 100 Trial Lawyers in 2019, a coveted status made all the more impressive by the fact that he is the youngest appointee to this prestigious list by some distance. More impressive still, his position on that list remains secure again this year, as does that of Hueston, who has appeared every year since the list’s inception. This duo secured a complete defense victory for Boeing when the court overturned the $72 million jury verdict in favor of [now defunct] aerospace startup Zunum (in which Boeing invested) in a high-profile trade-secrets case alleging Boeing’s actions caused Zunum to go out of business. Zunum sought nearly $500 million from Boeing. Acting as replacement trial counsel, Hueston and Kaba handed Boeing a win, defeating Zunum’s claims as well as securing $12 million from Zunum on Boeing’s cross claim. A team composed of Hueston, Kaba and Alison Libeu (who argued the matter before the panel) prevailed at the Ninth Circuit in April 2025, persuading the judges to uphold the firm’s $311 million false-advertising trial judgment and permanent injunction against Vital Pharmaceuticals and its former owner and CEO Jack Owoc. This victory built upon a $293 million jury verdict the firm obtained in 2022 for energy drink entity Monster in a high-profile lawsuit involving claims of false advertising, tortious interference and trade secrets theft against VPX. The jury found VPX and Owoc falsely advertised the alleged “Super Creatine” ingredient in VPX’s billion-dollar Bang energy drink. The jury awarded $272 million against both VPX and Owoc for false advertising and another $21 million against VPX itself for tortious interference and trade secrets theft. In its post-trial judgment, the court added over $43 million in attorneys’ fees, expenses and prejudgment interest to the jury’s award, with over $39 million of that tacked onto the false-advertising claim. Kaba also acted with Robbie Klieger, whose practice has a dedicated entertainment industry niche, in securing a March 2025 triumph when a federal jury awarded client Disney a complete defense verdict in a high-profile suit brought by an animator who alleged Disney infringed his copyrights to develop the blockbuster film, “Moana.”  The plaintiff alleged he had passed his materials to a family member who worked on a Disney lot, but the jury decided that the creators of “Moana” never had access to the plaintiff’s outlines and script.

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Hunton Andrews Kurth is an international law firm with over 900 lawyers across more than 20 offices in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The firm serves a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, energy companies, utilities, and government entities. One client describes the firm as having “substantive knowledge and strategy, that are great.” as well as having “responsiveness and understanding of our business” which “keeps me coming back.”               California-based litigator Shannon Broome is a nationally recognized authority on Clean Air Act and climate change matters, including as part of joint defense groups where she, Virginia-based partner Cassandra Collins, and New York-based partner Shawn Regan serve on the lead counsel team representing Marathon Petroleum Corporation and its affiliated company, as well as Speedway LLC in more than 30 climate-change related cases in jurisdictions across the country. These actions have substantial implications for the global energy supply, as well as overall global economic growth. Fellow California partner Ann Marie Mortimer is currently defending Flurry, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo!, in a putative class action alleging that Flurry conspired to exchange private and confidential information for their own benefit in connection with Flo Health, which owns health and fitness apps. The plaintiff alleges that Flo Health violated their own policy by knowingly giving users’ information to third parties without appropriate user disclosure and consent. Also based out of the Virginia office, Elbert Lin succeeded in restoring a key element of the Alaska public correspondence school program, a program utilized by 22,000 students throughout the state, when the Alaska Supreme Court agreed that a lower court had wrongly struck several statutes as facially unconstitutional. The decision not only restores an important educational program for Alaskan children but also gives critical guidance to Alaska lower courts on the difference between facial and as-applied challenges. Maya Eckstein was co-lead counsel representing the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in a putative class action involving attorney’s fees, which received a favorable 7-2 ruling from the US Supreme Court in February 2025. Washington DC-partner Neil Gilman is on the counsel team representing Hisamitsu America in a false advertising litigation and related consumer class action stemming from a national litigation campaign related to use of maximum strength for over-the-counter pain-relieving patch products.

 

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Hunton Andrews Kurth is an international law firm with over 900 lawyers across more than 20 offices in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The firm serves a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, energy companies, utilities, and government entities. One client describes the firm as having “substantive knowledge and strategy, that are great.” as well as having “responsiveness and understanding of our business” which “keeps me coming back.”               California-based litigator Shannon Broome is a nationally recognized authority on Clean Air Act and climate change matters, including as part of joint defense groups where she, Virginia-based partner Cassandra Collins, and New York-based partner Shawn Regan serve on the lead counsel team representing Marathon Petroleum Corporation and its affiliated company, as well as Speedway LLC in more than 30 climate-change related cases in jurisdictions across the country. These actions have substantial implications for the global energy supply, as well as overall global economic growth. Fellow California partner Ann Marie Mortimer is currently defending Flurry, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo!, in a putative class action alleging that Flurry conspired to exchange private and confidential information for their own benefit in connection with Flo Health, which owns health and fitness apps. The plaintiff alleges that Flo Health violated their own policy by knowingly giving users’ information to third parties without appropriate user disclosure and consent. Also based out of the Virginia office, Elbert Lin succeeded in restoring a key element of the Alaska public correspondence school program, a program utilized by 22,000 students throughout the state, when the Alaska Supreme Court agreed that a lower court had wrongly struck several statutes as facially unconstitutional. The decision not only restores an important educational program for Alaskan children but also gives critical guidance to Alaska lower courts on the difference between facial and as-applied challenges. Maya Eckstein was co-lead counsel representing the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in a putative class action involving attorney’s fees, which received a favorable 7-2 ruling from the US Supreme Court in February 2025. Washington DC-partner Neil Gilman is on the counsel team representing Hisamitsu America in a false advertising litigation and related consumer class action stemming from a national litigation campaign related to use of maximum strength for over-the-counter pain-relieving patch products.

 

Headquartered in downtown DC, Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick is a mid-sized law firm home to numerous trial-tested appellate and complex litigation lawyers.
       Founding and managing partner Michael Kellogg specializes in appellate, regulatory, and antitrust issues, many of which he has argued before the US Supreme Court. Fellow name partner Mark Hansen is a seasoned trial lawyer active in civil and criminal actions. As counsel, he has obtained some of the largest judgments in antitrust and unfair trade practice cases in recent history. David Frederick, a name partner, manages a diverse practice in the appellate arena. He has represented an array of individuals, classes and companies before the US Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and in every court of appeals across the country. Frederick serves as lead counsel for National Credit Union Administration in a lawsuit against numerous international and national banks. Aaron Panner is recognized for his work in the antitrust space. He is active representing clients in high-profile, high-stakes disputes in appellate and district courts across the country. He recently represented iPhone owners in one of the most considerable victories for private antitrust plaintiffs before the US Supreme Court. Andrew Shen is recognized for his breach of contract, securities, antitrust, health care, fraud, telecommunications, and whistleblower litigation practice. He recently represented an insurance company in a string of lawsuits related to the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. Steven Benz is recognized as an antitrust and unfair competition expert, having represented clients in numerous complex commercial actions throughout his 25-plus year career. He is part of the lead counsel team representing Veeva in a suit filed by a rival life sciences giant which accuses the client of poaching an employee as part of an alleged practice that encourages competitors’ works to breach noncompete agreements. A Maryland federal judge determined the court had no jurisdiction over the matter.

Based in the Philadelphia suburb of Radnor, Pennsylvania, plaintiff heavyweights Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check have scored nationwide wins in the class-actions sphere. Clients voice appreciation for its partners being “well prepared in analysis of cases,” and “keeping the client informed.” While domiciled in suburban Pennsylvania, the firm’s ambitions have taken it global. “Kessler Topaz has a lot of penetration in the European market. They spent a lot of money on that, and it has paid off. They realized that there was a space in Europe where they did not know there was a class-action market at all, and so they built a monitoring practice with them. This has grown to the point where they are representing institutional investors in the US as well.”

In a recent example of the rewards of the firm’s overseas entrepreneurialism, Kessler Topaz scored a major win in February 2022, when a $1.6 billion global settlement became effective with Steinhoff International Holdings, Steinhoff auditor Deloitte & Touche South Africa, and Steinhoff’s former directors and officers and their D&O insurers. The settlement is purportedly the largest securities settlement outside the US to date. It resolves claims brought by Steinhoff common stock shareholders before courts in the Netherlands, Germany, and South Africa for losses they sustained as a result of Steinhoff’s December 2017 revelation that it had discovered accounting irregularities and that it had overstated profits by $7.4 billion between 2009 and 2017. Kessler Topaz, representing more than 40 institutional investors from around the globe, initially filed legal action in the Netherlands, seeking recovery of investor losses and a judicial examination.

Stuart Berman is particularly noted for his non-US litigation practice, as is Darren Check. The latter is praised by a client as “very knowledgeable and informative” and someone who “always keeps his clients up to date on the status of cases.”

While the firm has been primarily lauded for its securities practice, an area in which it has scored some of its most noteworthy victories, there has been a push toward antitrust cases as of late. In one example, Joseph Meltzer represents a class of plaintiffs who filed a Consolidated Class Action Complaint against pharmaceuticals entity Amarin, alleging that, having pursued and lost patent infringement litigation against would-be generic competitors as well as exhausting every regulatory means to prevent and delay the launch of generic competitors, Amarin adopted an unlawful strategy to artificially extend its monopoly for its sole product, Vascepa. By locking up every viable supplier of the key ingredient needed to manufacture generic Vascepa, Amarin boxed generic manufacturers out of the market. This scheme left Amarin free to continue charging supracompetitive prices and obtain the most profit it could out of Vascepa, at the expense of the plaintiffs and other purchasers of the drug. In another “antitrust-adjacent” matter, Meltzer and Check represent a class of plaintiffs, New Jersey municipalities, who filed a complaint against video programming and cable entities Netflix and Hulu, alleging that the defendants were required to file an application for individual certificates of approval or a system-wide franchise, in accordance with a New Jersey state statute, and failed to do so – and thus are providing cable television services throughout New Jersey without authorization and in contravention of the New Jersey Cable Television Act. Such certificates of approval and/or franchise would have authorized the defendants to use public rights-of-way to provide their cable television service and video programming, provided that defendants make payments to each municipality in which it provides service. The required payment is equal to a percentage of the gross revenues derived from subscription fees paid by subscribers in each municipality. The plaintiffs seek to require the defendants to abide by the CTA and pay what they owe to New Jersey municipalities.

Kirkland & Ellis has steadily risen from its roots in Chicago (where it remains a dominant brand) to become an international powerhouse. “Kirkland is a very formidable firm – [they have] a lot of talent. They have a lot of really solid people. There’s just something ‘cool and tough’ about them that you just can’t touch.” One of the larger and more comprehensive litigation capacities, Kirkland stands out as a firm that that boasts bench strength and high-level appointments in virtually every area of practice it offers, which include (but are not limited to) securities, antitrust, product liability, appeals, intellectual property, white-collar and investigations, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy, with the last being an area in which the firm is particularly dominant. “In bankruptcy, it’s Kirkland every day – they have to be at the top,” insists one peer, himself a leader in this practice. “I would specifically point to Mike Slade as a leader here – he takes some of the hardest bankruptcy cases around.”

     Kirkland is also noted for housing several leaders in the trial law specialty. To that end, perhaps the biggest news is the 2023 return to Kirkland of James Hurst, a famed and prolific Chicago-based trial luminary noted for prodigious courtroom acumen who took a multi-year hiatus. Hurst represented Abbott Laboratories and its affiliate, Abbott Molecular., in a lawsuit alleging gender and race discrimination brought by an African-American female and former employee of Abbott. Hurst prevailed on the clients’ behalf in September 2023. Another of the firm’s marquis trial lawyers, DC’s Mike Brock(who has been consistently ranked as one of Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers since its inception in 2014) led a team along with Chicago’s Leslie Smith and Anne Sidrys representing 3M Company and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies in product liability litigation concerning 3M’s allegedly defective dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs. In 2021, the Kirkland team secured a complete defense verdict in the second and fifth bellwether trials in this massive and headline-grabbing litigation. Operating from the firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, all-purpose commercial litigator Mark Holscher is another of the firm’s trial stars – one who makes his debut on the Top 100 list this year. A local candidate on this list testifies, “Mark is terrific. He’s now on the plaintiff’s side and become a thorn in the side of entertainment studios.” Holscher is representing Stable Road Acquisition in a purported consolidated securities class action arising from a merger, as well as an SEC action involving the CEO and founder of the merger candidate entity.

    Domestically, Kirkland has exhibited a remarkable level of growth in its New York office in particular. Kirkland came into this market and started knocking over furniture and not asking permission, just taking it,” quips one contemporary, summing up the firm’s explosive growth in the city. “We do a lot of work with them, and they send us work. They can’t be adverse to most of the private-equity firms that matter, but they have become an utter juggernaut in the New York market. More than anyone, they are responsible for the cultural shift in New York firms – there is a poaching war going on between them and some ‘white-shoe’ firms that I’m sure are historically not used to having their dominance challenged!” Many credit Sandra Goldstein, a litigation powerhouse and “straight shooter,” for this phenomenon. “Sandra has not only a terrific reputation but a sizeable book of business,” states one peer. “She has a carousel of securities and Delaware-related litigation on the go. But she also benefits from having the Kirkland machine and a great team that is coming under her and, at this point, with her – people like Stefan Atkinson, Rachel Fritzlerand Matthew Solum. They are all junior to Sandra but absolutely critical and playing major roles.” A peer elaborates, “Stefan Atkinson is a young guy that is very strong in Delaware.” The duo of Golstein and Atkinson prevailed in affirming a judgment entered in favor of Constellation Brands in a case in which Mexican beer brand Modelo brought suit against Constellation, the holder of a perpetual license to use the Corona and Modelo trademarks on “Beer” in the US, alleging that Constellation’s new Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water products fell outside the scope of the license because hard seltzers are not beer. A peer insists, “You’ve got to look at [the New York office of] Kirkland harder for securities work! Just at the moment they’ve got GrubHub. Jeld-Wen. Six Flags. Honeywell…shall I go on?”Solum in particular is identified as “a securities star in the making,” with one peer stating, “We are seeing him everywhere and not just in one specific type of securities case, either. He’s got M&A work, derivative work, class actions, you name it.” Solum represents Avalara and certain of its former directors in putative securities class action arising from Vista Equity Partners’ $8.4 billion take-private acquisition of Avalara. Solum also represents Avalara in a related petition brought by Avalara against dissenting shareholders to determine the fair value of shares. Another New York partner, in the intellectual property space, Dale Cendali represented Take-Two Interactive Software in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by a tattoo artist related to the depictions of NBA players LeBron James, Danny Green and Tristan Thompson in Take-Two’s  popular NBA 2K video game series. Take-Two designs each of the NBA players’ avatars with an eye toward realism, which requires including the players’ real-world tattoos on their virtual avatars in NBA 2K. The plaintiff claimed that the inclusion in NBA 2K of six tattoos he inked on these three NBA players amounted to copyright infringement. At trial, the Cendali and her team argued (among other things) that the inclusion of these nearly imperceptible tattoos in the massive video games is de minimis, a fair use, and covered by a license from LeBron James. In April 2024, the jury returned a verdict of no infringement.

 

Plaintiff shop Labaton Keller Sucharow (newly christened thus in 2024 from its former Labaton Sucharow name) is strategically placed in the financial district of New York as well as in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, DC, where it is well poised to feed heartily on a steady diet of corporate disputes arising on Wall Street and in the Delaware Court of Chancery. As far as its prized securities practice, the firm remains at the top echelon, as a defense-side peer says, “Labaton is one of the few plaintiff firms that get the big, meaty securities cases and they litigate them.” The firm has also made inroads into the privacy space, with a number of partners delving into the practice. “It’s a whole new crew coming up there,” declares one peer.
     One such partner is New York’s Michael Canty, who is making significant strides in profile as of late. Canty served as co-lead counsel representing Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho in a securities fraud case against Alexion Pharmaceuticals and certain of its executives. The suit alleged that Alexion, a pharmaceutical drug company that generated nearly all of its revenue from selling the Company’s flagship drug, Soliris, made materially false and misleading statements and omissions principally connected to Alexion’s sales practices in connection with the marketing of Soliris. After years of vigorous litigation that commenced in 2019, the parties reached a $125 million settlement, which was affirmed in December 2023. Canty leads the trial representing Carpenters Pension Trust for Northern California and the Carpenters Annuity Trust Fund for Northern California, among others, in a securities class action filed against Allstate, the company’s CEO and its former President of Allstate Protection. The case arises from the company’s alleged growth strategy that ultimately led to relaxed underwriting standards which caused claims to increase.  Canty laid the ground before trial with several critical victories, including prevailing against the defendants’ motion to dismiss, class certification, and defeating the defendants’ motion to exclude the opinions of his experts. Finally, once again in December 2023, the parties received approval of a $90 million joint settlement. Carol Villegas is lauded for her “grit and talent” and denoted by a market peer as “the one who’s very prominent [at Labaton].”  Villegas serves as the youngest team leader in the firm’s history, spearheading the burgeoning Consumer Protection and Data Privacy Practice. In the privacy space, she serves as co-lead class counsel in their case alleging violations of privacy rights and related statutes against Flo Health, a women's health app developer that allows users to track data such as fertility and menstruation. While Villegas is trailblazing through the privacy and consumer protection litigation, she continues to be a pillar of the plaintiff-side securities bar.  Villegas and Canty are lead counsel to the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico in a securities action against California’s utility provider, PG&E.
     Labaton has also been steadily building out its Delaware practice. This has largely been attributed to the efforts of Ned Weinberger, a partner who has made a splash in the Delaware market and has had the community talking. “Ned Weinberger has been killing it,” exclaims a peer, who goes on to elaborate, “Dell Class V was a milestone, a huge settlement. He’s gotten some pretty good wins. Just in terms of presence, aptitude and skills, I think he will keep the flag planted [in Wilmington.]” In the alluded-to Dell case, Weinberger served as co-lead counsel against controlling stockholders of Dell, alleging they had breached their fiduciary duties by expropriating billions of dollars in value from Dell’s Class V Stockholders. After hotly contested litigation, Dell agreed to pony up a $1 billion cash settlement in lieu of a trial.

 

Since its inception, McKool Smith has established itself as a litigation force to be reckoned with, a reputation that continues today on the strength of its deep bench of trial lawyers that spans seven offices throughout the US (four in Texas, the state in which the firm saw its genesis.) Firm figurehead and founder Mike McKool has since departed, but the firm retains the name and its image as frequent and battle-tested denizens of the courtroom. “McKool is a real trial firm,” states one peer in summation. “Those people have trials in their DNA!” Another concurs, “The culture there is one that has long been imbued by giving their all in court.” Clients are equally appreciative of the firm’s approach. “They understand current trends in highly specialized areas of litigation. They identify risks and opportunities and guide towards meaningful resolutions.”
     A new litigation star making her debut in this edition, Jennifer Truelove, a versatile practitioner in the Marshall, Texas office who has demonstrated a particular flair for patent litigation, helped secure a $303 million patent-infringement verdict on behalf of Netlist against Samsung, with a jury finding Samsung willfully infringed three of Netlist’s patents related to computer memory technology. Netlist had previously licensed the patents to Samsung, but that agreement expired in 2020. After the license expired, Samsung continued to knowingly use semiconductor memory products that infringed Netlist’s patents. The verdict was announced in April 2023, following a jury trial. Truelove scored against Samsung again in April 2024, when, as co-counsel, she secured a patent infringement verdict for $142 million, including a running royalty on behalf of G+ Communications. In the Dallas office, David Sochia represents PARC in a multi-patent case against Facebook, Twitter, and Snap involving advertising and social media technologies. A peer in the patent space insists, “David Sochia – you’ve got to look closer at him!” Michael Fritz, also in Dallas, is touted for commercial and intellectual property litigation. Fritz is cheered by a client as “very thorough and a good communicator.” While the firm’s Lone Star State operations have a well earned legacy for patent work, that is not exclusively the focus of practitioners in these offices. “[Houston’s] John Sparacino is an outstanding attorney,” extols one peer. “And he does no patent work, to my knowledge – he’s doing bankruptcy work!”    
     McKool Smith has experienced substantial growth outside of Texas as well, both in practice-area breadth and in practitioner headroom. In New York, Christopher Johnson leads a team acting on behalf of HSBC, as trustee, in litigating coordinated cases that collectively seek repurchase of nearly $2 billion of defective mortgage loans. All cases survived motions to dismiss, and the parties subsequently reached tentative settlements in all cases between May and October 2023. Two other partners acting with Johnson on this case, Courtney Statfeld and Robert Scheef, are also earning their own favorable impressions from clients. “Courtney Statfeld is an excellent litigator with strong courtroom skills and great presence,” enthuses one peer. “She is also very good at distilling complex facts into clear, effective arguments.” Another client raves on Scheef’s behalf, “Rob Scheef has a masterful understanding of the RMBS litigation environment.  He offers thoughtful litigation advice beyond nuts and bolts, and he sees the entire picture.”
     Domiciled in the DC office, Alan Whitehurst is praised by a client as “a strategic thinker [who] possesses [an] outstanding blend of poised advocacy, technical skills, and tactical judgment. He is a strong advocate in IP litigation and is achievement oriented.”

MoloLamken is a rare example of a litigation shop that has entrenched itself in three key geographic venues (New York, Washington, DC and Chicago) while remaining lean and nimble enough to qualify for “boutique” status. The firm’s name partners straddle the axis of trial and appellate counsel and maintain broad and diverse ranges of cases for an equally varied portfolio of clients. A peer offers in summation, “MoloLamken cover a lot of ground,” and further elaborates, “I’m actually seeing them doing a lot more plaintiff work!” Clients also offer glowing reviews. One raves, “Based on my experience, MoloLamken provided a comprehensive legal defense utilizing highly skilled attorneys with extensive experience and knowledge of the subject matter. They are highly professional lawyers who care about their clients and are highly motivated to achieve the best possible results for their clients.”

     New York’s Steven Molo, one of the firm’s founders, is considered “a visionary,” by peers, one of whom emphasizes, “He’s a trial lawyer! He goes to court more than many others on [Benchmark’s] list.” Molo and Washington, DC-based Eric Nitz represent plaintiffs in a misappropriation-of-trade-secrets case concerning an aircraft conversion program for the Boeing 777 jumbo jet. “Eric Nitz is extremely passionate about his work and thus his clients,” extols one such appreciative client. “He is extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, creative, and detailed oriented. And of course he is highly persistent to achieve the best possible outcome.” Molo led a team is serving as class trial counsel in a 10b-5 securities fraud stockholder class action against a company that transported oil developed from fracking in North Dakota to the coasts.  Shortly before trial, the class reached a settlement with the company’s officers and defendants for $14 million, nearly the entire remaining insurance policy balance.  The ensuing jury trial proceeded against one remaining defendant, and a favorable verdict was rendered in June 2022. Other members of this team included New York’s Sara Margolis and Robert Kry, who works from both the DC and New York offices. “Oh my God, Robert Kry is so good,” raves a peer. “You must recognize him!” Kry was lead appellate counsel seeking review of the dismissal of a securities fraud shareholder class action against Biogen and three of its executives. The allegations are that the defendants misrepresented the results of their clinical trial data for their Alzheimer’s drug by concealing portions of the data that showed that the drug was not in fact working. Upon the fraud being exposed, an advisory committee voted unanimously against the drug, and the company’s stock price plummeted, causing investors over one billion dollars in damages. In October 2023, the court of appeals reversed an earlier unfavorable decision and reinstated the plaintiffs’ claims in part. 

     Jeffrey Lamken, in the firm’s DC office, is an appellate specialist. A client cheers his “excellent writing and strong skills in oral presentation.” A DC peer quips, “Jeff is so known for IP appeals cases that I think he’s developed a real niche in that world. God help you if you want a Supreme Court case out of the Federal Circuit because I’m sure Jeff is going to go after it and most likely get it.” Although intellectual property might be a particular substantive area of concentration, Lamken represented The Humane Society of the United States before the Supreme Court in a successful defense of California’s Proposition 12 (drafted by the client in 2018), which forbids the sale within California of pork that comes from pigs housed in certain extreme conditions of confinement, against a constitutional challenge from pork industry groups.

     MoloLamken continues to enrich its talent ranks beneath the more senior name partners. New York’s Justin Ellis earns commendations from his peers, one of whom testifies, “I have partnered with Justin in a series of whistleblower complaints regarding fraudulent commercial mortgage-backed securities. [He’s an] excellent, hard-working attorney with a keen intellect and deep knowledge of the substantive area of work, namely securities litigation.” New York’s Ben Quarmby balances commercial and IP matters and is similarly championed by contemporaries. “I’m seeing Ben more and more, he’s doing really well in this space,” confirms one peer. A client buttresses this assessment: “Ben Quarmby is very clear and very reactive. He knows his subject perfectly.

 

Situated strategically in New York City, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello has built a premier white-collar crime and investigations practice recognized nationwide as the “go-to” for both domestic and international clients. Its esteemed white-collar practice is complemented by capability in commercial and securities litigation, largely involving executives and cutting-edge issues, as well as employment-related litigation and high-profile and sensitive investigations. Former co-counsel and clients alike have praised its lawyers’ expertise and professionalism in and out of the court room. “They familiarize themselves deeply with the case and are always familiar with the details,” testifies a client. “They clearly address the challenges of the case; they clarify the legal situation; they are convincing in their strategy of approach; they know the strengths and weaknesses of a case; the pleadings are clear and persuasive; the views of the other side and the court are always present; they are quick when necessary; they have been successful in all cases so far, and there have been no surprising court decisions so far.” Another enthuses, “The Morvillo team is very down to earth and knowledgeable. They served an invaluable guide in navigating the opaque legal system while being business friendly and efficient. Their experience and legal knowledge significantly reduced my anxiety and stress on the legal side, but as importantly their compassion and understanding were even more valuable for me and my family.  They were always promptly available weekdays or weekends, regular or after hours.”
     Considering how sensitive the issues are that the firm deals with, many of its engagements are unsurprisingly of a confidential nature. However, certain appointments are not only public but very high-profile. This year, Elkan Abramowitz and Richard Albert represented of the former CEO of American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, in connection with high-profile investigations relating to the Michael Cohen and Donald Trump prosecutions. The Morvillo pair obtained immunity for the client and prepared him for grand jury and trial testimony, including a week of trial testimony in the criminal trial in New York State centering on allegations relating to alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Robert Radick and Christopher Harwood lead the representation of a tech startup company and its CEO in connection with claims filed in New York Supreme Court by a former officer based on his termination and the forfeiture of his equity. The duo uccessfully litigated a motion to compel arbitration of the dispute, and currently representing the company and two of its executives, including its CEO, in the arbitration. Radick is championed by a client as “balanced, knowledgeable, realistic, smart, understanding and efficient.” About Harwood, a client raves “He is an outstanding personality who is always very convincing and can enter into a discussion at any time. He speaks very clearly, and his pleadings are clear and logically structured. It doesn't get any better than that. His presentation and his reactions in court are outstanding, always excellently prepared. He always addresses risks clearly. Telemachus “Tim” Kasulis, whose practice follows a similar trajectory as Harwood’s (the duo is humorously referred to as “The Fraud Twins”) is given a similarly glowing review by a client. “He is, above all, an excellent listener, a compassionate person, who understands the human nature of his clients and their family and deeply cares about them and the situation they are in. He is extremely smart, knowledgeable and very effective communicator.  His years of experience as a prosecutor gives him a unique perspective. Tim has been there for me, weekdays, weekends, regular or after hours.  My wife has incredible respect for Tim and his qualities.” Brian Jacobs, another young partner at the firm who has made great strides of late, is also involved in several securities-fraud cases. A client cheers Jacobs as “an extremely intelligent and thoughtful attorney,” and goes on to testify, “He has a deep knowledge of criminal law and is a go-to practitioner, particularly for criminal appellate work. Brian also possesses excellent judgment, is highly reliable, and is a pleasure to work with.” Karen King is addressed by a client as “a masterful strategist, [with] great communication, great research, team- and resource-management, great argument skills and writing. [She is] Great at managing client expectations and directing her team for seamless, flawless execution.”

 

In over 125 years of existence, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough has grown beyond its humble South Carolina roots to enjoy nationwide acclaim. While still a regional powerhouse with offices in major markets like Atlanta, the Carolinas, and Florida, the firm also has locations on both the East and the West Coasts. 

Michael Brown is recognized nationally as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and leading practitioner in product liability and insurance defense. He has been described as a “formidable” opponent who most recently defended Johnson & Johnson against a series of personal injury product liability claims. Brown defended J&J in a case that went before a jury in Oakland, California. The plaintiff alleged that he had developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure while using J&J’s baby powder. The plaintiff sued J&J for $500 million and was awarded $18.8 million. The case is still under appeal.  

Baltimore’s Michael Blumenfeld specializes in commercial litigation, representing businesses of all sizes in disputes related to contracts, torts, employment, and product liability. Currently he is representing a family in an alleged negligence and wrongful death of an individual, who was making a delivery on their property. The parties are engaged in discovery and have a trial set for 2024.  

Matt Sturtz, who also works in the Baltimore office, focuses his practice on construction, bankruptcy, and real estate litigation. He is the lead representative for the estate of Preston Ayars, Jr. in a contract dispute for the failure to close on a $5 million real estate transaction. 

David Dukes, who is domiciled in the Columbia, South Carolina office, also holds the prestigious Top 100 Trial Lawyer status. He is known for his product liability practice and is serving as co-lead trial counsel with Marc Williams on behalf of Johnson & Johnson. 

Appellate and product liability partner Marc Williams, of the Huntington, West Virginia office, presided as lead counsel for Johnson & Johnson before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel regarding claims filed by hospitals against opioid manufacturers. The cases allege that infants born to opioid-addicted mothers were exposed to opioids in the womb that resulted in developmental injuries. Williams argued the motion to dismiss these cases, which was granted by the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel. The dismissals are under appeal.  

Robert Massie handles high risk cases in West Virginia often involving wrongful death and injuries. He led the appeal of a wrongful death verdict for the client, Speedway, LLC. In that case, an employee of Speedway took drugs while on duty and became impaired. The employee left work and fell asleep while driving and fatally struck a motorcyclist. The jury returned a verdict against Speedway assessing damages of over $2 million and a second jury returned a verdict of more than $5 million.

On appeal, Massie handled the oral argument. In a unanimous opinion the court held that the trial court incorrectly submitted the case to the jury, determining that it was irrelevant that Speedway should have known that the employee was impaired as Speedway did not cause the impairment.

Mark Raymond is a litigation star out of the Miami, Florida office. His practice of more than 35 years includes complex commercial and probate litigation. He serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Securities and Corporate Governance Litigation Group and advises the Boards of Directors and General Counsel of leading companies as well as prominent Trustees.

Operating out of a single office in Manhattan, Patterson Belknap elicits resounding praise from a vocal contingent of peers and clients, the likes of which are usually reserved for a national firm. “We think very highly of them,” opines one peer, summing up the general consensus. “They are not showy or flashy, they are just solid all across the board. We could use more like them.” A client extrapolates on the firm’s overall approach through a glowing accolade: “They bring a potent combination of transactional and litigation expertise to the table to help clients achieve their objectives. Building on their knowledge of deal documents and judicial decisions, they are great strategists and excellent writers. They tell their client candidly when it has a weak position, rather than engaging in undue optimism.” The firm’s practice offering covers a diverse spectrum, spanning commercial matters, white-collar crime, antitrust, intellectual property, securities and false advertising claims, an area in which the firm is said to be one of the few major players. The firm’s hybrid model also affords it the freedom to take on cases in the plaintiff and defense roles. Patterson Belknap has also made headlines as of late for matters involving a more novel nature. 

     The firm, and namely Barbara Mullin, has been at the forefront of patent litigation as of late, with a series of Hatch-Waxman engagements for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, on which Mullin was lead trial counsel. She scored big for this client in a set of three consolidated actions against Mylan and is currently leading other cases against several other generic drug manufacturers. Peter Tomlinson led a team that secured a significant victory on behalf of the Baldwin County Bridge Company when a judge granted injunctive relief against the Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation due to alleged bad-faith conduct on the Director’s part. Josh Goldberg represents Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon in a multi-billion-dollar litigation concerning Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of the robotic-assisted surgical device manufacturer Auris Health. The allegations, filed by the entity representing former shareholders of the acquired company, took issue with the contingency payments that were to be made if certain FDA clearance and sales milestones were hit. Said milestones were not hit. The case proceeded to trial in January 2024. Geoffrey Potter leads the charge on an anti-counterfeiting crusade for Gilead, taking to task over 100 defendants, including pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies, who are alleged to be part of an international counterfeiting ring that trafficked counterfeits of Gilead-branded HIV medication throughout the US, putting patients at risk. The counterfeits included bottles of Gilead-branded HIV medication that actually contained entirely different medication inside, such as high-dose antipsychotics. The counterfeiting ring also trafficked Gilead-branded bottles with counterfeit patient instructions and counterfeit chain-of-custody documentation that fraudulently claimed that the bottles were sold through authorized channels. Patterson Belknap is also one of the few New York firms to have cornered the market on the false advertising niche, primarily through Steve Zalesin, a universally lauded partner in this capacity. Zalesin represents household names such as Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and Hershey in numerous actions concerning a multitude of products.

 

Paul Weiss remains a brand name that is synonymous with blue-chip clients, and when these clients face extraordinary circumstances, the firm’s unassailable litigation team is a shortlisted crew in any conversation. “Paul Weiss sure has a whole lot of market share,” observes a peer. “They do great by their clients, and they are great at advising which cases to go all the way with and which cases to settle. The whole team is superb.” The firm’s litigation capabilities extend across virtually all major commercial practices, with star power at all levels within each of these, and the firm shows no signs of slowing in its agenda of recruiting and grooming this talent. Historically an East Coast powerhouse, the firm has since entrenched itself in the California market with the January 2021 addition of a San Francisco office, spearheaded by Melinda Haag and Walter Brown, two leaders in the white-collar area. Paul Weiss then followed with an office in Los Angeles, opened in 2024, with product liability specialist Kim Branscome installed in this outpost. “Kim made her bones on the talc cases for J&J,” testifies a peer. “I never tried a case with her, but I have read a few of her transcripts. She is known and respected in the products world, gets work.” The doubling-down on the West Coast was not the only recent development for the firm; a peer notes, “Paul Weiss is getting more involved in the employment area! [New York partners] Lisa Velasquez and Brette Tannenbaum are two people I would name for this, although Brette does a lot of other varied commercial work as well.”

     DC partners Bill Isaacson and trial lawyer Karen Dunn continue to draw acclaim for their antitrust work. The pair logged a March 2022 dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the DC Attorney General that challenged Amazon’s “fair-pricing” policy nationwide and then defeated the district’s post-trial motion for reconsideration and its motion to further amend its complaint in August. The case eventually wound up at the DC Court of Appeals, with oral argument taking place in December 2023. Appellate specialist Kannon Shanmugam is acting in the appeals capacity. “He’s amazing, really professional,” extols a peer on Shanmugam’s behalf. “He does a great job for his client and deserves the reputation he has.” Dunn and Isaacson, along with Jessica Phillips, also won a major bench trial victory in the District of Nevada on behalf of Oracle in a high-stakes, long-running copyright infringement dispute with Rimini Street. Issuing an extraordinary injunction order in July 2023, the court ordered Rimini to shut down its automated tools and issue and prominently post a 15-point press release in which Rimini discloses its alleged untruths to the public.
     New York’s Daniel Kramer and Audra Soloway, both stars in the securities capacity, logged another triumph for Amazon, and several current and former executives, in December 2023, when the Western District of Washington dismissed without prejudice a putative securities class action alleging that the defendants had defrauded investors in connection with statements made about Amazon’s relationship with third-party sellers and about the pace of growth in Amazon’s fulfilment distribution network. “Dan Kramer is really amazing,” raves a peer. “He’s got a great understated touch that is perfect for managing stressful borderline-crisis situations.” Kramer and Soloway also teamed up with Brown and Haag as trial counsel for Apple following the court’s denial of summary judgment in a securities fraud class action relating to a single statement by CEO Tim Cook on a 2018 earnings call concerning Apple’s business in China. Meredith Dearborn, another star in the firm’s San Francisco office, also was part of team. Dearborn lays claim to her own fan base in the securities community. “I like Meredith a lot,” asserts one peer, who goes on to confirm, “She worked with us on a case for [fintech and crypto entity] Ripple, and she impressed me. She’s young, maybe only 40, but is really poised for greatness.”
     In yet another Amazon engagement, a team composed of New York stars Roberto Gonzalez, Loretta Lynch and Jeannie Rhee were retained by the online retailing juggernaut in what is purported to be one of the largest publicly agreed-to racial equity audits to date. The audit analyzes the company’s overall policies, practices, programs and initiatives to determine their racial impacts on the company’s wage-earning employees.
     Enthusiasm for the always-championed New York securities star Brad Karp remains strong and shows no signs of abating. “Yes, Brad is still ‘the man,’” attests a peer. “You can expect that to be the case for a while yet. He’s in-demand, yes, largely due to his savvy, people-pleaser personality, but also because he really works hard for it.” Another peer supports this view: “He is still everywhere at once, still a hustler. One wonders if he sold his soul for this energy.” A team composed of Karp, Tannenbaum, Andrew Ehrlich and Lorin Reisner won a significant victory in April 2023 for The Blackstone Group and Blackstone Alternative Asset Management when a Kentucky Court of Appeals panel unanimously held that the Kentucky attorney general should never have been permitted to intervene in and revive a $50 billion derivative action in which the original plaintiffs were found to lack constitutional standing. The case was brought by a group of individual Kentucky public pension members in 2017, alleging that the Asset Management entity breached its fiduciary duties by unlawfully selling unsuitably risky custom funds of hedge funds to the pension agency, as well as engaging in a civil conspiracy among investment managers and trustees to conceal this.

 

 

Polsinelli has grown beyond its Kansas City roots to inhabit various strategic locations throughout the country. The firm’s aggressive expansion over the years has equipped it with breadth and depth in many areas of litigation, while still maintaining its premier reputation as a go-to litigation firm for the healthcare industry.

      Chicago’s Mary Clare Bonaccorsi previously served as Polsinelli’s Cross-Department Litigation Chair, while keeping an active practice mainly focusing on the healthcare industry, routinely leading high-stakes corporate internal investigations for clients in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, her casework often involves false claims act litigation in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Thomas Gemmell and Daniel Reinberg join Bonaccorsi in the Chicago office. Gemmell’s practice mixes IP and business litigation. He leads several industry-specific practices, serving as lead of the unmanned systems and advanced robotics practice and co-lead of both the aviation practice and the transportation and logistics practice. Reinberg like Bonaccorsi concentrates his practice on the healthcare industry.

      John Peterson bridges a geographic and practice divide, practicing in Nashville and Chattanooga as well as Los Angeles, Peterson is a commercial litigator with vast experience in securities as well as real estate, and he is yet another Polsinelli partner devoted to healthcare litigation, an industry essential to Tennessee's economy. New addition to this year’s Litigation Star ranking is Atlanta-based partner Kurt Erskine. His practice’s focus is white collar crime, both investigating and litigating cases against state and federal entities. He is leading a healthcare company through a civil rights investigation conducted by the Department of Justice. Beyond the healthcare industry, Erskine is handling securities and insider trading fraud investigations by the SEC and DOJ, as well as a fraud case filed by the FBI and DOJ. Farah Nicol operates out of the firm’s Raleigh and Los Angeles offices and serves chair of the firm’s litigation department -- the first leader to not be based in Kansas City, the firm’s mainstay. Nicol’s primary focus is on product liability and toxic tort litigation.

     Rounding out the South, Dallas partner Adrienne Frazior debuts this year as a Litigation Star. She leads government investigations with an added expertise in employee benefits. Currently, Frazior defends companies that managed and administered self-funded health benefit plans in a Department of Labor investigation and subsequent litigation. She also defends a company in a matter alleging violations of Missouri Sunshine Laws, initiated by the state’s Attorney General.

     Polsinelli has maintained a commitment to upholding its labor and employment practice. Denise Drake, chair of the labor and employment practice, is among the firm’s leading, Missouri-based litigators. Drake is a leader through and through – leading the practice, the expansion into growing markets, and clients in their disputes. She has been consistently distinguished as a Labor & Employment Star since its inception, maintaining the status with a roster of notable class action disputes. Los Angeles litigator September Rea serves as the firm’s arbitration and dispute resolution vice chair, with Colorado-based Donald Samuels serving alongside her as chair. . Rea leads the California-based lawsuits arising from an investigation into allegations of C-suite misconduct that included abuse, harassment, retaliation and unfair competition. The case has spanned Italy, California, and Texas. Dallas’ Angelo Spinola specializes in handling labor and employment disputes on behalf of clients in the home health industry, particularly hospice and homecare companies. He recently resolved a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) challenging the company’s alleged practice of not including certain nondiscretionary bonuses in the regular rate when calculating overtime pay. 

With seven of its 12 global offices situated strategically throughout the US, Proskauer provides a wide range of services to clients across a broad spectrum of practices ranging from commercial to intellectual property, securities to white-collar crime and investigations, as well as its near-unparalleled status in specialty areas of employment, entertainment and sports law.
     The firm has also seen a pronounced spike in its bankruptcy profile, solidly on the strength of its mammoth appointment as lead outside counsel to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which was created to oversee the restructuring of Puerto Rico's finances, valued at $125 billion, in accordance with the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA.) The Board's mandate is to return Puerto Rico to fiscal health with access to the capital markets, and to initiate pro-growth reforms designed to generate a free flow of capital between Puerto Rico and the US. This long-running and sprawling action involves a team of Proskauer attorneys from numerous offices, including Boston’s Timothy Mungovan, New York’s Martin Bienenstock and Margaret Dale, and Los Angeles’ Michael Firestein, all of whom have played substantial roles in the manifold turns of action in this matter since its beginnings. Dale, a commercial litigator who has made a noted pivot to bankruptcy, is involved in several other Puerto Rico-related issues, primarily dealing with employee retirement issues. Mungovan, the firm’s Chair and immediate past head of litigation, has developed a vocal peer following. One extols, “I think he’s superb. He’s not just a figurehead – the guy is a seriously good lawyer, absolutely dynamite.”
      LA’s Bart Williams, not only one of the firm’s most celebrated trial lawyers but also the country’s, has been at the forefront of several milestone matters every year, with this one being no exception. “Bart is the driver of Proskauer’s litigation practice in LA,” insists a local peer. “His practice is just so spectacular, and what he says is very important.” Williams acted with LA’s Susan Gutierrez as trial counsel for Gilead Sciences, securing a landmark win in a $3.6 billion antitrust case on allegations that the pharmaceutical company struck an anticompetitive "pay-for-delay" patent settlement related to two of its HIV medications. In July 2023, a San Francisco jury delivered a full defense verdict following a six-week trial. Williams, along with swiftly rising New York star Lee Popkin, was also trial counsel for Monsanto in a jury trial that was scheduled to commence in March 2023 in San Francisco. The case was brought by an alleged former user of the Monsanto herbicide Roundup and his wife, who claimed that Roundup caused him to develop non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The matter settled favorably for the client on the eve of the trial. LA’s Shawn Ledingham, a future star with a burgeoning following, was also part of the team. “I think the world of him,” opines a peer, confiding, “I wish I could hire him! I think he’s going to be heard about in national cases in another five years.” Another LA-based future star, Vinay Kohli, a healthcare-focused partner, is cheered by a peer as “so underrated – more people need to be talking about him, including Benchmark!”
     Proskauer has been particularly active, and successful, in the antitrust capacity as of late. Chris Ondeck, co-head of the firm’s antitrust group and co-head of its DC office, scored big for Wayne Farms when, after nearly seven years of litigation, he secured a complete victory at summary judgment in the broiler chicken litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that the top 21 chicken producers in the US, including the client, unlawfully agreed to work together to reduce the supply of chicken over a 10-year period as part of a two-hub conspiracy. Plaintiffs claimed damages valued at $45 billion in total. Wayne Farms is one of a small group of defendants that has not settled any part of the case, and instead proceeded to summary judgment. In June 2023, the court granted summary judgment in favor of Wayne Farms and six other defendants, with one additional defendant (who, while being represented by another firm, was not granted summary judgment) is scheduled to proceed to trial in September 2023. Ondeck also led a team that included Ledingham and two other antitrust partners, DC’s Colin Kass and LA’s Colin Cabral, to secure a landmark victory for Sanderson Farms against the same allegations. The Proskauer team defeated a damages claim totaling more than $7 billion, which, had the jury ruled against Sanderson, would have been automatically trebled.
     New York’s Brad Ruskin remains as active as ever in matters concerning the firm’s famed sports practice, with a carousel of cases on the go for various athletic leagues and associations. Ruskinis defending Major League Soccer (MLS) against a federal lawsuit brought by the North American Soccer League (NASL) against MLS and the US Soccer Federation following US Soccer’s decision not to sanction NASL as a Division II professional league for the 2018 season. NASL alleges that MLS and U.S. Soccer are engaged in an antitrust conspiracy to ensure that MLS is the sole Division I soccer league in the United States, and further alleges that MLS is an illegal monopoly. A trial has been scheduled for September 2024. Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks, who divides her time between New York and LA, helms another celebrated Proskauer pillar practice, entertainment litigation. Crawshaw-Sparks is defending Live Nation and Madonna in a class action alleging breach of contract and false advertising in connection with alleged late starts for shows in Madonna’s Celebration Tour.

 

Whether inadvertently or by design (most opinions favor the latter) Quinn Emanuel has developed into the firm virtually all members of the litigation community are talking about; few conversations are had with fellow litigators without the foregone conclusion of Quinn Emanuel’s name being dropped somewhere. The firm has had unparalleled success in building a litigation-only empire that is unrivalled in its size and scope, growing from its Los Angeles roots to make inroads into dozens of other jurisdictions nationally and globally. The firm has also developed a well earned reputation for hard-fought, trial-tested litigation. “If we’re up against someone like Quinn, it’s going to be a much harder fight,” confides a peer. “They take a similarly aggressive, tactical approach.”
     Quinn’s national footprint and bench strength got a significant boost over the past year when its Chicago office, referenced as “quite small” before, lured in a host of partners from another global juggernaut, Kirkland & Ellis, a firm headquartered in Chicago and a name brand in the city. A local peer marvels, “This is MAJOR! Quinn has been trying to establish themselves in the Chicago market – and doing the whole ‘Quinn thing’ of ‘We’re going to move in and dominate’ – for years. And they weren’t failing, but they weren’t wildly succeeding, either. That’s changed now – they took some real heavy hitters from Kirkland, some of their biggest rainmakers! So I suspect we’ll see them a lot more now.” Another elaborates, “Quinn’s play for Chicago was a big one, and it paid off. But to be clear, Quinn remains a national firm, and these people are national. They won’t just be trying cases in Chicago.” The firm is also now a noted player in Wilmington, Delaware. “Quinn has a big pipeline of work coming into Delaware through their network,” confirms a peer. Another concurs, “Quinn has just done a ton down in Delaware. I don’t know exactly who but they’re just always there! They just have a big market share.” Another peer addresses the “who” question: “They got Mike Barlow (formerly with celebrated Delaware boutique Abrams & Bayliss), who is terrific, a solid guy, and has always had a relationship with Quinn even at his former firm. He is outstanding, and he’s probably working around the clock right now, poor guy.” Another peer quips, “I don’t mind Quinn being in Delaware, because they’re going to bring big cases to town!” The firm also benefited from the addition of Michael Swartz, a securities litigator and a particular authority in the crypto space formerly with Schulte Roth & Zabel, to its New York office.
     New York’s Mike Carlinsky has long been one of the most ubiquitous commercial litigation names at Quinn and in the market generally. “We’re always up against Mike Carlinsky,” confirms a frequent opponent. “He is still very prolific.” A team composed of Carlinsky, Chris Kercher, Barlow and DC white-collar star William Burck secured a landmark trial victory for 3D-printing innovator Desktop Metal, obtaining an order of specific performance requiring Nano Dimension to complete its $300 million acquisition, which it agreed to in July 2024, despite an activist investor's attempt to derail the deal upon seizing control of the board in December. Following a two-day trial, Nano was directed to sign the required regulatory agreement within 48 hours and close the transaction. Nano did not appeal, and the $300 million merger closed in April 2025. In another matter, Burck represented Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin in a lawsuit against the IRS regarding the unlawful disclosure to ProPublica of a trove of “Secret IRS Files” that included confidential tax information from thousands of America’s wealthiest taxpayers. From the inception of the case, the IRS refused to take any responsibility for the data breach, initially suggesting that the confidential data was not stolen from the IRS, and even seeking dismissal of the lawsuit by arguing that the data could have come from a “hostile foreign actor.”  The Government sought a stay of discovery, fought subject matter jurisdiction, and moved to dismiss the theory of liability to hold it accountable for the actions of an admitted contractor – all unsuccessfully. Then, as part of the resolution of the case, the IRS issued a rare public apology to Griffin. Carlinsky and Burck have enjoyed long successive runs as two of Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers. A new addition to that list in this edition, New York’s Alex Spiro receives widespread support for his inclusion. “Alex is out there and deserves to be mentioned,” insists a peer. “He is young and brash, and lives for litigation. He gets involved in every celebrity case, which his approach is perfect for. Want to see his book of business? Read the entertainment news!” Spiro has represented actor Alec Baldwin in civil and criminal proceedings related to the accidental shooting of two people on a movie set, for which the State of New Mexico announced criminal charges against Baldwin. Beyond the entertainment sphere, peers attest, "Alex Spiro’s been doing strong work on high-profile sexual misconduct and employment-related cases." Another peer insists, “I want to put in a word for Luke Nikas. Although I had a very contentious relationship with him, I did respect his intellect and his ability to fight hard but also be collegial.”
     Another famed trial lawyer, San Francisco’s William Price led a team that was retained as trial counsel in a high-stakes antitrust case in the Northern District of California. The Quinn Emanuel team parachuted in to try the case with co-counsel at Cohen Millstein just months before trial. After 12 days of trial, a jury reached a unanimous verdict in November 2024 awarding client Pacific Steel Group $110 million. The dispute arose when a Texas-based competitor purchased and shut down California’s only rebar mill, creating a regional monopoly in the rebar market. Pacific Steel planned to disrupt this monopoly by building a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly steel mill using advanced Itechnology.  The competitior allegedly pressured the supplier to block Pacific Steel from accessing the necessary technology by creating a 500-mile radius “exclusivity” zone around the steel mill they bought and shut down.   

 

A litigation boutique with a plaintiff-side ethos, Reid Collins & Tsai has crafted itself as a maverick in the world of trial litigation. The firm has strategically expanded from its Texas roots to include posts in the New York, Delaware and District of Columbia markets. The firm's calculated five-office footprint has amassed national recognition, notably for its high-stakes commercial and bankruptcy litigation. An appreciative client testifies, “Reid Collins represented me in my capacity as a Trustee for a post-confirmation bankruptcy trust where they pursued recovery of significant avoidable transfers.”
     Co-founding partner hailing from the Austin office, Bill Reid enjoys a far-reaching reputation as an all-purpose trial lawyer equipped to handle any case. He and the team have led a variety of critical lawsuits, obtaining and preserving billions of dollars in judgments, settlements, and value while creating critical precedent in myriad financial fraud, insolvency, and professional liability matters, among others. In one such matter, Reid leads a team that is litigation counsel for the lead trustee of GWG Litigation Trust in connection with the investigation and pursuit of the debtors’ potential litigation claims. The investigation seeks to expose and remedy an alleged self-dealing scheme that resulted in the debtors losing hundreds of millions of dollars prior to and connection with the Chapter 11 of GWG, a provider of insurance services, which encompassed several instances of fraudulent transfer and other malfeasance. The Litigation Trust has reached four settlements so far in the case, which resulted in approximately $91.3 million in total gross recoveries. Eric Madden also enjoys a rising profile on the strength of his bankruptcy and commercial work, burnishing his credentials further with a “Bankruptcy Litigator of the Year” win at the Benchmark awards gala in March 2025. Madden represents the successor to Insys Therapeutics, Insys Liquidation Trust, formed after the company’s illegal off-label marketing scheme led it to bankruptcy due to a series of criminal proceedings, class actions and civil cases that resulted in racketeering charges against executives and a $225 million fine to settle other investigations. Madden served as lead counsel in the company’s investigation and prosecution of claims against former executives and related professionals. He successfully negotiated a $175 million settlement with the company’s outside directors – among other favorable settlements and judgments. “Eric Madden is a very strategic thinker and extremely thorough,” extols a client. “He has consistently demonstrated his strong analytical, creative, communication and negotiating skills in the cases where I’ve had the opportunity to work with him.”  Managing partner and co-founder Lisa Tsai led a matter on which she filed suit on behalf of a partner and co-founder of private-equity entity Emerald Lake Capital Management against several individuals who are alleged to have engaged in a bad-faith scheme to confiscate the client’s valuable partnership interest and carried interest grants, and attempting to conceal this by making false and defamatory statements to Emerald Lake investors. The client sought no less than $40 million in compensatory damages. A client weighs in with glowing commentary on Tsai's behalf: "If you are a plaintiff with a complex business dispute and significant value on the line, you need Lisa Tsai in your corner. Tsai is battle tested and one of the most skilled professionals I have ever worked with. She will literally run circles around big law teams three times her size. She is the kind of person who can quickly diligence a complex case, file it, take it through trial, and stand up a massive verdict against a well-resourced opponent."

 

Sanford Heisler Sharp continues to be a formidable opponent to management-side labor and employment litigators, even garnering their praises for the sophisticated and oftentimes complex cases. “I look at what they’re doing – I think that they bring a lot of really interesting cases – sets a tone for what the new issues are going to be,” declares an opposing peer. The firm has achieved widespread, national recognition in a variety of labor and employment regards, distinguishing itself across markets. As a plaintiff-side law firm, Sanford Heisler has organized a diverse and strategic network of offices, including New York, Maryland, DC, California, and Tennessee.

     While employment litigation is the firm’s primary focus, Sanford Heisler is also dedicated to representing victims of crime and civil rights offenses. Renowned trial lawyer recognized as a Top 50 Labor & Employment Litigator and chairman of the firm, David Sanford has been the lead lawyer representing the brother of murder victim, Hae Min Lee in his appeal of the Baltimore City circuit court’s decision to vacate the conviction of the alleged murderer. The case has received significant attention as the subject of both a 2014 podcast and an HBO documentary. Sanford and the team – comprised of Andrew Melzer, Kevin Sharp, and Jeremy Heisler, among others – challenged the hearing, contending that it violated Maryland’s statutory and constitutional crime victims’ rights, which would have afforded the family adequate notice and opportunity to participate in the proceedings. Sanford’s motion for full appeal was granted and the Appellate Court granted the team’s motion to remand the case to the circuit court, following a successful oral argument.

     Melzer and Heisler both practice out of the New York office. Melzer additionally represents plaintiffs alleging unlawful deductions from drivers’ tips, failure to provide adequate meal periods, and failure to pay for work performed during said periods. The lawsuit further alleges that the drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. Heisler worked alongside DC litigator Kate Mueting representing Donna Kassman as class representative in a lawsuit filed against KPMG. Mueting, serving as lead lawyer on the case, filed the action to remedy the company’s systemic discrimination related to pay, promotions, and pregnancy, and hold the company accountable for alleged failure to properly investigate and resolve complaints. Mueting and Heisler secured a $10 million settlement on the Equal Pay Act claims. Tennessee’s former Chief Judge Sharp and DC-based chairman of the firm, Sanford, are representing a class of former African American Deput US Marshals and Detention Enforcement Officers in their lawsuit against the US Marshals Service, asserting alleged race discrimination claims against the Service, including candidates who were not hired. The EEOC administrative judge approved and certified the class, and the team has been engaged in discovery since the 2017 order.

     In New York, Russell Kornblith leads a Title IX class action against Harvard on behalf of female students in the Anthropology Department. The case alleges claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. The duo prevailed against Harvard’s motion for summary judgment and motion to dismiss earlier this year. His casework `over the last year also includes an ERISA action filed individually and as a representative of a class of employees working at the consulting firm West Monroe Partners. Kornblith’s clients allege that the company and its executives used layoffs and other avenues to cash out shares of former employees in their ESOP. The case is active in litigation after he prevailed against the opposing counsel’s motion to dismiss. Alexandra Harwin has also taken action against 401(k) mismanagement, filing breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA on behalf of 200,000 UnitedHealth Group employees and plan participants. Harwin obtained class certification and a settlement conference is set to occur this year. On the employment side of her practice, she is lead counsel representing Graham Chase Robinson in a case against Robert De Niro and Canal Productions, his corporate entity. The lawsuit alleges claims of hostile work environment and retaliation. Harwin is actively gearing up for trial.

     New York’s Michael Palmer is leading the case on behalf Siddarth Breja, former Senior Vice President of JUUL, alleging whistleblower retaliation against the company after he complained about unlawful practices. Co-chair of the firm’s whistleblower and qui tam practice group H. Vincent McKnight provides strategic specialty knowledge and assistance on the case.

     Hailing from the San Francisco office, Danielle Fuschetti serves as the firm’s co-chair of the discrimination and harassment practice group. In that area, she is the lead lawyer representing an individual plaintiff against Xilinix, a pioneer in adaptive computing and leader in the semiconductor industry. The lawsuit alleges sex-based pay disparities, hostile work environment, and sex discrimination claims, in addition to alleged intellectual property theft of marketing materials. Fuschetti is actively litigating the case and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, unjust enrichment damages in connection to the IP and trade secrets theft, which is estimated to be roughly $350 million, in addition to other damages and affirmative relief. In addition to discrimination claims, Fuschetti is also involved in 401(k) mismanagement litigation. She is a member of the team as class counsel and represents individual plaintiffs in an action against Walgreens. The plaintiffs, who are participants in Walgreen’s $10 billion 401(k) plan, alleged that the company failed to remove a set of ten target retirement date funds that underperformed in their investment benchmarks. Fuschetti obtained a settlement of $13.75 million. Currently, other cases on her docket are against large nationwide companies including JUUL and Oracle, both of which are actively being litigated. Fellow San Francisco litigator Felicia Gilbert successfully resolved a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed on behalf of a former engineer against tech giant Honeywell represented by a nationally recognized labor and employment-focused law firm. Baltimore’s Deborah Marcuse is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Top 50 Labor & Employment Litigator for her recent work.

With offices in New York and DC, Schulte Roth & Zabel is praised by peers for its “very high-quality” work, primarily in the financial services sector. The firm is noted for its novel mix of practice concentration, its cutting-edge client base and its approach to cases. “Schulte has really come to dominate in certain areas,” observes one peer. “They have always been a go-to for private equity and hedge funds, and now they have cornered the market in areas like cryptocurrency as well.” Cases in these areas are noted often for imposing “steep learning curves that demand a fast-moving and forward-leaning approach to litigating them effectively,” in the words of one peer, concluding “Schulte delivers.” Another notes, “You’ve got to understand – Schulte has a very different client base than a lot of big New York firms, and these are clients that are more willing to litigate hard and take gutsy positions.” The firm’s demonstrated strengths in the securities and white-collar areas have been prominently on display in a number of matters for a diverse spectrum of clients. A peer testifies, “I've worked with SRZ litigators on a variety of litigation matters over the years. Most recently, we've been looking at cross-border securities litigation matters. The partners there have a range of skills that range from litigation to structuring and tax.” Schulte is also actively growing its “next-generation” ranks; this past year it has brought on a new “young hot-shot” partner Julia Beskin from her former post at Quinn Emanuel.
     In addition to a vibrant general commercial and securities practice, New York’s Michael Swartz is the co-head of the firm’s litigation practice and has emerged as one of the foremost authorities on cryptocurrency litigation. This niche acumen was on display when Swartz logged a huge win for Pantera Capital, which purportedly established the first bitcoin fund in the US, in a battle with another top cryptocurrency investment fund manager, Polychain Capital. After Polychain learned that Pantera, a 5% owner of Polychain, had formed its own, competing Initial Coin Offering fund in the liquid altcoin space, Polychain reacted by amending its operating agreement to give it the ability to terminate Pantera’s ownership interest for cause on the ground that it competed with Polychain. Following a week-long hearing, Pantera prevailed in July 2022. In January 2023, the Chancery Court issued a final judgment that awarded Pantera all of its fees incurred in the Chancery Court action plus interest, amounting to more than $7 million. Swartz also (along with increasingly prominent future star Taleah Jennings) represents Eric Bischoff in two litigations concerning an ownership among the shareholders – all family relations of the client – of the Boar’s Head cold cuts company. “Michael Swartz is a go-to on ‘the Street’ for shareholder activist litigation,” testifies a peer. Also based in New York, Robert Ward represents Denver Wewatta, an affiliate in the LCN Capital Partners portfolio, in a dispute concerning a purchase agreement for a major commercial with an affiliate. Ward also represents Aero and its affiliates, who commenced litigation in Delaware Superior Court, raising contract claims arising out of a purchase agreement on behalf of affiliates of private equity firm Mill Point Capital against the seller of a company acquired by Mill Point’s Aero affiliates. Ward is championed by peers not only for his acumen but also his demeanor; one insists, “Bob Ward is not only a great litigator but also just one of the nicest. He stays calm, which, when you’re dealing with hard-fought New York commercial real estate matters, is not always easy to do.” Peers also insist, “You’ve got to look at William Gussman. He cut his teeth on M&A and does a lot of work with Cerberus, which may be Schulte’s biggest client. No one knows the rules and can create an advantage like Bill.”
     The firm’s white-collar and securities enforcement practice is commanded by Peter White and Charles Clark, both of whom operate out of New York as well as the firm’s smaller DC office. White and Clark represent Murchinson, a Canadian investment advisor and hedge fund, who bought additional shares issued by a distressed Greek shipping company and resold them to the market. Due to a high level of volatility in the value of these shares, shareholders brought three separate class actions against Murchinson before the Eastern District of New York, alleging fraud. In the wake of the suits, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also launched an investigation. The Schulte duo leads the client in all three class actions as well as the SEC investigation. White is also, on a pro bono basis, representing prominent Baltimore attorney Ken Ravenell, a near-unanimously revered criminal defense lawyer who has represented some of the city’s highest-profile defendants. Ravenell was arrested and charged following a years-long investigation by the government on allegations of racketeering and money laundering. Based in New York, Craig Warkol is recognized for his securities enforcement acumen. “He has been at the SEC and has been a US Attorney,” confirms one peer. “I consider him very experienced and talented, skilled and knowledgeable.”   

 

 

Sidley Austin occupies a prestigious position that has grown far beyond its Chicago roots and blossomed into a full-service international powerhouse. “They really cover the waterfront,” declares a peer, speaking to depth and breadth of the firm’s practice portfolio. “They have some great people across almost every area.” While the firm has grown to global stature, it is still considered primarily for its national footprint, particularly in its offices in LA and San Francisco, Dallas, DC and New York, as well as the aforementioned Windy City. The firm is also cheered for its approach to litigation; one peer testifies, “I’ve recently had good experiences with Sidley. They are not only good litigators but there’s also an ethic there across the board. You can tell how they lean, they’re very polite, and I value that. I view that as someone you want to work with. You know, we’re in litigation, but we don’t have to be doing battle all the time.”
     The firm’s DC office, already considered one of its strongest, made a significant augmentation in 2024, when it lured Greg Williams and Richard Smith to its ranks from Wiley Rein. “Greg and Richard were at Covington [& Burling] before – they seem to be moving in parallel! They are both great, and that’s a nice boost for [Sidley.]” Williams’ hire has been viewed as a strategic enhancement to the firm’s international arbitration and litigation practice, which has historically been regarded as one of the country’s most seasoned. The firm’s DC office is also home another Covington alumnus, Jennifer Saulino, a product liability star who makes the remarkable three-pronged debut in Benchmark as a litigation star, one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, and one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation on the strength of some considerable credentials and peer review. “Jennifer belongs in the top league,” insists another peer on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list. “She’s versatile and great on her feet in court, where she spends a lot of time.” Saulino obtained a major victory on behalf of Roundup herbicide manufacturer Monsanto in a product-liability trial alleging that Roundup was linked to the plaintiffs’ injuries. In March 2024, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their case with prejudice, unable to prove that Roundup was the cause of their alleged injuries. The judge accepted the dismissal with prejudice and discharged the jury. The DC office is also home to not only the firm’s but the country’s top appellate luminaries, Carter Phillips. “I often forget to mention him, not because he’s not still killing it, but just because I take it as such a given,” states a peer. Phillips secured a major victory when the Second Circuit affirmed a judgment against Lynn Tilton and her companies for breaching her fiduciary duties to TransCare and conducting an actual fraudulent conveyance. Phillips argued the appeal and led the briefing team. DC’s William Levi is namechecked as the next generation of appellate firepower. “Will came into a case we had involving Microsoft, and he was the lead on the legal issues team. He’s not a trial lawyer, but he’s a great appellate counselor. He can write a brief on the fly that tells the judge the facts with common sense.”
     Based in the New York office, Eamon Joyce, who makes the leap from future star to litigation star in this edition, recently successfully settled the last of a series of putative class action cases, which began in 2014, involving allegations that Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s flushable wipes are not in fact flushable. In a series of cases filed around the country, plaintiffs (consumers and municipalities) alleged the claims of “flushable” and “sewer-and-septic safe” on the packages for Cottonelle and other Kimberly-Clark brand flushable wipes were false and misleading. In the firm’s San Francisco office, Sarah Brody is routinely championed by peers in securities capacity. “I’m a big fan of Sarah,” declares one, “and she’s got a great practice. She has had a lot of cases involving startups – there are a lot of them in the Bay Area – that go public…and then they fail. Sarah has had a sweet spot with that.” In the labor and employment practice, Wendy Lazerson is praised by a client as “very experienced, smart, and knowledgeable, who diligently and thoughtfully represented our interests.” In the Los Angeles office, Debra Pole has long been acknowledged as a product liability trial lawyer. “She’s still a rockstar,” enthuses a peer. “She still commands the room.”

With 21 offices throughout the US, Europe and Asia, Skadden has long been a totem of excellence in the global legal community as a full-service one-stop shop. While its capabilities span a wide spectrum, litigation is a key pillar. “Skadden has so much deal flow,” observes a peer, “that an equally strong litigation bench is essential. [Skadden] certainly has that to spare.” Virtually all of the firm’s domestic offices house an ample grouping of litigation stars, with peers noting that Skadden has strategically doubled down on the Los Angeles market as of late. “LA is a dynamic market right now, and it is increasingly the tip of Skadden’s litigation spear.”
     The observation of the firm’s bench strength in LA can arguably be best exemplified by the recent hire of Manuel Cachán, who boasts a proven trial lawyer pedigree. “He was a ‘must-get’,” quips a peer. “Skadden really scored there. He’s going to be trying the biggest and most important cases.” While Cachán, who earned his stripes at revered LA boutique Munger Tolles as well as a stint at Proskauer, is a multifaceted business litigator, he has most recently minted himself a pole position in the product liability area.
     Skadden is also known for its blue-ribbon securities practice, mainly operating from New York. Jay Kasner has long been a leading figure in this area and continues to be. A peer marvels, “Jay is still humming along strong! He still shows up and delivers the goods like someone half his age. I don’t know how he does it.” Perhaps more remarkably, Kasner has demonstrated his prowess with newer and more novel industries like cryptocurrency. He recently represented Coinbase, who was sued in March 2022 by plaintiffs who alleged that the client operates as an unregistered securities exchange because 79 digital assets traded on the platform are actually securities. The plaintiffs sought to rescind their transactions and to recover monetary damages, as well to force Coinbase to register as a national securities exchange or broker-dealer. In February 2023, the claims were dismissed in their entirety, with prejudice. While Kasner remains the firm’s most seasoned securities partner, others are quickly becoming the names of the next generation. Alex Drylewski has developed and demonstrated a particular prowess in the crypto area. Drylewski and Tansy Woan secured the dismissal with prejudice of a securities class action brought against crypto-focused investment advisor, Paradigm Operations, and other investors in Uniswap Labs, the developer of Uniswap, a decentralized digital asset protocol. The plaintiffs claimed that defendants profited from the sale of scam tokens while users lost money to anonymous issues of the tokens traded on the Uniswap protocol. The Southern District of New York ruled that the backers did not sell the tokens at issue and were therefore not at fault, and plaintiffs concerns should be addressed by Congress rather than the courts. In September 2023, the plaintiffs appealed the district court’s decision to the Second Circuit. In February 2025, the Skadden duo secured a decision affirming the dismissal of the putative class action.  Scott Musoff has become particularly prominent in terms of visibility and activity. “Scott Musoff is awesome,” extols a peer. “[He’s the] nicest guy in the world, easy to work with, and still relatively young.” The duo of Kasner and Musoff were enlisted to replace existing counsel representing theme park entity Six Flags and certain directors and offices, who were faced with a class action alleging the company and the defendant officers issued false and misleading statements concerning the progress and accounting for certain Six Flags-branded theme parks to be built in China. The Skadden pair triumphed for the client in June 2023. A bi-coastal team composed of Kasner, Susan Saltzstein, Los Angeles partner Peter Morrison and Palo Alto partner Mark Foster scored an October 2024 victory with the dismissal of a putative securities class action filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries and certain of its current and former officers stemming from the devastating August 2023 wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii. The plaintiffs broadly allege that the client misled investors to believe that the utility was taking appropriate action to mitigate wildfire risks. The court held that the client could neither be held liable for statements made by its subsidiaries nor had the plaintiffs sufficiently plead falsity or scienter. Musoff and Los Angeles partner Winston Hsiao represented Myriad Genetics and certain current and former board members and executives in derivative litigations arising out of public statements Myriad made regarding its flagship pharmacogenetic test GeneSight. In 2023, the Skadden duo parachuted into a related federal securities litigation and brokered a favorable settlement. In 2024, the team took over settlement negotiations in the tagalong derivative actions and negotiated a settlement comprised of corporate reforms and a minimal attorneys’ fee award to the plaintiff’s counsel. The Delaware Court of Chancery approved the settlement and dismissed the action with prejudice.
     A New York team of Saltzstein and Patrick Rideout scored on behalf of Johnson & Johnson in a case concerning a shareholder’s proposal that J&J's shareholders adopt a bylaw requiring individual arbitration of securities class actions against the company and its officers or directors. Rideout has developed his own fan base as well. “If I had a bet-the-company case of any kind that had a likelihood of going to trial, that’s who I’d call,” insists a peer. “He is a problem solver and a no-nonsense litigator but has a sense of humanity to him that I find gets lost in a lot of those large, complex cases of the type that he gets involved in.”
     Skadden has seen an increased level of activity in other areas as well. New York’s Timothy Nelson and Julie Bédard, who works out of the firm’s New York and São Paulo offices, are noted standouts. Both are experienced and active with tribunal matters such as ICC and ICSID. The firm also scored a key recruit in the antitrust arena, James Fredericks, who joined the DC office after decades acting as a prosecutor with the DoJ. A peer in this capacity advises, “Look into him! He’s only been with the firm about four weeks so far [as of spring 2024] but this is a major feather in Skadden’s cap.”

Sullivan & Cromwell boasts a pedigree as one of the most revered legal brands on the global stage. A towering full-service firm, with concentration on the East and West Coasts through its offices in New York, Washington DC and two offices in California – Palo Alto and Los Angeles. While its offerings extend beyond litigation, Sullivan & Cromwell’s dispute-resolution depth and acuity is called into service by some of the firm’s biggest blue-chip clients. “When people talk about law firms to someone who’s not a lawyer, often they will just randomly throw out ‘Sullivan & Cromwell’ as an example because the name carries that much weight, like Coca-Cola or Apple,” marvels one peer. “We should all be so lucky.” Speaking to the firm’s A-list client base, another peer quips, “Goldman Sachs has them on speed-dial. S&C has that premium work on lockdown.”
        The firm has made a substantial play in the bankruptcy sphere as of late, which was on full display two years ago with a firm team including James Bromley and Jacob Croke leading efforts at FTX, as Chapter 11 debtor, to investigate the events that led to the company’s embattled crypto entity’s collapse, assist government authorities in their probes and organize hundreds of potential litigations to recover assets. To date, the firm team has helped identify and recover $7.4 billion in liquid assets for FTX and has identified other potential claims that FTX could bring. This appointment is remarkable not only due to the highly scrutinized nature of the client and the claims involved, but also more generally due to the firm’s pronounced elevation in the bankruptcy practice. “Ten years ago, even five years ago, Sullivan & Cromwell was not known for bankruptcy, and they didn’t seem like they wanted to be,” asserts a peer, “but wow, now they are on the bankruptcy map in a big way. After that, I expect there will be more [work for the firm.]”
     In the securities capacity, New York’s Robert Giuffra scored for Ericsson in a putative securities class action in which the lead plaintiff alleged that the telecom entity and certain of its directors made false or misleading statements by failing to disclose an internal investigation in which the DoJ found that Ericsson had breached a 2019 deferred-prosecution agreement related to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in six countries. When the media reported on this internal report in February 2022, Ericsson’s market cap plunged by billions of dollars, whereupon the plaintiffs brought suit. In a decision issued in May 2023, the Eastern District of New York concluded that Ericsson did not violate any disclosure obligation to investors. An appeal followed, and in September 2024, the Second Circuit affirmed the case’s dismissal. “Bob Giuffra is high-energy and fast, but savvy” observes a peer. “He knows when to try a case and he also knows how and when to pull back. I’ve seen judges get stunned by his courtroom abilities – like, who has this much stamina? So you almost get thrown off guard when you see how measured and reasonable he is. Maybe it’s a tactic – if so, it works.” Sharon Nelles, another New York all-purpose luminary, represented a majority shareholder entity in Rocket Companies and certain officers and directors in obtaining a victory on price impact in the Sixth Circuit in October 2024 when after the court denied class certification in a securities fraud and insider- trading action. Nelles and DC-based appellate specialist Jeffrey Wall acted for eBay, against whom the DoJ filed an action on behalf of the EPA arguing that in recent years there were sales on eBay of aftermarket emission-defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act; pesticides in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and products containing methylene chloride in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act.  eBay disputed the claims, noting that in all three of those statutes, Congress imposed liability on sellers. In September 2024, the Eastern District of New York dismissed the suit in its entirety. “It’s hard going against Sharon,” confides a peer, “but that’s because she’s so tough! She’s a fantastic lawyer.” Steve Peikin, a New York-based securities and white-collar star, is touted by a peer as “very accomplished, and someone who should become one of the leaders of that firm.” Another peer makes mention of the firm’s labor and employment practice, particularly Ann-Elizabeth Ostrager, who “has been impressive in growing that department, which deserves more recognition.”

Historically known as an “old-line Houston firm” (and still a dominant force in that metropolis), within fairly short order Susman Godfrey has reinvented itself as a litigation juggernaut with national ambitions, which it has fulfilled through its offices in New York and Los Angeles. These offices, while newer, have quickly become key players in their respective markets due to each being populated by high-level trial talent juggling a hybrid of plaintiff and defense commercial, antitrust, securities and intellectual property litigation with exceptionally high stakes. “Susman is the gold standard, still the best,” opines a Texas peer. “They started as a boutique but [they are] not one boutique anymore – they are 140 lawyers in three states! They are kicking ass and taking names.” Susman is universally revered for its dedication to a prized culture – developed and fostered by founding partner and (since-deceased) trial lawyer extraordinaire Stephen Susman – that grooms the “elite corps” of litigation. Peers acknowledge the firm’s strategic expansion with typical admiration. “Susman Godfrey is a like a litigation boutique that has gone haywire - in a good way! They didn’t just grow for the sake of adding headcount. They put fabulous people in all stations.” Eschewing market trends, the firm marches to the beat of its own drum. One peer marvels: “Susman Godfrey is so innovative! They really bring the best of breed in terms of skills, and it’s top-to-bottom. It’s not just a bunch of old guys. Their younger people are every bit as impressive.” Another confirms, “It’s always fun litigating against Susman Godfrey. Then it’s real, then it’s more traditional court work, more hand-to-hand combat, as opposed to the paper pushing and procedural distractions you get from other firms.”
     No stranger to high-profile, newsworthy cases that regularly log headlines in the legal publications, Susman Godfrey landed front-and-center in the middle of a case few could ignore even outside the legal community: the representation of Dominion Voting Systems as trial counsel against Fox News in a defamation lawsuit, initially valued at $1.6 billion, alleging that Fox and the other defendants gave life to a manufactured storyline about election fraud to boost ratings and propagate the lie that the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged, among a series of other false statements about Dominion. The Susman team, composed of New York’s Stephen Shackelford, Houston’s Justin Nelson (who a peer calls a “super sharp lawyer and strategist), and Los Angeles’s Davida Brook, landed a milestone victory in April 2023, securing a $787 million settlement on Dominion’s behalf. This win proved a watershed moment for defamation cases of this variety, sending shockwaves throughout the legal, political and news and entertainment landscapes. The case follows similar matters filed against other figures alleged to have played a role in these fraudulent election claims, such as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell (MyPillow CEO), and Newsmax, the latter of which the Susman team won partial summary judgment against in 2024. Trial is scheduled for 2025.   

     The firm’s groundbreaking courtroom action for the year certainly doesn’t end with Dominion. New York’s Jacob Buchdahl scored a $1.6 billion judgment in April 2025 after an 11-day bench trial in New York state court on behalf of BML Properties in a long-running fraud lawsuit against China Construction America (CCA) arising from the development of the proposed Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar, which failed to open on time and eventually faced bankruptcy. The client developed the multibillion-dollar resort complex and hired CCA in 2011 as the construction manager and general contractor for the project. However, beginning in May 2014, CCA deliberately misled the client about its intentions and ability to complete and open the resort to paying guests by March 2015, as planned and agreed to by both parties. Steven Shepard is praised by a client for “identifying the right issues at hand and finding the most appropriate legal solution. Steven's work is always of impeccable quality, and his advocate skills are absolutely brilliant.” Trial evergreen Bill Carmodyand Houston future star Sy Polky secured a $266 million verdict in November 2024 on behalf of the City of Baltimore against McKesson and AmerisourceBergen in the City’s nearly seven-year lawsuit against the opioid distributors and manufacturers that fueled what is purportedly the worst opioid epidemic in the nation. Carmody also led a team that served as lead trial counsel for a class of Direct TV subscribers, the plaintiffs in a case against the NFL concerning Sunday Ticket games, which are no longer available to residential subscribers and must be viewed in a commercial venue or by a YouTube account. The team obtained a victory after three weeks of trial, with a jury finding the NFL engaged in a conspiracy and violated antitrust laws. The jury awarded more than $4.7 billion in damages.
     Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Marc Seltzer is championed by a client as “a ‘lawyer's lawyer’ –logical, with an encyclopedic knowledge of law in his areas of specialization as well as litigation generally.”Kalpana Srinivasan is hailed as someone who has “done a tremendous job building out that office, particularly in IP and plaintiff work, and has had really stand-up roles in trial.” A team composed of Srinivasan, Seltzer, Carmody, Amanda Bonn (another Los Angeles partner) and Houston’s Max Tribble won a $65.7 million jury verdict in September 2024 after a four-day trial on behalf of Paltalk Holdings, a global communications software innovator, in a patent-infringement lawsuit against Cisco Systems in the Western District of Texas. Paltalk initially filed the lawsuit in 2021 based on infringement of its patent related to hybrid audio servers by Cisco’s Webex products. 

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz operates out of its one and only office, in New York, but the firm’s prestige is undeniably national, and increasingly international, in scope. “Everyone knows Wachtell, or knows about them, and for very obvious reasons. They are masters at what they do.” The “what they do” is a reference to the firm’s famed M&A dispute practice, which, coupled with its transactional corporate practice, has allowed Wachtell to do nothing short of corner a market. “Wachtell has decided that they want to pivot to doing work that is strictly focused around public company M&A work – that is where you get the premium work.” One peer marvels, “Increasingly, when I look at Wachtell, I am stunned by the growing level of diversity. I’m seeing a lot more international arbitration, which was never considered Wachtell’s forte, but with cross-border deals falling into dispute, [the firm’s services] are more in demand.” The firm has also been particularly active in the bankruptcy space – for which Emil Kleinhaus receives near-universal plaudits – and remains busy in the white collar and investigations area as well, which has historically been the domain of John Savarese, still the firm’s dominant partner in this area.

William Savitt, one of the firm’s most celebrated and universally revered partners (he was perhaps the youngest partner to score a “Hall of Fame” award at the Benchmark Litigation awards in 2022), continues to sustain a record-breaking streak of milestone litigation work, particularly in Delaware. Savitt led a team (which also included Sarah Eddy, Ryan McLeod and Anitha Reddy) which was engaged by Twitter in June 2022 to enforce its $44 billion merger agreement with Elon Musk. After the Wachtell team secured a steady stream of pre-trial wins, Musk unconditionally reversed course, and the deal closed in October 2022 on its originally agreed terms. “That was the most comprehensive corporate trial of the year,” ventures a peer, “and it ended in complete capitulation for Elon.” Further burnishing his unassailable reputation for courtroom acuity, Savitt, along with Eddy, triumphed on appeal for Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, the defendant in a Delaware corporate dispute that had been soundly beaten at trial in late 2021, with an eye-popping judgment of $700 million logged against it. Savitt and Eddy scored a stunning reversal upon appeal in December 2022, wiping the record-breaking decision off the books entirely. “This was the largest class action ever in Delaware,” asserts a peer. “The Wachtell team were litigating as much against the trial judge as they were the lawyers on the other side. They were able to pick their way through the facts and present a challenging legal argument.” Although younger, both Reddy and Eddy have their own admirers in the litigation community. “These are the future leaders of their fiduciary duty and corporate governance practice,” declares a peer. Reddy has “tremendous ability with clients and is taking on more cases as first chair,” and Eddy “rose to be Chief of Appeals, which is a big deal. She has really emerged as one of Wachtell’s top-flight civil litigators, and she can write great appellate briefs.”

 

Elaine Golin leads a team representing Cardinal Health in the corporate governance capacity, regarding its litigation exposure resulting from the opioid epidemic, which has threatened many entities in the pharmaceutical distribution industry with bankruptcy. Golin and her team managed a complex derivative and class-action docket and then engineered an unprecedented and innovative global resolution for the entire industry with a coalition of state attorneys general. The settlement promises to put the vast bulk of litigation risk behind the industry, likely saving several companies from bankruptcy, while guaranteeing settlement payments for those affected by the opioid crisis. A peer marvels, “The way they not only won, but shepherded this for the entire sector, was unbelievable!” A team consisting of Savitt, Eddy and Jonathan Moses – another Wachtell mainstay – represented Brad Pitt in his dispute with Angelina Jolie concerning their rosé wine-producing entity, acting on matters stemming from Europe as well as domestically.

 

 

Operating two offices in Denver and St. Louis, Wheeler Trigg & O’Donnell is recognized for having an established footprint in the Midwest. The firm hosts a number of highly skilled litigators skilled in a number of complex civil and commercial matters. Managing Partner Carolyn Fairless, one of Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation, won a complete defense jury verdict for a leading auto parts maker in federal court in Kentucky in a nine-year-old breach of contract claim brought by a sub-subcontractor—a third-party beneficiary to the contract in question. The suit alleged the client’s termination of the contract entitled the plaintiff to millions of dollars in damages and penalty payments per the terms of the agreement. The firm was hired just six months prior to the trial, which the Court had twice dismissed in separate rulings, only to see the plaintiff successfully appeal to the Sixth Circuit. After the firm’s intervention, a successful defense verdict was rendered. John Fitzpatrick is highly regarded for his mass tort practice. Fitzpatrick served as lead counsel for Intermountain Power in highly complex litigation, successfully negotiating a settlement on favorable terms for his client concerning a consortium of 18 dairy farmers who alleged that stray electricity from the client’s power system depressed dairy herd production in excess of $1 billion in damages. Firm president Hugh Gottschalk successfully represented IBM in a Denver court in a dispute involving tax assessments by the City of Golden, with the court invalidating previous penalties levied against the company. Habib Nasrullah is lead counsel to long-time client McKesson, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America. The firm was hired as national settlement counsel to handle all litigation involving its subsidiary Northstar Rx and its chemotherapy drug Taxotere. The cases were consolidated in federal multidistrict litigation in New Orleans, and Nasrullah was able to prove Northstar Rx was not liable for the alleged damages, and plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the subsidiary without any payment by the client. Michael O’Donnell is lead counsel to Skyjack, who hired the firm to take over its entire portfolio of U.S. product liability litigation including over 20 active matters with the vast majority involving claims resulting from lift accidents. The firm has resolved most of the original portfolio and is handling all of Skyjack’s new cases going forward. High-stakes litigator Theresa Wardon Benz obtained a complete defense verdict for client Michelin in a product liability lawsuit that received national attention. Michael Williams currently represents Whirlpol in a multistate consumer class action lawsuit involving allegations of defective dryers. A new addition to this year’s list is Kathryn Reilly, who focuses her practice on complex commercial and antitrust litigation. Among her current matters, Reilly is representing clients in a federal class action lawsuit involving alleged collusion to keep au pair wages artificially low.

While it operates from offices in Washington, DC, New York, and Los Angeles, Wilkinson Stekloff remains the essence of “litigation boutique.” More specifically, a litigation boutique with a uniquely pronounced emphasis on high-end trial work. Formed in 2016 by veteran DC trial celebrity Beth Wilkinson upon her departure from Paul Weiss, Wilkinson Stekloff has been arguably the most buzz-worthy of law firms, and the appearance of Wilkinson and other firm partners at the forefront of a series of high-stakes trials has more than justified the hype. Wilkinson’s long-held position in the coveted Top 100 Trial Lawyers list remains secure in this edition of Benchmark; she is referenced by other members of that list as an equal on a near-unanimous basis. The firm is a big hit with the clients it serves. “Wilkinson is a truly elite litigation and trial law firm, capable of handling our most critical disputes, both at the trial and appellate level,” testifies one. “They are a law firm that you go to when you absolutely must win. They are strategic, pragmatic, and incredibly responsive. They are terrific across all dimensions of litigation and trial needs.” Another raves, “Wilkinson is second to none in litigation strategy and trial performance.  Their lawyers are brilliant, hard driving, creative and truly excellent in a courtroom. I would probably not hire them for routine or low-value litigation, not because they wouldn't do a terrific job, but it would be overkill, like bringing a nuclear weapon to a knife fight.”  While Wilkinson’s celebrity is unquestioned and near unanimous among peers, it is also noted that others at the firm have ascended to esteemed positions of their own. “Beth has set up a very focused system that functions extremely well,” observes one contemporary.
     Wilkinson and Rakesh Kilaru acted for Microsoft after the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint in December 2022 to block Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the largest acquisition in Microsoft’s history. The deal wound up closing after the Wilkinson team declared victory at trial. This landmark and decisive win, which was celebrated as one of the premier “Impact Cases” at the Benchmark 2024 awards ceremony, is still being challenged by the FTC through administrative proceedings. Kilaru is cheered by a client as an example of the “system” alluded to earlier. “Rakesh is a gifted trial and appellate lawyer and deep thinker. He is strategic, adaptable and invariably provides concise, creative and sound advice. He is one of the smartest lawyers I've ever worked with and is probably my first phone call when I have a challenging question. Rakesh has a multi-tool arsenal, and equally skilled at trial, on appeal, and on challenging economic analysis.  He is also one of the nicest and easiest people to work with on a daily basis and through challenging times. He is an excellent mentor to his team and leads by example. Beyond cloning himself, I can't think of anything he could do better.” Kilaru, Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff represent the NFL, its 32 member teams, and NFL Enterprises in a certified class-action lawsuit. Plaintiffs’ antitrust claims challenge the NFL’s multibillion-dollar exclusive distributorship arrangement with DIRECTV for Sunday Ticket and the business arrangements whereby the NFL teams collectively license broadcast rights to NFL games. This same team, along with Moira Penza, represent Altria Group and certain of its subsidiaries in multiple cases arising out of Altria’s minority investment in vaping entity Juul Labs. Stekloff continues to serve as national trial counsel for Monsanto in federal litigation arising out of claims that its popular herbicide Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “Brian can do some of the best crosses I’ve ever seen,” raves a contemporary. “He’s so talented and so likeable.” In another Monsanto-related matter, Cali Arat served as trial counsel in a first-of-its-kind case to go to trial, involving claims that both exposure to the herbicide Roundup from at-home use and exposure to PCBs through the food chain independently and together caused the plaintiff’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Williams & Connolly enjoys a prestigious position as perhaps the only DC firm with just one office that boasts national and international recognition. Its pedigree is further enhanced by one of the biggest stable of trial stars in the US.  Williams & Connolly has long garnered plaudits for its product liability, securities, appellate and its especially high-profile white-collar practices – all of which have historically showcased the firm’s courtroom elan – and more recently it has emerged as one of the country’s most prominent players in antitrust and intellectual property cases. The firm is even developing a burgeoning international arbitration practice.
      Antitrust has been particularly robust for many DC-based lawyers of late, but Williams & Connolly has earned a coveted position. “In every one of the last few antitrust cases I’ve been in, firms are bringing in trial lawyers,” offers a peer. “Not the usual, traditional ‘used to work at the FTC, speaks very technically, etc.’ The plaintiffs are not thinking of this technically. So you need courtroom experience, and Williams & Connolly definitely exemplifies that.” Illustrating this point, Heidi Hubbard is lead trial counsel and co-lead counsel in an antitrust action filed by the FTC that alleges many practices in Amazon’s retail store are anti-competitive. Trial is scheduled for October 2026. “Heidi has been mostly known for products, and yet here she is on a huge antitrust case,” marvels one peer. “She really can do it all.” Jonathan Pitt also acts on this case and has been playing an increasing role in several other antitrust actions as well. Pitt also works with Robert Van Kirk in representing the University of Notre Dame in sweeping putative class- action litigation filed against more than a dozen top private universities, alleging that the defendants violate the federal antitrust laws by conspiring to limit financial aid.  Specifically, the suit accuses defendants of participating in a price-fixing cartel allegedly aimed at eliminating financial aid as a point of competition between the schools. Van Kirk is identified as another all-purpose trial lawyer, who spent the better part of a decade representing the Carlyle Group in securities cases. John Schmidtlein serves as lead trial counsel for the search engine in the landmark antitrust enforcement actions brought by the DoJ and various State Attorneys General accusing the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly over internet search and search advertising. Trial on the remedies phase was scheduled to commence in May 2025. “John is terrific, really running point as Google’s front-line lawyer.”
      Beyond antitrust, Enu Mainigi led a team that in March 2025 won a major jury trial victory as lead counsel for Albertsons and SuperValu in the Central District of Illinois in a long-running False Claims Act case that had been all the way to the US Supreme Court and back. Mainigi joined the case as lead trial counsel after the Supreme Court rejected the False Claims standard that had been applied by the Seventh Circuit and the district court, reversed a defense summary judgment ruling in two companion cases, and remanded the case for trial. “Enu Mainigi tried this case hard,” states a peer. “She’s sharp and has a strong team.” Mainigi and Ryan Scarborough successfully represented Fifth Third Bank in litigation alleging unfair and abusive acts and practices in connection with allegedly unauthorized account openings. In July 2024, the parties announced a global settlement. Scarborough is a cheered by a client as “a top-notch attorney who is also a nice person, and that is hard to find.” Another addresses Scarborough as “empathetic, responsive, and a top-notch communicator with a strong ethical compass. He is a bright, warm personality while still being reassuringly dry and measured when discussing litigation forecasting.”
     Intellectual property star David Berl has secured a series of major victories on behalf of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Regeneron’s Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act litigation concerning Regeneron’s vision-saving product, Eylea^. in December 2023, a West Virginia court ruled in Regeneron’s favor following a bench trial against Mylan Pharmaceuticals, holding that a key patent covering Eylea was valid and infringed. The trial involved technical fact and expert testimony regarding technology for stabilizing the protein active ingredient in Eylea. The court rejected each of Mylan’s numerous challenges to the validity of Regeneron’s patent, and Berl also persuaded the court that Mylan’s proposed biosimilar product infringed the asserted patent. “David Berl is a brilliant mind in every respect,” opines a peer. Joseph Petrosinelli has long been recognized as “a pillar of the product-liability bar” and has also earned a reputation for his courtroom prowess and demeanor. A client sums up Petrosinelli as “likeable, strategic and knowledgeable.”

A global business firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher has been steadily increasing its litigation profile in both market share and a literal headcount/geographic footprint sense. “A few years ago, I would have said Willkie was a great business firm with a small but good litigation bench,” offers a peer. “Not anymore! They have really doubled down on litigation of late, and it seems to really be working. They are now in several key markets and building several practice areas to rival others.”  While its core strength in the US has historically been New York (and remains so), the firm has branched out and developed other domestic locations as well; it opened a Chicago office in 2020, officially planting its flag on the Midwest legal landscape, continued developing its DC resources, and has doubled down on its expansion in California, where it now has three offices (Palo Alto, San Francisco and Los Angeles.) “The biggest disrupter in the LA market recently has been Willkie Farr,” quips a peer in observation of the firm’s build-out of that office. “I feel like anything that’s not nailed down, they’re trying to take!”
     Willkie’s bet on California has paid dividends; the firm has attracted star partners in each office. In Los Angeles, that office’s managing partner Alex Weingarten is a peer favorite. “Alex is the real deal. He represented Jamie Spears [father and former conservator of Britney], and I thought he did a very good job with that,” opines one peer. “Alex was at Venable before moving to Willkie,” states another peer, who goes on to confide, “I was trying to get him to come here! He’s a terrific litigator who has some high-profile entertainment clients. [He’s] Unbelievable!” Weingarten represents The Chosen, Inc. producers of the popular television series, The Chosen. The client is engaged in an arbitration against a licensor of the series Angel Studios.  Angel Studios has dramatically exceeded the scope of its licensed use of the series and is using its affiliation with the client to improperly promote its unrelated content.  An arbitration hearing was commenced in March 2024. Acting with Weingarten on this matter is Kori Bell, a white-collar-focused partner with an avid peer following of her own that the firm lured from LA boutique Larson in 2023. Weingarten also represents Fitness Technologies, a software company servicing enterprise fitness boutiques, in its lawsuit against a concerning claims, among other things, the rival has engaged in an scheme to exclude competitors from the industry, including the use of exclusive contracts and non-competes. In San Francisco, Simona Agnolucci, identified by peers as “a real player,” acted with Benedict Hur in leading Google to a March 2024 defense against allegations of violating New York and Minnesota privacy laws by improperly retaining consumer streaming video rental data, such as rental history and personal identification, beyond the legal limits. Agnolucci also acts with Jonathan Patchen in representing Ever.Ag., a  provider of technology, services, and intelligence platforms to the US dairy industry, in a hotly contested trade secret dispute against a Canadian startup competitor that has asserted antitrust counterclaims against the client, alleging that Ever.Ag has illegally monopolized the market for data services for milk producers and processors in the US through anticompetitive contracts and acquisitions of competitors. A peer also insists, “Let’s talk about [San Francisco-based IP-focused future star] Barrington Dyer – he’s great!”
     In the New York office, the firm continues to enjoy esteemed positions in the insurance and securities spaces. In the former practice, Christopher St. Jeanos represents AIG, which has a major role in current and expected future coverage disputes arising from the opioid lawsuits. There are now 15 active litigations against 13 different policyholders. “He’s a stand-up lawyer,” insists a peer, “and I think he’s only in his mid-40s! My litmus test when it comes to dealing with counsel is ‘Are you just a paper tiger?’ And Chris is not – he’s the real deal.” Securities partner Tariq Mundiya is representing Zayo founder, CEO, and Chairman Dan Caruso in an action arising out of a $14.3 billion buyout of Zayo by a consortium of equity co-investors. Plaintiffs claimed that Caruso breached his fiduciary duties by steering the sales process towards an acquirer so he could capture upside through a roll-over of his stock and remain as CEO post-merger. They further alleged that the company’s board was aware of the CEO’s actions and did not properly oversee his actions to maximize stockholder value and that Caruso was liable for making misleading disclosures and omissions in a proxy statement recommending that stockholders approve the merger. Another securities partner, Todd Cosenza represents several current and former Board Members of Wells Fargo & Company in a civil RICO action. The plaintiff is a business owner who contends that he was injured when about $1.3 million of three of his companies’ funds were deposited into unauthorized deposit accounts and then withdrawn without authorization.
    Craig Martin, Chairman, Americas, joined Willkie in 2020 from Jenner & Block and has continued to build out the firm’s Windy City office. Martin’s practice encompasses a wide spectrum of commercial litigation, white-collar work, intellectual property, and pro bono human rights issues.

With a network of international and domestic offices, WilmerHale has built a reputation as a global powerhouse. Nationally, the firm’s original mainstay in Boston continues to secure near-unanimous recognition in litigation, and the New York, DC and California offices have further bolstered the firm’s top-tier standing. It is lauded for its litigation capabilities nationwide, particularly antitrust, white-collar, securities and appellate, as well as intellectual property, one of the firm’s most notable practices. The firm has also increasingly developed a name for itself in the international arbitration space as well. “Wilmer is one of the foundational groups in the business,” insists a peer. “A lot of this is through its London office but it is also really gathering strength in the US as well. Keep an eye on this.” Further amplifying the firm’s service offerings, WilmerHale litigators continue to demonstrate a keen prowess with trials, with several key courtroom wins on display from practitioners in several offices and across varied practice areas.
     In the firm’s famed IP practice, Boston-based but nationally recognized Bill Lee needs no introduction; he continues to be universally regarded as a celebrity of the patent litigation community. “I tried two Qualcomm cases against him,” testifies a former opponent. “Bill is quite senior but still very active and still very good.” While Lee made headlines as counsel for Apple in the “smartphone wars” litigation, the baton for that client has effectively been passed to another Boston-based patent trial star, Joseph Mueller, tipped by many peers to be Lee’s successor. Mueller triumphed for Apple in a billion-dollar dispute with an entity that was alleged that Apple wrongly acquired its trade secrets from a for pulse oximetry technology incorporated into the Apple Watch. The court decided for the client in a May 2023 decision, although a retrial is scheduled for November 2024. “Joe Mueller has the trial skills and IP know-how to get Bill Lee’s blessing for sure,” asserts a peer. In another high-profile patent win, DC’s Greg Lantier won a sweeping victory for Dropbox in the company’s first-ever trial in May 2023, when a federal jury found all patents not infringed and invalid in a complex patent-infringement case. 
     The firm’s unassailable IP roster is bookended on the West Coast by Sonal Mehta, one of the youngest and most championed stars of the Bay Area/Silicon Valley patent community. Mehta, who earned her stripes at celebrated (but now defunct) San Francisco litigation boutique Durie Tangri, has been lead counsel on several groundbreaking patent actions in the past several years and as of late has become a go-to for social-media juggernaut Meta – corporate parent of household names Facebook and Instagram – in several cases involving issues of antitrust, privacy and breach-of-contract, sometimes involving an intersection of any of these three. “Sonal’s practice is tailor made for the Bay Area trendy tech titans,” quips a peer. Mehta added another social media household name to her arsenal of clients with her defense of X (formerly Twitter) in a patent-infringement suit, valued at $600 million and brought by an entity that purchased patents related to online sharing of user-created videos, from a company that had originally filed a case. The initial claims allege that, following talks with X executives about partnering, X instead developed its own products that infringed.

     Beyond IP litigation, Wilmer boasts trial firepower in the securities and commercial space as well, with New York’s Hallie Levin being a frequent mention as a standout in these capacities. Levin is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and put her courtroom acuity on display when she led a team (which included Peter Neiman) that secured a victory for T-Mobile following a five-day bench trial in Delaware Chancery Court in August 2021. The Vice Chancellor granted T-Mobile’s request to enjoin Cox Communications from partnering with any mobile network operator other than T-Mobile to provide wholesale wireless services to Cox.