Kirkland & Ellis has become an international powerhouse equipped with a diverse breadth of talent and bench strength, often holding high-level appointments in virtually every area of practice it offers. Over the years, the firm has been characterized as “formidable” with “something ‘cool and tough’ about them that you just can’t touch.” The firm’s litigation section has surmounted the market in nearly all practice areas – antitrust, securities, product liability, appeals, intellectual property, white collar and investigations, commercial and bankruptcy. As of late, its product liability, antitrust, and bankruptcy practices have been particularly active with its signature top-tier representation.
Kirkland is noted for housing leaders in trial law. The marquis of the trial team is DC lawyer
Mike Brock, a consistent name on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list since its inception in 2014. He has led the team – equipped with
Chicago’s standout partners Leslie Smith and
Anne Sidrys – in one of the largest multidistrict litigations, representing the client through numerous bellwether trials, many of which were successful. New York’s
Devora Allon and Jay Lefkowitz serve as the go-to team for antitrust cases involving pharmaceutical companies. Peers also serving the pharmaceutical industry have noted their work in the market on behalf of generics. “They are very busy and cornered a subset of the market,” observes a peer who represents brands. Allon and Lefkowitz achieved two wins for Impax Laboratories recently in separate antitrust actions. One concerned a Federal Trade Commission challenge for a pay-for-delay agreement between Impax and Endo, for which the team secured a full dismissal in March 2022. This year, the pair obtained a key settlement in the multidistrict litigation arising from a patent litigation settlement. The win followed a successful summary judgment ruling as to claims brought by the end-payor payments and won remand of the initial order certifying the class. Allon and Lefkowitz have also been handling product liability cases concerning marketing and sales disputes. Lefkowitz also specializes in appellate work. For Teva Pharmaceuticals, the pair prevailed on a second motion to certify a class of direct purchasers after the Third Circuit granted the team’s petition for interlocutory appeal and reversed the district court’s certification.
New York-based Sandra Goldstein
is a leader of the securities bar, known for her “terrific reputation” and “sizeable book of business,” according to a peer in the market. “She has a carousel of securities and Delaware-related litigation on the go,” they add. Another observes, “If you do anything in private equity – anything! – Kirkland is involved somewhere.”
She has developed a talented bench dedicated to securities litigation in the New York office.
Goldstein and Stefan Atkinson
have served as lead counsel defending numerous clients against securities class actions over the last year. They handled litigation in major markets for securities, such as Delaware. The pair recently represented 3G Capital, one of the largest shareholders, in a derivative action alleging violations of federal securities laws and breach of fiduciary duty. Goldstein and Atkinson achieved a complete dismissal in both Illinois and Delaware, affirmed on appeal. They combined efforts with
Rachel Fritzler in representing Honeywell and certain current and former officers, as well as a Honeywell employee and former officer of Garrett Motion, in two separate securities class actions. The former arose out of the company’s accounting for asbestos-related liabilities, and Fritzler, Goldstein and Atkinson obtained a favorable settlement. In the latter case, representing an employee and officer, the class action alleges violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act. After oral argument, the team obtained a full dismissal.
New York’s Matthew Solum
and Aaron Marks are well-regarded partners in the securities and commercial litigation arenas. Solum, regarded as “a great lawyer and a lovely guy,” has been increasingly active on the securities front. As one peer in the market confirms, “We are seeing him everywhere and not just in one specific type of securities case either. He gets M&A work, derivative work, class actions – you name it.” Solum and
Yosef Riemer secured a victory on behalf of Bristol Myers Squibb at the Second Circuit, successfully dismissing a securities class action that sought $10 billion in damages. Plaintiffs alleged that Bristol Myers Squibb misled investors about the clinical trial assessing its first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, Opdivo. The Second Circuit agreed with Riemer and Solum’s arguments and further clarified the use of expert testimony in complaints governed by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.
Another leader representing the financial industry comments, “Aaron Marks is a brilliant lawyer and has phenomenal judgment.” On the complex commercial front, Solum and Marks represented Blackstone and its affiliates in New York and in Italy where they handled an arbitration in Milan. The dispute stemmed from the client’s purchase of an office complex from RCS Media Group, which alleged that Blackstone had engaged in criminally usurious conduct. Acting as plaintiffs, Solum and Marks settled the claims in New York. In Milan, the team obtained an arbitration ruling that it did not engage in misconduct.
The firm is also a dominant force in bankruptcy, as one leading lawyer put it, “In bankruptcy, it’s Kirkland every day.” A trial lawyer of many disciplines,
Michael Slade led the team handling the first major cryptocurrency restructuring in the US, representing Voyager in its efforts to regroup following FTX. After a four-day hybrid confirmation hearing that encompassed cross-examining witnesses live and virtually, Voyager’s proposed “toggle” plan was confirmed, but not without objections from individual creditors and government entities such as the US Department of Justice and New York State, among others. The government has appealed. Slade is a leader in more areas than just bankruptcy. He is recognized in commercial and product liability litigation and also as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer.
