District of Columbia

Firm overview

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an elite global law firm with world-class practices across the board. Industry-leading companies and global financial institutions know they can rely on us for their most challenging legal and business matters. The firm’s top-flight capabilities are grounded in a distinguished history of 170 years, and our global, forward-looking focus is supported by offices strategically located in the world’s key financial centers and political capitals. More than 1,000 lawyers collaborate seamlessly across practice groups and geographies to provide clients with exceptional service, sophisticated advice and creative, practical solutions. 

Litigation

Litigation has been a cornerstone of Davis Polk’s practice since the firm’s inception. Our litigators are widely recognized for their creativity, integrity, strategic approach and extensive experience.

Leading companies around the world, as well as their executives and directors, benefit from our numerous partners and counsel who have many years of prior service in a variety of government roles. We also count among our ranks leading trial lawyers who have won landmark verdicts on both the defense and plaintiff sides.

We view matters through the lens of our clients’ business objectives, drawing on the substantial experience of our firm across all major industry sectors. Our approach has created a long track record of success for our clients, from motion practice to strategic settlements, trials and on appeal. Our work has earned the respect of the judiciary, prosecutors, regulators and the bar.

Some recent successes on behalf of clients include: 

• Coordinated resolution of FCPA investigations by the DOJ and SEC concerning a Colombian banking conglomerate’s involvement in an infrastructure project. 
• Complete dismissals of multiple securities fraud actions against issuers from around the world. 
• Rare dismissal of criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging charges brought by the DOJ Antitrust Division against an industry executive. 
• Trial victory for a major medical technology company in a patent infringement case.

Updated Feb 2025

Firm overview

Wilkinson Stekloff is the leading trial litigation boutique in the country, demonstrating a depth of talent and skill unmatched by firms of any size. Described by The American Lawyer as “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit,” the firm is at the forefront of the most significant litigation shaping the industry today, from landmark, precedent-setting antitrust cases to bellwether products liability trials. Fortune 500 chief executives and general counsel turn to Wilkinson Stekloff for strategic guidance, courtroom expertise, and an unparalleled track record in the most high-profile, high-stakes disputes. The firm’s clients have included heavy-hitters across a wide range of industries, such as Allergan, Altria, Amazon, Bayer, Cargill, ExxonMobil, Facebook, FedEx, Georgia-Pacific, Glenmark, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Medtronic, Microsoft, Monsanto, the NCAA, the NFL, Pfizer, SAP, Valve, and Visa — all of which have come to rely on Wilkinson Stekloff as a go-to trial firm that can handle their toughest cases.

What makes Wilkinson Stekloff unique?

The firm’s innovative business model and mission set Beth Wilkinson, Brian Stekloff, and their team apart from other trial practice groups. The firm offers fixed-fee arrangements for all cases, giving clients certainty around their budgets even in the most contentious trials. And because clients know they will pay the same fee no matter the size of the team, the firm can employ its depth of talent in all key events — depositions, strategy sessions, and court hearings — without affecting clients’ bottom line.

The firm views it as critical not just to hire outstanding attorneys, but to give them meaningful trial experience and client exposure. This is deliberate, as it supports the firm’s overall mission — to develop the next generation of trial lawyers. And this mission sets Wilkinson Stekloff apart from all trial practice groups. At Wilkinson Stekloff, the vast majority of associates have worked on at least one trial, and those who have been with the firm for years are veterans of many trials in jurisdictions across the country.

The firm prides itself on providing unmatched pro bono representation as well, covering trials, appeals, class actions, and strategic counseling. Wilkinson Stekloff has handled more than 100 pro bono matters since its founding in 2016, with nearly all of the firm’s attorneys devoting significant time to those matters, and the firm’s brightest young talent winning trials in leadership roles.

Latest Results 

Wilkinson Stekloff achieved headline-making results in 2023 for Microsoft in the second-largest merger trial in American history over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The firm defeated the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the transaction after a five-day trial that began less than two weeks after the FTC filed its federal court complaint. Wilkinson Stekloff directed all aspects of litigation strategy from the time the acquisition was announced, positioning the case for a federal court victory on an unprecedented timeline. In May 2025, the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s decision, and the FTC then dismissed its administrative complaint entirely. That trial marked the firm’s second major win against the FTC, the first being for Altria in an antitrust challenge to the company’s $12.8 billion minority investment in JUUL. Wilkinson Stekloff won in front of the FTC’s Administrative Law Judge, ultimately leading the FTC to dismiss its case. Most recently, the firm successfully positioned Hewlett Packard Enterprise to close its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, defending against the DOJ’s antitrust challenge in federal court, securing a resolution just days before trial was set to begin.

Wilkinson Stekloff obtained a major victory in 2024 for the NFL and its 32 member teams when a California federal judge granted their post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law, overturning a jury’s earlier $4.7 billion verdict in a class action lawsuit challenging the League’s collective licensing of broadcast rights to NFL games. In June 2025, the firm also secured final approval of the groundbreaking and highly publicized settlement of major antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA and its five athletic conferences by current and former student-athletes pertaining to use of their name, image, and likeness. 

Other representative matters include:

• Clark v. Monsanto Company, et al. After just a day of deliberation, won the first-ever jury verdict for Monsanto in litigation over claims that the herbicide Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Clark was the fourth case in this mass tort to go to trial, with the three previous trials resulting in verdicts against Monsanto ranging from $81 million to over $2 billion. 
  
  
• Farar, et al. v. Bayer AG, et al. Won an outright defense verdict in a multi-state class action trial involving One A Day vitamins. Plaintiffs alleged that Bayer made false, misleading, and deceptive statements about One A Day. At trial, based on devastating cross-examinations by Wilkinson Stekloff’s attorneys, the defense rested without calling a single witness. After just over an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a complete defense verdict.
  
  
• In the Matter of Altria Group, Inc. and JUUL Labs, Inc. Secured an unprecedented dismissal of antitrust claims from the FTC over Altria’s $12.8 billion minority investment in Juul. Following a month-long administrative trial, in February 2022 the Commission’s own Chief Administrative Law Judge dismissed the claims in their entirety. Although the matter was appealed, the FTC ultimately dismissed its complaint in June 2023.
  
  
• In re Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation. Won five bellwether trials on behalf of Bayer in mass tort proceedings involving the blood thinner Xarelto, defeating Plaintiffs’ claims that Bayer failed to adequately warn doctors about associated risks. In the first two federal trials, juries returned unanimous defense verdicts after only hours of deliberations. Then, in three state court trials, the firm secured two defense verdicts and a judgment notwithstanding an adverse verdict in a third case.

Accolades

Achieving this many successes with a firm of just 40 attorneys has led to multiple accolades for Wilkinson Stekloff and its attorneys, including national rankings by leading publications Benchmark Litigation, Chambers & Partners, and Legal 500. Most recently, Wilkinson Stekloff was selected as “Trial Firm of the Year” by Benchmark for a second consecutive year and “National Boutique of the Year” by The American Lawyer, named a “Practice Group of the Year” by Law360 in the competition category, and received “Matter of the Year” awards for the Microsoft/Activision deal from both Benchmark and Global Competition Review.

Clients, colleagues, and competitors acknowledge that, lawyer for lawyer and matter for matter, Wilkinson Stekloff is a litigation juggernaut poised to continue its success for years to come.

Updated Sep 2025

Firm overview

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a global law firm with more than 3,500 attorneys representing clients in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, restructuring, and intellectual property matters. The Firm has offices in 20 cities around the world: Austin, Bay Area, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, New York, Paris, Riyadh, Salt Lake City, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.

Litigation:
Kirkland & Ellis is renowned for its experience in complex litigation and arbitration. The Firm believes that the best litigation results occur when the lawyers are fully prepared to try the case through verdict. Because of Kirkland’s trial-ready philosophy and training, the Firm is able to offer clients a deep bench of lawyers who have been taking cases to verdict since the early stages of their careers. Whether in the courtroom, at the bargaining table or helping clients avoid risks without litigation, Kirkland has a long and proven track record of generating successful results for clients in their most high-stakes cases matters.

The Litigation Practice Group comprises approximately 625 attorneys throughout the firm’s worldwide offices. Kirkland represents clients in trial and appellate courts at the federal and state level, before administrative tribunals, and in arbitrations and other dispute resolution proceedings. The Firm also represents clients in connection with proceedings involving government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, US Attorneys General Offices, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange, the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

Kirkland litigators have successfully litigated cases in virtually every substantive area and business segment including accountant liability, antitrust and competition, appellate, class action, mass tort and toxic tort, insurance, data privacy, labor and employment, breach of contract and securities litigation.

Kirkland has been recognized by clients and the media for its achievements in litigation:

• For the 13th time, Kirkland was selected as one of the “Fearsome Foursome” in BTI Consulting’s 2024 Litigation Outlook report.
• Chambers & Partners named Kirkland & Ellis “Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year” at the 2023 Chambers USA Awards.
• In 2023, Kirkland ranked #1 in The Lawyer’s “Global Litigation Top 50,” the sixth consecutive year the Firm earned that distinction.
• Kirkland was named “Law Firm of the Year” for Commercial Litigation by U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers in their 2022 “Best Law Firms” rankings.

Intellectual Property Litigation:
Kirkland & Ellis’ Intellectual Property Practice Group is one of the oldest such practices in a full-service firm in the country, having been an integral part of Kirkland since 1925. Kirkland has approximately 200 intellectual property lawyers who are experienced in a variety of technical disciplines and registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office. More than 70 percent of the lawyers are engineers and scientists trained with degrees and professional backgrounds in technical areas. Kirkland has one of the most respected intellectual property litigation practices in the country, with particular experience in large-scale patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret misappropriation and advertising matters. The work of the group frequently extends to antitrust, securities/compliance, products liability and appellate matters. Kirkland’s experience in venues where IP cases are most often litigated is extensive. The Firm tries cases before juries, judges and arbitrators in venues across the country including state courts, district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Kirkland has one of the most active trial practices in the country. Our success rate at trial is among the best, with only a few of losses over the last 10 years despite handling some of the most challenging litigation cases in history.

The Intellectual Property Practice Group has been recognized by numerous publications for its achievements:

• In Managing Intellectual Property’s 2024 IP Stars, Kirkland was named as a Tier 1 firm for Copyright, ITC, Life Sciences, Patent Contentious and Trademark Contentious and was recognized in the U.S. for IP transactions and PTAB litigation.
• Kirkland was named to World Trademark Review magazine’s 2024 WTR 1000
list of the world’s top trademark law firms and was recognized as a Tier 1 firm for enforcement and litigation nationally and in New York.
• In 2024, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine recognized Kirkland in Tier 1 for Litigation, International Trade Commission and Trade Secrets for United States -National in its IAM Patent 1000 guide. The firm was also Tier 1 for Litigation in Illinois, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as Transactions in Illinois.
• World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) recognized Kirkland & Ellis as a Tier 1 firm in its 2022 “Global Trade Secrets Rankings.”

Please visit our website at www.kirkland.com for additional information about Kirkland and office contact information.

Updated July 2024

Firm overview

Full-service IP firm: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP is one of the world’s leading intellectual property law firms, practicing all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law. It is a true one-stop shop for all IP matters, with experts in every area of IP and technology. The firm also provides counseling and litigation services in advertising, privacy, and a wide spectrum of additional IP-adjacent commercial matters. Its comprehensive approach to clients’ IP needs and Finnegan’s mega-boutique size underpins its year-to-year, decade-to-decade pre-eminence in IP litigation across all industries and tribunals.

Global presence: With offices in the United States, Asia, and Europe, Finnegan’s multinational team represents clients on IP issues relating to European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law.

Industry and technical expertise: Finnegan offers full-service IP legal and technical experience in virtually every industry and technology: biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biologics and biosimilars, combination products, chemicals, oil and gas, electronics, semiconductors, computers and software, FinTech, Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, aerospace and aviation, industrial manufacturing, consumer products, food and beverage, outdoor recreation, sports and fitness, digital health, medical devices, clean energy and renewables, robotics, textiles, artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D printing.

IP-focused talent: With Finnegan’s practice centered on intellectual property, the firm is positioned to create economies of scale and focus all resources on providing the best tools and teams for clients. In the past five years, Finnegan has filed over 675 IP-related district court cases. The firm’s team is comprised of over 250 litigators, including career trial attorneys. Over 275 of Finnegan’s legal professionals hold degrees in scientific disciplines (more than 75 hold PhDs). Over 215 professionals are registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO), the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

ANDA litigation: Since being involved in the very first ANDA litigation, Finnegan has been a leading firm representing innovative pharmaceutical companies before federal district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Our successes derive from a deep bench of experienced and technically sophisticated attorneys who understand the long-term plans of innovative pharmaceutical companies, as well as the legal particularities of ANDA litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act and the nuances of pharmaceutical patent law. Over the last five years, our attorneys have represented more than 20 brand companies in more than 450 ANDA litigations involving revolutionary drugs such as Brilinta®, Farxiga®, Relistor®, Jublia®, Aptiom®, KISQALI®, ORILISSA®, and Abilify®. We consistently have 150+ ongoing ANDA litigations every year, providing counselling and litigation services for a range of technologies such as antibodies, automated DNA sequencing, diagnostics, imaging agents and other research tools, molecular mechanism infringement claims, and protein therapies.

International Trade Commission (ITC) litigation: When it comes to ITC litigation, Finnegan was litigating IP cases at the ITC long before it became the popular forum it is today. Litigating in the ITC presents a unique challenge—litigating a technologically complicated case in a short period of time, in a pressure-packed forum that can make or break the commercial success of the products at issue. At the ITC, summary determination is rare, and approximately 45 percent of Section 337 cases go to trial, all in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), not a jury. When choosing a firm to litigate in the ITC, trial experience in the ITC is of paramount importance. In the past five years, Finnegan attorneys have been involved in more than 10 percent of Section 337 cases. Over 150 of the firm’s attorneys have litigated at the ITC. Finnegan also has practitioners with ITC experience in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and mechanical fields. Our attorneys have even tried ITC cases involving design patents and trademarks. During the past two years, more than half of all ITC cases have involved electrical and IT- related technologies and semiconductors; Finnegan has more than 80 lawyers and over 20 professionals who have at least one degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or some other related form of specialized technology.

Trademark litigation: Finnegan’s trademark litigation practice spans numerous industries and covers all types of trademark rights, including service marks, trade dress, product configuration, trade names, domain names, letters, numbers, colors, and telephone numbers. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, our lawyers have decades of experience litigating both large and small trademark cases before courts throughout the country and regularly appear before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and its Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the federal circuit courts of appeal, district courts, and other tribunals. We have an impressive track record of favorably resolving litigious matters for our clients, whether by choosing a forum that gives clients the best chance to win on the law, filing a motion to dismiss, obtaining an early temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, positioning a case for settlement, moving for summary judgment, or taking the case to trial. One of our strengths is the use of experts to enhance our clients’ legal positions. For many years, we have worked with numerous consumer survey experts on a wide range of issues in trademark litigation, including likelihood of confusion, likelihood of dilution, genericness, secondary meaning, and fame. We also make strategic use of other experts in areas such as linguistics, marketing, consumer psychology, industry practices, and damages.

Practice Areas:

• Advertising
• Copyright
• Design Rights
• European, German, and UK IP Law
• Export Control
• IP Litigation
• Patent Office Examinations
• Patent Portfolio Management, Monetization, and Transactions
• Post-Grant Proceedings
• Privacy
• Trademark
• Trade Secrets

Other Offices:

North America: Atlanta · Boston · Palo Alto · Reston · Washington, DC

Europe: London · Munich

Asia: Seoul · Shanghai · Taipei · Tokyo

Updated Sep 2024