District of Columbia

Firm overview

Since its founding in 2017, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP (Kaplan Hecker) has quickly grown into one of the country’s elite litigation boutiques, fusing a high-stakes, cutting edge litigation practice with a groundbreaking commitment to serving the public interest. Kaplan Hecker’s highly-experienced litigators help clients navigate their most pressing legal challenges; from complex commercial litigation for some of the country’s biggest companies, to high-profile white-collar criminal defense, to sensitive internal investigations and intricate regulatory and securities matters. The firm leads some of the nation’s most prominent public interest litigation and also frequently files amicus briefs – at all levels of the judiciary – to support the most vulnerable. Kaplan Hecker’s team of New York and Washington, DC-based litigators share a mission to provide the highest level of client service and advocacy, while at the same time maintaining a deep commitment to principles of integrity, fairness, and public service.

Kaplan Hecker has been named by Benchmark Litigation as “Boutique Firm of the Year” in 2022, 2021, and 2020.  Since 2019, Benchmark Litigation has also recognized us as one of the “Top Boutiques” in the country. The publication has also consistently given the firm its highest ranking as a “Highly Recommended Law Firm – New York,” making Kaplan Hecker one of the very few litigation boutiques – and the only firm founded by women – to achieve that top designation. Kaplan Hecker is routinely recognized in Chambers, Legal 500, Crain’s New York, National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, New York Law Journal, among many others. 

Kaplan Hecker is recognized for the extensive trial experience of its lawyers, who have tried numerous civil and criminal cases to verdict in both federal and state court. The team includes four former federal prosecutors and three former public defenders – experience that uniquely positions the firm to take any case to trial and secure the best possible results for its clients. In what has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a 2020 “Impact Case” and by Global Investigations Review as “Most Important Court Case of the Year,” Kaplan Hecker secured a “rare” acquittal at trial in a market manipulation case against a former Barclays trader in early 2019. Kaplan Hecker was also recently honored at the 2022 Benchmark Litigation East Coast Awards with “Impact Case of the Year” for our work on Sines v. Kessler. Kaplan Hecker won a history $26 million settlement for our clients, representing ten plaintiffs in a groundbreaking lawsuit against twenty-five white supremacists and neo-Nazis, bringing claims based on their roles in organizing the racial and religious-based violence in Charlottesville during the summer of 2017. 

Kaplan Hecker lawyers have consistently been individually recognized as among the leading litigators in the country, including partners Roberta Kaplan and Sean Hecker having been consistently honored as two of the nation’s top litigators in commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense respectively. 

As a peer noted to Benchmark Litigation, Kaplan Hecker’s lawyers “are unwaveringly committed to staring down injustice without blinking, and their work proves that. They are ambitious, feisty and fearless, especially tailor-made for these tumultuous times.” 

Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is more than a value of our firm, it is who we are. Our firm was founded by women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Today, over 80% of our attorneys identify as women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or some combination thereof. We strive to make sure that our policies, the way we practice, and opportunities for advancement at our firm all actively reflect our prioritization of building an equitable and inclusive workplace. We are extremely proud that The American Lawyer has recognized this work, naming Kaplan Hecker its 2021 inaugural “Best Diversity Initiative” award recipient.

Kaplan Hecker has built a track record of impressive results in high-stakes litigation, fueled by a small team of litigators with extensive trial experience and wide-ranging subject matter expertise. Its practice focuses on the following areas:

Commercial Litigation: Kaplan Hecker lawyers are highly-experienced commercial litigators with wide-ranging backgrounds. Clients range from large financial institutions and ratings agencies, to Fortune 500 companies, tech companies and startups, and nationally prominent individuals – among numerous other categories. We are efficient, diverse, creative, collaborative, and focused on achieving the best possible results for our clients.

White-Collar Criminal Defense: The firm has extensive experience defending companies, boards of directors, and executives from criminal investigations and enforcement and regulatory proceedings across a range of practice areas, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption, whistleblower and False Claim Act claims, anti-money laundering, and various kinds of financial fraud, among many others.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Kaplan Hecker lawyers have wide-ranging experience helping companies and executives navigate complex challenges involving cybersecurity, data privacy, and related regulatory compliance. 

FCPA and Anti-Corruption: Kaplan Hecker lawyers have significant expertise representing clients in which the FCPA and other anti-corruption issues arise – including in internal investigations, representing companies and individuals in government enforcement matters, and advising companies on anti-corruption compliance. 

Employment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct: The firm has substantial experience representing organizations in sensitive employment and discrimination matters, including with respect to Title VII and Title IX claims and independent contractor and Fair Labor Standards Act classification. Kaplan Hecker has particular expertise representing top academic institutions in their most important Title VII and Title IX matters.

Investigations and Crisis Management: Kaplan Hecker helps its clients navigate every aspect of sensitive internal investigations: conducting the investigation, developing internal and external communications strategies, advising on public disclosures, and reviewing and revamping compliance structures.

Regulatory and Securities Matters and Litigation: The firm has represented some of the nation’s leading financial institutions and commercial businesses in regulatory proceedings, including securities enforcement proceedings and anti-money laundering investigations, helping clients navigate the ongoing challenges to relationships with regulators, investors, and shareholders that these proceedings can cause.

Public Interest Litigation: Kaplan Hecker takes on some of the most pressing and groundbreaking public interest litigation in the country. 

Appellate Litigation: The firm’s appellate practice spans all areas of its work. Kaplan Hecker team of lawyers, which includes three former Supreme Court clerks, have litigated cases in all levels of state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Updated Sep 2022

Firm overview

We are a 900+ lawyer business litigation firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco , New York, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, London, Chicago, Mannheim, Washington, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Brussels, Houston, Seattle, Shanghai, Zurich, Doha, Perth, Stuttgart, Boston, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Austin, Miami, Neuilly la Defense, Riyadh, Berlin, Dallas.

We aggressively litigate a wide variety of business disputes for Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies. We do not simply “handle” cases for years before settling them on the courthouse steps. Our goal is to seize the initiative and resolve them quickly, because it is in our clients’ interests to do so. If a case cannot be resolved short of trial, we have the experienced trial lawyers who can try it. Our business is winning cases—and we do.

Our Lawyers:

Attorneys at our firm have tried over 2,500 cases and won 86%. When we represent defendants, our trial experience gets us better settlements or defense verdicts. When representing plaintiffs, our lawyers have won over $70 billion in judgments and settlements. We have also obtained seven 9-figure jury verdicts, fifty-one 9-figure settlements, and nineteen 10-figure settlements.

Our attorneys include top graduates from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Michigan, Columbia and other distinguished schools. At last count, 221 of our attorneys (or 25%) were law review editors in law school and/or clerked for judges; nineteen have taught law; and many have been or are general counsel for corporations. Over 25 of our attorneys are former Assistant United States Attorneys. Three of our partners have worked in the White House: two for Democrats, one for Republicans.

Trial Lawyers, Not Paper Litigators; Why Trial Lawyers Are Also Best for Settlement:

Trying cases is a key element of our firm culture. Trials are zero sum games – they are no place for beginners. We try more major business cases than any other law firm. At least once each year, we are in a trial or an arbitration pursuing or defending against a claim for over $1 billion in damages. Many of our partners are very highly experienced trial lawyers, having tried dozens of cases to verdict. Seven have taught trial advocacy. We do not believe the same level of jury trial experience can be found at any other business law firm. Our trial experience is an obvious advantage in the courtroom, and is important both for the relatively rare case which must be tried and for the cases which settle. Plaintiffs’ lawyers know we will not hesitate to go to trial and know what we can do in a courtroom. Our well-known ability to try cases diminishes the lawsuit “hold up” factor and causes adversaries to re-think their demands. We believe that our firm can get better settlements because of our credibility as trial lawyers.

Firm overview

Kramer Levin provides its clients proactive, creative and pragmatic solutions that address today’s most challenging legal issues. The firm, headquartered in New York with offices in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and Paris, fosters a strong culture of involvement in public and community service. For more information, please visit www.kramerlevin.com. 

Litigation: Kramer Levin lawyers have taken on and won precedent-setting federal and state court cases and bet-the-company matters, handling trials and appeals, and resolving disputes through arbitration, mediation and negotiated settlement. Kramer Levin’s litigators are regarded as trial-ready, formidable opponents, which often enables them to resolve cases advantageously without litigation. They are also known for their success in achieving early case dismissal through skillful motion practice. 

Bankruptcy and Restructuring: For more than 30 years, creditors, debtor corporations, investors, lenders and acquirers have turned to Kramer Levin to solve complicated bankruptcy and restructuring problems, to structure and lead negotiations that harmonize divergent interests and achieve consensual solutions, and to win suits in bankruptcy court, courts of appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court. Representing clients throughout the United States, Kramer Levin lawyers typically take on cases that involve multiple debtors with competing secured and unsecured creditors, complex restructurings, and contested interdebtor and intercreditor issues. 

Corporate Transactions and Finance: Kramer Levin represents buyers and sellers, including financial and strategic acquirers ranging from entrepreneurial startups to large multinationals, in mergers and acquisitions of public and private companies. They focus on the middle market and are exposed to a high volume of M&A deal flow in this market segment, which gives them keen insight into deal terms, conditions and trends. Kramer Levin’s Banking and Finance group represents a large number of borrowers and major lenders, providing legal and transactional advice on a wide variety of financing arrangements. Because they represent both borrowers and lenders, they can offer clients uncommon perspective and tremendous insight into each party’s needs as well as deep knowledge and broad experience in market-leading terms and the latest financing strategies. The firm’s Private Equity team has extensive experience advising and representing private equity funds, fund sponsors and their portfolio companies in all aspects of their business, from fund formation and operation to private placement, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and control and minority investments, including growth equity transactions. 

Intellectual Property: Kramer Levin’s litigation-focused Intellectual Property team regularly asserts and defends IP-related claims in courts throughout the United States and Europe, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well as the European Union Intellectual Property Office and foreign national intellectual property agencies. Well known for their success in the courtroom, including in many high-stakes patent litigation cases, the team also advises clients on worldwide IP portfolio management and IP-based transactions. 

Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental: For the past 50 years, Kramer Levin has advised on many of the most significant real estate developments and other projects in New York City and throughout the United States, helping transform city skylines and reshape the landscape. The firm is among only a handful of large New York-based firms with a destination real estate practice — one that attracts clients interested primarily in their real estate talents. The Real Estate team is involved in many of the major real estate transactions throughout the city, including acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, financings, and development. Kramer Levin’s Land Use practice is the largest and most experienced in New York City. With a core group of partners that has practiced together for more than 35 years and support from a cadre of other lawyers, a veteran real estate litigator, two condemnation lawyers, an engineer and three planners, it offers unmatched technical knowledge, synergy, industry insight and experience. The practice has handled many of the thorniest and most sophisticated land use matters, has represented most of NYC’s leading developers and institutions, and has advised on many of NYC’s megaprojects. Kramer Levin’s Environmental lawyers help developers, investors and companies across industries manage environmental issues so they can focus on improving properties, maintaining efficient operations, building projects, closing transactions and planning for the future. 

Tax: With a clear understanding of clients’ business needs and a deep knowledge of the ever-changing tax laws, Kramer Levin tax lawyers develop creative and practical client-specific solutions to help clients accomplish their goals. They advise U.S. and foreign public and private companies, including private equity firms and hedge funds, as well as high net worth individuals, on U.S. transactions and the U.S. tax aspects of international transactions. 

Employment and Immigration: Kramer Levin’s Employment lawyers provide practical and proactive counsel to employers, helping them make decisions and take action to minimize their risk of litigation, promote their workplace culture and values, and achieve their specific business objectives. The team is composed of highly responsive advisers and litigators focused exclusively on employment law matters, and each team member is well versed in a broad range of employment law issues and able to act quickly and decisively when clients need help. Kramer Levin’s internationally recognized Immigration group is among the largest and most respected immigration practices in the United States. With decades of experience, their immigration lawyers advise global brands and preeminent corporations across a wide range of industries, including media and advertising, financial services, technology, and performing and fine arts. 

Updated Aug 2022

Firm overview

Williams & Connolly is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier litigation firms. Our lawyers routinely handle significant and complex civil, criminal, and administrative cases across the United States and around the globe. The firm maintains a strong tradition of hiring the best and the brightest and training and promoting its lawyers from within, producing closely knit and collaborative teams dedicated to achieving successful outcomes for our clients. 

The firm was founded in 1967 by legendary trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams. In the tradition of our founder, we share a passionate and principled dedication to excellence and success in all that we do. Over the last five decades, many of the world’s most prominent organizations and individuals have trusted us with their most important and complex litigation, investigation, and arbitration matters.

The firm’s clients include major global companies from virtually every sector, including Pfizer, Disney, Samsung, Intel, Bank of America, Google, The Carlyle Group, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Eli Lilly, 21st Century Fox, and HSBC. In addition, our lawyers have represented numerous law and accounting firms in professional liability and other matters, one reason why the Washington Post has recognized Williams & Connolly as the firm that other professional firms “turn to when they’re in trouble.”

The firm’s robust intellectual property practice successfully represents clients in patent litigation matters worth billions of dollars. In the healthcare and consumer industries, Williams & Connolly serves as national coordinating, trial, and/or resolution counsel for major pharmaceutical, medical device, pharmacy, technology, and consumer products companies in mass torts, multi-district litigation, and class actions. Our lawyers litigate cross-border commercial and other disputes in wide-ranging international litigation and arbitrations. We have handled many of the most complex corporate, financial, and securities disputes stemming from the global financial crisis. We represent companies and individuals in government investigations and prosecutions of all types, including allegations of fraud, corruption, and FCPA violations. Our lawyers also regularly appear before the Supreme Court and state and federal courts of appeals.

Known for our ability to take cases to trial, and the deep bench of lawyers at the firm who have tried civil and criminal matters in courts across the country and internationally, Williams & Connolly is described by Chambers USA as “offering unmatched strength in depth and top-level trial capabilities,” and “[a] class act: a delight to litigate with, and fearsome to litigate against.” In addition, Washingtonian magazine has highlighted the firm’s “uncompromising emphasis on victory.”

Our distinctive approach to litigation has earned the firm top marks from leading publications and ranking services, such as Chambers, Legal 500, The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, and Benchmark Litigation, both for overall litigation prowess as well as for many practice- or industry-specific types of litigation. We hire the top graduates from the best law schools and provide a collaborative training ground for young litigators, providing clients with the highest-quality representation at every level of seniority and with a cohesive team always working to advance their interests. Vault has ranked Williams & Connolly as one of the top law firms for selectivity, partner-associate relations, career outlook, satisfaction, quality of work, and business outlook.  Williams & Connolly maintains a nearly one-to-one partner-to-associate ratio, ensuring that matters are leanly staffed and that our associates gain significant hands-on experience. Our approach to hiring and advancement from within fosters a unique culture that focuses on teamwork, preparation, and tenacity designed to deliver results.