District of Columbia

Firm overview

Willkie excels in high-stakes litigation, building a preeminent platform that is not only notable for the significance of its cases but the array of disputes and variety of its victories—a true hallmark of a litigation powerhouse. 

Willkie’s litigators shine in virtually every type of dispute and venue globally – at the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, before arbitration panels, in bet-the-company lawsuits and pro bono cases. Willkie has been on the front lines of the industry, leading a series of litigations arising from some of the most significant controversies of our time. 

Our record underscores Willkie’s trial-ready strengths and demonstrates not only the outstanding advocacy of our litigators but also their ability to strategically achieve their clients’ objectives. Willkie has a distinctive ability to distil complex and contested issues in a compelling way, dissect opponents’ arguments, establish credibility, and execute at trial. 

Results like those obtained by Willkie require firepower—intellectual heft, mastery of substantive law and persuasive advocacy—but they are only possible with a culture of collaboration and a commitment to excellence. The range of Willkie’s recent victories attests to the depth and versatility of our litigation department. Unlike other litigation powerhouses, Willkie runs lean, prioritizing the caliber of its attorneys over their number, the potency of its teams over sheer size. The firm trains its litigators to be generalists, giving associates meaningful roles and experience across the gamut of disputes. 

Willkie also has a robust arbitration practice, regularly representing clients in both domestic and international arbitration proceedings. Willkie’s arbitration practice ensures continuity of the same high caliber of legal representation for the firm’s clients across the globe. 

Complementing our existing robust litigation practice, our Chicago office, led by Craig C. Martin, Chairman, Midwest, brings a new Willkie destination for commercial and business legal matters of strategic, economic and reputational impact. Since opening in March 2020, the office has grown from a team of six partners to more than 100 lawyers. Globally recognized as top-ranked practitioners and as trusted advisors, our attorneys are firmly committed to delivering outstanding client service and to engaging in civic involvement and pro bono work.

In addition, the litigators in Willkie’s Los Angeles office, launched in 2021, bring market-leading experience representing major companies, investors and individual clients in a range of disputes.

Updated March 2025

Firm overview

King & Spalding helps leading companies advance complex business interests in more than 160 countries. Working across a highly integrated platform of more than 1,300 lawyers in 24 offices globally, we deliver tailored commercial solutions through world-class offerings and an uncompromising approach to quality and service.

Trial and Global Disputes: Our experienced disputes lawyers try and arbitrate high-stakes cases every year across the globe in the most challenging jurisdictions for corporate clients.  Recognized for creativity, meticulous preparation, and top-rate advocacy, our lawyers help clients navigate the litigation lifecycle, working together from day one to identify business objectives, develop a strategy to meet those objectives, and then execute that strategy.  With more than 450 lawyers in 17 offices worldwide, we are uniquely able to staff and manage large and cross-border disputes from filing, to trial, and through appeal.  Our lawyers have a variety of expertise across substantive areas, including Appellate Law, Class Action Defense, Commercial Litigation, Construction & Engineering Disputes, Corporate & Securities Litigation, E-Discovery, Insolvency Litigation, Insurance Coverage & Recovery, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, Labor & Employment, Product Liability, Professional Liability, and Toxic & Environmental Torts.  Working together—one area of expertise informing another—our disputes lawyers provide clients with seamless and efficient representation in the most complex and sensitive matters.

Capabilities:

• Appellate, Constitutional and Administrative Law 
• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Litigation
• Class Action Defense
• Commercial Litigation
• Construction and Engineering Disputes
• Corporate and Securities Litigation
• E-Discovery
• Insurance Coverage and Recovery
• Intellectual Property, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Litigation
• International Arbitration and Litigation
• Labor and Employment
• Product Liability
• Professional Liability
• Toxic & Environmental Torts

Government Matters: Clients ranging from Fortune Global 50 corporations to high-profile individuals in every region of the world entrust King & Spalding’s Government Matters practice to guide them through rapidly changing regulatory landscapes, complex investigations by U.S. and foreign enforcement authorities, highly sensitive internal investigations and related, often parallel civil proceedings. 

Hundreds of lawyers across the United States, Europe and Asia bring decades of prior government service and industry experience to our regulatory and investigative practices, which serve the financial services, pharmaceutical and medical device, healthcare, energy, automotive and technology sectors in particular. The team includes six U.S. Attorneys, 24 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and former senior officials from the highest ranks in regulatory and enforcement organizations that are most significant to our clients.

Our experienced team includes former leaders at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Bank of England, the U.K’s Financial Reporting Council and the World Trade Organization.

Capabilities:

• Antitrust
• Data, Privacy and Security
• Environmental, Health and Safety
• FDA and Life Sciences
• Government Advocacy and Public Policy
• Government Contracts
• Healthcare
• International Trade
• National Security and Corporate Espionage
• Securities Enforcement and Regulation
• Special Matters and Government Investigations

Corporate, Finance and Investments: Our Corporate, Finance and Investments team brings a collaborative approach to help clients execute complex, high-value transactions. We have a fully integrated platform with more than 330 lawyers in 17 offices, offering clients the benefit of global specialists with local knowledge and industry expertise. We work side by side with our clients to execute transactions efficiently and effectively—we understand what matters to both our clients and opposite parties and we explain the actual, practical risks to our clients.

Capabilities:

• Activist Defense
• Alternative Capital and Credit Funds
• Capital Markets
• Construction and Procurement
• Corporate Governance
• Emerging Companies and Venture Capital
• Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
• Energy and Infrastructure Projects
• Financial Restructuring
• Investment Funds and Asset Management
• Leveraged Finance
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Middle East and Islamic Finance and Investment
• Private Equity
• Real Estate
• Securitization
• Tax

Updated Sep 2024

Firm overview

Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service national business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in nine offices (Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC), is widely recognized for its innovative, value-driven approach to delivering legal services. The firm’s groundbreaking SmartPaTHTM program was created to respond to clients’ needs for a more predictable, efficient and transparent service experience. It combines legal project management, value-based pricing, flexible staffing and process efficiency to align service delivery with clients’ business goals. Thompson Hine has made significant investments in talent, proprietary technology and processes, and infrastructure to increase efficiency and provide greater value.

As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service delivery, Thompson Hine continually collects feedback from in-house counsel about what innovations align best with clients’ needs and has conducted three formal analyses of the state of innovation in the legal market. The firm commissioned detailed surveys and interviews of in-house counsel and other senior executives and published its findings in comprehensive reports. These surveys aim to monitor developments in the corporate legal market and identify opportunities to further refine the firm’s delivery of efficient, predictable and transparent legal solutions.

In an industry first, Thompson Hine in 2024 transitioned its leadership from Deborah Read, one of the first women to lead a large U.S. firm, to Tony White, who will be one of a handful of African Americans currently occupying the top role at an Am Law 200 firm and one of only about a dozen to have held the position at any point.

Thompson Hine. Always Innovating.

www.thompsonhine.com/innovation

Last Updated Sep 2024

Firm overview

Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler is an elite boutique with thirty attorneys, seven of whom are ranked by Benchmark Litigation as Litigation Stars, and seven of whom are ranked as Rising Stars.

Small by design, the firm was founded in 2009 with a singular end in mind: to produce superior results for its clients in an open and modern manner. We represent clients in the full spectrum of employment matters; criminal, regulatory and internal investigations; and commercial litigation and arbitration.

Employment: HSW has a first-tier national employment practice, and is best known for representing individual founders, partners, C-Suite executives, top producers, and practice leaders. In addition, the firm has a meaningful roster of company clients. Our practice includes litigation and arbitration, negotiation of employment agreements and separations, discreetly handling internal investigations, co-founder disputes, restrictive covenant disputes, and employment counseling. HSW is also known for its high-profile successes in FINRA arbitrations, having secured two of the six largest-ever FINRA awards. We advise clients on hundreds of millions of dollars of agreements, separations and disputes annually, and represent clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, technology, real estate, media, health, travel, fashion, law, and entertainment. 

White Collar: HSW’s White Collar department defends individuals and companies charged in sophisticated federal criminal, state and other governmental and internal investigations, typically involving financial crimes, public corruption or national security. We represent clients in cases and investigations brought by U.S. Attorney’s offices, the SEC, the US Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve, and state and local prosecutors, among other agencies. These matters span a wide range of allegations, including insider trading, criminal antitrust, public corruption, crypto and NFTs related conduct, asset forfeiture, and other investigations. Because of our firm’s elite Employment Practice, we also specialize in representing senior executives in connection with internal, regulatory, and criminal investigations stemming from their employment.

Civil Litigation and Arbitration: HSW leverages its proven skill and reputation as a first-seat trial firm to achieve results — through trial or resolution—for plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation and arbitration, including employment matters, founder’s disputes, breach of contract and business torts, securities and intellectual property cases. The firm specializes in matters demanding a high level of financial and commercial know-how. HSW tries cases in state and federal court, and in all major arbitral forums. 

Updated Sep 2024