Akerman
With multiple offices from coast to coast, Akerman has a nationwide reach and a range of practices that includes consumer financial services, construction, intellectual property, and bankruptcy. The firm is routinely commended by clients, who point out its strengths in giving advice. One client appreciates the way the team “communicates with their clients,” and goes on to state, “Overall, I was very happy.”
Another client using the firm’s banking and financial services expertise shared several positive points: “[They have] great communication and follow-up on matters, a balanced approach to litigation, reasonable hours and billing, and all-around excellent service.” In the commercial litigation space, another says, “Akerman offers excellent advice and options.”
The firm has a particular concentration of strength in Florida, where the firm originated. In the Jacksonville office,
Christian George brings his expertise in bankruptcy and commercial litigation to clients who have expressed their appreciation for his leadership. A client who has tapped George for bankruptcy, commercial, and banking disputes notes that he “understands our model and approach to working out matters and litigation.” The same client commends George’s “excellent communication and follow-up, balanced approach... and good rapport with [the executive management] of our bank.” He is described as having a “great personality.”
The Miami office includes Robert Chaskes, a commercial litigator and co-chair of the distressed-property practice. One client says, “[He has] superb legal knowledge and [a] pragmatic approach to domestic and international business disputes.” Chaskes is described as having “excellent communication skills” and as being a “top-notch legal professional.” Chaskes defended Amicorp in a case that involved the contentious doctrine of conspiracy jurisdiction to assert personal jurisdiction in Florida. Chaskes successfully argued that the plaintiffs did not provide a sufficient basis to exercise personal jurisdiction pertaining to the tortuous activity allegations under either the state’s statute or the US Constitution. The Third Circuit affirmed the ruling, further clarifying the use of the doctrine of conspiracy jurisdiction.
Megan Costa DeLeon, based in the firm’s Orlando office, focuses largely on commercial disputes. However, she also serves as lead counsel in a product-liability case defending ProAmpac against a lawsuit filed by RCBA Nutraceuticals. The trial court allowed the plaintiff to file an amended complaint, which added ProAmpac as a co-defendant based on its acquisition of PolyFirst Packaging. (PolyFirst manufactured the alleged defective packaging.) Costa DeLeon appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which published an opinion agreeing with her arguments that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction. Her motion to dismiss was reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Beyond Florida, Mark Bernstein resolves commercial conflicts and lawsuits predominantly on behalf of clients in the financial and manufacturing industries. Working out of the Chicago office, Bernstein is praised by clients for his industry and practice-
area expertise. “Mark is always very timely and provides great insight into construction contracting,” says a client who sought out Bernstein for his commercial knowledge. “Mark has an excellent understanding of our business from both a commercial and operational perspective.” Bernstein is the lead partner representing MG East, which hired Premier Design & Build Group to construct three buildings in Miami Gardens, Florida. Shortly after substantial completion of the buildings, the roof edges and gutter systems began showing signs of rust and corrosion, leaving holes that allowed water to drain directly onto the buildings and the surrounding property. MG East sued Premier for breach of general contract for the failure to properly install the roofing and gutter systems. The claimed damages are more than $2 million. The case is in its initial phases of discovery.
Benjamin Joelson in Akerman’s New York office specializes in commercial litigation and intellectual property. He often represents commercial landlords, tenants, developers, and construction companies over real-estate disputes. He is currently on the team representing a potential joint venture to open a HALAL GUYS restaurant at the American Dream complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was uncovered that Dream Big Holding, LLC’s principal, through a new entity, had secretly opened a restaurant called Falafel Inc. at the American Dream complex. That same location had already been leased to the joint venture. In another pending case, Joelson is part of the team representing Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings, the ground-floor lessor of a property in Brooklyn, New York, in a lease dispute with its tenant, McDonald’s Corporation.
Akerman
With multiple offices from coast to coast, Akerman has a nationwide reach and a range of practices that includes consumer financial services, construction, intellectual property, and bankruptcy. The firm is routinely commended by clients, who point out its strengths in giving advice. One client appreciates the way the team “communicates with their clients,” and goes on to state, “Overall, I was very happy.”
Another client using the firm’s banking and financial services expertise shared several positive points: “[They have] great communication and follow-up on matters, a balanced approach to litigation, reasonable hours and billing, and all-around excellent service.” In the commercial litigation space, another says, “Akerman offers excellent advice and options.”
The firm has a particular concentration of strength in Florida, where the firm originated. In the Jacksonville office,
Christian George brings his expertise in bankruptcy and commercial litigation to clients who have expressed their appreciation for his leadership. A client who has tapped George for bankruptcy, commercial, and banking disputes notes that he “understands our model and approach to working out matters and litigation.” The same client commends George’s “excellent communication and follow-up, balanced approach... and good rapport with [the executive management] of our bank.” He is described as having a “great personality.”
The Miami office includes Robert Chaskes, a commercial litigator and co-chair of the distressed-property practice. One client says, “[He has] superb legal knowledge and [a] pragmatic approach to domestic and international business disputes.” Chaskes is described as having “excellent communication skills” and as being a “top-notch legal professional.” Chaskes defended Amicorp in a case that involved the contentious doctrine of conspiracy jurisdiction to assert personal jurisdiction in Florida. Chaskes successfully argued that the plaintiffs did not provide a sufficient basis to exercise personal jurisdiction pertaining to the tortuous activity allegations under either the state’s statute or the US Constitution. The Third Circuit affirmed the ruling, further clarifying the use of the doctrine of conspiracy jurisdiction.
Megan Costa DeLeon, based in the firm’s Orlando office, focuses largely on commercial disputes. However, she also serves as lead counsel in a product-liability case defending ProAmpac against a lawsuit filed by RCBA Nutraceuticals. The trial court allowed the plaintiff to file an amended complaint, which added ProAmpac as a co-defendant based on its acquisition of PolyFirst Packaging. (PolyFirst manufactured the alleged defective packaging.) Costa DeLeon appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which published an opinion agreeing with her arguments that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction. Her motion to dismiss was reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Beyond Florida, Mark Bernstein resolves commercial conflicts and lawsuits predominantly on behalf of clients in the financial and manufacturing industries. Working out of the Chicago office, Bernstein is praised by clients for his industry and practice-
area expertise. “Mark is always very timely and provides great insight into construction contracting,” says a client who sought out Bernstein for his commercial knowledge. “Mark has an excellent understanding of our business from both a commercial and operational perspective.” Bernstein is the lead partner representing MG East, which hired Premier Design & Build Group to construct three buildings in Miami Gardens, Florida. Shortly after substantial completion of the buildings, the roof edges and gutter systems began showing signs of rust and corrosion, leaving holes that allowed water to drain directly onto the buildings and the surrounding property. MG East sued Premier for breach of general contract for the failure to properly install the roofing and gutter systems. The claimed damages are more than $2 million. The case is in its initial phases of discovery.
Benjamin Joelson in Akerman’s New York office specializes in commercial litigation and intellectual property. He often represents commercial landlords, tenants, developers, and construction companies over real-estate disputes. He is currently on the team representing a potential joint venture to open a HALAL GUYS restaurant at the American Dream complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was uncovered that Dream Big Holding, LLC’s principal, through a new entity, had secretly opened a restaurant called Falafel Inc. at the American Dream complex. That same location had already been leased to the joint venture. In another pending case, Joelson is part of the team representing Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings, the ground-floor lessor of a property in Brooklyn, New York, in a lease dispute with its tenant, McDonald’s Corporation.
Boies Schiller Flexner
Originally
established in New York,
Boies Schiller Flexner
is a firm with a reputation for
its creative and aggressive
efforts on behalf of
its clients.
With a significant
presence in the
Florida market and
with offices across the country and the world,
the firm’s commercial litigation
practice includes breach of contract, fraud, restructuring, securities, mergers, and many other statutory claims.
Sigrid McCawley is highly regarded for her trial acumen and leadership.
She is
one of the firm’s
managing partners
as well as co-administrative partner in the Fort Lauderdale office. Her experience includes complex commercial litigation disputes in high-stakes cases.
McCawley may be best known for her recent work
representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She filed separate lawsuits accusing JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank of supporting Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking enterprise.
Both banks ultimately
settled,
securing a combined $365 million for
the victims.
McCawley also leads the team
in two lawsuits
filed against
Russell Simmons, co-founder of
Def Jam Recordings. In the first
lawsuit, under New York’s Adult Survivors Act,
Simmons is accused
of sexually assaulting
a former executive at Def Jam
in his Manhattan apartment in the 1990s.
The suit also is being filed under New York City’s Gender Motivated Violence Act, which created a two-year lookback window for sexual assault claims that expires in March 2025.
McCawley filed a second lawsuit against Simmons on behalf of another former music executive, Drew Dixon, for defamation.
In a recent interview, Simmons
accused Dixon of lying about the sexual abuse she suffered
for purposes of seeking fame.
Another of the firm’s Fort Lauderdale attorneys,
Stuart Singer,
is a multidisciplined litigator
whose experience includes antitrust, securities, energy, and
class action defense.
“Stuart Singer,” one peer says, “is an excellent attorney.”
On behalf of NextEra Energy, he was
the lead lawyer, obtaining an important commerce cause ruling that allowed companies to
compete for power transmission projects.
Singer is also on the team that
filed a suit on behalf of Panini America, a sports trading card company, against Fanatics for antitrust violations in the market for sports trading cards.
The suit alleges
that Fanatics engaged in anticompetitive conduct including signing exclusive deals with the NBA, NFL, and MLB, and poaching
more than 30
Panini America
employees. The case is ongoing.
Boies Schiller Flexner
Boies Schiller & Flexner has crafted itself a pride of place in the legal market since its inception as a litigation-centric “boutique” with a maverick approach. Much of its initial celebrity was, and to an extent still is, largely credited to name partner and founder David Boies, a trailblazing trial lawyer who has been at the forefront of some of the most newsworthy and precedent-setting trials and appeals, as well as many others that haven’t made headlines but have covered a staggering array of disciplines. Boies’ legend still looms large. “At an age when most of his peers have long since retired, David is still active and still a brand name,” marvels one peer. “He seems to have no desire to hang it up – or doesn’t show it, anyway.” Boies and DC partner Hamish Hume served as co-lead counsel in a decade-long litigation for a class of Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers, which alleged that the trademark licenses used by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association violated antitrust laws by allocating markets among the companies using those trademarks, and by restricting competition in other ways, including by capping the amount of revenue such companies can make from selling insurance under a trademark other than Blue Cross or Blue Shield. In August 2022, the pair secured $2.67 billion in damages for the class. Individual objectors appealed the settlement and the Boies team successfully defended it on appeal, securing a unanimous decision from the Eleventh Circuit in October 2023. The objectors then filed a petition for a writ of
certiorari in the US Supreme Court, and the Boies pair again successfully defended the settlement, securing a denial of cert in June 2024. Hume also led
a DC-based trial team that, in October 2023, secured a jury verdict of $612.4 million on behalf of a class of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders who challenged a 2012 agreement, known as the “net worth sweep,” between the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the US. Treasury. Florida-based
Stuart Singer led a team that
won an important case on behalf of renewable energy producer NextEra Energy that upholds the rights of companies to compete for power transmission projects, which was imperiled by a 2019 Texas law giving incumbent utilities and other existing transmission owners in Texas the exclusive right to build new transmission lines. NextEra had been awarded an important interstate transmission project which the new law would prevent NextEra from building. After the district court dismissed the action, Singer and his team appealed to the Fifth Circuit, scoring a favorable reversal. New York’s litigation group leader
Matthew Schwartz is lauded by a peer as “a great lawyer strategic thinker, [who] was in the criminal and civil division of the US Attorney’s office.” Schwartz
represents California investor Chris Parker and Red Mango Enterprises in litigation against the founder and former Chairman of Tellurian with claims for breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment. In 2017, the plaintiffs invested in Tellurian, a liquified natural gas company founded by the defendant. After the share price of Tellurian dropped sharply in the following years, the defendant promised in a series of text messages to indemnify plaintiffs for any losses if they retained their shares, which the plaintiffs did. The defendant then reneged on this agreement. Trial is scheduled to begin in December 2025.
Hunton Andrews Kurth
With offices across the country and around the world, Hunton Andrews Kurth is praised for its ability to provide clients with exceptional service across many practice areas. Clients have noted the variety of issues for which they can turn to the firm: “Class actions, regulatory advice, cybersecurity litigation, and arbitration.” Another client shared, “Hunton Andrews Kurth has provided a variety of legal services to us recently. Hunton has provided advice and counsel on commercial contracts, litigation, class action litigation, employment issues and franchising.” In the same vein, the client commented on the firm’s service, adding, “Hunton brings a level of service that is above and beyond what we experience with other firms. They understand the client and provide counsel in a timely manner.”
From the Houston office, Kelsey Hope’s focus is complex commercial disputes with an emphasis in the managed-care industry. Hope was on the team that secured a victory for the Rite Aid Corporation against litigation brought on by a group of insurance and pharmacy benefit companies seeking more than $100 million from the national pharmacy chain for allegedly overcharging for prescription medications. After a two-week trial, within a few hours the jury returned a ruling in favor of Rite Aid.
Another member of that team, Chris Dufek focuses on antitrust and consumer protection. Dufek, who works out of the Washington DC office, has represented clients in complex commercial and class action cases concerning antitrust and consumer protection laws, cybersecurity, fraud, and contractual disputes.
Richmond-based Elbert Lin receives praise from peers who said: “Elbert Lin – He's the man!” Lin served as one of the lead counsels when the firm won a nearly $47 million judgment for its client Dewberry Engineers (“Dewberry”), a provider of professional services for the built environment against defendant Dewberry Group, a real estate company. The judgment, entered by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after a three-day trial, resulting from Dewberry’s claims against the defendant for federal and state trademark infringement and breach of contract.
In the New York office, Jeremy Boczko focuses on intellectual property rights. He has represented clients in trademark, copyright, and patent trials. Fellow New York partner
Armin Ghiam advises clients on intellectual property assets in mergers and acquisitions. He also has experience with patent preparation. Together they were lead partners representing Hisamitsu America, the maker of SALONPAS Brand Pain Relieving Patches. Scilex accused Hisamitsu of mislabeling these patches by marketing their products as “maximum strength” within the over-the-counter category. The court has dismissed the bulk of Scilex’s claims.
In Florida, Andrea DeField focuses on recovering insurance funds. She also leads Hunton's cyber insurance practice. She was a lead on the team that secured a victory for the United States Sugar Corporation. US Sugar’s insurer refused to provide coverage for the expenses incurred in defending a bet-the-company environmental case regarding its practice of cane-burning. The court found that the policy covered the cane-burning action and that the insurer owed US Sugar more than $6.5 million in defense expenses.
Hunton Andrews Kurth
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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.
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King & Spalding
With its main headquarters in Atlanta, King & Spalding has more than a dozen offices across the US, and more overseas. The firm’s international presence makes it possible to try and manage cases around the world in multiple jurisdictions for corporate clients from trial to appeal. Its government matters team includes former US attorneys and senior officials from regulatory and enforcement organizations like the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration. The firm can lead clients through complex investigations brought by US and foreign enforcement agencies.
The firm has also made several key recruits in its New York office of late, first luring seasoned trial statesman
Randy Mastro in 2022 and, in 2023, adding Jennifer Recine, a quickly ascended younger star who made a name for herself at Kasowitz for her varied commercial litigation practice that includes an emphasis on real estate and distressed assets.
Ursula Henninger works out of both the Miami and Charlotte offices. Her practice specialized in product liability and mass torts. She often handles cases that involve allegations of corporate misconduct and claims for punitive damages, representing companies in cases including tobacco, pharmaceuticals, and other industries. In the past year, Henninger represented R.J. Reynolds in two cases in Miami. In the first, she gave the closing arguments before a jury that reached a verdict in favor of the client, rejecting the plaintiff's $15 million demand. She also retried and reversed an Engle progeny case in which the plaintiff was originally awarded $41 million.
In Texas, Tracie Renfroe is co-leader of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts litigation group. She has defended clients in class actions, arbitrations, and administrative agency proceedings, and her skill, with clients in the pharmaceutical and energy sectors, in presenting complex scientific and technical issues to judges and juries is key. Renfroe is one of the lead attorneys defending the energy company Baker Hughes, which had a flow and process technology facility in Louisiana that plaintiffs allege contaminated the surrounding groundwater, soil, and air with trichloroethene. So far, Renfroe has successfully defeated multiple motions for class certification and is preparing for trial.
In Texas and New York, Mike Stenglein is the chair of the firm’s global construction and engineering disputes practice. His concentration falls under complex business disputes, usually in the construction and private equity sectors. Reficar, a Colombian state-owned oil refinery, has been in a long-running dispute over construction costs with McDermott International, a construction company. Stenglein was one of the lead partners to help win a $900 million award for Reficar in an arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce.
Morty Dubin’s New York practice includes product liability, toxic and environmental torts, and class action defense. He has experience with mass torts and asbestos claims. In the past year, Dubin won a jury verdict for Johnson & Johnson concluding that its baby powder talc product did not cause the plaintiff’s ovarian cancer. In another case, he won a defense verdict for Union Carbide by convincing the jury to reject a mesothelioma wrongful-death claim brought on behalf of a deceased worker.
Alvin Lee’s clients are often in the financial services, energy, chemical, and technology sectors. His practice includes energy and infrastructure projects and commercial litigation. He was the co-lead attorney representing JP Morgan in a suit brought by Canadian Breaks, a wind farm in Texas. Canadian Breaks alleges that a force majeure provision excused its performance during winter storm Uri. A judge granted a summary judgement, concluding that the storm did not constitute force majeure under the hedge agreement between JPMorgan and Canadian Breaks.
King & Spalding
King & Spalding is unique in that it is one of the only firms with origins in Atlanta to have achieved its level of national prominence. The firm has, in fact, attained global reach, particularly through its international arbitration team, historically acknowledged as one of the strongest in the US – a position it still claims today. King & Spalding has built upon its deep bench with several star players over the past several years, first with trial ace Randy Mastro [since departed to become First Deputy Mayor of New York City] and then with Dallas-based antitrust star
Veronica Moyé, both formerly with Gibson Dunn. The firm also took on
Jennifer Recine, a real estate and commercial star formerly with Kasowitz. “They have done very well with recruiting, and were already quite strong,” assesses a peer. Another contemporary (and former opponent) testifies on behalf of individual partners. "They were not unnecessarily combative in ways that made settlement difficult. Their briefs were excellent, and they were true stand-up lawyers. It's always great to have professionals on the other side who fight hard but don't engage in unnecessary back-and-forth that wastes everyone’s time."
The Atlanta office is still a dominant presence in the city. “Whether they want to admit it or not, in Atlanta, it’s King & Spalding and then the rest of us,” quips a local peer. “If you’ve got clients like Coca-Cola, you’ve got Atlanta on lockdown.” This office is particularly celebrated for its product liability practice, historically one of the strongest in the US, in which
Andy Bayman is a central figure. “Andy is terrific,” declares a peer. “He came up under [since-retired product liability luminary] Chilton Varner, and he is making great use of this.” Bayman and
Ursula Henninger represent Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals as national defense counsel for all federal and state claims arising from allegations that Zantac is associated with an increased risk of cancer. The King & Spalding duo secured a ruling disposing of all 50,000 remaining claims in the MDL and defeated the plaintiffs’ efforts to certify nationwide and state class actions and is currently acting as trial counsel in multiple state courts. In May 2024, the duo led the team representing Boehringer in the first Zantac-related trial in state court in Cook County, Illinois. Plaintiffs sought $640 million in damages, and the King & Spalding team secured a defense verdict, with the jurors rejecting the claim that Zantac caused an Illinois woman’s colon cancer. “Considering the ‘judicial hell hole’ that Cook County is for defense [lawyers,] this is a milestone,” remarks a peer. Beyond product liability, Atlanta’s
David Balser represents Capital One Bank in multiple class actions concerning allegations of breach of fiduciary duty regarding practices put in place on some of Capital One’s accounts.
King & Spalding’s New York office is home to some of its most recognized white-collar and enforcement stars.
Carmen Lawrence and Bill Johnson represent Archegos Capital Management, LP and the Archegos Fund, LP in connection with the highly publicized multi-agency criminal and civil investigations and resulting enforcement actions conducted by, among others, SEC, CFTC, and New York US Attorney’s Office regarding the circumstances leading up to the $36 billion private investment firm’s March 2021 default on margin calls and ultimate collapse. These investigations have resulted in ongoing enforcement actions against Archegos by the SEC and CFTC, and criminal actions against several former directors. Thus far, Lawrence and Johnson have successfully moved to dismiss the CFTC enforcement action.
Mike Stenglein, who works from New York as well as Austin, Texas, demonstrates the firm’s “very deep dedication” to the international arbitration arena. Stenglein led a team that secured $900 million for Reficar in its high-profile dispute with US contractor CB&I over the construction of an oil refinery in Colombia. The King & Spalding team Reficar in both the ICC construction arbitration and the subsequent enforcement proceedings in multiple international jurisdictions. In January 2025, the award was confirmed.
Weil Gotshal & Manges
Weil Gotshal & Manges enjoys a reputation as a firm whose litigation bench is one of the most comprehensive in terms of practice depth. “They have all the bases covered,” confirms a peer. “A nice wide spectrum. And they have the depth and breadth in their personnel to cover it.” The firm’s national reach is spread among offices on the East Coast in New York and DC, throughout several locations in California, two locations in Texas, one in Boston and a location in Miami. Its practice area portfolio also covers a lot of ground, with product liability, bankruptcy, antitrust, commercial, intellectual property, securities and white-collar crime all playing prominent positions in the overall composition of the firm’s litigation service offerings.
The firm made a notable augmentation to these services within the past couple of years with
with the recruits of DC-based Mark Perry and
Drew Tulumello, both of whom joined Weil from Gibson Dunn and both of whom provide strategic enhancements to Weil’s appellate capacity. “Weil has really made a significant investment here,” declares a peer in reference to the firm’s development of the appeals practice. “They are now officially a player in that specialty – they went from 0 to 100.” This practice is not limited to more established seniors;
Robert Niles-Weed, a young New York-based star [featured in Benchmark’s 40 and Under list and also profiled in a special feature in this edition] whose practice also encompasses other strata of commercial litigation and antitrust, has also carved out a name for himself in the appellate space. Niles-Weed acted with Perry as co-counsel for Comcast, who was sued for allegedly infringing a patent concerning an interactive program guide that integrated both linear cable channels and other content sources. Niles-Weed also worked with Tulumello serving as appellate counsel to BNSF Railway in what is purported to be the first case ever to go to trial under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. Following trial, where BNSF was represented by trial counsel from a different law firm, the jury returned a $228 million verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The Weil duo represented BNSF in its efforts to obtain a new trial or reduction of the verdict. In September 2023, the parties entered into a settlement. Perry also acts with two other younger stars, New York’s Luna Barrington and Silicon Valley’s
Bambo Obaro, representing national grocery retailer Kroger in connection with its pending $20+ billion merger with Albertsons and concurrent divestiture of hundreds of stores. Federal and state regulators have filed three separate suits in Federal Court in Oregon, and State court in Washington and Colorado seeking to enjoin the merger, and Weil is working with co-counsel to defend against these suits.
The firm has had an equally impressive run in the intellectual property capacity, with New York’s
Elizabeth Weiswasser garnering a pronounced level of praise on the strength of her increased visibility and demonstrated acuity in the patent arena. “Liz is a great IP lawyer but she’s actually a phenomenal trial lawyer,” elaborates one patent-oriented peer. “It’s easy to get bogged down in details in these types of cases but Liz cuts through all that and just shines in the courtroom.” Weil’s IP bench is equally revered on the West Coast, where Silicon Valley-based
Ed Reines generates “a lot of respect on the life sciences side,” according to peers. One contemporary declares, “The practice that Ed has built in the Bay Area for life sciences is really just remarkable, and he’s trying cases as well. [He is] very impressive.”
Securities has been another calling card for Weil, and specifically for New York’s
Jonathan Polkes, whose practice balances civil and criminal work and who stands out to peers in the bar as “one of the rare breed of securities lawyers who is ready to try cases anytime if need be.” Polkes led a team, which included
Caroline Zalka and Theodore Tsekerides, that triumphed for Warner Brothers and Discovery in February 2024 in a securities case that was brought following a stock drop after the $43 billion merger of the two entities. Polkes and Zalka also have been leading the defense of numerous securities class actions filed against longtime client Walgreens in courts around the country. These cases arise out of the company’s failed 2017 merger with Rite Aid, and feature allegations that Walgreens misled investors about the likelihood the Federal Trade Commission would approve the deal. Another New York securities star (and head of the firm’s national practice)
John Neuwirth successfully defended another longtime client, AMC Entertainment, in fast-tracked stockholder litigation in Delaware Chancery Court arising from its planned overhaul of its capital structure. Plaintiffs alleged that AMC’s senior management and board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by diluting common stockholders’ voting power through the creation of a new preferred class of securities and a subsequent planned reverse stock split.
New York’s David Lender, an all-purpose commercial trial lawyer, remains a peer favorite. One enthuses, “I keep saying he’s the lawyer I want to be when I grow up, but he’s younger than me! He’s just in another league.” Lender led a cross-section commercial/antitrust team that included Greg Silbert and
Eric Hochstadt in the successful representation of the Tri-City ValleyCats and the Norwich Sea Unicorns in two separate but related disputes against Major League Baseball (MLB), in one alleging that MLB’s Restructuring and contraction of minor-league baseball violates the US antitrust laws.
Weil Gotshal & Manges
Weil Gotshal & Manges enjoys a reputation as a firm whose litigation bench is one of the most comprehensive in terms of practice depth. The firm’s national reach is spread among offices on the East Coast in New York and DC, throughout several locations in California, two locations in Texas, one in Boston and a location in Miami. Its practice area portfolio also covers a lot of ground, with product liability, bankruptcy, antitrust, commercial, intellectual property, securities and white-collar crime all playing prominent positions in the overall composition of the firm’s litigation service offerings.
The firm made a notable augmentation to these services within the past couple of years with the recruits of DC-based Mark Perry and Drew Tulumello, both of whom joined Weil from Gibson Dunn and both of whom provide strategic enhancements to Weil’s appellate capacity. “Weil has really made a significant investment here,” declares a peer in reference to the firm’s development of the appeals practice. “They are now officially a player in that specialty – they went from 0 to 100.” More recently, in July 2025, the firm implemented an investment in the buildout of its intellectual-property capacity with the addition of
Doug Lumish, a Bay Area patent-focused star formerly with Latham & Watkins.
David Lender, the New York-based global head of litigation, continues to remain one of its most visible and active all-purpose trial lawyers. “He continues to impress,” offers a peer, summing up the general consensus. Lender led a team that secured a $55.5 million trial victory on behalf of GoodRx, a provider of drug discount coupons, before the American Arbitration Association in a breach-of-contract dispute against a service provider. The victory, which also included a permanent injunction, followed a week-long arbitration hearing in November 2023. Lender was also recently retained by global energy/chemical company ExxonMobil to serve as lead national trial counsel in defense of numerous high-stakes public-nuisance lawsuits regarding plastics pollution. Currently, there are three cases, with more expected: one filed by the California state Attorney General alleging that ExxonMobil deceptively promoted chemical recycling as a solution for the plastics crisis; another filed by environmental NGO Sierra Club and other entities asserting claims for nuisance and unfair competition, and making similar allegations as the California AG case; and still another recently filed by Ford County, Kansas, seeking to represent a class of counties in Kansas that allegedly have incurred and will continue to incur sanitation costs for plastic waste clean-up and disposal. These cases, which are in their infancy, will be bellwether cases to watch as states and municipalities seek to hold chemical producers responsible for plastics pollution, even as those states and municipalities have failed to execute viable recycling programs that help combat pollution.
Diane Sullivan, another trial veteran who has been celebrated in this capacity for decades, has been retained by Duke Energy as lead trial counsel in a high-stakes antitrust dispute involving wholesale power generation. Duke sued NTE Carolinas for breach of contract, and NTE Carolinas countersued, alleging that Duke, as a competitor, has monopoly power in the wholesale electric power market in the Southeast and used anti-competitive behavior to continue their monopoly. The district court granted Duke’s motion for summary judgment on all antitrust issues, and the parties settled Duke’s breach-of-contract claims. NTE Carolinas appealed the ruling on the antitrust claims, and the Fourth Circuit vacated the judgment. A team composed of
David Yohai, Theodore Tsekerides and Adam Hemlock successfully represented long-time client Warner Bros. Discovery, and its subsidiary, Turner Broadcasting (together, WBD) in a high-profile lawsuit against the National Basketball Association. The suit involved the NBA’s attempt to give the rights to broadcast NBA games to Amazon and take them away from TNT. Under its agreement with the NBA, WBD had the right to match any offer that the NBA receives for the right to distribute NBA games for the 2025-2026 season and beyond. In July 2024, Amazon Prime Video made an offer to the NBA for a package of games, which WBD matched. However, the NBA rejected WBD’s match and struck a deal with Amazon. After the court set trial for April 2025, the parties entered into a global settlement resolving the dispute in which WBD and TNT retain the rights to broadcast basketball games.
Weil’s securities is helmed by New York’s John Neuwirth, who, together with future star
Josh Amsel, has been successfully defending long-time client AMC Entertainment in fast-tracked stockholder litigation in Delaware Chancery Court, arising from the global movie theater chain’s planned overhaul of its capital structure. The plaintiffs in the consolidated case allege that AMC’s senior management and board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by diluting common stockholders’ voting power through the creation of a new preferred class of securities and a subsequent planned reverse stock split. Just weeks before a hearing, the Weil team negotiated a settlement, the approval process of which became a highly contested affair, with a number of objections before Weil ultimately secured court approval, affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in May 2024.
Weil is also one of the few “Big Law” firms to house a labor-and-employment litigation group, with New York’s
John Barry being its central figure. A peer and former opponent testifies, “I had an ugly knock-down, nasty fight with John – that guy was relentless! But when it came time to settle, we were able to sit down and get it done. I was impressed.”
