New York

While Anderson Kill offers a full range of litigation services including commercial, bankruptcy, securities and intellectual property, its primary calling card is insurance; in that regard, the firm is dedicated to policyholder-only matters. Far from finding this a limiting approach, the firm has instead excelled at this with gusto, and is revered by peers on both sides of the “V.” “These guys are zealots,” opines a peer. “They view insurance litigation as a ‘holy war - good and evil.’ But they know what they’re doing; they’ve been doing this a long time. They know these carriers and they’ve kept these files, meticulously protecting them.” The firm has also managed to parlay its reputation as a go-to shop for traditional insurance-related areas like asbestos into a haven where clients can turn in instances of more recent threats such as cloud-related data breach and privacy issues. “These types of matters - cybersecurity, the cloud! - are areas that Anderson Kill really got a head start on years ago.” Clients are equally appreciative; “Anderson Kill excels at representing businesses and individuals in insurance coverage and claim disputes. They literally wrote the book in this arena, entitled Insurance Coverage Litigation. They are outstanding lawyers, brief writers and strategists” Firm figurehead Robert Horkovich is applauded by all who come into contact with him, including adversaries. “I adore him, even though we are usually screaming at each other. No one fights harder for his clients, and no one keeps you on your game like him. Doing battle with him makes you a better lawyer.” One such client weighs in, “Bob Horkovich knows EVERYTHING about asbestos coverage litigation! All of his work [for us] has been exceptional.” In one of his many lead trial counsel appointments, Horkovich represents The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in litigation commenced by its insurance company relating to coverage for numerous asbestos claims dating to the construction of the original World Trade Center. The matter, valued at over $50 million, was in front of the New York Supreme Court, which in November 2017 granted all five of Port Authority’s motions, ruling that coverage is triggered if claims allege exposure during the construction of the World Trade Center, that AIG has not set forth a valid argument of exhaustion of its policy, and that AIG’s duty to defend continues even after the policy exhausts. The court then reaffirmed its decision in April 2019. Horkovich also represented Siltronic in a policyholder matter, also against AIG. The client moved for summary judgment to the effect that an exclusion applied only if the pollution was expected or intended by the policyholder, in this case Siltronic, which bought the property not knowing that it already was contaminated. AIG moved for summary judgment that the exclusion applies if the releases to the environment were expected or intended by anyone, including the historic polluters and even neighbors. In July 2018, the court granted Siltronic's summary judgment motion and denied AIG's. Horkovich also represented the San Diego Unified Port District, once again against AIG, in a matter in which the client sought liability insurance coverage to help clean up the Port of San Diego arising from claims and suits. When AIG alleged exhaustion of policy limits and cut off funding, the Port filed suit. AIG recanted its claim of exhaustion, acknowledging that policy limits remained, but litigation continues as to when umbrellas take over what obligations and as to bad faith. In March 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that AIG must pay claims under its umbrella policies in addition to its primary policies. The Court entered final judgment regarding these two important rulings in March 2019.

Cahill Gordon & Reindel remains a favorite with its stable of loyal long-time clients, which include global cornerstones of the financial industry, as well as embattled individuals who turn to Cahill practitioners for counsel but probably hope to never see the firm (or any litigator) again. One of Cahill’s clients voices appreciation for the “comprehensive advice, with excellent strategic game plan” that the firm has become known for. Cahill is best known for its concentration in the commercial, securities, antitrust and white-collar crime capacities.
     Operating from both the firm’s New York flagship as well as its DC location, Brad Bondi has become known as a trusted advocate for white-collar and securities enforcement matters. Bondi leads a team that is representing five large hospital funds as plaintiffs in connection with potential claims against Allianz Global Investors arising from the catastrophic implosion of Allianz’s Structured Alpha investment products. The allegations concern violation of federal securities laws and state common law claims. Total losses claimed exceed $10 billion. Bondi also represents former a KPMG senior partner and executive who is charged, along with four others, in a high-profile case with wire fraud and other offenses relating to the misappropriation by the defendants of confidential inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. “Over the years I have some to know Brad well and have trusted him on several important projects,” testifies a peer. Bondi is not the only partner in this group earning acclaim; Nola Heller represents a former asset manager who is charged for her alleged role in a $63 million scheme to place fraudulent bonds in discretionary client accounts. In March 2020, Heller served as lead trial counsel in a four-day evidentiary hearing regarding the client’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea. The response is also strong for Anirudh Bansal, a younger partner who is making a swift ascent. “I think Anirudh is first-rate,” opines a peer. “He was a junior to [celebrated former Cahill partner] David Kelley so he got excellent training and then had big shoes to fill, which he did. He stepped up in a big way, and I expect you’ll see more of him.”
     In the commercial capacity, Tammy Roy is another younger partner making a rapid rise. A client addresses Roy as “a rock star” who “[has] command of facts without getting lost in details. [She has a] bright future.” Roy has taken the lead on several notable engagements as of late. She represents S&P Global in five related actions alleging that S&P made reckless misrepresentations in connection with the rating of a life settlement securitization. In March 2019, several claims were dismissed but others were allowed to proceed and are now in discovery. Roy also represented UBS in connection with a defamation claim filed by a former UBS employee-turned-whistleblower after UBS publicly refuted the plaintiff’s claims, which were published in a book, regarding the details of his role in a tax-evasion scheme allegedly implicitly endorsed by UBS. UBS also denounced the plaintiff and highlighted lapses of credibility in his story. The parties settled the matter in September 2020. Roy also represented UBS Financial Services in a putative class action filed in the Southern District of New York in October 2020.  The named plaintiff sought to represent an alleged class of US citizens living abroad who she claimed had their UBS investment accounts frozen, converted to cash or closed without timely notification. At a pre-motion conference that was filed for in January 2021 in anticipation of UBS’s motion to dismiss, the plaintiff conceded that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and subsequently filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal of all claims.
     Cahill has long serviced Credit Suisse in cases straddling an intersection of securities and antitrust issues. Joel Kurtzberg, a recent addition to Benchmark’s litigation stars, has proven his mettle in having taken the lead on several of these matters. “Get Joel on your radar,” advises a peer. “He has earned it.” The team also includes long-time stars Herb Washer and Elai Katz, the latter known primarily for his antitrust acumen and the former frequently pivoting between securities, antitrust and commercial cases. “Elai is an antitrust secret weapon,” confides a peer. “He comes on like a bit of a street fighter, but you can tell by his writing – and he does a lot of it – that he is really studious and geeks out on this stuff.” Washer is said to be able to “do it all, while all the while being one of the more pleasant and well-spoken litigators you’ll encounter.” Others servicing Credit Suisse in various capacities include Sheila Ramesh and future star Jason Hall, as well as David Januszewski, a seasoned partner who receives near-universal acclaim from peers in the market. “David is fantastic, he should get national recognition,” insists a peer. Beyond his work for Credit Suisse, Januszewski also acts for Deutsche Bank. On behalf of this institution, Januszewski led a team (including Ramesh) that litigated a six-day bench trial in Connecticut seeking to enforce a judgment, secured by the bank in a UK court in 2013, against Alexander Vik and his offshore investment entity Sebastian Holdings, seeking to hold Vik liable personally as the Sebastian Holdings’ alter ego in Connecticut. Januszewski also prevailed on behalf of Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, securing a July 2020 dismissal in the Northern District of Illinois for a suit filed in March of that year in which plaintiffs filed their complaint against the bank, asserting claims for negligence, conversion, and contribution in connection with the transfer of securities alleged to have been funneled among various entities as part of a third-party’s long-running Ponzi scheme.

Cohen & Gresser is a boutique handling litigation, intellectual property and white-collar matters. While formed in 2002, the firm’s lawyers have rich histories; several of them initially honed their crafts at some of the country’s most respected firms. “Have you checked out what’s going at Cohen & Gresser lately? You should! There is some interesting work going on over there right now, and they have made great strides in the niche that they occupy,” insists a peer. “The firm is doing tremendously well. We call them ‘Cohen and Growin’!’ I had lunch with [managing partner] Larry Gresser and he dispensed great advice as to forging your own boutique made up of former big-firm premier talent. That’s what they did!” Gresser has kept busy representing Goldman Sachs in a case alleging a group boycott among major investment banks. The plaintiff alleges that their patented securitization model making use of a bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity to finance airport terminal construction will lower interest rates and volatility on airport special facility bonds and that banks allegedly boycotted the model to protect their profits from secondary-market ASF bond trading. Mark Cohen leads a team (which includes Gresser) that continues to act as court monitor for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY.) The team was appointed in 2011 by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York to oversee implementation of the Court’s remedial order. The Court’s order grew out of its finding that the FDNY’s practices and procedures for recruiting and hiring entry-level firefighters have had a disparate impact on black and Hispanic firefighter candidates. More recently, the parties to the litigation requested that Cohen and the team oversee the implementation of a settlement involving claims that the FDNY had intentionally discriminated against black and Hispanic firefighter applicants. As Court Monitor, Cohen and the team oversee an extensive and multi-tiered remedial process involving, among other things, the FDNY’s practices and procedures for recruiting, testing, and screening black and Hispanic entry-level firefighter candidates, and its EEO functions. “This is a fabulous appoint,” asserts a peer, “and best of all, it’s working!”

Cravath Swaine & Moore continues to set the standard for other major business law firms. Its elite status as one of the “white-shoe” firms is acknowledged by contemporaries on a coast-to-coast basis and always with tones of reverence. “The Cravath style” has been used as a descriptor for firms aspiring to the same level of pedigree. The firm also draws acclaim from several of its blue-ribbon roster of clients. “They provide excellent strategic advice and written work product. They also prepare for trial/hearing in a very thorough manner,” confirms one such client.
     For decades, Cravath managed to elicit this remarkable level of national prestige from its one office in Manhattan in New York. This year saw that change. While Cravath’s reputation remains as unassailable as ever, it has finally expanded its operations to a DC office, a bold gambit that immediately caused a buzz in the nation’s capital and beyond. “Like everything Cravath does, this was not just some kind of desperate expansion for expansion’s sake,” declares one peer. “They saw an opportunity and exploited it quickly, netting themselves some great recruits in that office.” These strategic hires include Jennifer Leete, a former associate director in the SEC’s enforcement division who handles regulatory and investigations work, and Noah Phillips, an antitrust practitioner and former FTC commissioner. “All eyes are on Cravath in DC,” confides a peer. “We’re eating popcorn and watching this very carefully.”
     While the firm’s inroads into DC are not going unnoticed, the hub of Cravath’s major litigation activity remains its New York office. Evan Chesler, after decades of prominence as one of the nation’s premier trial lawyers, continues to retain this position. “At a point in a career where others are riding off into the sunset, Evan remains a force,” marvels one peer. “I’m amazed that he is continuing to lead cases – you’re still seeing his name on there! But he loves what he does and he still can obviously handle it, so more power to him.” A dyed-in-the-wool trial generalist who has helmed many of the firm’s landmark victories in several capacities over the years, Chesler has been noted to be “doing a lot of Delaware work lately.” While Chesler’s lustre remains undimmed, others are generating their own rival levels of star power. Dan Slifkin has been particularly namechecked as “a real trial powerhouse, so confident in court.” The duo of Chesler and Slifkin, along with future star Vanessa Lavely, act as lead trial counsel representing Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other current and former members of the Tesla board of directors as defendants in a derivative action filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery related to the board’s approval of a performance-based compensation plan for Musk, Tesla’s largest stockholder.  The complaint alleges that the compensation package—with an alleged maximum potential value of $55.8 billion—is unfair to the company and asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.  The suit was tried in November 2022. Kevin Orsini is routinely identified as “just one of the best” by peers, one of whom stresses, “Kevin doesn’t specialize! He can do it all – antitrust, ‘event-driven litigation’ – and he never stays in one place.” Orsini recently acted with securities star Antony Ryan for Robinhood, winning the dismissal in February 2023 of purported securities class action filed in California federal court related to Robinhood’s July 2021 IPO.  The plaintiff alleged that offering documents issued in connection with the IPO contained materially incorrect or misleading statements and omitted material information about the company’s revenue growth and the reliability and scalability of its platform. The plaintiff further alleged that when the correct information emerged after the IPO, Robinhood’s share price declined by more than 55% from the offering price. 
     While Cravath’s litigation bench displays strength in several key practice areas, antitrust is arguably the most vibrant as of late. “Cravath is very well known as an antitrust powerhouse,” confirms one peer. “They were late to the party here, but boy have they ever caught up!” The firm has demonstrated ample evidence to support that claim with a staggering series of matters in this area. A crack firm team composed of David Marriott, Christine Varney, Sharonmoyee Goswami and Wes Earnhardt secured an unprecedented trial win for Illumina in September 2022, rejecting the FTC’s challenge to the company’s $8 billion acquisition of GRAIL. Cravath led the agency investigation phase and the trial team, preparing the entire case in under a year and ultimately trying the matter in August and September 2021 before the FTC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The FTC appealed the ruling to the full commission, and Marriott and Goswami argued the appeal on behalf of Illumina in December 2022.  In April 2023, the commission issued a decision reversing the ALJ’s ruling. Illumina has appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit and Cravath continues to represent Illumina on appeal. “Cravath did an exceptional job for illumina in the FTC trial,” extols a peer. “We  shadowed that trial and I think the result of that got them a big Amgen assignment.” A peer in the antitrust capacity also stresses, “Karen DeMasi is someone in this area I really respect. She would probably identify less as pure antitrust – she’s just a great litigator – but she has some real chops in this practice.” Helam Gebremariam is another partner said to be adding further muscle to the firm’s antitrust team, although she also juggles securities and commercial work. “I got to see her cross-examining witnesses and it was really a tour de force,” testifies a peer.
     Cravath is also said to have “really caught up quickly and substantially” in the white-collar and investigations field. Ben Gruenstein conducted an internal investigation on behalf of WarnerMedia of Chris Cuomo, CNN’s former top-rated primetime anchor, and the conduct that resulted in his termination from the network. The probe concerned allegations that the former anchor engaged in journalistic misconduct related to the sexual-harassment scandal involving his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

Davis Polk & Wardwell is a consistent leader in litigation, earning its place as one of the top-tier firms in antitrust, securities, and white-collar crime especially. The firm’s growth over recent years has strategically established its presence in the New York, Washington DC and California markets. The accomplishments of its bench across practice areas have further driven the firm’s acclaim in high-profile litigation.

     Davis Polk remains one of New York’s elite firms and is equipped with numerous respected lawyers. Greg Andres serves as the firm’s co-chair of the white-collar crime and investigation group and is one of the leading lawyers in the practice area, enjoying a spot on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list since its inception. An all-star bench including Andres, Jarrett Arp, and Tatiana Martins, who makes her debut as a litigation star this year, handled the criminal charges in a broiler chicken-related antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division against Jason McGuire, an executive in the industry. The team succeeded in the day-long James hearing regarding the admissibility of 294 statements and secured a dismissal of the criminal charges against the client after the court rendered the government’s evidence inadmissible. Based out of DC, Arp is one of the firm’s leading antitrust litigators whose practice is especially sought after for high-stakes and sensitive matters. Uzo Asonye, also of the DC office and debuting as a litigation star, specializes in white-collar crime defense, having joined the firm in 2020 after serving as the acting chief of the Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit in the Eastern District of Virginia. Asonye has joined forces with Andres in representing a Fiat Chrysler engineer who was charged with conspiracy to manipulate emissions tests. The duo have obtained favorable pre-trial rulings, including a successful motion for production of Brady and Rule 16 materials. The team initially obtained a dismissal of wire fraud conspiracy counts, and while the Sixth Circuit reversed on appeal, it also shared its skepticism as to whether the government would be able to prove its case during the trial.

     Head of the litigation group James Rouhandeh is also an established leader of the securities bar, known especially for being the “go-to” for financial institutions, particularly Morgan Stanley, for which he continues to handle cases related to residential mortgage-backed securities arising from the 2007 financial crisis. He defends the major financial institution against fraud claims filed by IKB Deutsche Industriebank in a case which has involved discovery across three countries. The team secured a pre-trial victory in defeating IKB’s motion to amend its complaint. While Rouhandeh continues to be a force for established institutions like Morgan Stanley, he is also at the forefront of securities litigation involving cryptocurrency platforms such as industry leader Binance. Last year, Rouhandeh obtained a complete dismissal of a securities class action alleging that the company unlawfully operated an unregistered exchange and an unregistered broker-dealer, unlawfully sold unregistered securities based on the sale of unregistered tokens, and another 149 violations of state blue sky laws. The court dismissed the case, agreeing with his arguments that the claims were not within the statute of limitations and that the company is not a “domestic exchange”, therefore neither federal nor state laws would apply extraterritorially. Another New York litigator who stands out in the market is Andrew Ditchfield. A peer at another top-tier firm praises Ditchfield’s capabilities in litigation, commenting, “It’s really fun to litigate against people outside of our firm that I think are at our level.” A commercial and civil litigator with a specialty in M&A-related litigation, Ditchfield recently scored a victory representing Brookfield in a shareholder dispute related to the company’s $8.3 billion acquisition of CDK Global. The complaint alleged violations of the Illinois Securities Act and sought to delay the tender offer by way of preliminary injunction, which was denied at the circuit court. The court agreed with Ditchfield’s arguments and subsequently found that the plaintiff could not show likelihood of success on the merits and thus they[WC(1]  voluntarily dismissed their case.

     New York litigator James McClammy makes his debut as a litigation star this year. Alongside long-time star Edmund Polubinski, McClammy represented two of the large lender syndicates in the case of Twitter v. Elon R. Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The case arises from Musk’s attempt to terminate the merger agreement, for which the clients had committed to providing financing in the amount of $25.5 billion. McClammy and Polubinski were leading subpoenas over a 10-week period in the expedited and closely watched case, which was dismissed after the acquisition closed. In another case involving Elon Musk, litigator and arbitrator Frances Bivens represents JP Morgan against Tesla, alleging that the company breached certain agreements governing warrants that the client purchased. The case arose from Musk’s tweet to take Tesla private and, in turn, JP Morgan adjusted the strike price pursuant to the agreement. Bivens has filed a motion on the pleadings, and also defends the bank against counterclaims and damages from Tesla. Bivens and fellow international arbitration specialist Antonio Perez-Marques handled an 11-day arbitration as lead counsel defending Albemarle, one of the largest lithium suppliers, against alleged fraud, breach of contract and other claims filed by competing chemicals company, Huntsman. The co-head of the civil litigation practice, Paul Spagnoletti, recently obtained a critical win in a federal RICO lawsuit which garnered praise from the legal industry. On behalf of Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, Spagnoletti secured a dismissal of federal RICO claims filed by co-founder and former CEO Leon Black, who alleged that there was a fraudulent scheme to force him to resign by leveraging sexual abuse allegations against him.

     Dana Seshens is co-head of the civil litigation group and handles securities class actions and intellectual property litigation with the West Coast team. Seshens and distinguished California litigator Neal Potischman are representing Universal Television, Jimmy Fallon and his product company in a class action alleging violations of the federal securities laws and consumer protection statutes in California. The case is one of many involving celebrity endorsements of non-fungible tokens and related cryptocurrency. Seshens and Potischman have thus far quashed a subpoena and have moved to dismiss the case entirely. The duo has also worked on several other California cases together and on separate occasions served as counsel for underwriters in securities class actions. Seshens leads the team in defending PG&E in a class action arising from the California wildfires. On intellectual property, Seshens partners with Ashok Ramani, the head of the practice group, to handle trade secrets disputes on behalf of industry-leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer. The pair are preparing for trial early next year in a fast-paced trade secrets case filed on behalf of Pfizer against Razor Therapeutics, a start-up founded by two former executives who Pfizer allege used trade secrets to establish the company. On the patent side of IP, Ramani scored a trial victory for Magnolia Medical Technologies in its lawsuit against its sole competitor in provision of initial specimen diversion devices, Kurin. Ramani was called in to replace an IP boutique’s team just prior to summary judgment and was head-to-head with another top-tier intellectual property litigator representing Kurin. He obtained a verdict of infringement in the first phase and in the second, a verdict of damages and no invalidity.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is well established as a strategically connected legal force around the globe, most notably for its international arbitration practice group. It is the only one of the London-headquartered “Magic Circle” firms to have established itself as a powerhouse in litigation, as opposed to just the corporate and transactional work that is the primary driver of this prestigious group. Freshfields has further extended its reach into the US litigation space with the addition of a securities and shareholder litigation practice, which, entering only its fourth year, has already demonstrated aptitude for complex bet-the-company disputes on both the East and West Coasts. “Freshfields was able to pull a few great hires in,” observes a peer. “That firm has a huge footprint – they have a huge balance sheet, so they can afford the talent.” A client cheers the team’s “creative, focused approach to litigation,” and elaborates, “They also advise on how to avoid litigation.” The firm’s strategic hiring paid dividends once again this year when it scored a remarkable coup: Gayle Rosenstein Klein, a revered New York commercial litigation and securities star, joined the firm in August 2023.

Much of the success of the securities and shareholder group is attributable to its co-head, Meredith Kotler of the New York office, who decamped from Cleary Gottlieb to build out the Freshfields team. Kotler is regularly trusted by global institutions and corporations for her keen, sophisticated representation in financial securities-related disputes that often involve class actions as well as shareholder derivatives. “She did great,” attests one peer of Kotler’s success with business development and recruiting. “She knew who she wanted and had the Freshfields machine supporting her.” A client raves, “Meredith is extremely smart, with excellent judgment. She is very responsive and gives good, quick guidance when it is needed.”

Another key member of this team, Mary Eaton, is also generating acclaim, further elevating the firm’s securities profile. “Mary is doing 3M cases, which are pretty messy,” confirms a peer. “She was building a strong following at Willkie [Farr & Gallagher] before she moved over [to Freshfields]. She and Meredith are a pretty strong duo.” This pair successfully represented AstraZeneca, its CEO, and several other executives in a putative class action in the Southern District of New York, challenging disclosures regarding AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, including alleged problems with its clinical trials and prospects for FDA emergency use authorization. The team scored a motion to dismiss, which plaintiffs appealed. Eaton and Kotler also defeated appointment of any lead plaintiff in a putative securities class action in the Eastern District of New York against Tyson Foods and several officers, which alleged that the clients had made false and misleading statements concerning the workplace safety policies and procedures implemented in Tyson’s meatpacking facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Movants appealed the decision denying their motion for appointment to the district court, and the Freshfields duo submitted a brief in opposition to their objections. That appeal remains pending. Eaton also has historically represented Citigroup, a client that continues to call on her services. “Mary is counsel on that ‘Oops! We meant to wire $9 million and instead wired $900 million’ case, which is a big deal,” asserts a peer.

Freshfields’ double-pronged securities offensive has been equally successful in California, where Boris Feldman, a “towering figure of the securities bar,” and Doru Gavril have established the firm’s foothold in that market. One peer testifies, “I know Boris Feldman very well. He was my mentor at Wilson Sonsini – and in fact he was the reason I went there! He has such a big name, that anchor will drop deep in the [Silicon] Valley. He is a legend out here; I will be on a bus and talk to someone about him and they will know him! He is also just a social animal, so he gets around. I also know Doru, who is great. The market out here is so huge and crowded already, but with those two at the helm, it’s a cinch for them to break into this market.” Another peer stresses, “Boris is one of the best-known lawyers in the Bay Area, and at Freshfields he is the head of technology. I think this is more what he wants to do. He’s got a real keen sense for tech and is getting more into securities cases that specifically involve this area. And he is a more senior partner, so for someone to be doing that at his age demonstrates his ambitions.” Feldman and Gavril were chosen by Rivian, an electric vehicles manufacturer, to represent it in several shareholder lawsuits and two securities class actions arising out of its March 2022 decision to reprice its consumer vehicles. Rivian shareholders filed derivative lawsuits in California and Delaware federal courts. The Freshfields duo moved to dismiss the securities class action filed in California federal court in August 2022, and this was granted in February 2023. The team filed its motion to dismiss the securities class action filed in California state court in April 2023.

While Freshfields is certainly “having a moment” in securities, it is also celebrated in other key areas. The firm’s domestic white-collar team has been particularly active of late. The global co-head of this practice, New York’s Adam Siegel, is championed as “a great talent right in that ‘sweet spot’ of having experience but still plenty of headroom.” Among several other appointments, Siegel provides extensive advice to a major global oil company across its international subsidiaries, covering internal and external investigations and significant compliance risks.

Also in New York, David Livshiz is garnering increasing acclaim for his broad-based commercial litigation practice that incorporates investigations as well as bankruptcy work. A client says, “He is incredibly responsive and practical. He has a deep understanding of our business and is commercially savvy, so his legal advice is very strategic. He does a great job of putting together and leading great teams that are tailored to the particular matter.”

Additionally, the firm is making strides in the antitrust realm, having recruited Heather Lamberg Kafele to its bench within the past year. A peer raves, “Heather was one of the best antitrust litigators at Winston & Strawn, and now she’s at Freshfields! That’s a big hire for them.”

Formidable in a myriad of practice areas, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher remains one of the most in-demand and influential firms in litigation. With offices across the country, especially in major markets, there is no shortage of nationally recognized litigators who dutifully uphold the firm’s exceptional reputation. “Gibson Dunn is doing a good job in having an array of people in a variety of cases,” sums up one contemporary, who also notes, “And it’s also cross-ideological. They have people who are more liberal and others who are more conservative, and yet they all work well together very professionally.” Already comprehensively entrenched nationally, Gibson Dunn remains in growth mode; in September 2022, the firm welcomed former Fifth Circuit judge Gregg Costa to its Houston’s office. Costa is a celebrated figure in this market and has been focused on building out that office’s civil trials and white-collar capacity.
     A diverse team that included Dallas-based partner Veronica Moyé and California’s Daniel Swanson and Richard Doren defended Apple in a high-profile and historic antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, challenging the client’s business model and practices relating to its App Store and alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and the California Unfair Competition Law. Following a 16-day bench trial last May, the team secured several victories. The District Court upheld Apple’s core design choices at issue, and while the court imposed an injunction after agreeing with the unfair competition claims, the team successfully appealed that decision, and the Ninth Circuit Court stayed the injunction. The court also ordered the plaintiff to pay damages equivalent to 30% of the revenue it received from an unauthorized payment mechanism implemented in its Fortnite app without Apple’s consent. The case, referred to colloquially as “the World War III of antitrust” is now on appeal but “Round One” was a decisive win for the tech giant with counsel from the Gibson Dunn team. Doren was specifically mentioned for his work and demeanor as an opponent in the Epic case. “I found him incredibly easy to deal with – he was a gentleman,” they said. “He tells a story, keeps his eye on the ball, and lets things go when you should let them go – really enjoyed being in the courtroom with him every day.” Two of the other partners on the case are nationally recognized for their antitrust expertise: Swanson is a national antitrust star and Moyé continues her reign in the Top 250 Women in Litigation.
     Gibson Dunn has a long and storied history of dominance in the appellate arena, and this year has been no exception. “Their briefs were just so well written and terrific,” declares one appeals-focused contemporary. In April 2022, a team composed of DC appellate star Thomas Dupree and a crack duo of trial luminaries from New York, Orin Snyder and Anne Champion, secured a victory for GE, persuading the Second Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a $1.1 billion lawsuit on forum non conveniens grounds. The plaintiffs, an Angolan energy company and its subsidiary, sued GE, along with the nation of Angola and top officials of the Angolan government, alleging that three GE affiliates interfered with the plaintiffs’ relationship with the Angolan government, causing the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in business with Angola.Allyson Ho, based in the Dallas office, triumphed for Visa, obtaining a reversal of a decision concerning a merchant of Fifth Third Bank (a member of Visa’s network) that was hacked two times in as many years, exposing millions of cardholders’ personal data, for which the merchant was slapped with a $14 million fee after an independent investigator determined the merchant violated the stated terms of Visa data-safety program. The merchant sued, alleging that this data-security program was unlawful and unenforceable, a position the trial court agreed with. Ho also teamed up with Dallas’ Trey Cox to defend Reddit in a sweeping nationwide putative class action filed in the Central District of California. Plaintiffs allege that Reddit violated state and federal law by knowingly benefitting financially from videos and images posted to Reddit’s websites featuring underage victims; violated its duty to report those materials; received and distributed child pornography; and violated California consumer protection statutes. 
     The firm’s securities capacity has been particularly active in its offices on both coasts. In California, Brian Lutz scored a victory for Meta and its senior officers in a securities case arising out of news in March 2018 that Cambridge Analytica had misappropriated Meta user data and then lied to Meta about deleting that data. In the wake of this, Meta’s stock price experienced two substantial single-day stock drops and triggered widespread Congressional, regulatory, and media scrutiny into Meta’s data privacy practices and disclosures. The Northern District of California granted dismissal, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to sufficiently allege that any Meta senior officers knew that Cambridge Analytica had lied to Meta, retained Meta user data, and used that data in connection with the 2016 US presidential campaign. In the New York office, Reed Brodsky won a victory in a hotly contested securities dispute in the Southern District of New York concerning SPACs, and also secured a dismissal of a case for Walgreens in a suit filed by the government in an attempt to enforce payment criteria for Hepatitis C drugs using the civil penalties and treble damages of the federal and state False Claims Act statutes. 
     Gibson Dunn has gained a steady profile in a host of other areas as well. New York’s Dan Thomasch, whose diverse litigation basket balances mass tort and environmental work with other practices, is commended by a peer. “He’s a former colleague, and I always thought he was one of the best lawyers I’ve run across. I think everyone who knows him would say the same thing.” Another peer insists, “You need to look more at Gibson Dunn in the international arbitration space. They actually have fewer arbitrations than other firms doing this, but their work is always of the very highest caliber.”

With an unusual structure that qualifies as “boutique” even while composed of a team domiciled in offices in New York and Washington DC, Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler is a new entrant into Benchmark, making its debut in this edition. The firm juggles a novel mix of white-collar crime, commercial litigation and employment work. Founded in 2009, the firm showcases talent with credentials from larger and better-known law firms. Name partner Jonathan Harris was previously at Curtis Mallet as well as Bernstein Litowitz and is cheered by a client as “a very talented and hard-working lawyer. He is a great legal and commercial strategist and has very strong trial experience.” Harris represented a pioneering Web3 artist in a dispute against the luxury fashion house Hermès. The case involved the client’s creation of an artistic experiment, MetaBirkins, which were non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that depicted faux-fur-covered Birkin bags. Hermès claimed that the client’s NFTs constituted trademark infringement, dilution, and cybersquatting, while the client maintained the project was artistic expression protected by the First Amendment. Harris and employment specialist David Wechsler represent a trader at Deutsche Bank indicted in the Southern District of New York relating to alleged manipulation of LIBOR. After a conviction at trial, the verdict was reversed and he was acquitted of all charges by the Second Circuit, which found his conduct did not constitute a crime. Following the acquittal, the Harris St. Laurent pair brought this current claim against Deutsche Bank for malicious prosecution, seeking $150 million in damages, alleging that the government outsourced its Libor investigation to Deutsche Bank and its counsel, and that Deutsche Bank, in order to cover up the conduct of its senior management related to Libor, targeted the client as a scapegoat. Andrew St. Laurent specializes in white-collar crime. A peer in this field notes, “His instincts seem exactly right. I was dealing with him in the context of an investigation, and his manner made him a pleasure to deal with. As much as we like to give the government a good fight, you don’t have to be nasty when you do that.”

Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney continues to distinguish itself as a formidable force in its native New York as well as nationally. “They have some ‘Big Law’ credentials while having that kind of personal touch you can only get from boutiques,” declares a peer. Indeed, the firm’s founding partners do come equipped with experience from global juggernaut firm White & Case and have since forged ahead on building out this boutique with a high-touch approach. While the firm has some particularly strong niche areas – insurance and labor and employment, most notably – founding partners Dorothea Regal and Fredric Newman have instilled a culture that welcomes work that one partner quips is “pike law – anything that comes down the pike.” Whereas Regal represents international and domestic clients at trial and on appeal in complex commercial and insurance coverage litigation, Newman dedicates his practice to commercial trial representation.

While Regal and Newman remain active in these matters, the torch is being passed to younger generations of talent at the firm. Joshua Blosveren continues to develop in the role of  complex commercial litigation authority. Blosveren leads a team that represents Syngenta Crop Protection in an insurance coverage litigation filed by its primary and umbrella insurance companies in Delaware Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment of no coverage for long-tail personal injury exposure claims made against Syngenta arising out of the manufacture and sale of Paraquat pesticide products by Syngenta and its predecessor companies. The basis for the insurers’ denial of coverage is that Syngenta’s notice of the claim was allegedly late and should have been noticed before the claim was filed against Syngenta. In August 2020, the Hoguet team secured Syngenta summary judgment on the threshold issue of the timing of the claim, which secured Syngenta $24 million in coverage. At the same time, the firm team defeated the insurance company’s pre-discovery motion for summary judgment, alleging that Syngenta made a misrepresentation in its application for insurance. A bench trial was held in October 2022 and in March 2023 – the court issued a post-trial decision that handed Syngenta a complete victory. The firm team behind this matter also included future stars John Curley and Miriam Manber.

The firm’s labor and employment capacity is largely run by Damian Cavaleri, who has an active docket of matters for a novel and varied roster of clients. Cavaleri and Manber represent a plaintiff who was prevented from accepting an executive position with Warner Media as a result of bad-faith threats from Verizon to enforce restrictive covenants. Verizon’s actions resulted in the client losing $12 million per the proposed employment agreement. Verizon also fraudulently induced the client to accept his offer with them previously based on promises concerning certain work that would be available. In March 2023, the trial court denied summary judgment on the claim related to Verizon’s bad-faith threats to enforce the restrictive covenant and the $12 million claim will proceed to trial. Manber also works with fellow future star Helene Hechtkopf on a labor and employment matter for MTA, a longtime mainstay client for the firm.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is widely revered as one of the preeminent litigation boutiques both in New York City’s congested market and nationally. Peers and clients stand united as admirers of the firm’s approach and litigation acumen. One client cheers the firm’s “client service, talent, bench strength, advocacy, professionalism and strategy.” A New York contemporary, meanwhile, voices respect for Holwell Shuster’s “top-to-bottom culture,” noting “a level of litigation excellence from the senior people to the up-and-comers – just a strong command and dedication.”

Continuing to serve at the forefront of the firm’s team, founding partner Michael Shuster year after year cements his position further as a complex commercial authority, including landing himself a coveted position among Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America. Among the most active of Holwell’s litigators, Shuster continues to offer representation to regular client Visa in numerous complex and long-running antitrust matters, both in the class-action and opt-out capacities. In the opt-out cases, the country’s leading merchants are challenging credit and debit card rules that go to the heart of the industry and seeking billions of dollars in damages, pre-trebling. Meanwhile, a putative equitable relief class on behalf of all merchants across the nation is seeking broad-ranging changes to Visa’s business model. In September 2018, the defendants reached a historic $5.6 billion settlement with one of the putative classes of merchants. An appeal was briefed in 2020 and argued in 2022, and in March 2023, the Second Circuit of New York upheld the now $5.6 billion antitrust class-action settlement with more than 12 million retailers. Shuster also currently serves as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel to Chubb Ltd in all of the several insurance cases filed by pharmaceuticals titans – such as those filed by AmerisourceBergen, McKesson, and Rite Aid – as they seek insurance coverage from Chubb under unprecedented theories in connection with the widely reported opioid liability litigation currently unfolding in jurisdictions around the country.

Shuster is supported on these matters by partners Blair Kaminsky and Daniel Sullivan. One client weighs in, “Michael Shuster is an excellent trial attorney who is supported by the legal expertise of Blair and Daniel.” Another says, “Daniel Sullivan is a well-respected insurance defense attorney handling complex legal issues involved with the opioid declaratory judgment litigation for Chubb. Dan prepared successful legal briefs, prepared, deposed, and cross-examined corporate and expert witnesses, preserved and argued appellate issues, and made compelling arguments during hearings, motions, and at trial.”

Greg Dubinsky served as lead counsel for the National Basketball Association in an antitrust suit brought by a person denied the opportunity to qualify as a player agent. The plaintiff in this case claimed that the NBA and the league’s players union violated the antitrust laws by barring him from taking an online exam for individuals attempting to be player agents.

Two partners making their respective debuts as future stars in this edition, Scott Danner and Priyanka Timblo, secured a $70 million win on behalf of investment fund client Melody Business Finance in a case involving loans defaulted on by former hedge fund billionaire Philip Falcone and several entities owned or controlled by him. In this high-profile case, filed shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the firm’s team represents Melody as plaintiff in various litigations and out-of-court foreclosures resulting from defaults under several loan agreements secured by collateral that includes multimillion-dollar luxury mansions, a collection of fine art – including paintings by Warhol and Degas – and jewellery. Timblo is championed by a client as “incredibly talented, driven, hungry, smart, dedicated, and hard working.”

Litigation boutique Kaplan Hecker & Fink is viewed by peers as “the place to be” at the moment. “They chose the right time to form that firm,” says one. “Their model is superb, and their approach dovetails perfectly with the issues of this moment in history.” Another states, “They are all fantastic attorneys, and the firm has really expanded. They picked up some recent attorneys from the US Attorney’s office.” A client testifies on the firm’s behalf: “The firm provides excellent advocacy for its clients. The lawyers are strategic and relentless.” The firm’s partners continue to demonstrate the fierce commitment to social justice that has been in its DNA since it was founded in 2017, and its partners, all formerly with “big law” firms, boast a remarkably trial-tested résumé for their relatively young vintage. Historically a New York-based shop, the firm recently expanded, opening a DC office and welcoming back Joshua Matz, who returned to the firm after serving as counsel to the US House Judiciary Committee, as a partner in February 2020. The firm’s partners continue to demonstrate the fierce commitment to social justice that has been in its DNA since its 2017 founding. All formerly with “Big Law” firms, they have a remarkably trial-tested résumé for their relatively young vintage. Historically a New York-based shop, the firm recently expanded – opening a DC office and welcoming back Joshua Matz, who returned to the firm after serving as counsel to the US House Judiciary Committee, as a partner in February 2020.

All three name partners attract considerable praise. Founder and all-purpose trial lawyer Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan, who earned her stripes at Paul Weiss before initially launching this firm as Kaplan & Company, continues to earn plaudits for her role as a mentor and driver of the firm’s culture – as well as for her unwavering commitment to pursuing cases dedicated to progressive causes. “She is a relentless advocate, who is afraid of no one. She adopts her clients’ causes and does an excellent job at messaging.” Kaplan grabbed headlines in October 2017 when she was one of two partners retained by non-profit organization Integrity First for America to represent 11 plaintiffs from Charlottesville against 26 defendants implicated in the white nationalist/neo-Nazi rally that took place in Charlottesville that August and culminated in violence and other shameful events. The defendants include named people and several organizations, such as the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and Nationalist Front. This case set a precedent at the 2018 Benchmark awards ceremony as the only case to be acknowledged with a prestigious “impact case” recognition, well before a favorable decision was reached, simply on the strength of the principles and audacity of the case. The case set further precedent when it became the only case to receive the “impact case” honor twice, when it was recognized once again at the 2022 ceremony after jurors in the November 2021 trial found that more than a dozen white supremacist and hate groups were liable under state law for injuries to counter-protesters and ordered them to pay the plaintiffs more than $25 million in damages. The final reward for this case came in the form of a $4.9 million award in expenses and legal fees – vindication that was all the more remarkable as Virginia typically doesn’t allow attorney fees except in certain contractual and civil rights claims. It will be a significant deterrent and expense for defendants. In a more recent development that bookends the Donald Trump era, Kaplan represents E. Jean Carroll, a journalist who is suing Trump for having defamed her after she publicly recounted her experience of being sexually assaulted in the mid-1990s. In one lawsuit, she alleges a defamation claim arising from statements that Trump made in 2019. In a second suit, she alleges a battery claim for the underlying assault and a defamation claim for a 2022 statement. The case went to trial in April 2023 and was met with a $5 million verdict on Carroll’s behalf in May. Subsequent attempts by Trump to reduce this verdict have thus far failed. Kaplan also was retained by the NCAA to conduct an independent investigation into gender-equity issues in connection with the association, focusing on NCAA championships.

Sean Hecker, a white-collar specialist, is a peer and client favorite, with accolades elicited on a near-unanimous basis. “Sean Hecker is just crushing it,” says one contemporary. “There are a lot of levels of performance that he hits, and he is also just a super great guy to be around.” Hecker acts with Jenna Dabbsin filing a suit on behalf of the Federal Defenders of New York in the wake of a humanitarian crisis at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY arising from an electrical fire in the middle of winter, resulting in loss of heat, light, hot water, and proper medical care, as well as the cancellation of all attorney visits – violating applicable regulations. The Kaplan Hecker duo quickly secured a Temporary Restraining Order, ensuring that the jail resumed legal visitation. However, the court later found that Federal Defenders was not the proper party to pursue the claims. In March 2020, the firm’s team secured a favorable ruling from the Second Circuit on behalf of the Federal Defenders of New York, reversing and vacating that decision. Since that ruling, Kaplan Hecker has continued to represent Federal Defenders. Dabbs is championed by a client as “very knowledgeable, with good business sense.” Julie Fink is representing several former players in the National Women’s Soccer League who came forward about widespread sexual harassment and abuse in the League.

Kasowitz Benson Torres is a maverick litigation shop that has built its reputation as a formidable force, largely due to its trial-ready strategy for litigation. Leading up to trial, clients witness the team’s approach in action. “Kasowitz handles complex high-end litigation. It is a great team of lawyers who work well with each other and local counsel teams. They are extremely professional and willing to jump in on any issue or litigation task.” Although, as one peer stresses, “Kasowitz does a lot of high-risk plaintiff work,” the firm offers a comprehensive array of litigation services on both the plaintiff and defense sides of the “v.” While the firm is certainly not a conventional “Big Law” firm, it is not a boutique either – indeed, the firm’s footprint is densely concentrated throughout the country through 10 offices, strategically located in New York, Washington, DC, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Newark, NJ.

While the firm’s bench is expansive in terms of practice areas and generational headroom, few would dispute that the firm’s center of gravity is founding partner Marc Kasowitz, a New York-based generalist commercial trial lawyer with an unflinching approach to litigation and a history of representing a colorful and diverse roster of clients. “Marc had the grit and vision to forge that firm,” declares a peer. “If you work there, you have to be willing to work at ‘his’ firm – it’s a benevolent dictatorship, and he is very clear about this, to be fair. But he’s a great businessman – great in the boardroom and great in the courtroom. He has a reputation for being more aggressive than he really is – he’s very smart and knows when to be aggressive and when to pull back.” Kasowitz has been representing Pilgrim’s Pride in a criminal price-fixing investigation by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division relating to the sales of broiler chicken products, after the then-current CEO of Pilgrim’s and another former Pilgrim’s employee were indicted for alleged price-fixing. Kasowitz continues to represent Pilgrim’s in cooperating with the DoJ’s ongoing criminal investigations into the poultry industry. Kasowitz also works with Mark Ressler and antitrust authority Sheron Korpus in representing Teva Pharmaceuticals in its three separate actions involving antitrust, securities, and white-collar crime.

Kasowitz’s New York office is particularly recognized for its real estate practice, which is considered to be “one of the only ones in the city handled by a deep team from a big firm.” Partner Jennifer Recine led a team that, as of September 2022, brought two years of litigation (including 15 days of trial) on behalf of BD Hotels and Chelsea Hotel Owner, owners of the iconic Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, against NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation Development (HPD), prompted by hostile tenants objecting to the redevelopment of the hotel. Recine uncovered crucial evidence that HPD failed to turn over in discovery, resulting in HPD voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit. Ronald Rossi, who was also part of this team, is a client favorite. “Ron Rossi is an excellent litigator,” extols one. “He absorbs information and issues at lightning speed. [He] Is an excellent listener and team member. He is extremely responsive and runs an excellent team. Ron is also an excellent orator and generates both judicial and client confidence in and out of the courtroom.”

The firm is also noted for its labor and employment capacity, in which Jessica Taub Rosenberg is a frequent mention. Taub Rosenberg has represented brokerage firm Douglas Elliman for over a decade in all of its employment-related litigations, administrative claims, confidential disputes with the Real Estate Board of New York, and general litigations.

The firm’s California presence has been steadily building as well. Dan Saunders, a white-collar, commercial and employment practitioner with a particular emphasis on the entertainment industry, is called “great in arbitration and litigation in general,” according to a client. “He gives very strong opening and closing arguments, well-researched and prepared examination. He has incredible presence, very engaging and gives very well-presented arguments.”

Kirkland & Ellis has become an international powerhouse equipped with a diverse breadth of talent and bench strength, often holding high-level appointments in virtually every area of practice it offers. Over the years, the firm has been characterized as “formidable” with “something ‘cool and tough’ about them that you just can’t touch.” The firm’s litigation section has surmounted the market in nearly all practice areas – antitrust, securities, product liability, appeals, intellectual property, white collar and investigations, commercial and bankruptcy. As of late, its product liability, antitrust, and bankruptcy practices have been particularly active with its signature top-tier representation.

     Kirkland is noted for housing leaders in trial law. The marquis of the trial team is DC lawyer Mike Brock, a consistent name on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list since its inception in 2014. He has led the team – equipped with Chicago’s standout partners Leslie Smith and Anne Sidrys – in one of the largest multidistrict litigations, representing the client through numerous bellwether trials, many of which were successful. New York’s Devora Allon and Jay Lefkowitz serve as the go-to team for antitrust cases involving pharmaceutical companies. Peers also serving the pharmaceutical industry have noted their work in the market on behalf of generics. “They are very busy and cornered a subset of the market,” observes a peer who represents brands. Allon and Lefkowitz achieved two wins for Impax Laboratories recently in separate antitrust actions. One concerned a Federal Trade Commission challenge for a pay-for-delay agreement between Impax and Endo, for which the team secured a full dismissal in March 2022. This year, the pair obtained a key settlement in the multidistrict litigation arising from a patent litigation settlement. The win followed a successful summary judgment ruling as to claims brought by the end-payor payments and won remand of the initial order certifying the class. Allon and Lefkowitz have also been handling product liability cases concerning marketing and sales disputes. Lefkowitz also specializes in appellate work. For Teva Pharmaceuticals, the pair prevailed on a second motion to certify a class of direct purchasers after the Third Circuit granted the team’s petition for interlocutory appeal and reversed the district court’s certification.

     New York-based Sandra Goldstein is a leader of the securities bar, known for her “terrific reputation” and “sizeable book of business,” according to a peer in the market. “She has a carousel of securities and Delaware-related litigation on the go,” they add. Another observes, “If you do anything in private equity – anything! – Kirkland is involved somewhere.” She has developed a talented bench dedicated to securities litigation in the New York office.

     Goldstein and Stefan Atkinson have served as lead counsel defending numerous clients against securities class actions over the last year. They handled litigation in major markets for securities, such as Delaware. The pair recently represented 3G Capital, one of the largest shareholders, in a derivative action alleging violations of federal securities laws and breach of fiduciary duty. Goldstein and Atkinson achieved a complete dismissal in both Illinois and Delaware, affirmed on appeal. They combined efforts with Rachel Fritzler in representing Honeywell and certain current and former officers, as well as a Honeywell employee and former officer of Garrett Motion, in two separate securities class actions. The former arose out of the company’s accounting for asbestos-related liabilities, and Fritzler, Goldstein and Atkinson obtained a favorable settlement. In the latter case, representing an employee and officer, the class action alleges violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act. After oral argument, the team obtained a full dismissal.

     New York’s Matthew Solum and Aaron Marks are well-regarded partners in the securities and commercial litigation arenas. Solum, regarded as “a great lawyer and a lovely guy,” has been increasingly active on the securities front. As one peer in the market confirms, “We are seeing him everywhere and not just in one specific type of securities case either. He gets M&A work, derivative work, class actions – you name it.” Solum and Yosef Riemer secured a victory on behalf of Bristol Myers Squibb at the Second Circuit, successfully dismissing a securities class action that sought $10 billion in damages. Plaintiffs alleged that Bristol Myers Squibb misled investors about the clinical trial assessing its first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, Opdivo. The Second Circuit agreed with Riemer and Solum’s arguments and further clarified the use of expert testimony in complaints governed by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

     Another leader representing the financial industry comments, “Aaron Marks is a brilliant lawyer and has phenomenal judgment.” On the complex commercial front, Solum and Marks represented Blackstone and its affiliates in New York and in Italy where they handled an arbitration in Milan. The dispute stemmed from the client’s purchase of an office complex from RCS Media Group, which alleged that Blackstone had engaged in criminally usurious conduct. Acting as plaintiffs, Solum and Marks settled the claims in New York. In Milan, the team obtained an arbitration ruling that it did not engage in misconduct.

     The firm is also a dominant force in bankruptcy, as one leading lawyer put it, “In bankruptcy, it’s Kirkland every day.” A trial lawyer of many disciplines, Michael Slade led the team handling the first major cryptocurrency restructuring in the US, representing Voyager in its efforts to regroup following FTX. After a four-day hybrid confirmation hearing that encompassed cross-examining witnesses live and virtually, Voyager’s proposed “toggle” plan was confirmed, but not without objections from individual creditors and government entities such as the US Department of Justice and New York State, among others. The government has appealed. Slade is a leader in more areas than just bankruptcy. He is recognized in commercial and product liability litigation and also as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer.

While Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has been a mainstay of the New York legal community since its inception, it has, in recent years, expanded in a modest and measured fashion, starting with an office in Silicon Valley, and moving full steam in to the DC market by storm with its auspicious acquisition of prized local shop Robbins Russell, incorporating a deep team of celebrated practitioners across several practice areas. “That’s a big deal,” sums up one local peer, voicing the general consensus. “Robbins Russell was a classic DC firm and now the platform has given both sides many new opportunities.” Key among these new recruits is appellate “dynamo” Roy Englert, a frequent visitor to the Supreme Court and an authority in the practice. Englert is “all appeals, all the time,” and respected by a vocal percentage of the leading figures in the DC appellate community. “Roy is fantastic,” testifies one peer. “He brought an amicus in a case we are working on, and we were very impressed.” Gary Orseck is another recruit with fluency in appeals, as well as a broad-based commercial, securities and white-collar practitioner. “Gary is a tremendous lawyer,” extols a peer. “He has a really good sense of judgment and is a great writer.” Orseck’s achievements exemplify these ringing endorsements; he defended United Health Services’ officers and directors in a derivative suit alleging securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and other claims, relating to alleged improper patient-admission practices at the client’s affiliated behavioral-health facilities throughout the country. The claims were dismissed in 2019 but went to appeal In December 2021, at which point the parties resolved the matter, originally valued at more than $1.5 billion, on the basis of non-monetary reforms regarding corporate compliance. In a similar matter, Orseck leads a team defending Community Health Systems and certain of its affiliates and former officers against fraudulent transfer, breach of contract, illegal dividend, and related claims brought by the Litigation Trustee for the QHC Litigation Trust. The Litigation Trustee seeks to avoid, among other things, a $1.2 billion transfer from QHC to CHS in connection with a 2016 spinoff transaction. The DC group comes with some youth factor to balance out the senior talent; future star William Trunk is part of Orseck’s team on the aforementioned Community Health matter, and Ariel Lavinbuk comes equipped with a practice that encompasses commercial litigation as well as a bankruptcy element, an area for which Kramer Levin, through its New York office, has historically been seen as Tier 1. 

     The bankruptcy practice has earned plaudits from fellow leaders in the area. “It is run by Ken Eckstein and Tom Mayer, who are great in court, great at deals, and just great at bankruptcy everywhere,” declares one peer, who further attests, “I see them all the time and they give me and anyone else a run for the money.” Eckstein leads a team that, for the past three years, has served as lead bankruptcy counsel to represent the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) of 10 state attorneys general, six municipalities, and the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the multidistrict litigation and a federally recognized Native American Tribe in the ongoing bankruptcy saga of embattled opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. White-collar crime is another field in which Kramer Levin boasts an unanimously lauded roster. “The Kramer Levin team actually does trials! That’s rare in the white-collar world, and these are actually for some very high-profile individuals,” marvels one peer. Barry Berke is an undisputed leading presence. He was recently thrust into the limelight when he was called into service as special counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives in connection with its investigation and impeachment proceedings of Donald Trump, and as of February 2020, Berke returned to Kramer Levin with newly burnished credentials. Not that he needed them; even before this engagement, Berke has been routinely identified by peers as “absolutely one of the best,” with one elaborating, “Especially at his age point, he has some of the best experience you could ask for and credibility beyond question.” Clients agree; one calls Berke “a counselor, a litigator, and a strategist,” and goes on to assert, “No one is better.” While Berke’s profile in the community is undisputed, others in this group are making their mark. Dani James acted with Berke in representing Theodore Huber, a partner and analyst at Deerfield Management, in parallel actions brought by the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission arising from Huber’s trading based on purportedly confidential government information relating to Medicare reimbursement for healthcare services. Both celebrated white-collar stars Berke and James represented biotech giant Amgen in a commercial litigation capacity in the client’s dispute with Novartis over the latter’s alleged breach of contract and tortious conduct arising out of the parties’ collaboration agreement to commercialize a migraine drug. On a counterclaim, Amgen alleged that Novartis breached the contract when it allowed its subsidiary to manufacture a competing migraine drug, and then actively concealed this from Amgen. The Kramer Levin team on this matter also included Norman Simon, who typically deals with cases involving the Lanham Act and false-advertising claims, niche areas in which Kramer Levin has been noted as being one of the few major players.
     The firm has recently developed a more “hard IP” practice, spearheaded by Dr. Irena Royzman, who is noted by peers to “occupy a definite presence in the pharma patent space.” Royzman has historically represented Janssen, and on behalf of this client sued several generic manufacturers under the Hatch-Waxman Act for infringement of patents protecting Symtuza, a treatment for HIV/AIDS. The action is in active fact discovery and claim-construction proceedings, and a bench trial is scheduled for October 2023. The IP area is bookended on the West Coast by Lisa Kobialka in the Silicon Valley office (opened in 2011). Kobialka, whose practice is primarily devoted to the tech space, brought patent infringement actions against Xerox and Ricoh relating to systems and methods covering various aspects of printers and/or copiers as well as their processes, performance and maintenance, and workflow management. 

     The firm upholds its dedication to labor and employment litigation, regularly representing high-profile clients in a variety of respects, particularly emphasizing – though not limiting itself to – highly sensitive and complex single-plaintiff employment disputes. No stranger to the public eye, employment law chair Kevin Leblang of New York is regularly active at the forefront of the most highly exposed disputes in employment litigation. Leblang currently defends Stifel in a sexual harassment lawsuit that has gained significant market attention. In 2022, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) passed, leading the court to reverse its initial order to compel arbitration. Leblang has since appealed the decision to the Second Circuit. Leblang is routinely prepraing for trial. He is also active in discovery and pre-trial practice, defending Société Général in a sexual orientation and harassment lawsuit. Eliza Kaiser, also of the firm’s New York office, represents leaders across a variety of industries in disputes and investigations. Kaiser represented Facebook against a Department of Justice action that alleged that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices in the US in relation to its immigration policies. She negotiated a settlement with the DOJ as well as a parallel matter with the Department of Labor. Leblang and Kaiser’s fellow partner Robert Holtzman was recently engaged in three separate arbitrations on behalf of Natixis, all of which were successfully resolved.

Plaintiff shop Labaton Sucharow continues to stick to its historic roots as a securities boutique, although in recent years, the firm has broadened its scope to take on antitrust and privacy issues with the same formidable resolve. Corroborating the firm’s expansion, a peer advises, “Look closer – Labaton is getting more into the consumer class-actions space as well, particularly with privacy and data breach work.” The firm is strategically placed in the financial district of New York as well as in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, DC, where it is well poised to feed heartily on a steady diet of corporate disputes arising on Wall Street and in the Delaware Court of Chancery. As far as its prized securities practice, the firm remains at the top echelon, as a defense-side peer says, “Labaton is one of the few plaintiff firms that get the big, meaty securities cases and they litigate them.”

     Elevated to Litigation Star status this year and recognized as a National Practice Area Star in securities as well, Carol Villegas is lauded for her “grit and talent” and denoted by a market peer as “the one who’s very prominent [at Labaton].”  Villegas serves as the youngest team leader in the firm’s history, spearheading the burgeoning Consumer Protection and Data Privacy Practice. In the privacy space, she serves as co-lead class counsel in their case alleging violations of privacy rights and related statutes against Flo Health, a women's health app developer that allows users to track data such as fertility and menstruation. While Villegas is trailblazing through the privacy and consumer protection litigation, she continues to be a pillar of the plaintiff-side securities bar. She is currently serving as co-lead counsel in a securities lawsuit filed against payment platform giant PayPal after it revealed that its “net new active” accounts were artificially inflated and illegitimately created by employees and “bot farms,” leading to a drop in stock prices. Villegas recently filed an Amended Complaint. In a case that was recently resolved, she defeated the defendant Uniti’s motion to dismiss and prevailed also on its motion for reconsideration. After filing a motion for class certification during discovery, Uniti settled for $38,875,000. Villegas and fellow star of the New York office Michael Canty are lead counsel to the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico in a securities action against California’s utility provider, PG&E. The leading partners had to adjust their strategy when the company filed for bankruptcy in the Northern District of California. Pivoting to bankruptcy proceedings, Villegas and Canty objected to and resolved unfavorable terms on behalf of the lead plaintiff and the putative class in the Plan of Reorganization. Their efforts preserved the claims of the putative class and at one point, extended the deadline for claimants after the defendants failed to provide proper notice to file a claim. Canty leads the trial representing Caprenters Pension Trust for Northern California and the Carpenters Annuity Trust Fund for Northern California, among others, in a securities class action filed against Allstate, the company’s CEO and its former President of Allstate Protection. The case arises from the company’s alleged growth strategy that ultimately led to relaxed underwriting standards which caused claims to increase.  Canty laid the ground before trial with several critical victories, including prevailing against the defendants’ motion to dismiss, class certification, and defeating the defendants’ motion to exclude the opinions of his experts.  

    James Johnson, a more senior partner in the New York office, lays claim to several key victories of his own. He serves as co-lead counsel in a closely watched battle with Goldman Sachs arising from its concealment of misconduct involving multiple collateralized debt obligations shorting the mortgage market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. The long-running case dates back to June 2012 when the district court denied Goldman’s motion to dismiss, leading to the class certification in 2015. After interlocutory appeal, a remand order from the Second Circuit, and another class certification granted in 2018, the Second Circuit published an opinion affirming the class certification in 2020. In June 2021, the Supreme Court further affirmed the class certification, but clarified the legal standards involved in deciding price impact at the class certification stage. The case was remanded to the Second Circuit, which remanded the case to the district court. The class was certified for a third time, and the case went before the Second Circuit again. Oral arguments took place in September 2022.

     One of Labaton’s biggest accomplishments as of late has been the rising profile of the firm’s Delaware practice. This has largely been attributed to the efforts of Ned Weinberger, a partner who has made a splash in the Delaware market and has had the community talking. “Ned is one of the leaders,” confirms one Wilmington peer. “There are no shortcuts in Delaware – you have to earn your way up through the peers and judiciary. Ned has gotten appointed lead counsel on several cases, important cases, over people from several other plaintiff firms that are more established in Delaware!” Another peer adds, “Courts love him, he’s an aggressive litigator who gets results.” His status has succeeded against the established names, as one remarks, “These days, he has very quickly risen up to the position of being my first or second call if I needed to refer a case to a plaintiff. I would choose him over more established plaintiffs in Delaware, who are older and fading.” In a high-profile case watched closely by the Delaware market, Weinberger served as co-lead counsel against controlling stockholders of Dell, alleging they had breached their fiduciary duties by expropriating billions of dollars in value from Dell’s Class V Stockholders. He prevailed on the defendants’ motion to dismiss the second amended complaint. In the fourth amended consolidated complaint filed, Weinberger and the great plaintiffs’ team added Goldman Sachs as a defendant, alleging aiding and abetting claims. Weinberger engaged in fact and expert discovery, and three weeks before the trial, the defendants settled, and the proposed settlement hearing was scheduled for April 2023. Weinberger has been at trial representing minority shareholders of Straight Paith in a lawsuit arising from the company’s merger with Verizon. The plaintiffs allege that the controlling shareholder, Howard Jonas, breached his fiduciary duty after his actions caused shareholders to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor Glasscock denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, which was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in 2019. The defendants IDT and Jonas filed motions for summary judgment involving the indemnification agreement between IDT and Straight path; their motions however were denied. The trial was set in two phases, and the parties have been engaged in post-trial briefings.

A New York-based litigation boutique that has made a distinct impression on the legal landscape – including much larger community peers – Levine Lee has become a favorite of clients that have benefited from its steadfast counsel. One champions them as “persuasive advocates with good analyses.” Another voices appreciation for the firm’s “litigation strategy and negotiation with counterparties as well as D&O carriers for a winning settlement.” Still another raves, “They give you personal attention, they are willing to dig in against the government, and they give you smart and practical advice. You feel like a client, not a commodity.” Both individual name partners, Kenneth Lee and Seth Levine, who are primarily white-collar practitioners, garner their own respective accolades. “Kenneth is very experienced, [with] good judgment and [is an] effective litigator,” testifies one client. Lee is investigation and litigation counsel for the Special Litigation Committee of the Board of Directors of Xerox Holdings Corporation in connection with the derivative claims filed in a matter in which shareholders of Xerox have alleged that activist investor Carl Icahn committed various insider trading and related violations through his acquisition of over 4% of HP common stock, prior to the announcement of merger discussions between HP and Xerox. Lee is also lead counsel to Eros Media World, a global media and entertainment company, in two separate class actions pending in the District of New Jersey.  The first is a longstanding class action securities litigation alleging violations of the Exchange Act, and the second is a recent class action alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act. In the longstanding securities class action, Lee had secured dismissal of the most consequential claims against the company, and recently achieved a complete settlement of the matter. A client also testifies on Levine’s behalf. “He is very smart, [a] brilliant tactician, [with] lots of knowledge of the ins and outs of litigation of similar cases. You feel like your problems are his. He fights for his clients, he is passionate, smart and tenacious. You feel you could put your life, livelihood and reputation in his hands. In fact, my only suggestion to him is to take a deep breath every once in a while!” Levine is counsel for a former Deutsche Bank derivatives trader in connection with global investigations into the alleged manipulation of LIBOR. After more than five years of litigation, Levine secured a complete and consequential acquittal in the Second Circuit for the client in April 2022.

A full-service firm with a national – and global – footprint, Loeb & Loeb provides a wide array of legal services through its six offices in the US and two in China. In litigation specifically, the firm has deep ties to the entertainment industry. “It’s really time to take a closer look at Loeb & Loeb,” says one contemporary. “For entertainment litigation, they are really quite dominant. They have some strong connections there, some very high-profile clients.”

     Not surprisingly, much of this is serviced by practitioners in its Los Angeles office. A team of Loeb litigators, led by partner Jim Curry, represents CBS in litigation relating to the popular daytime television program “Judge Judy,” including defending CBS against first-of-their-kind cases involving claims that a sale of a television library should trigger a “buy-out” of the profit participant’s interest. The Loeb team also previously defended CBS against a related case where a former agent and profit participant sought a declaration that Judge Judy’s salary is too high and should not be deducted as a profit participation. Curry and his team won the case on appeal of the granting of summary judgment to CBS.

     LA partners John Gatti and Lauren Fried represent Miramax and its related licensees, including Amazon and Walmart, among others, in a suit brought by a photographer that claimed to own the rights to an iconic photograph of Uma Thurman used in a poster for the movie “Pulp Fiction,” which Miramax produced. After decades of Miramax licensing the image, the photographer claimed for the first time in his 2020 lawsuit that he owned the photograph, that Miramax had no right to exploit the photo in any way, and that Miramax and each of its licensees were liable for copyright infringement. The Loeb team successfully secured an order that the photographer was late in filing any copyright registration, thereby limiting the alleged damages. Gatti and Fried also represent singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman in a copyright-infringement case based on rapper and songwriter Nicki Minaj’s sampling of Chapman’s works without permission. On summary judgment, the district court found triable issues of fact as to whether Minaj could be held liable on Chapman’s distribution claim and set a date for trial. Minaj subsequently agreed to pay Chapman the full amount of damages sought and judgment was entered in the federal court case in Chapman’s favor for nearly half a million dollars.

     Operating from the firm’s New York office, Barry Slotnick and Tal Dickstein represent a group of six music publishers in a copyright-infringement action against the owners and operators of the website Wolfgangs.com, an online collection of recordings of thousands of live concert performances. The collections consisted primarily of audio and audiovisual recordings of concert performances from the 1960s to the 2000s by artists such as the Rolling Stones, The Who and the Grateful Dead. Defendants acquired the concert recordings primarily from the concert promoters and concert venues that recorded the concerts. Defendants converted those recordings to digital format and made them available for streaming or download to subscribers of their websites. The music publishers asserted that defendants’ exploitation of the recordings constituted copyright infringement of more than 200 works to which they owned the copyrights. Dickstein and Slotnick also defended UMG Recordings, PeerMusic and Warner Records, the publishers and record labels for the hit song “You Raise Me Up,” which was initially released by the Irish band Secret Garden in 2001, and then released by the US performing artist Josh Groban in 2003. The plaintiff, an Icelandic songwriter, claims “You Raise Me Up” infringes an Icelandic song titled “Soknudur.”

McKool Smith has built an esteemed reputation, especially in the areas of commercial and intellectual property litigation in which it reigns as the go-to firm in Texas. It has a network of strongholds in the state, with offices in Dallas, Austin, Marshall and Houston, while also steadily expanding its presence in New York and Los Angeles. The key practitioners for patent litigation include Samuel Baxter, William LaFuze, Mike McKool and Steven Pollinger.

The firm’s intellectual property practice has been historically well known for its work representing plaintiffs in patent litigation, and while that has since changed, it continues to bring a substantial number of cases on behalf of clients. Recently, in a high-profile win, Marshall-based Sam Baxter represented Optis Wireless Technology and other subsidiaries of PanOptis against Apple, which resulted in a $300 million jury award in a patent infringement trial before the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Baxter is also representing Blitzsafe in its lawsuits against numerous car manufacturers and retailers, alleging patent infringement claims related to automotive interface technology, which allows users to connect external third-party audio and multimedia devices to their stereos to play the content through the car stereo system and speakers. On the defense side, in March 2022, Dallas-based litigator David Sochia represented Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company against Semiconductor Connections, and successfully secured a favorable claim construction ruling from the district court that was upheld at the federal circuit. Austin’s Joshua Budwin is litigating against Qualcomm in a patent infringement lawsuit brought on behalf of ParkerVision. The patents at issue are related to the client’s transmitter and receiver patents. In addition, Budwin is defending two market-leading clients in the telecommunications industry, Ericsson and AT&T, in a six-patent lawsuit related to 3G, 4G, 5G and MSS patents filed originally by Hitachi and Bosch, but later divested to IPCom, now the plaintiff in this matter. Trial is currently pending.
In the commercial space, Houston partner Joshua Newcomer and Christopher Johnson of the New York office represent the trustee for Millennium Lender Claim Trust in three separate proceedings. The case in California state court against KPMG, the auditor, was settled confidentially. The trustee alleged that KPMG misrepresented the company’s financial condition, leading to a $1.7 billion loss to lenders. Currently, two other cases brought against bank defendants allege they are liable for state blue-sky law violations, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, aiding and abetting liability, and fraudulent transfers. The Delaware case is awaiting trial in 2022, and in New York, the team handled the appeal of a ruling received prior to their representation. Newcomer is also handling a matter in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas, defending Zachry Construction Corporation and its related entities against several alleged claims, including breaches of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting and fraudulent transfers, among others.

In another high-profile case, this time in the commercial space, Baxter partnered with Lewis LeClair to represent the State of Texas in its biometric identification lawsuit against Meta f/k/a Facebook. The State alleges violations of Texas’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifiers Act, specifically that the social media platform took biometric identifiers of Texans for commercial purposes without their informed consent, disclosed the identifiers to other companies, and failed to destroy the collected information within a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, Texas also alleges the defendant participated in false, misleading and deceptive acts, violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act. The case is currently in jurisdictional discovery, as Meta argues that the jurisdiction is improper. In addition to commercial matters, LeClair also handled an antitrust case on behalf of SC Innovations alleging that Uber’s predatory pricing and anticompetitive conduct drove the company out of business. The parties resolved the matter amicably in 2021.

MoloLamken is a rare example of a litigation shop that has entrenched itself in three key geographic venues (New York, Washington, DC and Chicago) while remaining lean and nimble enough to qualify for “boutique” status. The firm’s name partners straddle the axis of trial and appellate counsel and maintain broad and diverse ranges of cases for an equally varied portfolio of clients. A peer offers in summation, “MoloLamken cover a lot of ground,” and further elaborates, “I’m actually seeing them doing a lot more plaintiff work!”
     New York’s Steven Molo, one of the firm’s founders, is considered “a visionary,” by peers, one of whom emphasizes, “He’s a trial lawyer! He goes to court more than many others on [Benchmark’s] list.” True to form, Molo led a team serving as class trial counsel in a 10b-5 securities fraud stockholder class action against a company that transported oil developed from fracking in North Dakota to the coasts.  Shortly before trial, the class reached a settlement with the company’s officers and defendants for $14 million, nearly the entire remaining insurance policy balance.  The ensuing jury trial proceeded against one remaining defendant, and a favorable verdict was rendered in June 2022.  The case is now in the claims-processing phase. Other members of this team included New York’s Sara Margolis and Robert Kry, who works from both the DC and New York offices. “Oh my God, Robert Kry is so good,” raves a peer. “You must recognize him!” Molo also leads an antitrust class action against National Association of Realtors concerning allegations of conspiracy to inflate commissions for real estate brokers, and was also retained by a Special Litigation Committee established by Twitter’s (now X’s) Board of Directors to investigate claims made in a shareholder-derivative suit filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery.  The suit alleged that the Board’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by approving a $3 billion settlement with an activist investor who was bent on ousting then-CEO Jack Dorsey. 
     Jeffrey Lamken, in the firm’s DC office, is an appellate practitioner. A client cheers his “excellent writing and strong skills in oral presentation.” A DC peer quips, “Jeff is so known for IP appeals cases that I think he’s developed a real niche in that world. God help you if you want a Supreme Court case out of the Federal Circuit because I’m sure Jeff is going to go after it and most likely get it.” Although intellectual property might be a particular substantive area of concentration, Lamken actually scored big in a bankruptcy-related appeal in which he represented the Official Committee of Talc Creditors in the Third Circuit in a challenge to the bankruptcy petition filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management, who employed the infamous maneuver known colloquially as the “Texas Two-Step” allegedly in order to dodge a wave of incalculable personal injury lawsuits alleging that its talc-based baby powder causes cancer. Lamken argued on appeal that LTL lacked the financial distress required for a good-faith bankruptcy petition. The court agreed and ordered the bankruptcy court to dismiss LTL’s petition, and the bankruptcy case was dismissed in April 2023 after LTL declined to seek Supreme Court review.
     MoloLamken continues to enrich its talent ranks beneath the more senior name partners. New York’s Justin Ellis earns commendations from his peers, one of whom testifies, “I have partnered with Justin in a series of whistleblower complaints regarding fraudulent commercial mortgage-backed securities. [He’s an] excellent, hard-working attorney with a keen intellect and deep knowledge of the substantive area of work, namely securities litigation.” New York’s Ben Quarmby balances commercial and IP matters and is similarly championed by contemporaries. “I’m seeing Ben more and more, he’s doing really well in this space,” confirms one peer.

Situated strategically in New York City, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello has built a premier white-collar crime and investigations practice recognized nationwide as the “go-to” for both domestic and international clients. Its esteemed white-collar practice is complemented by capability in commercial and securities litigation, largely involving executives and cutting-edge issues, as well as employment-related litigation and high-profile and sensitive investigations. Former co-counsel and clients alike have praised its lawyers’ expertise and professionalism in and out of the court room. “Morvillo is a top-notch firm,” one states. “Their lawyers are extremely intelligent, seasoned, and professional. They provide superior legal services. It is a pleasure working with them.” Another depicts the lawyers as “very responsive and knowledgeable in their subject matter.”

     Karen King and Kate Cassidy debuted as Litigation Stars this year. King is a civil litigator, representing clients involved in issues from regulatory disputes to cryptocurrency – an area in which she is a thought-leader. She has represented crypto-related clients nationwide, including a provider of online cryptocurrency market data, in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the District of Arizona. The plaintiffs assert violations of state and federal law in relation to an alleged scheme that suppressed the value of HEX cryptocurrency. King obtained a motion to dismiss, arguing a lack of personal jurisdiction and a failure to plead cognizable claims and continues to represent the client on appeal. King has taken cases for clients up to the United States Supreme Court. She represented Narkis Golan, a domestic violence survivor and the mother of the young child at the center of the case in a matter challenging the Second Circuit’s precedent and interpretation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. King successfully prevailed before the US Supreme Court. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the unanimous opinion holding that the Second Circuit’s rule is inconsistent with the requirements and text of the Hague Convention, largely seen as a win for fellow survivors and their children. Cassidy is well-known for her expertise in high-profile criminal cases. She is currently representing Trump Organization members involved in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigation and trial regarding tax issues. Catherine Foti is distinguished for her prowess in investigations, especially those that highly sensitive and often in the public eye.

     One of the firm’s most recognized and celebrated lawyers is Elkan Abramowitz. A seasoned criminal defense litigator who is revered by clients and peers, Abramowitz is regularly called upon to handle the most sensitive and high-stakes cases. He has been working on investigations related to the Trump organization, including representing the Chief Executive Officer of American Media, the company that publishes the National Enquirer, in their involvement with the high-profile investigations related to the Michael Cohen and former President Donald Trump prosecutions brought by the SDNY and Manhattan District Attorney office. Richard Albert, a nationally recognized litigator in the field, works alongside Abramowitz on the case. On the litigation side, Abramowitz and Ed Spiro have moved to dismiss a lawsuit against former Governor Andrew Cuomo filed by the NRA alleging that he violated the association’s right to free speech and equal protection. He has been one of the go-to lawyers for COVID-19 related disputes, including a case representing CEO of MBE Capital, Rafael Martinez, against alleged claims of fraud related to loans provided under the Paycheck Protection Program. Robert Anello, another recognized name-partner, is well-known for his established expertise in investigating and litigating issues related to white-collar crime and regulatory compliance, and employment-related discrimination and sexual harassment allegations. He is one of the firm’s leaders in International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) investigations and defense. Richard Weinberg is an additional expert in regulatory and white-collar issues. Co-counsel in a white-collar and regulatory investigation shares their first-hand look into Weinberg’s handling of the case for the clients, saying, “Richard Weinberg has substantial experience and expertise. He has a strong reputation for quality work and integrity, and he’s responsive to the clients’ needs. He was able to provide real-world advice and problem solving.

     ”Described by peers as “very knowledgeable and experienced,” Jonathan Sack splits his time between handling high-profile investigations and litigation. He is representing an individual connection to Steve Bannon and his Southern District of New York (SDNY) investigation and the District Attorney of New York County’s case involving alleged fraudulent fundraising for “We Build the Wall”. He and Benjamin Fischer represent a former Blackrock portfolio manager, Randy Robertson, against alleged potential conflicts of interest related to a contested investment made in a film distribution company. Fischer and seasoned white-collar defense lawyer Lawrence Iason obtained a non-jail sentence representing former basketball player Milton Palacio in his criminal case involving allegations of fraudulent insurance claims.

     Morvillo’s distinguished Future Stars have received a chorus of praise from various co-counsel. Brian Jacobs is commended by co-counsel who says, “Brian is extremely intelligent, professional, knowledgeable, and personable. He is an exceptional lawyer and one of the best white-collar practitioners I know. He offers superior client service and handles difficult, highly complex cases.” Christopher Harwood is described by a peer as “brilliant, strategic, and careful,” especially when handling sensitive investigations. His experience in employment-related cases and investigations is also noteworthy.

     “I regularly refer clients to Telemachus “Tim” Kasulis at Morvillo,” contends a peer. “Tim is extremely analytical and experienced.  His trial skills are top notch, but, more importantly, his judgment is nuanced and exceptional.”  Robert Radick is recognized as an “excellent all-around lawyer who is thoughtful and thorough,” according to former co-counsel. “Rob is wonderful to work with.  He's smart and provides practical solutions to complex matters.”

Operating out of a single office in Manhattan, Patterson Belknap elicits resounding praise from a vocal contingent of peers and clients, the like of which is usually reserved for a national firm. “We think very highly of them,” opines one peer, summing up the general consensus. “They are not showy or flashy, they are just solid all across the board. We could use more like them.” A client expands on the firm’s overall approach through a glowing accolade: “They bring a potent combination of transactional and litigation expertise to the table to help clients achieve their objectives. Building on their knowledge of deal documents and judicial decisions, they are great strategists and excellent writers. They tell their client candidly when it has a weak position, rather than engaging in undue optimism.” The firm’s practice offering covers a wide spectrum, spanning commercial matters, white-collar crime, antitrust, intellectual property, securities, and false advertising claims, an area in which the firm is said to be one of few major players. The firm’s hybrid model also affords it the freedom to take on cases in the plaintiff and defense roles.

     Patterson Belknap has also made headlines of late for matters of a more novel nature.
 The firm made news in May 2022 when a team led by Adeel Mangi scored big for Appian Corporation in a trade secrets and computer theft case in Virginia State Court. The Patterson Belknap team secured an eye-popping $2 billion verdict for the client. Mangi makes an impressive leap from the future star level to litigation star in this edition and, even more remarkably, earns a position among the coveted Top 100 Trial Lawyers list on the strength of this win. Pegasystems appealed in February 2023, and the Patterson Belknap team continues to represent Appian on appeal. Other members of the team included Jeff Ginsberg and Muhammad Faridi, the latter of whom was also part of a team (led by Peter Tomlinson) that, after more than a decade of litigation and following multiple weeks of a trial that finally commenced in September 2022, secured a historic settlement of $1.84 billion for Ambac to resolve this matter and related cases against Bank of America entities. Ambac initiated this litigation against Countrywide Home Loans (now a BoA unit) in New York Supreme Court in 2010, alleging pervasive fraud and breaches of representations and warranties made by Countrywide relating to the mortgage loans underlying several residential mortgage-backed securities transactions – the likes of which brought the economy to its knees in 2008.

     William Cavanaugh, who is a noted authority in antitrust and intellectual property, represented Takeda Pharmaceuticals in patent litigation concerning hypertension drugs.  “Bill Cavanaugh is a top-tier trial attorney, who has a unique ability to distill complex matters to simple and persuasive propositions for juries,” testifies a client. 

     Saul Shapiro represents Charter Communications in a lawsuit filed arising out of a 2006 agreement, the terms of which permitted the plaintiff entity to sell customers a “white-label” high-speed internet service using Charter’s infrastructure, in exchange for supplying Charter with a number of IP addresses to allow its customers to connect to the plaintiff’s high-speed service. The plaintiff claims in the litigation that Charter customer service representatives defamed the plaintiff and that Charter refuses to return certain IP addresses that it supplied under the parties’ agreement. “Saul is a great communicator and oral advocate,” testifies a client. “He identifies all possible risks, no matter how minute, and is prepared for each.”

     Patterson Belknap is also one of the few New York firms to have cornered the market on the false advertising niche, primarily through Steve Zalesin, a universally lauded partner in this capacity. Zalesin won a victory for Allbirds, a maker of footwear and apparel using wool and natural materials, in a putative class action that challenged the company’s claims regarding the sustainability of its products and raw materials sourcing practices. In April 2022, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion to dismiss in full, with prejudice. Geoffrey Potter represents Abbott Labs in an action against more than 300 wholesalers, retailers, and individuals that bought and sold diverted international FreeStyle-brand blood glucose test strips in the US. Said test strips that are packaged for sale outside the US have labelling and instructions that have not been cleared by regulators for sale in the US and therefore pose a potential risk to consumers. Because international boxes cannot lawfully be sold in the US and are not covered by US insurance, the boxes are diverted with the intent that they will be fraudulently submitted to insurance as US boxes, allegedly causing Abbott to lose sales and make unwarranted rebate payments to insurers. Abbott secured a preliminary injunction against the defendants barring them from selling international FreeStyle strips, which was affirmed by the Second Circuit. Abbott is seeking out-of-pocket damages of more than $50 million, and punitive damages of more than $100 million. Potter and his team secured favorable settlements with, and permanent injunctions against, many of the defendants, and damages trials for the remaining defendants are being scheduled.

For a firm not exclusively dedicated to litigation, Paul Weiss continues to be “the gold standard” in this capacity. One peer quips, “[It’s] 2023 and we’re still referencing Paul Weiss as being at the top. They’re nothing if not consistent in that regard.” Another opines, “I think Paul, Weiss might be the best law firm in the country.” Elaborating further on these glowing accolades, one contemporary explains, “What’s most important to me is that whosever is across the table, it doesn’t have to be a personal fight. We’re all professionals, member of the same bar, ultimately out to achieve the greatest results for our clients. Paul Weiss lawyers are strong advocates but also very professional. They don’t ‘live for battle,’ just for great advocacy.” The firm’s litigation capabilities extend across virtually all major commercial practices, with star power at all levels within each of these, and the firm shows no signs of slowing in its agenda of recruiting and grooming this talent. Historically an East Coast powerhouse, the firm has since entrenched itself in the California market with the January 2021 addition of a San Francisco office, spearheaded by Melinda Haag and Walter Brown, two leaders in the white-collar area. The traction that this office has achieved in this market has been remarkable and has catapulted the firm quickly into the “Highly Recommended” category in the Golden State. 
     This build-out in California came hot on the heels of the 2020 coup of luring antitrust specialist Bill Isaacson and all-purpose trial luminary (with substantial experience in the antitrust area) Karen Dunn to the firm’s DC office. In addition to steering Amazon through a maze of matters in this area, this duo, as co-counsel, achieved a major trial victory in September 2021 for Apple in its high-profile, closely monitored and hotly contested dispute with gaming entity Epic, maker of the popular “Fortnite” game. This case, summed up by one observer as “the World War III of antitrust” found Epic taking aim at Apple’s App Store business model, particularly concerning the commission Apple charges for app payments made on iOS devices. In August 2020, Epic announced that it would offer a direct payment option for in-app purchases, which prompted Apple to remove the Fortnite app from the App Store, as Apple App Store policies explicitly prohibit direct payments for app purchases of digital content on iOS devices. While the matter has since been appealed, the favorable trial verdict went to Apple. Dunn enjoys another year as one of Benchmark’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation,” and has even made a return to the elite “Top 10” category. She makes another appearance on Benchmark’s “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” list, a coveted position.
          Peers are nearly unanimous in their crediting of New York’s Brad Karp for fostering this culture of hiring and retaining top talent. Karp, a media-savvy practitioner who is equally at home with the press, the C-suite and the courts, remains the firm’s chairman (a post he has held since 2008) and is also still a renowned securities advocate. “I honestly don’t know how he does it – does he ever sleep? – and also remain a total ‘mensch’ all the while,” marvels one peer. Another quips, “A colleague of mine was bragging about how much he works, and then when he told me the number, I laughed and retorted, ‘That’s about a third of the hours Brad Karp logs per year!’” Citigroup is a blue-chip client of the firm, and Karp in particular. “I’m sure it’s no exaggeration to say they’ve got him on speed-dial plenty,” quips a peer. Karp and Susanna Buergel, a frequent lieutenant on securities cases, represent this client in several ongoing qui tam lawsuits alleging that the client set rates in an aggregate process (termed by the plaintiff as “robo-resetting”), which violates the fraud statute in the states in which these cases were brought. The New York office is also home to the firm’s “A-list” trial lawyer, Ted Wells, a perennial and universal favorite. “Paul Weiss has superior talent across the board but when it comes to trial work, it’s Ted – period.” While peers admit that Wells “will be impossible to replace,” several do concede, “They are trying to get others up in the ranks, and people like Roberto Finzi and Lorin Reisner are stepping up to the task.” A peer assesses, “Following in the footsteps of someone like Ted Wells is a daunting task – massive shoes to fill! – but they are doing a great job.”
     Peer plaudits are equally rich for Paul Weiss’s more “next-generation”-level talent as well. “I’m a big fan of [New York’s] Audra Soloway,” attests one contemporary. “She covers the waterfront in securities, very diverse in this area – including SPACs! – and does some investigations and white-collar work as well.” Another peer weighs in for Greg Laufer, another New York partner with a broad commercial practice that encompasses bankruptcy. “I’m working with him on the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy,” confirms one peer. “I’ve seen him do a lot of depositions.” Also in New York, Brette Tannenbaum is referenced as “very capable,” with one peer noting, “She just recently made partner, and she just joined the Paul Weiss team in the credit-card cases.” This referred-to matter was a major victory in March 2023 for client Mastercard in an 18-year-long class action over the fees charged to retailers accepting payment cards from Mastercard and Visa. Nearly a year after Paul Weiss gave oral arguments on behalf of the settling group of payment card companies and card-issuing banks, the Second Circuit upheld a $5.6 billion settlement approved in 2019 with a nationwide merchant class, allowing the settlement to finally be implemented. Originally taken on by DC antitrust-focused partner Ken Gallo, he was joined on the appeal by DC “appellate whiz” Kannon Shanmugam.

With seven of its 12 global offices situated strategically throughout the US, Proskauer provides a wide range of services to clients across a broad spectrum of practices ranging from commercial to intellectual property, securities to white-collar crime and investigations, as well as its near-unparalleled status in specialty areas of employment, entertainment and sports law.
     The firm has also seen a pronounced spike in its bankruptcy profile, solidly on the strength of its mammoth appointment as lead outside counsel to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which was created to oversee the restructuring of Puerto Rico's finances, valued at $125 billion, in accordance with the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA.) The Board's mandate is to return Puerto Rico to fiscal health with access to the capital markets, and to initiate pro-growth reforms designed to generate a free flow of capital between Puerto Rico and the US. This long-running and sprawling action involves a team of Proskauer attorneys from numerous offices, including Boston’s Timothy Mungovan, New York’s Martin Bienenstock and Margaret Dale, and Los Angeles’ Michael Firestein, all of whom have played substantial roles in the manifold turns of action in this matter since its beginnings. Dale, a commercial litigator who has made a noted pivot to bankruptcy, is involved in several other Puerto Rico-related issues, primarily dealing with employee retirement issues. In the latest chapter of this saga, in March 2023, the firm team prevailed in litigation against the Governor and Legislature of Puerto Rico seeking to nullify a statute that made numerous, sweeping changes to the employment laws in Puerto Rico and imposed significant restrictions on private employers in violation of the Oversight Board’s certified Fiscal Plan. Because the Governor violated PROMESA by failing to submit required evidence showing that the statute was consistent with the Fiscal Plan, the Court nullified the law. The Governor and Legislature have filed urgent appeals to the First Circuit, and the Legislature and Governor have both sought stays of the District Court’s ruling. Also in March 2023, the Proskauer team achieved a significant victory on behalf of the Oversight Board in ongoing litigation regarding bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the sole electricity provider on the island.
     LA’s Bart Williams, not only one of the firm’s most celebrated trial lawyers but also the country’s, has been at the forefront of several milestone matters every year, with this one being no exception. Williams is trial counsel for Gilead Sciences in several high-stakes matters. One involves thousands of California state and federal product liability actions brought by approximately 20,000 plaintiffs related to Gilead’s life-saving HIV prevention and treatment drugs. The cases allege that Gilead was negligent in its development of certain of these drugs and that they were defectively designed and failed adequately to warn about the increased risk of potential kidney disease and bone injury that could result from use of these medications. The first federal bellwether trial is set for January 2024. In another matter, Williams scored a landmark win for this same client, securing a significant trial victory in a $3.6 billion antitrust case on allegations that the pharmaceutical company struck an anticompetitive "pay-for-delay" patent settlement related to two of its HIV medications. In July 2023, a San Francisco jury delivered a full defense verdict following a six-week trial. Williams, along with swiftly rising New York star Lee Popkin, was also trial counsel for Monsanto in a jury trial that was scheduled to commence in March 2023 in San Francisco. The case was brought by an alleged former user of the Monsanto herbicide Roundup and his wife, who claimed that Roundup caused him to develop non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The matter settled favorably for the client on the eve of the trial.

     Proskauer has been particularly active, and successful, in the antitrust capacity as of late. Chris Ondeck, co-head of the firm’s antitrust group and co-head of its DC office, scored big for Wayne Farms when, after nearly seven years of litigation, he secured a complete victory at summary judgment in the broiler chicken litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that the top 21 chicken producers in the US, including the client, unlawfully agreed to work together to reduce the supply of chicken over a 10-year period as part of a two-hub conspiracy. Plaintiffs claimed damages valued at $45 billion in total. Wayne Farms is one of a small group of defendants that has not settled any part of the case, and instead proceeded to summary judgment. In June 2023, the court granted summary judgment in favor of Wayne Farms and six other defendants, with one additional defendant (who, while being represented by another firm, was not granted summary judgment) is scheduled to proceed to trial in September 2023. Another DC-based antitrust co-chair, Colin Kass represents Bright Data, a web data service with a specialty in artificial intelligence, in its multi-jurisdictional litigation against social media behemoth Meta, who, in December 2022, issued a cease-and-desist notice against the client, claiming that its user terms prohibit scraping its websites. The duo of Ondeck and Kass worked in tandem on yet another poultry-related antitrust matter on behalf of Butterball in a case involving an alleged information exchange conspiracy. Plaintiffs, turkey purchasers, allege that major turkey producers around the country, including Butterball, fixed prices, agreed to reduce output, and exchanged confidential information through Agri Stats, a subscription benchmarking service, in order to curb supply and raise the price of turkey to artificially high levels.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan continues to reign supreme as the ubiquitous litigation juggernaut it set out to be upon its genesis. The firm name’s official subtitle of “Trial lawyers” makes no bones about its agenda, and the firm has fulfilled this boast with what has been observed as typical aplomb. The firm has placed as one of Benchmark’s Top 20 Trial Firms since that list’s inception, and no fewer than four of its attorneys have consistently been recognized in Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, an enviable percentage. “If you’re in the litigation game, not only do you know Quinn Emanuel but you are seeing them, and chances are good that you’re seeing them a lot. They just perennially acquire talent,” is how one peer sums up the firm’s dominant position, further confirming, “I know I certainly do. If I’m out with fellow litigators, they are sure to come up in conversation – I’m forever going, ‘Ah, I knew you were going to bring them up!’” With offices in New York, DC, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Houston, and in several venues throughout California, the firm’s geographic footprint has grown to further showcase its bench depth. The firm leaves no stone unturned when it comes to litigation services either; nearly every practice area is touched on by its expansive roster of partners, with particular pockets of strength in the areas of bankruptcy, white-collar crime, antitrust, intellectual property and commercial litigation. “Subject-matter expertise is down to each individual – but either way Quinn breeds you to fight in court, period.”

The firm has historically found itself in the national headlines for its role in milestone cases, and this year was no exception. Stephen Swedlow, a Chicago-based partner, led a team that recently obtained judgments against the US government in precedent-setting litigation from July 2020, recovering $3.7 billion for health insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act concerning the “risk corridors” created by the act. This eye-popping sum is even more remarkable considering that it was on a contingency basis. On the strength of this, Swedlow not only makes his debut as a litigation star in this edition of Benchmark, but also wins a coveted position among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Another consistent placer on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list, New York’s Michael Carlinsky led long-time client AIG to a February 2022 victory (which also made the news) by getting a policyholder’s claim for $27.5 million worth of coverage tied to a settlement with the State of Texas denied. Carlinsky and his team argued that the policyholder had structured a settlement with the State of Texas for Medicaid fraud in a fashion that was intentionally designed to mask a contract case, which would allow for coverage. Yet another Top 100 Trial Lawyer, Los Angeles’ Bill Price is viewed favorably by several other candidates on this privileged list. “I think the world of him, he’s the best,” offers one peer, summing up the general consensus. Price’s recent client list includes Elon Musk, for whom Price scored in December 2019 in the defamation case brought against him by one of the rescuers of 12 children trapped in a cave in Thailand, after Musk referred to him as “pedo guy” following an online spat. Just weeks later, Price logged another win, in the plaintiff capacity, in an IP case in which he represented the California Institute of Technology in a patent dispute with Apple. Price chalked up a whopping $1.1 billion verdict for his client.

The firm’s bankruptcy practice is viewed by peers in the restructuring capacity as “one of those rare instances where they have actual bankruptcy trial lawyers, as opposed to just corporate or hybrid restructuring people.” This same peer elaborates further on the flinty approach employed by these practitioners, which include Susheel Kirpalani – a near-constant mention: “These are the bomb throwers, the people you think of when you’re going, ‘Who do I call when I need a rabid dog?’”
While the firm is certainly better known for its trial-level work, its appellate work – and particularly that of New York-based luminary Kathleen Sullivan – has also prominently featured in newsworthy matters. In December 2021, Sullivan, along with future stars Rollo Baker and William Adams, scored when they persuaded the Delaware Supreme Court to uphold a trial court decision allowing client Mirae Asset to walk away from a $5.8 billion deal to buy luxury hotels based on the seller’s breach of an “ordinary course” covenant. This decision, delivered via an en banc ruling, upheld what is reported to be only the second decision ever from the Court of Chancery allowing a buyer to back out of a merger.

Since its inception in February 2018, New York’s Selendy & Gay has been one of the most talked-about firms in New York and beyond. Founding partners Philippe Selendy and Faith Gay, both venerated stars with Quinn Emanuel before launching this venture, have built a firm that encapsulates “diversity” in both its roster of partners as well as the varieties of work it takes on. It has emerged as a leader in securities (often in the plaintiff capacity), commercial, and appellate disputes, as well as novel public interest matters. The team of 13 seasoned litigators has been lauded for their “trial acumen, innovative courtroom strategies, and reputation for success” as voiced by a competitor. The firm is also one of the only majority women-owned firms of its status in the nation. 
     Gay and co-managing partner David Elsberg are lead counsel pro bono to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the Remington Outdoor Company chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Alabama federal court. The shooter used a Bushmaster brand AR-15 made and marketed by Remington. The team secured favorable terms for the families in the Remington debtors' bankruptcy plan, including a mechanism to allow the families and other tort claimants to continue their litigation efforts against Remington. The families have since filed notices with the bankruptcy court that they intend to proceed with their litigation efforts in Connecticut, where the families also brought wrongful death claims against Remington, and a trial is scheduled for next year. Gay, along with co-managing partner Jennifer Selendy, represent McKinsey & Company against claims by AlixPartners founder Jay Alix in a series of high-profile and high-stakes objections and motions brought by Alix in bankruptcy courts across the nation. Fellow founding partner Philippe Selendy and appellate specialist Caitlin Halligan (formerly a star with Gibson Dunn) are part of the lead counsel team appointed by a New York federal judge as interim lead counsel in what has been called a “blockbuster” bitcoin market manipulation case against Bitfinex and Tether. The team beat out two other sets of legal teams vying for lead plaintiff appointment in the proposed class action. The putative class action alleges that the controllers of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex falsely represented that their purportedly stable cryptocurrency Tether was backed by US dollars in order to control the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a market-manipulation scheme that cost investors hundreds of billions of dollars. 

A fully integrated international conglomerate, Shearman & Sterling has been at the forefront of some headline-making litigation on a global basis and is routinely recognized as a leading legal entity by disputes lawyers from such locales as Europe and Southeast Asia. With most of its 20 offices being based in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, some would even argue that the firm is too globally integrated to even be relegated to assessment on just a one-country level. Nonetheless, within the States the firm is called upon most often for its experience and acumen with matters of the securities and white-collar and FCPA enforcement variety and is quickly developing a leading profile in the antitrust space as well. 
     New York’s Adam Hakki remains a perennial peer favorite, with glowing reviews offered on a unanimous basis. Hakki’s practice is largely focused on, but not limited to, the securities, antitrust and governance fields, with experience in both the criminal and civil capacities. A team led by Hakki (and also involving Agnès Dunogué and Lyle Roberts) won a significant and complete victory for Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS) in a high-profile and closely watched securities class-action arising from the 2021 collapse of Archegos Capital Management, a family office run by billionaire investor Bill Hwang, who later was indicted for his conduct. (ViacomCBS was one of the companies whose share prices were adversely affected by the liquidation of Archegos.) The litigation claimed that the offering documents for March 2021 securities offerings by ViacomCBS should have disclosed that Archegos had obtained concentrated and leveraged synthetic positions in ViacomCBS stock via total return swaps entered into with investment banks, which also acted as underwriters for the offerings, and that those swaps needed to be liquidated due to Archegos’ financial distress. Hakki also achieved a significant victory for Twitter in shareholder litigation relating to the fraught acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk. The shareholder plaintiff agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case a few days before pre-trial briefs were due. Hakki has also balanced an active portfolio of antitrust cases along with his securities matters. One example involved a victory on behalf of Intercontinental Exchange and various subsidiaries in a LIBOR-related antitrust action brought on behalf of group of consumers purportedly injured as a result of an alleged price-fixing conspiracy.
     Shearman’s US bench is brimming with others noted for their antitrust prowess. A frequent teammate of Hakki’s, Jeffrey Resetarits, is generating a good deal of traction in antitrust as well as securities. “Keep your eye on him,” advises a colleague at one of New York’s top firms. “We’ve been seeing more of him lately and we are very impressed. He and Adam Hakki had a nice win [in March 2019] in a matter involving CDOR [Canadian Dollar Offered Rate.]” New York’s Richard Schwed is representing JetBlue Airways Corporation in two high-profile DoJ lawsuits concerning alleged anti-competitive activity in several capacities. Todd Stenerson, based in the DC office, led a team (including DC’s David Higbee) that achieved a significant victory for Booz Allen in the DoJ’s attempt to block its $440 million acquisition of EverWatch. In December 2022, the DoJ dismissed its lawsuit, officially ending the litigation after the court permitted the parties to close the transaction. One fellow leader in the antitrust space enthuses, “Todd is a very creative and out-of-the-box thinker. He will just generate idea after idea in a very thought-provoking way that benefits all involved.”
      Stephen Fishbein, whose practice straddles white-collar crime and enforcement with antitrust elements, secured a victory on behalf of an individual in a significant criminal insider-trading case. In December 2022, the Second Circuit ruled, among other things, that the evidence was insufficient on the two counts on which the client was convicted and dismissed the fraud charges.

Sullivan & Cromwell boasts a pedigree as one of the most revered legal brands on the global stage. A towering full-service firm, with concentration on both East and West Coasts through its offices in New York, Washington DC and two offices in California – Palo Alto and Los Angeles. While its offerings extend beyond litigation, Sullivan & Cromwell’s dispute-resolution depth and acuity is called into service by some of the firm’s biggest blue-chip clients. “When people talk about law firms to someone who’s not a lawyer, often they will just randomly throw out ‘Sullivan & Cromwell’ as an example because the name carries that much weight, like Coca-Cola or Apple,” marvels one peer. “We should all be so lucky.” Speaking to the firm’s A-list client base, another peer quips, “Goldman Sachs has them on speed-dial. S&C has that premium work on lockdown.”
    

     Supporting this assertion, Sullivan & Cromwell scored a win for this client in August 2023 when the Second Circuit Appeals Court reversed the certification of a class of Goldman Sachs shareholders in a case dating back to the 2008 financial crisis and alleged conflicts of interest in Goldman Sachs investment vehicles relating to subprime mortgages. Plaintiffs claimed that those alleged conflicts contradicted generic statements made by Goldman Sachs about its corporate principles and conflicts management procedures, which had supposedly inflated the price of Goldman Sachs stock. Robert Giuffra, a mainstay of the New York office, provided lead counsel. “Bob Giuffra is high-energy and fast, but savvy” observes a peer. “He knows when to try a case and he also knows how and when to pull back. I’ve seen judges get stunned by his courtroom abilities – like, who has this much stamina? So, you almost get thrown off guard when you see how measured and reasonable he is. Maybe it’s a tactic – if so, it works.” Giuffra also represented Tenaris SA, a manufacturer of steel pipe, in resolving multi-year investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission. They concluded in June 2022 when the DoJ closed its investigation without taking action, and the company settled with the SEC by agreeing to pay a reduced penalty of $78 million without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Giuffra also continues to represent Volkswagen in a suit brought by the SEC in March 2019, three years after Volkswagen entered into its landmark multibillion-dollar settlements in the US. Sharon Nelles acts with Giuffra on the Volkswagen representation and is another multifaceted brand-name New York partner. “Sharon is pretty universally loved, and for good reason,” states one appreciative peer. “Great personality, no ego. Although her demeanor is almost the opposite of Bob Giuffra – she seems so relaxed and easygoing that I think it takes people off guard when they see how ready for the fight she is.” Richard Pepperman is another New York partner with a varied practice who also regularly handles Goldman work. In one recent case, the plaintiff, a participant in Goldman Sachs’s 401(k) plan, on behalf of himself and other similarly situated individuals, alleged that Goldman Sachs breached its fiduciary duties and engaged in impermissible prohibited transactions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by offering Goldman’s own proprietary mutual funds in its 401(k) plan, which the plaintiff claimed both performed worse and were more expensive than non-Goldman alternatives. In September 2022, summary judgment was granted in Goldman Sachs’s favor on each claim.

     Sullivan & Cromwell has been making strides in other areas as well. Its bankruptcy capacity benefited from the additional horsepower provided by James Bromley, who joined the firm four years ago and had a lead role in the unprecedented sprawling and cross-border Nortel bankruptcy a decade earlier. Bromley and future star Jacob Croke provide lead counsel to the 102 chapter 11 debtors of embattled crypto hedge fund FTX in matters relating to its sudden implosion and November 2022 bankruptcy filing, including conducting a comprehensive internal investigation and responding to multiple global investigations. New York future star Dustin Guzior acts with Steve Holley for Bayer on issues related to Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, which created one the largest agricultural input suppliers in the world. To secure merger clearance for the acquisition, the DoJ required Bayer to divest certain assets. In 2018, therefore, Bayer sold seed and herbicide assets for €5.9 billion and its global vegetable seeds business, certain seed treatments and digital farming activities for up to €1.7 billion to BASF, who then filed a request for arbitration in 2019, seeking indemnification under the asset purchase agreements, arguing that certain cost items, including personnel costs, had not been appropriately disclosed and allocated to some of the divested businesses. During the two-week, in-person hearing held in Frankfurt in November 2021, Bayer showed that it had provided adequate information on the cost structure of those assets. The Sullivan & Cromwell pair scored a favorable judgment from the ICC in August 2022. Guzior is also acting with intellectual property star Garrard Beeneyin representation of Columbia University in securing a unanimous verdict in its favor in a two-week patent infringement jury trial against NortonLifeLock in the Eastern District of Virginia. Beeney also acts with Marc DeLeeuw, who makes the leap from future star to litigation star in this edition, in representing Ocado Group. The pair secured a December 2021 trial win before the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the International Trade Commission in a patent dispute with its competitor, AutoStore. In March 2022, the Commission unanimously affirmed Ocado's victory at trial and terminated the investigation in its entirety. In June 2022, Ocado scored another win against AutoStore, convincing a panel of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to invalidate three of four claims of AutoStore’s patent that was at issue in the earlier ITC investigation.

Historically known as an “old-line Houston firm” (and still a dominant force in that metropolis), within fairly short order Susman Godfrey has reinvented itself as a litigation juggernaut with national ambitions, which it has fulfilled through its offices in New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. These offices, while newer, have quickly become key players in their respective markets due to each being populated by high-level trial talent juggling a hybrid of plaintiff and defense commercial, antitrust, securities and intellectual property litigation with exceptionally high stakes.

Susman is universally revered for its dedication to a prized culture – developed and fostered by founding partner and (since-deceased) trial lawyer extraordinaire Stephen Susman – that grooms the “elite corps” of litigation. Peers acknowledge the firm’s strategic expansion with typical admiration. “Susman Godfrey is a like a litigation boutique that has gone haywire - in a good way! They didn’t just grow for the sake of adding headcount. They put fabulous people in all stations.” Eschewing market trends, the firm marches to the beat of its own drum. One peer marvels: “Susman Godfrey is so innovative! They really bring the best of breed in terms of skills, and it’s top-to-bottom. It’s not just a bunch of old guys. Their younger people are every bit as impressive.” Another confirms, “It’s always fun litigating against Susman Godfrey. Then it’s real, then it’s more traditional court work, more hand-to-hand combat, as opposed to the paper pushing and procedural distractions you get from other firms.” Clients are equally effusive in their praise for the firm. One testifies: “They prepared for trial from day one and [they] dedicate a team of exceptionally talented and highly intelligent attorneys to each matter. They achieved greater success [in our case] than anyone could have predicted at the outset.” Another cheers the firm’s “strong understanding of relevant cases that supported our case to be able to leverage research; strong customer service; great depo[sition] prep so I always felt comfortable going in front of a judge or in my depositions, and great relations within the courthouse.”

No stranger to high-profile, newsworthy cases that regularly log headlines in the legal publications, Susman Godfrey landed front-and-center in the middle of a case few could ignore even outside the legal community: the representation of Dominion Voting Systems as trial counsel against Fox News in a defamation lawsuit, initially valued at $1.6 billion, alleging that Fox and the other defendants gave life to a manufactured storyline about election fraud to boost ratings and propagate the lie that the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged, among a series of other false statements about Dominion. The Susman team, composed of New York’s Stephen Shackelford, Houston’s Justin Nelson, and Los Angeles’s Davida Brook, landed a milestone victory in April 2023, securing a $787 million settlement on Dominion’s behalf. This win proved a watershed moment for defamation cases of this variety, sending shockwaves throughout the legal, political and news and entertainment landscapes. The case follows similar matters filed against other figures alleged to have played a role in these fraudulent election claims, such as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell (MyPillow CEO), and others.

The firm’s groundbreaking courtroom action for the year certainly doesn’t end with Dominion. New York trial evergreen Bill Carmody is co-lead counsel representing a class that filed a massive action against Google for misrepresenting its privacy settings when users employ “incognito mode.” This lawsuit, valued at more than $5 billion, cleared a major hurdle in 2021 when a judge denied Google’s motion to dismiss. The case is ongoing, with a jury trial set to begin in November 2023. Houston’s Vineet Bhatiasecured a favorable award for the client, Flutter Entertainment, in November 2022 when an arbitrator nearly doubled the exercise price of Fox Corporation’s option to acquire 18.6% of Flutter’s portfolio company, FanDuel Group. This high-stakes arbitration resulted from Fox’s assertion that it should be entitled to the same purchase price as Flutter paid for its share of FanDuel in December 2020, which would have come out to $2.1 billion, with an implied company valuation of $11.2 billion. The arbitration took place over several weeks in the summer of 2022, with the arbitrator finding that Fox’s payment must be based on a substantially higher FanDuel valuation of $20 billion as of December 2020, plus an additional 5% interest per year. At the time of the decision, this equated to a valuation for FanDuel of $22 billion and an option exercise price of $4.1 billion for Fox – nearly twice the amount that Fox argued it should be required to pay. New York’s Jacob Buchdahl is lauded by one client as “exceptionally smart and innovative, great on his feet in court. [He] Exudes confidence, is trustworthy, [and is] a great team leader.” Buchdahl represented an initial seed investor in a case that has been described as one of “stock theft” involving the unicorn South American start-up Rappi. The client was allegedly all but denied his ownership of more than 600,000 shares, valued at tens of millions of dollars, and was prevented from participating in a lucrative 2019 tender offer. Buchdahl filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court, seeking a declaratory judgment that the client was the true owner of shares of Rappi in dispute. After obtaining a denial of the defendants’ motions to dismiss, Buchdahl then overcame a motion for summary judgment and prepared to go to trial in September 2022. The case settled on the weekend before trial was scheduled to commence, with the client receiving the bulk of his shares.

Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Kalpana Srinivasan is hailed as someone who has “done a tremendous job building out that office, particularly in IP and plaintiff work.” Srinivasan represents Caltech – the California Institute of Technology – in pursuing its seminal wi-fi patents for infringement against Samsung’s mobile and other devices. The case is scheduled to be tried in September 2023 in the Eastern District of Texas. “I’ve seen Kalpana quite a bit,” confirms a peer. “She is very good on her feet.”

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz operates out of its one and only office, in New York, but the firm’s prestige is undeniably national, and increasingly international, in scope. “Everyone knows Wachtell, or knows about them, and for very obvious reasons. They are masters at what they do.” The “what they do” is a reference to the firm’s famed M&A dispute practice, which, coupled with its transactional corporate practice, has allowed Wachtell to do nothing short of corner a market. “Wachtell has decided that they want to pivot to doing work that is strictly focused around public company M&A work – that is where you get the premium work.” One peer marvels, “Increasingly, when I look at Wachtell, I am stunned by the growing level of diversity. I’m seeing a lot more international arbitration, which was never considered Wachtell’s forte, but with cross-border deals falling into dispute, [the firm’s services] are more in demand.” The firm has also been particularly active in the bankruptcy space – for which Emil Kleinhaus receives near-universal plaudits – and remains busy in the white collar and investigations area as well, which has historically been the domain of John Savarese, still the firm’s dominant partner in this area.

William Savitt, one of the firm’s most celebrated and universally revered partners (he was perhaps the youngest partner to score a “Hall of Fame” award at the Benchmark Litigation awards in 2022), continues to sustain a record-breaking streak of milestone litigation work, particularly in Delaware. Savitt led a team (which also included Sarah Eddy, Ryan McLeod and Anitha Reddy) which was engaged by Twitter in June 2022 to enforce its $44 billion merger agreement with Elon Musk. After the Wachtell team secured a steady stream of pre-trial wins, Musk unconditionally reversed course, and the deal closed in October 2022 on its originally agreed terms. “That was the most comprehensive corporate trial of the year,” ventures a peer, “and it ended in complete capitulation for Elon.” Further burnishing his unassailable reputation for courtroom acuity, Savitt, along with Eddy, triumphed on appeal for Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, the defendant in a Delaware corporate dispute that had been soundly beaten at trial in late 2021, with an eye-popping judgment of $700 million logged against it. Savitt and Eddy scored a stunning reversal upon appeal in December 2022, wiping the record-breaking decision off the books entirely. “This was the largest class action ever in Delaware,” asserts a peer. “The Wachtell team were litigating as much against the trial judge as they were the lawyers on the other side. They were able to pick their way through the facts and present a challenging legal argument.” Although younger, both Reddy and Eddy have their own admirers in the litigation community. “These are the future leaders of their fiduciary duty and corporate governance practice,” declares a peer. Reddy has “tremendous ability with clients and is taking on more cases as first chair,” and Eddy “rose to be Chief of Appeals, which is a big deal. She has really emerged as one of Wachtell’s top-flight civil litigators, and she can write great appellate briefs.”

Elaine Golin leads a team representing Cardinal Health in the corporate governance capacity, regarding its litigation exposure resulting from the opioid epidemic, which has threatened many entities in the pharmaceutical distribution industry with bankruptcy. Golin and her team managed a complex derivative and class-action docket and then engineered an unprecedented and innovative global resolution for the entire industry with a coalition of state attorneys general. The settlement promises to put the vast bulk of litigation risk behind the industry, likely saving several companies from bankruptcy, while guaranteeing settlement payments for those affected by the opioid crisis. A peer marvels, “The way they not only won, but shepherded this for the entire sector, was unbelievable!” A team consisting of Savitt, Eddy and Jonathan Moses – another Wachtell mainstay – represented Brad Pitt in his dispute with Angelina Jolie concerning their rosé wine-producing entity, acting on matters stemming from Europe as well as domestically.

Since its founding in 2015, New York boutique Walden Macht & Haran has distinguished itself as a small, nimble firm whose respective partners boast “Big Law” as well as in-house counsel credentials. The firm has won the praise and respect of other in-house counsel as well as peers, who are often with much larger and historically entrenched firms. One client offers an especially glowing accolade, cheering the partners’ “excellent knowledge of the law and excellent written and oral skills” and noting: “They aggressively fight for me but are compassionate and organized, they communicate, and they listen. They seem to have boundless energy and pride in their ability to represent me. I am so pleased and impressed that I am trying to think of how they could improve but I just feel my experience over the years has been perfect.”

The Walden Macht & Haran team is most widely recognized for its ability in the white-collar defense space, with an additional niche in the media industry. Milton Williams, who balances white-collar work with employment law, was previously in-house counsel at Time. Name partner Jim Walden, along with Georgia Winston, represented WarnerMedia Direct, who filed suit against Paramount Global, MTV Entertainment Studios, and South Park Digital Studios for breach of a licensing contract, as well as other business torts. Under the contract, HBO Max had exclusive streaming rights to air episodes of South Park, including three seasons of new episodes, on its streaming platform. WarnerMedia alleges, among other claims, that Paramount tortiously interfered with WarnerMedia’s contract for exclusive rights to South Park episodes in order to steer the program content to its own new Paramount+ platform to fuel growth.

Adam Cohen receives an effusive and comprehensive rave review from a client. “Adam is extremely focused and intelligent. He has an excellent knowledge of the law and is an excellent communicator. He listens to my concerns and addresses them. He never takes shortcuts; he challenges himself to do the best for me and is constantly thinking of how to approach a situation to best advantage for me. He is compassionate and patient, motivated and has excellent writing skills. He is also very personable and adaptable. He is flexible to changing situations. It's extremely comforting to know that I am represented by someone with Adam's attributes. I can't imagine not having him on my side.”

A global business firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher has been steadily increasing its litigation profile in both market share and in a literal headcount and geographic footprint sense. “I would have no hesitation sending anyone to Willkie,” insists a peer. “They are a firm on the rise.” While its core strength in the US has historically been New York – and remains so – the firm has branched out and developed other domestic locations as well. It opened a Chicago office in 2020, officially planting its flag on the Midwest legal landscape, continued developing its DC resources, and has doubled down on its expansion in California, where it now has three offices (Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.) “The biggest disrupter in the LA market recently has been Willkie Farr,” quips a peer in an observation on the firm’s build-out of that office. “I feel like anything that’s not nailed down, they’re trying to take!”

Willkie’s bet on California has paid dividends; the firm has attracted star partners in each office. In Los Angeles, the office’s managing partner Alex Weingarten is a peer favorite. “Alex was at Venable before moving to Willkie,” states a peer, who goes on to confide, “I was trying to get him to come here! He’s a terrific litigator who has some high-profile entertainment clients. [He’s] Unbelievable!” Weingarten for nearly a decade has represented the co-trustee of a family trust who was embroiled in a long-running, multi-generational family dispute concerning who was behind a conspiracy to steal tens of millions from the trust, built by the Chinese immigrant grandparents through a successful real estate venture. After reaching a settlement in 2018, in which the trustee’s mother essentially agreed to forfeit $30 million due to the likelihood of her being behind the conspiracy, the mother then changed her mind and spent four years attempting to void the settlement. In March 2022, Weingarten triumphed in convincing the California Court of Appeal to enforce the settlement. A peer also notes that multi-faceted commercial litigator Simona Agnolucci “left [revered San Francisco litigation boutique] Keker [Van Nest & Peters] to open Willkie’s San Francisco office. She’s a player.” Working on a team with DC’s Michael Gottlieb and Mark Stancil, Agnolucci secured a decisive victory in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina in obtaining a dismissal of nationwide class claims brought against Navy Federal Credit Union, a federally chartered, member-owned, not-for-profit credit union serving the military, veterans, and their families. A federal class action was first filed in the Southern District of California, alleging on behalf of a nationwide class that Navy Federal breached its agreement with certain of its customers by charging debit card users a small fee for certain overseas transactions. After Willkie filed Navy Federal’s motion to dismiss, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her complaint. Almost in parallel, another nearly identical lawsuit was filed by different plaintiffs in the District of South Carolina, which met with a similar voluntary dismissal. Willkie’s hot streak in recruiting continues; this past year the firm lured Koren “Kori” Bell, a celebrated white-collar crime-focused partner formerly with local boutique Larson, to its bench. A peer also insists, “Let’s talk about [San Francisco-based IP-focused future star] Barrington Dyer – he’s great!”

Willkie’s insurance practice has made a substantial rise as well. A peer advises, “Look into Christopher St. Jeanos – ask around about him! He’s a stand-up lawyer, and I think he’s only in his mid-40s! My litmus test when it comes to dealing with counsel is ‘Are you just a paper tiger?’ And Chris is not – he’s the real deal.” Another testifies that St. Jeanos is “doing AIG work and all the Marsh work, and he is at the upper echelon in terms of quality.” St. Jeanos and long-time insurance star Mitchell Auslander (both based in the New York office) obtained a significant victory for AIG in litigation concerning McKesson, one of the leading distributors of prescription opioids in the US and a target of the sweeping litigation against all entities in the chain alleged to have contributed to the national epidemic. McKesson, which recently agreed to contribute $7.4 billion to settle thousands of opioid lawsuits brought by government bodies across the country, sought coverage from AIG for its defense costs, judgments, and settlements incurred in the opioid lawsuits. At issue in the litigation are AIG policies with $375 million in total policy limits. The Willkie duo scored when the Northern District of California held, for the first time, that a wholesale drug distributor’s conduct in distributing opioids was not an “accident,” and therefore not covered under commercial general liability policies issued by AIG. The same pair also logged victory for this same client in similar claims brought by Purdue Pharma. 

New York-based securities partners Todd Cosenza and Tariq Mundiya are representing Curo in a shareholder-derivative suit regarding the company’s plans to transition Canadian borrowers from one type of loan to another. The derivative litigation is follow-on litigation from a 10b-5 case in the District of Kansas that has settled. Individually, Cosenza recently achieved a significant win, obtaining dismissal of a derivative action against the independent directors of Wells Fargo in a case arising out of alleged failures by Wells Fargo and its board to comply with several consent orders issued by banking and other federal regulators in the aftermath of the financial services company’s high-profile 2016 customer account fraud. Mundiya defended Resideo Technologies against claims arising from Honeywell’s 2018 spin-off of Resideo and the earnings guidance provided in 2019, upon which Resideo’s stock price fell precipitously, leading to class-action litigation in Minnesota and derivative litigation in Delaware. “Tariq is very good on the M&A side of things,” confirms a peer.

The chairman of the Chicago office, Craig Martin, joined Willkie in 2020 from Jenner & Block and has continued to build out the firm’s Windy City office. Martin’s practice encompasses a wide spectrum of commercial litigation, quasi-white-collar work, intellectual property, and pro bono human rights issues. “Craig brought over a team from Jenner with him to Willkie and he’s been very successful.”

With a network of international and domestic offices, WilmerHale has built a reputation as a global powerhouse. Nationally, the firm’s original mainstay in Boston continues to secure near-unanimous recognition in litigation, and the New York, DC and California offices have further bolstered the firm’s top-tier standing. It is lauded for its litigation capabilities nationwide, particularly antitrust, white-collar, securities and appellate, as well as intellectual property, one of the firm’s most notable practices.

Boston-based trial lawyer Bill Lee is of the most accomplished litigators in intellectual property. He continues to add to his enviable list of milestone patent wins, which have earned him a long-standing reputation in the practice area. In these high-stakes cases, he is well known for his distinguishing ability to translate his encyclopedic knowledge into comprehensive arguments that sway judges and juries. Lee and Denver’s Mary “Mindy” Sooter obtained a damages-less win for Comcast in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by NextStep. Last September in Delaware, the federal jury found in favor of the client on two of the challenged patents, and returned a “doctrine of equivalents” infringement verdict on the last patent. Sooter and Lee secured the zero-dollar victory with a granted motion to preclude the plaintiff’s damages case.

In the appellate arena, Lee also obtained positive results working with appellate expert Seth Waxman of the DC office. The duo represented Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) before the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The FTC filed a case alleging that the lawsuits filed by AbbVie against Teva and Perrigo were shams, thus violating the FTC Act. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the FTC, which AbbVie appealed. The Third Circuit in parts affirmed, reversed, and vacated the District Court’s decision. Notably, the appellate court held that its lawsuit against Teva was not a sham, and the court vacated the disgorgement award. On the Perrigo matter, the Third Circuit upheld the District Court decision that the suit was objectively baseless, which Lee and Waxman challenged in a petition for certiorari that was denied. However, in a complete victory, the FTC dropped the entire case.

Waxman serves as chair of the firm’s appellate and Supreme Court litigation practice, with, as one peer notes, “an army of talent behind him”. Such talent includes Noah Levine, who represented the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) in a putative class action challenging non-judicial foreclosures in Rhode Island, arguing that the client and co-defendant violated the Due Process Clause as plaintiffs also argued that the defendants should be considered government actors. The District Court rejected both arguments, dismissing the complaints. On appeal, the First Circuit upheld the decision, securing a win for the client.

In New York, commercial litigator Hallie Levin obtained a win for T-Mobile in a five-day bench trial before the Delaware Court of Chancery. The trial arose from a settlement agreement between T-Mobile and Cox Communications that concluded a patent infringement case. In the agreement, Cox agreed that should it begin offering retail customers wireless services, it would be done in accordance with a wholesale wireless agreement with Sprint, which T-Mobile acquired. Cox and another mobile network later entered into a wholesale wireless agreement, and sued the client last January, arguing that the provision was unenforceable. Acting on behalf of T-Mobile, Levin filed counterclaims and requested an injunction to enforce the exclusivity obligation. The District Court found that Cox had breached the agreement and the provision was enforceable. The court issued an injunction preventing Cox from offering mobile services with any other operator.

On the West Coast, Sonal Mehta is continuously recognized as a top-tier litigator in the IP space, especially for her role representing titans of the life sciences and technology industry. Recently, she represented Ionpath, a venture-backed start-up by three Stanford professors who sought to commercialize their technology for biological tissue analysis, against competitor Fluidigm. The Northern District of California, in an accelerated patent “showdown” procedure, ruled Ionpath did not infringe the “showdown” claims. After the decision, Fluidigm dismissed its interference with contract claims, and later the plaintiff dismissed the rest of the claims in its appeal. The matter closed confidentially.

Sanford Heisler Sharp continues to be a formidable opponent to management-side labor and employment litigators, even garnering their praises for the sophisticated and oftentimes complex cases. “I look at what they’re doing – I think that they bring a lot of really interesting cases – sets a tone for what the new issues are going to be,” declares an opposing peer. The firm has achieved widespread, national recognition in a variety of labor and employment regards, distinguishing itself across markets. As a plaintiff-side law firm, Sanford Heisler has organized a diverse and strategic network of offices, including New York, Maryland, DC, California, Georgia and Tennessee.

     While employment litigation is the firm’s primary focus, Sanford Heisler is also dedicated to representing victims of crime and civil rights offenses. Renowned trial lawyer recognized as a Top 50 Labor & Employment Litigator and chairman of the firm, David Sanford has been the lead lawyer representing the brother of murder victim, Hae Min Lee in his appeal of the Baltimore City circuit court’s decision to vacate the conviction of the alleged murderer. The case has received significant attention as the subject of both a 2014 podcast and an HBO documentary. Sanford and the team – comprised of Andrew Melzer, Kevin Sharp, and Jeremy Heisler, among others – challenged the hearing, contending that it violated Maryland’s statutory and constitutional crime victims’ rights, which would have afforded the family adequate notice and opportunity to participate in the proceedings. Sanford’s motion for full appeal was granted and the Appellate Court granted the team’s motion to remand the case to the circuit court, following a successful oral argument.

     Melzer and Heisler both practice out of the New York office. Melzer additionally represents plaintiffs alleging unlawful deductions from drivers’ tips, failure to provide adequate meal periods, and failure to pay for work performed during said periods. The lawsuit further alleges that the drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. Heisler worked alongside DC litigator Kate Mueting representing Donna Kassman as class representative in a lawsuit filed against KPMG. Mueting, serving as lead lawyer on the case, filed the action to remedy the company’s systemic discrimination related to pay, promotions, and pregnancy, and hold the company accountable for alleged failure to properly investigate and resolve complaints. Mueting and Heisler secured a $10 million settlement on the Equal Pay Act claims. Tennessee’s former Chief Judge Sharp and DC-based chairman of the firm, Sanford, are representing a class of former African American Deput US Marshals and Detention Enforcement Officers in their lawsuit against the US Marshals Service, asserting alleged race discrimination claims against the Service, including candidates who were not hired. The EEOC administrative judge approved and certified the class, and the team has been engaged in discovery since the 2017 order.

     In New York, Russell Kornblith leads a Title IX class action against Harvard on behalf of female students in the Anthropology Department. The case alleges claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. The duo prevailed against Harvard’s motion for summary judgment and motion to dismiss earlier this year. His casework `over the last year also includes an ERISA action filed individually and as a representative of a class of employees working at the consulting firm West Monroe Partners. Kornblith’s clients allege that the company and its executives used layoffs and other avenues to cash out shares of former employees in their ESOP. The case is active in litigation after he prevailed against the opposing counsel’s motion to dismiss. Alexandra Harwin has also taken action against 401(k) mismanagement, filing breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA on behalf of 200,000 UnitedHealth Group employees and plan participants. Harwin obtained class certification and a settlement conference is set to occur this year. On the employment side of her practice, she is lead counsel representing Graham Chase Robinson in a case against Robert De Niro and Canal Productions, his corporate entity. The lawsuit alleges claims of hostile work environment and retaliation. Harwin is actively gearing up for trial.

New York’s Michael Palmer is leading the case on behalf Siddarth Breja, former Senior Vice President of JUUL, alleging whistleblower retaliation against the company after he complained about unlawful practices. Co-chair of the firm’s whistleblower and qui tam practice group H. Vincent McKnight provides strategic specialty knowledge and assistance on the case.

     Hailing from the San Francisco office, Danielle Fuschetti serves as the firm’s co-chair of the discrimination and harassment practice group. In that area, she is the lead lawyer representing an individual plaintiff against Xilinix, a pioneer in adaptive computing and leader in the semiconductor industry. The lawsuit alleges sex-based pay disparities, hostile work environment, and sex discrimination claims, in addition to alleged intellectual property theft of marketing materials. Fuschetti is actively litigating the case and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, unjust enrichment damages in connection to the IP and trade secrets theft, which is estimated to be roughly $350 million, in addition to other damages and affirmative relief. In addition to discrimination claims, Fuschetti is also involved in 401(k) mismanagement litigation. She is a member of the team as class counsel and represents individual plaintiffs in an action against Walgreens. The plaintiffs, who are participants in Walgreen’s $10 billion 401(k) plan, alleged that the company failed to remove a set of ten target retirement date funds that underperformed in their investment benchmarks. Fuschetti obtained a settlement of $13.75 million. Currently, other cases on her docket are against large nationwide companies including JUUL and Oracle, both of which are actively being litigated. Fellow San Francisco litigator Felicia Gilbert successfully resolved a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed on behalf of a former engineer against tech giant Honeywell represented by a nationally recognized labor and employment-focused law firm. Baltimore’s Deborah Marcuse is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Top 50 Labor & Employment Litigator for her recent work.