New York

A&O Shearman is the newly combined entity composed of US-based Shearman & Sterling and UK-headquartered Allen & Overy, both of which were individually global powerhouses even prior to the merger, giving the new arrangement a massive global footprint. Within the States, the firm is called upon most often for its experience and acumen with matters of the securities and white-collar and enforcement variety and is quickly developing a leading profile in the antitrust space as well. A&O Shearman’s domestic operations showcase litigation star power in its offices in New York, DC and increasingly Texas.
          New York’s Adam Hakki has long been a perennial peer favorite and remains one, 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. “Adam is very, very good, especially for the underwriters,” testifies a peer. Another contemporary remarks, “Adam just seems to be in everything, and is very involved all the time. He doesn’t just pop in and out on a surface level, he gets in the trenches.” Hakki secured a complete victory on behalf of Barclays in a class action litigation arising out of the mining operations of Brazilian mining giant Vale’s “Iron Quadrangle,” which has one of the largest concentrations of iron ore deposits in the world. The plaintiffs, Brazilian homeowners and municipalities, alleged that US banks, including Barclays were strictly liable for various environmental damage caused by Vale’s mining activity by providing over $17 billion in financing to Vale despite their alleged awareness of the environmental risks. The complaints exclusively brought claims arising pursuant to Brazilian law. In September 2024, the Southern District of New York granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds, concluding that these cases must be litigated in Brazil. Hakki, along with Agnès Dunogué  and Lyle Roberts, obtained a significant victory on behalf of PayPal Holdings in a putative securities class action alleging that PayPal made material misstatements and omissions related to a metric the company uses to track net increases to the number of active PayPal accounts, which, through incentive campaigns, allegedly gave rise to fraud and led to the creation of illegitimate accounts, causing the company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices. In January 2025, the court dismissed all of the claims. “Agnes is terrific, I see her a lot,” confirms a peer. Hakki, along with Richard Schwed and DC-based star Todd Stenerson, also represented PayPal in an antitrust capacity in a case in which plaintiffs allege that PayPal uses illegally restrictive merchant contracts that insulate its high transaction fees from competition and inflate online retail prices for consumers. “Todd is a fantastic antitrust lawyer,” declares one peer of Stenerson’s. “He’s creative and he's a trial lawyer! You don’t always have trial lawyers in antitrust cases – so many of them settle!” White-collar-focused John Nathanson led a team that represented crypto exchange KuCoin in a DoJ criminal indictment and CFTC and NYAG civil enforcement matters, all of which claim that the client and its two China-based founders failed to implement anti-money laundering protocols and thus allowing suspicious transactions associated with substantial sums to flow through its trading platform. A team composed of Hakki, Dunogué and Thad Behrens obtained a significant victory representing the underwriters of seven note offerings for Norfolk Southern. The plaintiffs alleged that the offering materials for these note offerings failed to disclose alleged material facts and trends related to safety risks that eventually materialized with train derailments in February and March 2023, after which the prices of these dropped significantly. In July 2024, that defendants obtained a partial motion to dismiss. Behrens, based in Texas, is called “just a brilliant lawyer” by a peer, who testifies, “and he can try anything. He is building out that [A&O] office in Dallas.”

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.

Boies Schiller & Flexner has crafted itself a pride of place in the legal market since its inception as a litigation-centric “boutique” with a maverick approach. Much of its initial celebrity was, and to an extent still is, largely credited to name partner and founder David Boies, a trailblazing trial lawyer who has been at the forefront of some of the most newsworthy and precedent-setting trials and appeals, as well as many others that haven’t made headlines but have covered a staggering array of disciplines. Boies’ legend still looms large. “At an age when most of his peers have long since retired, David is still active and still a brand name,” marvels one peer. “He seems to have no desire to hang it up – or doesn’t show it, anyway.” Boies and DC partner Hamish Hume served as co-lead counsel in a decade-long litigation for a class of Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers, which alleged that the trademark licenses used by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association violated antitrust laws by allocating markets among the companies using those trademarks, and by restricting competition in other ways, including by capping the amount of revenue such companies can make from selling insurance under a trademark other than Blue Cross or Blue Shield.  In August 2022, the pair secured $2.67 billion in damages for the class. Individual objectors appealed the settlement and the Boies team successfully defended it on appeal, securing a unanimous decision from the Eleventh Circuit in October 2023.  The objectors then filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the US Supreme Court, and the Boies pair again successfully defended the settlement, securing a denial of cert in June 2024. Hume also led a DC-based trial team that, in October 2023, secured a jury verdict of $612.4 million on behalf of a class of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders who challenged a 2012 agreement, known as the “net worth sweep,” between the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the US. Treasury. Florida-based Stuart Singer led a team that won an important case on behalf of renewable energy producer NextEra Energy that upholds the rights of companies to compete for power transmission projects, which was imperiled by a 2019 Texas law giving incumbent utilities and other existing transmission owners in Texas the exclusive right to build new transmission lines. NextEra had been awarded an important interstate transmission project which the new law would prevent NextEra from building. After the district court dismissed the action, Singer and his team appealed to the Fifth Circuit, scoring a favorable reversal. New York’s litigation group leader Matthew Schwartz is lauded by a peer as “a great lawyer strategic thinker, [who] was in the criminal and civil division of the US Attorney’s office.” Schwartz represents California investor Chris Parker and Red Mango Enterprises in litigation against the founder and former Chairman of Tellurian with claims for breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment. In 2017, the plaintiffs invested in Tellurian, a liquified natural gas company founded by the defendant. After the share price of Tellurian dropped sharply in the following years, the defendant promised in a series of text messages to indemnify plaintiffs for any losses if they retained their shares, which the plaintiffs did. The defendant then reneged on this agreement. Trial is scheduled to begin in December 2025. 

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. “Cravath partners just carry the prestige with them daily. I even encounter partners who used to be with Cravath, and they still have this polish about them,” opines a peer. “Then you find out they are a Cravath alum, and it all makes sense.” The firm’s client roster is equally as “enviable,” and its partners service these blue-chip entities across a wide array of disciplines, most notably antitrust, commercial matters, securities, white-collar crime and even intellectual property.
     Cases concerning antitrust have been front-and-center as of late. “I feel like antitrust is the beating heart of Cravath right now,” speculates a peer. Lending further weight to this observation, the firm doubled down on this practice over the past year, hiring Andrew Finch, a seasoned authority in this area, from Paul Weiss. A team composed of Karin DeMasi, Christine Varney and Lauren Kennedy is representing the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and more than a dozen member plans as lead counsel in consolidated multidistrict antitrust litigation pending in Alabama federal court challenging foundational aspects of the Blue Cross Blue Shield System as anticompetitive. In a matter traversing the intersection of antitrust and securities, Antony Ryan and Yonaton Evensecured a favorable settlement for Qualcomm and certain of its directors and officers to resolve a consolidated class action stock-drop suit in California federal court filed in the wake of antitrust investigations and litigation concerning the company’s patent licensing and modem chipset businesses.  Plaintiffs alleged that defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose material information concerning alleged anticompetitive conduct by Qualcomm to maintain a monopoly for semiconductors used in mobile phones, specifically with respect to licensing its standard essential patents on a non-discriminatory basis and to the bundling of license and chipset sales agreements.
     Michael Paskin and Helam Gebremariam are representing Citigroup in putative class-action litigation brought by Loomis Sayles Trust in New York federal court concerning several large equity trades executed by Citigroup in March 2022.  Specifically, the plaintiff alleges that Citigroup breached its obligations as its broker by failing to properly follow the customer’s trading instructions in connection with the trades, and that this failure resulted in significant financial loss for the plaintiff and members of the proposed class, which brought claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, seeking compensation for alleged losses in excess of $70 million. The Cravath duo filed a motion for summary judgment in November 2023, which was granted in part in September 2024, denying plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary claim but allowing the contract claim to proceed to trial, pending the court’s ruling on motion for class certification, which was filed in October 2024. IP practitioner Keith Hummel and white-collar star Ben Gruenstein represented cardiovascular-centric medical device company Abiomed, as plaintiff in a trade secret and breach of contract action brought a German entity and its founder, with whom Abiomed entered into consulting agreements under which Abiomed confidentially shared valuable proprietary information and trade secrets. Abiomed alleged that the defendant company wrongfully disclosed Abiomed’s confidential information and trade secrets to a Chinese company that was also founded by the defendant founder and that this company—an Abiomed competitor—allegedly used this information to file Chinese patent applications claiming Abiomed’s intellectual property as its own.  In September 2023, the Cravath duo defeated defendants’ motion to dismiss, and the parties then reached a settlement and stipulated to the dismissal of the action in December 2024.  Kevin Orsini continues to hold firm to his growing reputation as another all-purpose trial powerhouse. “Kevin can do it all – antitrust, ‘event-driven litigation’ – and he never stays in one place,” commends a peer. “He’s doing antitrust one day and wildfire cases the next!” Illustrating his fluency with “event-driven litigation” (specifically the alluded-to wildfires) Orsini acts on a team with Omid Nasab, Timothy Cameron Evan Norris, David Korn, and Brittany Sukiennik representing utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company and its parent company PG&E Corporation in connection with more than 300 complaints filed in California state courts relating to the 2019 Kincade Fire, the 2020 Zogg Fire and the 2021 Dixie Fire. The complaints, filed on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs as well as a putative class, assert that PG&E’s alleged failure to properly maintain, inspect and de-energize its transmission and distribution lines was the cause of the fires. To date, the Cravath team has resolved approximately $2 billion in claims through settlements with insurance subrogation plaintiffs, various public entities and thousands of individual homeowners.

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. A peer addresses Davis Polk partners as “outstanding financial litigators, very sharp across the board." Another insists, "They deserve their reputations for being really good lawyers."
     Davis Polk New York office continues to be revered as 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. Andres led JPMorgan Chase to a March 2024 triumph when the DoJ moved to dismiss with prejudice a two-count criminal information filed against the financial institution in 2020 in connection with a 2020 deferred prosecution agreement, which arose out of spoofing activity in the precious metals and treasuries futures markets by traders on the bank’s precious metals and US.Treasuries desks between 2008 and 2016. This agreement compelled the bank to cooperate with numerous detailed conditions of the DoJ’s prosecutions. The court granted the government’s motion on the same day, holding that the bank “fully complied with all of [its] obligations under the agreement.” Andres also, along with Dana Seshens and lead partner James Rouhandeh, led Morgan Stanley to victory in a matter, stemming from 2012, common law fraud claims brought by a German bank arising from the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007. The Davis Polk team obtained partial summary judgment in 2023, but the court still permitted the plaintiff bank to proceed to trial on two other purported misrepresentations alleged in the complaint. The court heard oral argument in August 2024. Seshens and Martine Beamon scored for Attorney General Letitia James in February 2025, securing dismissal of harassment claims filed by a plaintiff alleging that James’s former Chief of Staff (who is separately represented in the action) sexually assaulted her at an event in November 2021 and that James and her Office were liable for his alleged conduct.

     Andrew Ditchfield has emerged as another one of the firm’s most prominent players. “Andrew is a complete rockstar and we’re seeing him more and more,” confirms a peer. “He’s suddenly everywhere, and it’s kind of out of nowhere!” Ditchfield  obtained a May 2024 victory for Exxon Mobil in a breach-of-contract action brought in New York State Supreme Court. The plaintiffs were former shareholders of InterOil Corporation, a Canadian oil-and-gas company that was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2017. The plaintiffs sued ExxonMobil four years after the transaction closed, alleging that it breached its contractual obligations by failing to pay the full amount of post-closing contingent consideration due to them under a Contingent Resource Payment agreement that was executed in connection with the acquisition. In April 2022, Ditchfield moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue their claims because the agreement barred individual shareholders or small ad hoc groups (like plaintiffs) from instituting any action to enforce the agreement. The court agreed and dismissed the complaint. The plaintiffs appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department, which affirmed the dismissal in a 3-2 decision in March 2023. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which unanimously affirmed the dismissal of the complaint. Ditchfield also represents Novo Nordisk in connection with three lawsuits filed in Delaware Chancery Court relating to its acquisition of Emisphere Technologies. Bankruptcy star Elliott Moskowitz won an appellate victory in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department in December 2024 for a group of lenders that participated in an October 2022 financing transaction undertaken by a major Canadian telecommunications provider. Following the 2022 transaction, the participating lenders were sued, in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of New York, by other lenders that did not participate in the 2022 financing. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs challenged liens securing more than $850 million in debt owed to the participating lenders and sought money damages on the basis that the restructuring transaction allegedly violated the terms of preexisting credit agreements, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, among other claims. Paul Spagnoletti has carved out a premier spot in the professional liability capacity, generating particular acclaim for his defense of law firms. One peer testifies, “I witnessed Paul do a terrific job. He was effectively in the lead of a very complicated dispute with multiple law firms and billions at stake.”

Elsberg Baker & Maruri was only forged as its own entity in early 2024, but its constellation of practitioners is composed of litigators that have served in leading positions in other celebrated litigation shops. While a new firm, Elsberg Baker is already garnering significant momentum on the strength of its collective and individual trial-centric ethos. The firm’s reputation is being propelled by a wave of peer recognition and client testimonials. “They are some very talented folks, and I think there’s a lot of energy behind them,” attests one peer. “They learned the playbook of Big Law, cracked the code on their styles, and came out swinging.” Another mentions, “The quality of the clients I’m seeing them attracting is getting more impressive. I don’t know that I’m at liberty to mention any by name, but let’s just say at least one is a company you definitely know well, and it’s someone who could have their pick of any law firm.” Cementing its stature as one of the top shops in New York, Elsberg Baker took the prize for the “Boutique Firm of the Year” at the Benchmark awards gala ceremony in March 2025, a remarkable achievement for a firm only in its first year of existence.
     David Elsberg, formerly a name partner at another prominent New York shop, what was previously Selendy Gay & Elsberg (now Selendy Gay), receives plaudits from the community as an all-purpose commercial trial lawyer. “David was my mentor when we were both at Quinn Emanuel,” testifies an erstwhile colleague, “and he’s really just getting started!” Rollo Baker, another former Quinn partner, draws acclaim for his broad commercial litigation practice. Baker quickly makes the leap from future star to litigation star in this edition, as does Silpa Maruri, who is also developing a vocal fan base. “I am huge fan of hers. There’s nothing she can’t do,” exclaims one contemporary, who insists, “[Benchmark] need[s] to look into her more. [She is] unbelievably impressive.” A client concurs: “Silpa is a hands-on litigator, immersed in our matter and extremely proactive in her strategic advice and litigation execution.” Beyond the name partners, the firm is also bolstering the ranks and grooming the next generation of talent; Jared Ruocco, Michael Duke and Vivek Tata all make their debut appearances as future stars, and all come equipped with credentials and experience honed at other top New York litigation shops (Quinn Emanuel, Selendy Gay and Sullivan & Cromwell, respectively.) Tata also serves as the firm’s General Counsel.

Headquartered in the UK, global powerhouse Freshfields has achieved remarkable success in establishing a US presence; indeed, it can be argued that it has entrenched itself in this market to a broader and deeper extent than any of its “Magic Circle” contemporaries. This is especially true with regard to litigation, with Freshfields boasting an ever-expanding team in the securities and commercial litigation capacities, in addition to an established international arbitration and white-collar bench.
     Many credit the firm’s relatively recent spike in the securities area to Meredith Kotler and Mary Eaton, both of whom operate from the New York office. “They are both very strong individually, and together, they make a formidable duo,” states one peer. Kotler is cheered by a client as a “quick learner, good communicator and a strategic thinker,” and a peer testifies, “I look for different styles when I’m referring a securities case to someone, and if I have a case that needed a ‘fire-breathing dragon,’ it’s Meredith Kotler. She is a former prosecutor and brings that energy.” The duo of Kotler and Eaton successfully represented global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and two of its executives in a stockholder class action in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, challenging Viela’s US $3 billion sale to Horizon Therapeutics.  The complaint alleged that AstraZeneca – which held 26% of Viela’s stock – controlled Viela as a result of the support agreements and coerced Viela’s Board to sell the company to Horizon for an unfair price. In December 2023, Kotler argued for motion to dismiss, which was granted in July 2024. David Livshiz and Jennifer Loeb are representing Rio Tinto in a US federal climate change class action in Puerto Rico. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants’ production, promotion, refining, marketing and sale of fossil-fuel-based consumer product caused losses, deaths and destruction of property resulting from severe storms in Puerto Rico in September 2017. Livshiz is championed by a client as “incredibly responsive, exceptionally bright and able to synthesize extensive information in a short period of time. He is extremely knowledgeable about our business and able to provide strategic and pragmatic solutions.” Loeb is also cheered as “clear, proactive and thoughtful.” Freshfields’ amplification of its securities practice has been no less successful on the West Coast, where the team is bookended by Boris Feldman and Doru Gavril. Feldman is a seasoned local luminary whose “name drops a lot of weight in this [Bay] area” and who, despite his senior status, remains firmly on the cutting edge, specializing in the tech space, the dominant Bay Area industry. A peer opines, “I think Boris would be bored with just basic securities work! Give him tech-related cases, and that’s where he shines. It seems to me that’s really where he wants to be, and he’s got the chops and vocabulary for it.” Feldman and Gavril have been representing gaming platform Roblox in every shareholder lawsuit it has had since its public listing. Feldman also worked with Livishiz for AI juggernaut Palantir and several of its officers and directors in parallel securities class-action and derivative litigation. The team achieved complete dismissals with prejudice at the pleading stage in both federal and state courts.
     Freshfields has also doubled down on its commercial litigation area, having lured New York star Gayle Klein to its bench two years ago. Klein leads a team  representing Tesla in four putative class actions relating to a company data incident involving the misappropriation of company data by former employees. Plaintiffs allege that Tesla failed to protect the personal information of over 75,000 current and former employees that was exposed in the incident.  

Fried Frank, particularly through its New York office, has established itself in a number of litigation disciplines, including white-collar and securities enforcement and real-estate matters, the latter practice being an area in which the firm is considered one of Manhattan’s premier players. “Real estate has always been big for them, but they have been building out other areas as well,” assesses a peer. One area in which the firm has always been noted (and has successfully demonstrated a generational succession plan) is in the white-collar area. “They have been strong there since the days of [since-retired partner] Audrey Strauss, but now they have Stephen Juris, who is great.” Juris, a celebrated star in this practice since his days with famed white-collar boutique Morvillo Abramowitz, continues to generate accolades from clients as well. “Stephen is a one-of-a-kind New York lawyer. He's the total package,” testifies one client. “From Day One with a client, he can spot any potential pitfalls, as well as the path to a successful resolution. He is careful, thoughtful, open and respected by his peers. He is a true joy to work with on matters.” Ilan Graff also has quickly amassed fans among peers and clients. “He is a fantastic communicator, brilliant lawyer, extremely thoughtful about and sensitive to the cascading variety of non-legal problems that can flow from investigations and prosecutions,” extols one client. Graff secured a sentence of probation for FTX co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang.  Graff has helped Wang navigate overlapping DoJ, SEC, CFTC, bankruptcy, and civil proceedings. Wang proved a cooperative in all proceedings. “Gary Wang was the ‘good guy’ in that whole FTX shitshow,” quips one peer, who goes on to stress, “but that doesn’t necessarily make Ilan’s job any easier. He was very impressive [with this representation.]” Scott Luftglass, cheered by a client for his “excellent judgment and communication skills,” represents alternative-investment Apollo Global Management and several members of Apollo’s Board of Directors in a shareholder- derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery filed by an Apollo stockholder. The plaintiff alleges that Apollo’s founders and several members of its board of directors breached their fiduciary duties and committed corporate waste by causing Apollo to make $570 million in payments to Apollo’s founders and controlling stockholders in connection with Apollo’s restructuring. Through this restructuring, the founders and controlling stockholders gave up voting control over Apollo. Matthew Parrott, touted by a client as “highly experienced and practical,” is a noted leader in the firm’s celebrated real-estate practice. Parrott represents an affiliate of Yellowstone Real Estate Investments in connection with a mortgage foreclosure of the former Maxwell Hotel at 541 Lexington Avenue in New York City.  Yellowstone acquired the $170 million in mortgage loans in March 2022 when the loans were already in maturity default and commenced a mortgage foreclosure action in September 2022. The borrower asserted various counterclaims against Yellowstone seeking to delay the foreclosure and secured an injunction in Delaware temporarily prohibiting Yellowstone from exercising its right to sever the loans to create a UCC pledge. 

A national powerhouse, Gibson Dunn’s scope of services extends beyond litigation, but in this disputes capacity, it has consistently displayed its prowess in almost every sub-practice area. The firm has extended well beyond its California roots and has gone on to claim a dominant position in every US locale in which it operates. “They are obviously smart litigators with a well deserved great reputation. We see them a lot,” testifies one peer. Another extols, “They are professional, zealous advocates. They handle DEI and employment issues deftly — they’ve got strong depth, especially in DC." Even in smaller jurisdictions, it is noted that Gibson Dunn goes all in. One example is Colorado, where a local peer confirms, “Out of all the national firms here, Gibson Dunn has invested the most in staying in Denver. It’s mostly labor and employment and investigations, but it’s still a strong and visible group.”
     Perhaps nowhere is this demonstrated greater than the firm’s move into Texas, which it has implemented with aplomb, establishing itself as one of the top shops in both the Houston and Dallas markets.  “Gibson Dunn does what they do,” sums up a local peer, “and they are very selective. They take only a few cases, and they work the hell out of them.” Another goes so far as to address them as “perhaps the strongest shop in Dallas right now, and they did it fast! There are a lot of great firms here that have been here much longer.” A multi-city Texas team of trial team composed of Trey Cox, Colin Cox and Gregg Costa secured a resounding victory for Energy Transfer in a case that held that First Amendment rights did not extend to violent and destructive behavior. After more than three weeks of trial in North Dakota, a state court jury awarded over $660 million in damages against Greenpeace and its affiliates. Energy Transfer had argued that Greenpeace had facilitated trespass, nuisance, and civil conspiracy in relation to demonstrations held against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Costa and Trey Cox reside in Dallas, while Colin Cox sits in Houston. “Colin Cox is excellent,” insists a peer. “He was at a local firm, and candidly it was assumed by all that he would be the heir apparent for a more senior partner. When that didn’t happen, Colin left and went to Gibson Dunn to help build their Houston office, which he’s doing a great job with. He’s going to get more opportunities to shine there.” Dallas-based appellate star Allyson Ho scored big in June 2024 when the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled to reverse the contrary decisions of three lower courts, handing client Truck Insurance Exchange a resounding victory in a case concerning allegations of widespread fraud among claimants seeking insurance recovery from a bankruptcy trust for asbestos injuries. 

     The firm continues to dominate in its native California. Los Angeles’ Theane Evangelis, whose practice traverses appellate, employment,  media and entertainment, and class actions, won a victory on behalf of the City of Grants Pass, Oregon in a landmark case addressing whether the Eighth Amendment bars local governments from enforcing public-camping regulations after the Ninth Circuit held that it would be cruel and unusual to impose any punishment, no matter how small, for sleeping on public property if a person has no access to alternative shelter. Antitrust and class-action partner Sam Liversidge also receives peer plaudits. “My first time working with him on was [on a case regarding] HP but he was very good. He takes a bold position in trial.” Brian Lutz in the San Francisco office is representing Meta (Facebook) in a high-profile securities class action and shareholder-derivative action arising out of misuse of user data by Cambridge Analytica, and Facebook’s $5 billion resolution of allegations by the FTC that Facebook violated a consent decree. After three orders dismissing the action, the Ninth Circuit reversed, with a dissent. Lutz convinced the US Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s opinion. “We work with Brian Lutz on this Meta stuff,” confirms a co-counsel. “He is fantastic and a true pleasure to work with.”
     Gibson Dunn’s New York office is home to two of its “next-generation” stars in the intellectual property capacity. Dr. Jane Love is noted by patent-focused peers as having “done a lot of work on the bio side,” and Brian Rosenthal is noted for his work with in the tech space. “Brian represents Apple, and he’s fantastic.”

A patent-focused intellectual property boutique, with an emphasis on biotech and pharmaceuticals, Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone got off to a roaring start in 2023 as entity calving off from Paul Weiss with a trial-centric approach and a wave of peer review fueling its market momentum. “This is an IP shop to watch,” advises one peer. “They broke off and took all of their clients with them, and they are steadfastly loyal because [Groombridge Wu] can try cases.” Another elaborates, “They get hired for cases of some enterprise significance. They skew largely in favor of life sciences. There’s a great balance there of Nicholas Groombridge, the polished, eloquent, seasoned statesman, and the group of other name partners (Eric Stone, Steven Baughman and Jennifer Wu), who are younger and really roll up their sleeves and get involved in the trenches.” A client addresses Groombridge as a “great litigator and a consummate gentleman, very professional and great to work with.” Stone is championed for his “Integrity and strategic thinking.” It is also noted that “Groombridge Wu is really growing its younger ranks, although to be fair, it could be said that these people are growing the firm! There is some real brain power there.”
     A firm team, composed of Groombridge, Steve Baughman and Jennifer Wu, is lead counsel for plaintiffs 10x and Stanford University in litigation in the District of Delaware asserting six patents on key technology relating to single-cell sequencing. The team is also lead counsel for 10x in defending the validity of the six patents at the PTAB. The defendant is a competitor to 10x in the single-cell-sequencing market. The team logged wins in three of the six IPRs, convincing the PTAB not to institute. The team also received a unique ruling conditionally terminating two of the instituted IPRs. The firm’s PTAB team, led by Steve Baughman and Megan Raymond, acted for Novo Nordisk, successfully defeating institution of two IPR challenges to patents for the active compound in the blockbuster Ozempic drug in October 2023.

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 juggles a novel mix of white-collar crime, commercial litigation and employment work. Starting in 2009, the firm showcases talent that boasts credentials from larger and better-known law firms, while continually building a dispute-resolution team to rival those at these other firms.
     Jonathan Harris in the New York office is a recipient of resounding praise from peers and clients. One client sums up Harris as “really composed and calm, yet a fierce advocate and litigator,” and goes on to elaborate, “Jon carefully listens to understands every relevant aspect of the situation and then thinks out of the box to come up with the best possible solution. He does not have to act tough to be tough. [He is] Soft spoken but tactical and can be aggressive or ruthless if needed.” Another extols, “Jon is a consummate counselor and fixer, a deep thought partner, highly creative, and detailed. [He] Plays chess with the other side and helps you stay ahead.” A contemporary and former opponent calls Harris “an A+ level trial lawyer,” and confirms, “He's great with judges, witnesses and juries. It’s hard to not like him, even [when you’re] against him. [He’s] Just terrific overall.” Harris and employment-focused name partner David Wechsler represented a former trader at Deutsche Bank who was indicted during the global LIBOR investigations for alleged manipulation of benchmark interest rates. An initial conviction at trial was reversed on appeal by the Second Circuit, which fully exonerated the client, agreeing with the firm’s argument that the trader was not a member of senior management and that his conduct did not constitute any wrongdoing. Following the acquittal, the firm team brought a claim against Deutsche Bank for civil malicious prosecution, alleging that Deutsche Bank, to protect the real decision makers in senior management, scapegoated the client and provided false information (or failed to provide truthful information) to the government. After defeating Deutsche Bank’s motion to dismiss, the parties settled. Another New York partner, Yonaton Aronoff, is another client favorite. “He is an excellent strategic thinker and courtroom advocate,” claims one such client. Joseph Gallagher makes the leap from future star to litigation star in this edition on the gathering momentum of peer recognition and client accolades. One client calls Gallagher, “prepared, committed, insightful, intelligent and practical,” and explains, “Joe listens to our problems and questions, and helps us come up with an approach that works for us. He is incredibly practical and resourceful.”
     Resident in the firm’s DC office, Barry Pollack attends to a white-collar niche. A client describes Pollack as “an unrivalled expert in his field, who brings to the team a wealth of knowledge and experience and outside-the-box thinking.” Pollack led the defense of another prominent DC lawyer on multiple charges related to an alleged criminal sexual assault of another attorney. Pollack obtained an acquittal on all counts following a two-week jury trial.

Celebrated boutique Hecker Fink has earned itself a pride of place in the crowded New York litigation market. One client goes so far as to assert, “This is the best litigation shop in NYC.” The firm is in expansion mode, not only in terms of reputation and market share but also in terms of actual headcount. “Their firm has grown quite a bit,” observes one contemporary. “Every year, they get larger and so are in more matters, and they recruit more talent, and so their reputation is getting stronger even beyond the name partners. I would point to Jenna Dabbs as one example, she’s very effective. Also, Mike Ferrara, he’s doing really well.” The firm did lose recently one partner – former name partner and trial lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who departed the firm this year, prompting its July 2024 name change from its former title of Kaplan Hecker & Fink.
     Sean Hecker is a rare breed of white-collar trial lawyer, with an unassailable reputation that has been fortified by universal peer and client testimonials, and the representative work to support the commentary. “Sean is the best lawyer in [New York] city,” insists a client. “He offers strategic thinking, communication, and very strong written work product. It is difficult to identify a shortcoming. His representation of us was a home run.” Hecker represents law firm Dechert in multiple active lawsuits relating to an alleged scheme to hack a client’s adversary’s emails, publish and use some of the hacked material, and cover up the scheme. The principal RICO complaint seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Hecker and Ferrara represent John Patrick Gorman III in an action brought by the CFTC for allegedly manipulating the prices of US dollar interest-rate swap spreads, and for certain alleged misstatements, while working as the head of non-yen rate trading for Nomura in Japan. Hecker and Dabbs meanwhile act for Glen Point Capital founder and former Chief Investment Officer Neil Phillips, who was indicted by the Southern District of New York in 2022 on commodities and wire fraud charges for alleged manipulative trading in the FX spot market. Phillips was also charged by the CFTC in connection with the same alleged conduct. David Gopstein, a future star who makes his debut in this edition, works with Hecker and Dabbs in this matter. On her own, Dabbs represents multiple individuals in connection with an investigation by the Southern District of New York and the SEC, which led to the indictment in the Spring of 2022 of the former CEO and CFO of investment firm and family office Archegos Capital Management, and guilty pleas pursuant to Informations filed against the firm’s former Head Trader and Chief Risk Officer.  The charges include racketeering and fraud offenses relating to a market manipulation scheme. Archegos’s downfall also resulted in significant losses for many of the firm’s trading counterparties, all of which were large and established financial institutions. Trial against the indicted CEO and CFO of the firm is scheduled for the Spring of 2024, and the government’s investigation is ongoing. 

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.

In the tri-state area, New York-based Herrick Feinstein focuses on development and construction disputes, foreclosures, zoning litigation, restructurings, and bankruptcies. Herrick also has a strong restructuring and finance department along with a specialized practice in complex employment litigation.

William Fried is a co-chair of the litigation department, in which he focuses on construction and real estate disputes, trust-and-estate litigation, and business divorces. Fried is the lead partner representing the Fortis Property Group, a real estate investment and development company, in a high-profile dispute relating to the unfinished luxury high-rise building at 161 Maiden Lane in downtown Manhattan. Fortis brought litigation against Pizzarotti, a construction company, seeking $78 million in claims related to alleged engineering, architectural, and construction issues on the project. The litigation remains ongoing.

Carol Goodman is the co-chair of Herrick’s litigation department and chair of the firm’s employment practice.  She has litigated before the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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. Most notably, Joshua Blosveren has proven an especially visible and active member of the group. “Josh is a very good litigator who offers very good insurance analysis.” 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. Zurich appealed the court’s two summary judgment decisions in the Delaware Supreme Court which, in February 2024, affirmed the two summary judgment rulings. The firm team behind this matter also included John Curley and Miriam Manber. This same team, along with Bradley Nash, also acted on a case, led by Regal, for this same client in an insurance coverage litigation filed by Syngenta in Delaware Superior Court against various insurance companies that issued primary and excess insurance policies to Syngenta’s corporate predecessors in the years 1971-1986—providing over $800 million in coverage—for losses arising from 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 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 led a case for Cosmax USA and Nu-World against plaintiffs, who are a contract manufacturer specializing in beauty products, who brought an action upon the client’s breach of a contract in an attempt to recover approximately $2 million owed pursuant to the contracts. The client asserted counterclaims related to several alleged agreements that it claims were breached and resulted in lost profits as well as other damages, including fines from major retailers. Manber also works with fellow future star Helene Hechtkopf on a labor and employment matter for the New York MTA, a longtime mainstay client for the firm.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is widely and duly revered as among 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. The firm elicits a remarkable level of accolades from former and current co-counsel as well as referring lawyers. “I am working with them a lot, [on] some very big-ticket litigation of other kinds besides Chancery work,” testifies one co-counsel “I worked with them on [a case regarding] Rite-Aid concerning coverage for liabilities for opioids.” Another declares, “We brought them in for a significant matter that wound up not being litigated but would have been a big deal if it had, and I had the utmost confidence them.” Still another confirms, “I tried this implied-covenant trial with them, which virtually never happens in bankruptcy world, and the lead trial lawyer on this case was from Holwell Shuster.” Another peer insists, “You need to recognize Holwell Shuster in the insurance category more! They are getting a ton of that Chubb work now.”
     By way of example, a firm team composed of Michael Shuster, Matthew Gurgel and Avi Israeli recently added to a series of victories that it has earned for Chubb as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel in the insurer’s docket of over 20 insurance-coverage cases related to the opioid crisis, in the past year alone securing summary judgment victories in litigation against CVS, Publix, and a Mallinckrodt trust—building on prior summary judgment victories against Rite Aid, Zogenix and McKesson. The cases place at issue Chubb’s insurance contracts with some of the largest players in the industry, including distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson; manufacturers like Mallinckrodt, Endo, Amneal, and Zogenix; and pharmacies like CVS, Kroger, Costco, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Albertson’s, Giant Eagle, Publix, UNFI, and Walmart. Continuing to serve at the forefront of the firm’s team, founding partner year after year further cements his position 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. Shuster also acts with Vincent Levy and Neil Lieberman for LCM XXII and other issuers of collateralized loan obligations in a dispute with Serta Simmons Bedding over its COVID-related refinancing. In 2020, Serta entered into a transaction where it received $200 million of new-money financing from a group of lenders—which did not include plaintiffs in this case—who also agreed to redeem their first- and second-lien loans for a new category of super-priority debt with payment rights ahead of the first-lien loans. Levy, along with Scott Danner, also secured a significant jury verdict against Boeing in litigation alleging the aerospace behemoth stole substantial trade secrets from aircraft startup Zunum Aero related to the development of electric and hybrid-electric aircrafts. The jury awarded Zunum damages of $81.3 million for trade secret misappropriation, $67.08 million for breach of contract, and another $11.56 million for tortious interference. “Vince Levy is an exceptional lawyer,” declares a peer. “[He is] Very good and thorough.”

Kaplan Martin is a New York-based litigation boutique formed shortly after its founder and name partner Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan departed the former Kaplan Hecker & Fink (now Hecker Fink) shop in 2024. This new venture touts its proven trial-tested credentials and its agenda of juggling a mix between commercial litigation and social-justice matters. The firm’s trajectory has been actively monitored by peers, one of whom quips, “I always said, whatever Robbie Kaplan does next, it’s going to be interesting, and it is!” Another remarks on the firm’s ambitions: “I’m seeing a lot more of these types of ‘half-and-half’ boutiques sprouting up now, and, although I wish them all the best, I can’t help but be a little cynical about some of them. You know, ‘You’re going to spend half of your time with your white hat on, saving the world, and the other half of the time defending ‘the bad guys.’ But I don’t doubt the sincerity of this outfit for a minute – Robbie Kaplan has proven herself time and time again as being a very passionate advocate for justice and has been publicly fearless in this pursuit. She is a hard-core New York litigator.” Lending further gravity to this commentary, Kaplan has represented Jean Carroll, an author, columnist and journalist, who sued Donald Trump for defamation in November 2019, after he denied her allegations that he sexually assaulted her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in 1996. In 2022, Carroll filed a second suit that added a claim of battery under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York State law, as well as further defamation claims based on statements Trump made in 2022, after he had left office for his first term. The cases became commonly referred to as Carroll I and Carroll II, respectively. The appeal of Carroll II was argued before a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit in September 2024, and decided in December 2024, affirming the lower court’s rulings and upholding the jury’s $5 million damages award. Kaplan also represents the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in cases involving legal and administrative challenges to New York City’s congestion pricing, the nation's first such program aiming to address the city and region’s decades-old air pollution and traffic problems through a toll on cars for entering the Central Business District in Manhattan that will provide revenue to improve the City’s mass-transit infrastructure. Kaplan has successfully rebuffed every legal challenge to stop the program so far (though those cases remain pending), and she further demonstrated the alluded-to “public fearlessness” by immediately suing the Trump Administration when Trump declared that “congestion pricing is dead” and purported to revoke federal approval. “Robbie Kaplan is a great friend, full disclosure,” offers a peer as a disclaimer before insisting, “but she is a great lawyer, very talented and gutsy. [She] Takes risks. She regularly takes on Trump, and, as you know, she took on the neo-Nazis regarding the whole Charlottesville fiasco [the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally.] Although I have seen her on the defense side a fair deal, she still does great plaintiff work with a social-justice component.” While Kaplan remains the center of gravity and her litigation credentials unquestioned, the firm is also building the ranks with additional star power; the firm also recruited Ellen Holloman from Cadwalader in 2025. “Ellen is great,” testifies a contemporary. “She has been doing a lot of work in the Sean Combs case. I worked with her for many years, and she taught me a lot. I took my first deposition with her!”

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. “Their services were excellent with respect to understanding the issues involved in the case and worked to ensure the best outcome,” extols one. Another addresses the firm as “extremely commercial, risk based and pragmatic. [They have a ] Strong sense of where to put energy and focus. They are very legally sound and strategic. They offer practical solutions to their clients, both on legal and non-legal aspects.” Although, as one peer stresses, “Kasowitz does a lot of high-risk plaintiff work,” the firm offers a comprehensive array of litigation services on 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 the firm’s center of gravity being 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 DoJ– 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 DoJ’s ongoing criminal investigations into the poultry industry. Kasowitz also works with Mark Ressler and antitrust authority Sheron Korpus are representing Teva Pharmaceuticals in its three separate actions involving antitrust, securities and white-collar crime. Korpus is also representing Byju’s, an Indian-based educational technology giant, in a battle over control of a US affiliate of Byju’s after a lender accused the affiliate of defaulting on a $1.2 billion debt and shuffling hundreds of millions of dollars out of the business.
     Stephen Tountas, a securities specialist, operates in both the prosecutorial and defense capacities. As a plaintiff, Tountas filed five separate direct securities fraud actions on behalf of Public Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Mississippi, Catalyst Mutual Funds, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, Privet Capital and Boeing Company Employee Retirement Plans against Valeant Pharmaceuticals. He is also defending the former CFO of Eros Int’l, in connection with a putative securities class action arising from a series of alleged misrepresentations between July 2017 and August 2021 regarding Eros’s financial condition, the accuracy of its public financial statements, and the integrity of its accounting practices. 
     Younger team members of Kasowitz have generated healthy levels of acclaim as well. Ronald Rossi is called “responsive and knowledgeable” by a client, who goes on to elaborate, “Ron is an extremely experienced litigator. His sense of how to value claims gives invaluable perspective for clients.” Jason Shortis praised by a client as ”extremely intelligent and knowledgeable. He maintains a firm grasp of the matter (internal alleged money-laundering case involving 1MDB) for over eight years and is very clear in coordinating the services of counsel overseas.” An appreciative client testifies on behalf of Christine Montenegro’s counsel services: “She was extremely knowledgeable and communicative. As a result of her work on the issues that we had, we had a very favorable outcome.” White-collar-focused star Jonathan Algor is cheered by a client for his “great communication and helpful explanations.”
     While the bulk of the firm’s firepower is domiciled in New York, Kasowitz’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.”

King & Spalding is unique in that it is one of the only firms with origins in Atlanta to have achieved its level of national prominence. The firm has, in fact, attained global reach, particularly through its international arbitration team, historically acknowledged as one of the strongest in the US – a position it still claims today. King & Spalding has built upon its deep bench with several star players over the past several years, first with trial ace Randy Mastro [since departed to become First Deputy Mayor of New York City] and then with Dallas-based antitrust star Veronica Moyé, both formerly with Gibson Dunn. The firm also took on Jennifer Recine, a real estate and commercial star formerly with Kasowitz. “They have done very well with recruiting, and were already quite strong,” assesses a peer. Another contemporary (and former opponent) testifies on behalf of individual partners. "They were not unnecessarily combative in ways that made settlement difficult. Their briefs were excellent, and they were true stand-up lawyers. It's always great to have professionals on the other side who fight hard but don't engage in unnecessary back-and-forth that wastes everyone’s time." 
     The Atlanta office is still a dominant presence in the city. “Whether they want to admit it or not, in Atlanta, it’s King & Spalding and then the rest of us,” quips a local peer. “If you’ve got clients like Coca-Cola, you’ve got Atlanta on lockdown.” This office is particularly celebrated for its product liability practice, historically one of the strongest in the US, in which Andy Bayman is a central figure. “Andy is terrific,” declares a peer. “He came up under [since-retired product liability luminary] Chilton Varner, and he is making great use of this.” Bayman and Ursula Henninger represent Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals as national defense counsel for all federal and state claims arising from allegations that Zantac is associated with an increased risk of cancer. The King & Spalding duo secured a ruling disposing of all 50,000 remaining claims in the MDL and defeated the plaintiffs’ efforts to certify nationwide and state class actions and is currently acting as trial counsel in multiple state courts. In May 2024, the duo led the team representing Boehringer in the first Zantac-related trial in state court in Cook County, Illinois. Plaintiffs sought $640 million in damages, and the King & Spalding team secured a defense verdict, with the jurors rejecting the claim that Zantac caused an Illinois woman’s colon cancer. “Considering the ‘judicial hell hole’ that Cook County is for defense [lawyers,] this is a milestone,” remarks a peer. Beyond product liability, Atlanta’s David Balser represents Capital One Bank in multiple class actions concerning allegations of breach of fiduciary duty regarding practices put in place on some of Capital One’s accounts.
     King & Spalding’s New York office is home to some of its most recognized white-collar and enforcement stars. Carmen Lawrence and Bill Johnson represent Archegos Capital Management, LP and the Archegos Fund, LP in connection with the highly publicized multi-agency criminal and civil investigations and resulting enforcement actions conducted by, among others, SEC, CFTC, and New York US Attorney’s Office regarding the circumstances leading up to the $36 billion private investment firm’s March 2021 default on margin calls and ultimate collapse. These investigations have resulted in ongoing enforcement actions against Archegos by the SEC and CFTC, and criminal actions against several former directors. Thus far, Lawrence and Johnson have successfully moved to dismiss the CFTC enforcement action. Mike Stenglein, who works from New York as well as Austin, Texas, demonstrates the firm’s “very deep dedication” to the international arbitration arena. Stenglein led a team that secured $900 million for Reficar in its high-profile dispute with US contractor CB&I over the construction of an oil refinery in Colombia. The King & Spalding team Reficar in both the ICC construction arbitration and the subsequent enforcement proceedings in multiple international jurisdictions. In January 2025, the award was confirmed.

Kirkland & Ellis has steadily risen from its roots in Chicago (where it remains a dominant brand) to become an international powerhouse. “Kirkland is a very formidable firm – [they have] a lot of talent. They have a lot of really solid people. There’s just something ‘cool and tough’ about them that you just can’t touch.” One of the larger and more comprehensive litigation capacities, Kirkland stands out as a firm that that boasts bench strength and high-level appointments in virtually every area of practice it offers, which include (but are not limited to) securities, antitrust, product liability, appeals, intellectual property, white-collar and investigations, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy, with the last being an area in which the firm is particularly dominant. “In bankruptcy, it’s Kirkland every day – they have to be at the top,” insists one peer, himself a leader in this practice. “I would specifically point to Mike Slade as a leader here – he takes some of the hardest bankruptcy cases around.”

     Kirkland is also noted for housing several leaders in the trial law specialty. To that end, perhaps the biggest news is the 2023 return to Kirkland of James Hurst, a famed and prolific Chicago-based trial luminary noted for prodigious courtroom acumen who took a multi-year hiatus. Hurst represented Abbott Laboratories and its affiliate, Abbott Molecular., in a lawsuit alleging gender and race discrimination brought by an African-American female and former employee of Abbott. Hurst prevailed on the clients’ behalf in September 2023. Another of the firm’s marquis trial lawyers, DC’s Mike Brock(who has been consistently ranked as one of Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers since its inception in 2014) led a team along with Chicago’s Leslie Smith and Anne Sidrys representing 3M Company and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies in product liability litigation concerning 3M’s allegedly defective dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs. In 2021, the Kirkland team secured a complete defense verdict in the second and fifth bellwether trials in this massive and headline-grabbing litigation. Operating from the firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, all-purpose commercial litigator Mark Holscher is another of the firm’s trial stars – one who makes his debut on the Top 100 list this year. A local candidate on this list testifies, “Mark is terrific. He’s now on the plaintiff’s side and become a thorn in the side of entertainment studios.” Holscher is representing Stable Road Acquisition in a purported consolidated securities class action arising from a merger, as well as an SEC action involving the CEO and founder of the merger candidate entity.

    Domestically, Kirkland has exhibited a remarkable level of growth in its New York office in particular. Kirkland came into this market and started knocking over furniture and not asking permission, just taking it,” quips one contemporary, summing up the firm’s explosive growth in the city. “We do a lot of work with them, and they send us work. They can’t be adverse to most of the private-equity firms that matter, but they have become an utter juggernaut in the New York market. More than anyone, they are responsible for the cultural shift in New York firms – there is a poaching war going on between them and some ‘white-shoe’ firms that I’m sure are historically not used to having their dominance challenged!” Many credit Sandra Goldstein, a litigation powerhouse and “straight shooter,” for this phenomenon. “Sandra has not only a terrific reputation but a sizeable book of business,” states one peer. “She has a carousel of securities and Delaware-related litigation on the go. But she also benefits from having the Kirkland machine and a great team that is coming under her and, at this point, with her – people like Stefan Atkinson, Rachel Fritzlerand Matthew Solum. They are all junior to Sandra but absolutely critical and playing major roles.” A peer elaborates, “Stefan Atkinson is a young guy that is very strong in Delaware.” The duo of Golstein and Atkinson prevailed in affirming a judgment entered in favor of Constellation Brands in a case in which Mexican beer brand Modelo brought suit against Constellation, the holder of a perpetual license to use the Corona and Modelo trademarks on “Beer” in the US, alleging that Constellation’s new Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water products fell outside the scope of the license because hard seltzers are not beer. A peer insists, “You’ve got to look at [the New York office of] Kirkland harder for securities work! Just at the moment they’ve got GrubHub. Jeld-Wen. Six Flags. Honeywell…shall I go on?”Solum in particular is identified as “a securities star in the making,” with one peer stating, “We are seeing him everywhere and not just in one specific type of securities case, either. He’s got M&A work, derivative work, class actions, you name it.” Solum represents Avalara and certain of its former directors in putative securities class action arising from Vista Equity Partners’ $8.4 billion take-private acquisition of Avalara. Solum also represents Avalara in a related petition brought by Avalara against dissenting shareholders to determine the fair value of shares. Another New York partner, in the intellectual property space, Dale Cendali represented Take-Two Interactive Software in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by a tattoo artist related to the depictions of NBA players LeBron James, Danny Green and Tristan Thompson in Take-Two’s  popular NBA 2K video game series. Take-Two designs each of the NBA players’ avatars with an eye toward realism, which requires including the players’ real-world tattoos on their virtual avatars in NBA 2K. The plaintiff claimed that the inclusion in NBA 2K of six tattoos he inked on these three NBA players amounted to copyright infringement. At trial, the Cendali and her team argued (among other things) that the inclusion of these nearly imperceptible tattoos in the massive video games is de minimis, a fair use, and covered by a license from LeBron James. In April 2024, the jury returned a verdict of no infringement.

Kobre & Kim occupies a unique space in the market, and in fact, according to some, it has “cornered” the market in which it operates. The firm is dedicated entirely to disputes and investigations, often centered around fraud claims involving hidden assets. The firm eschews the traditional model of repeat institutional clients and the conflicts that arise with them. "They’ve built a fantastic boutique,” opines a peer, who testifies, “I saw their early days up close – they are a very sound, litigation-focused group." While the firm’s singular mission qualifies it for “boutique” status, the firm’s reach is global, with 15 offices around the world, and just six in the US.
    Michael Ng in the firm’s San Francisco office scored a $605 million verdict following a five-week jury trial on behalf of green-energy entity Propel Fuels, the plaintiff in a case concerning trade-secret misappropriation against defendant Phillips 66 Company, which, in 2017, had proposed acquiring Propel and, under the terms of the acquisition, conducted a due-diligence process, during which Propel disclosed confidential trade secrets. Phillips 66 then abruptly terminated the deal in 2018 without explanation. The jury found that Phillips 66’s misappropriation was willful and malicious, entitling Propel to additional exemplary damages up to $1.2 billion (for a total of $1.8 billion) under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act. A client raves on Ng’s behalf: “Michael is excellent at assembling a smart and diverse group of people and conducting the orchestra, reigning in individual contributors as needed, and giving them room to express themselves when it benefits the case – without letting his own ego get in the way.  High-IQ and high-EQ, Michael is great at explaining difficult concepts simply and clearly, by understanding where his audience is, emotionally, and adapting to them.  He is also tenacious.” New York’s Jonathan Cogan is representing DRW Securities in two related lawsuits filed in the Northern District of Illinois, both involving allegations of market manipulation in connection with the CBOE Volatility Index, known as the “Vix,” and collectively seeking damages for approximately $1.1 billion in alleged losses, as well as punitive or exemplary damages of up to twice that amount. Cogan prevailed in having the case dismissed in its entirety at the motion-to-dismiss stage. The plaintiffs have appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of appeals, and those appeals remain pending. A New York team composed of Cogan, Ben Sirota and Danielle Rose acted as co-counsel defending McKinsey from RICO claims brought by Jay Alix – founder of AlixPartners, a major competitor of McKinsey’s in the bankruptcy consulting market – in the Southern District of New York.  Alix claimed that McKinsey had engaged in a scheme to defraud the Bankruptcy Courts by failing to make requisite disclosures.

Plaintiff shop Labaton Keller Sucharow (newly christened thus in 2024 from its former Labaton Sucharow name) 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.” The firm has also made inroads into the privacy space, with a number of partners delving into the practice. “It’s a whole new crew coming up there,” declares one peer.
     One such partner is New York’s Michael Canty, who is making significant strides in profile as of late. “Michael is very good, [he has] really made a name for himself,” confirms one peer. Canty served as co-lead counsel representing Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho in a securities fraud case against Alexion Pharmaceuticals and certain of its executives. The suit alleged that Alexion, a pharmaceutical drug company that generated nearly all of its revenue from selling the Company’s flagship drug, Soliris, made materially false and misleading statements and omissions principally connected to Alexion’s sales practices in connection with the marketing of Soliris. After years of vigorous litigation that commenced in 2019, the parties reached a $125 million settlement, which was affirmed in December 2023. Jonathan Gardner, also based in New York, acted with Canty on this matter. “Jonathan is very good at running cases,” opines a peer, who goes on to address Gardner as “very poised, a great presence with the court.” Canty also leads the trial representing Carpenters 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. Finally, once again in December 2023, the parties received approval of a $90 million joint settlement. Carol Villegas is lauded for her “grit and talent” and denoted by a market peer as “the one who’s very prominent [at Labaton]. She has a lot of work now.”  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 part of a team leading an action against Boeing concerning misleading statements made regarding its (allegedly unfulfilled) changes to corporate policy in the wake of its well publicized 737 crashes. Christine Fox, another New York partner with a growing profile, also acts on this matter. “Christine is running point on the Boeing case on the securities side,” attests a peer.
     Labaton has also been steadily building out its 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 Weinberger has been killing it,” exclaims a peer, who goes on to elaborate, “Dell Class V was a milestone, a huge settlement. He’s gotten some pretty good wins. Just in terms of presence, aptitude and skills, I think he will keep the flag planted [in Wilmington.]” In the alluded-to Dell case, 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. After hotly contested litigation, Dell agreed to pony up a $1 billion cash settlement in lieu of a trial. Weinberger was also appointed co-lead counsel in a class action against Advance/Newhouse, challenging the entity’s use of its equity stake and designees on the board of directors of Discovery  to extort the board into transferring corporate value to Advance/Newhouse at the expense of other stockholders in connection with Discovery’s $43 billion acquisition by AT&T. The parties executed a term sheet to settle the action for $125 million, which was approved in July 2024.

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 testifies, “Levine Lee has been and is currently handling a major criminal securities fraud prosecution. They are master strategists and excellent brief writers.” 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.” A peer declares, “We were co-counsel with Levine Lee on a securities case — they did a great job and were very professional and thorough throughout." Both individual name partners, Kenneth Lee and Seth Levine garner their own respective accolades. A peer insists, “Seth Levine is willing to go to the mat and litigate with a hard edge, even if it gets noses out of joint at Big Law firms. But he’s very well respected because of his demeanor, and he has thoughtful arguments.” Levine served as counsel for the former Chief Investment Officer of the US Structured Products Group for Allianz Global Investors in a criminal matter brought by the Southern District of New York as well as in a related civil enforcement action. The matter related to the collapse of Allianz investment funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the loss of more than $7 billion in investor funds, which led to a $6 billion settlement between Germany’s Allianz SE and the SDNY USAO. Lee was, In February 2023, engaged by the Demand Review Committee of the Board of Directors of Apollo in a complex matter involving shareholder claims alleging various breaches of fiduciary duties and regulatory violations by Apollo’s founders, management, and Board of Directors. Following nearly a year-long investigation of factual and legal issues, Lee presented the Committee’s findings and recommendations to the Board of Apollo in January 2024, which the Board adopted and approved entirely.  The Demand Review Committee remained constituted for the following year to address certain follow-up matters, and, in April 2025, the Committee was dissolved, upon which Lee’s representation was successfully concluded.

A full-service firm with a national, and global, footprint, Loeb & Loeb provides a wide array of legal services through its six offices throughout 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,” advises one contemporary. “For entertainment litigation, they are really quite dominant. They have some strong connections there, some very high-profile clients.” Another insists, “They have one of the best trust-and-estates groups in the country, and this is going to be a crazy growth area.”

     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. “Jim Curry does a lot of work that many entertainment lawyers don’t like to do, like accounting disputes and audit claims, which is when someone is a participant in a TV show or a film and they see the accounting sheet and the film or show is underwater, so they dispute the accounting.” David Grossman is defending Paramount Pictures against the estate of Truman Capote in a lawsuit in which the estate is claims that they own the rights to the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The suit involves complex copyright questions, including questions related to the granting of rights by the Estate to Paramount. Grossman is also defending NBCUniversal, actor Gary Oldman and Working Title Group against claims of breach of implied in-fact contract and interference brought by a writer alleging that material from his working scripts about Winston Churchill ended up in the film Darkest Hour without credit or compensation.

Grossman also defended Netflix and the creators of the Netflix hit television series Stranger Things, against a copyright infringement case in which the screenwriter and producer filed suit asserting, among other claims, that the show included elements from the writer’s undeveloped screenplays and in particular that the “Shadow Monster” was based on a character the plaintiff created. LA partners John Gatti and Lauren Friedrepresent 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

are defending rapper Roddy Ricch, as well as songwriters, music publishers and the record label, against a copyright infringement suit alleging that Ricch used part of songwriter Greg Perry’s 1975 soul song “Come on Down” in Ricch’s 2019 hit “The Box.” This same pair is defending a number of individuals and entities against copyright infringement claims brought by Chris Brown involving the rights to the motion picture Down For Life.

Since its inception, McKool Smith has established itself as a litigation force to be reckoned with, a reputation that continues today on the strength of its deep bench of trial lawyers that spans seven offices throughout the US (four in Texas, the state in which the firm saw its genesis.) Firm figurehead and founder Mike McKool has since departed, but the firm retains the name and its image as frequent and battle-tested denizens of the courtroom. “McKool is a real trial firm,” states one peer in summation. “Those people have trials in their DNA!” Another concurs, “The culture there is one that has long been imbued by giving their all in court.” Clients are equally appreciative of the firm’s approach. “They understand current trends in highly specialized areas of litigation. They identify risks and opportunities and guide towards meaningful resolutions.”
     A new litigation star making her debut in this edition, Jennifer Truelove, a versatile practitioner in the Marshall, Texas office who has demonstrated a particular flair for patent litigation, helped secure a $303 million patent-infringement verdict on behalf of Netlist against Samsung, with a jury finding Samsung willfully infringed three of Netlist’s patents related to computer memory technology. Netlist had previously licensed the patents to Samsung, but that agreement expired in 2020. After the license expired, Samsung continued to knowingly use semiconductor memory products that infringed Netlist’s patents. The verdict was announced in April 2023, following a jury trial. Truelove scored against Samsung again in April 2024, when, as co-counsel, she secured a patent infringement verdict for $142 million, including a running royalty on behalf of G+ Communications. In the Dallas office, David Sochia represents PARC in a multi-patent case against Facebook, Twitter, and Snap involving advertising and social media technologies. A peer in the patent space insists, “David Sochia – you’ve got to look closer at him!” Michael Fritz, also in Dallas, is touted for commercial and intellectual property litigation. Fritz is cheered by a client as “very thorough and a good communicator.” While the firm’s Lone Star State operations have a well earned legacy for patent work, that is not exclusively the focus of practitioners in these offices. “[Houston’s] John Sparacino is an outstanding attorney,” extols one peer. “And he does no patent work, to my knowledge – he’s doing bankruptcy work!”    
     McKool Smith has experienced substantial growth outside of Texas as well, both in practice-area breadth and in practitioner headroom. In New York, Christopher Johnson leads a team acting on behalf of HSBC, as trustee, in litigating coordinated cases that collectively seek repurchase of nearly $2 billion of defective mortgage loans. All cases survived motions to dismiss, and the parties subsequently reached tentative settlements in all cases between May and October 2023. Two other partners acting with Johnson on this case, Courtney Statfeld and Robert Scheef, are also earning their own favorable impressions from clients. “Courtney Statfeld is an excellent litigator with strong courtroom skills and great presence,” enthuses one peer. “She is also very good at distilling complex facts into clear, effective arguments.” Another client raves on Scheef’s behalf, “Rob Scheef has a masterful understanding of the RMBS litigation environment.  He offers thoughtful litigation advice beyond nuts and bolts, and he sees the entire picture.”
     Domiciled in the DC office, Alan Whitehurst is praised by a client as “a strategic thinker [who] possesses [an] outstanding blend of poised advocacy, technical skills, and tactical judgment. He is a strong advocate in IP litigation and is achievement oriented.”

With offices in New York, California, and Washington DC, Milbank has built a reputation in various complex litigation and arbitration practices. Its lawyers represent clients in a variety of disputes including bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, and white-collar investigations. Several recent hires have increased the firm’s antitrust presence and raised its prominence in the market.  

In the New York office, George Canellos represents companies and individuals in government investigations and disputes in federal and state courts. He represents BAM which operates Binance, a cryptocurrency trading platform in an action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC sought a temporary restraining order and asset freeze claiming BAM’s platform trades securities without being registered as an exchange. The Court did not grant the SEC’s request and the firm worked out an alternative solution that was agreeable to the Court and all parties. 

New to Milbank, Nola Heller is a frequently awarded attorney with a specialty in white-collar litigation. As the co-head of the New York office’s White Collar Investigations Group, she brings 20 years of experience as a former federal prosecutor and defense attorney. Clients describe her as “a real star” and “a brilliant lawyer.” Heller represented Thomas Whittle, a former partner at the accounting firm KPMG, who was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy charges in 2019. Whittle testified as a cooperating witness in the case. He later received a sentence of time served. In 2024, Heller was able to convince the US Attorney’s Office to vacate all of Whittle’s convictions, clearing him of criminal wrongdoing.  

Fiona Schaeffer is an international antitrust lawyer in the New York office. Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, she has advised the world’s largest companies on some of its most complex antitrust matters. Schaffer is one of the lead lawyers representing United States Steel (USS), which has received multiple proposals involving the merger or possible acquisition of the entire company. Currently, USS is evaluating its options.   

James Cavoli, who also works out of New York, focuses on white-collar cases and investigations. Clients say, “He is extraordinarily thorough, making himself an industry expert in any field he is investigating.” He joined Schaeffer as a lead attorney representing Natixis in a class-action suit concerning alleged price fixing of government bonds. They secured a favorable settlement for Natixis to end the litigation. 

In New York, Atara Miller focuses on federal and state court litigation of complex commercial matters and bankruptcy. She has built a specialized practice within the media and entertainment industry, advising on license negotiations with music users. Miller was one of the lead attorneys negotiating appropriate rates for music rights on behalf of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), a music-performing rights-licensing organization that distributes royalties to songwriters and music publishers. She secured a victory on behalf of BMI against concert promoters in a case that enables the songwriters, composers, and music publishers to earn more royalties when their copyrighted songs are performed at live concerts.  

New York’s Stacey Rappaport covers insurance and reinsurance, mergers and acquisitions, commercial disputes, and securities. She leads the defense of major insurance companies in class action and other litigation. In 2023, Ms. Rappaport successfully settled two major putative class actions on behalf of Lincoln National Life Insurance Company concerning cost-of-insurance rate adjustments.  

Dan Perry’s New York practice includes complex commercial litigation, real estate, and white-collar crime. He has extensive experience conducting arbitrations before a variety of domestic and international tribunals. Perry is one of the lead attorneys that represented the Universal Entertainment Company and its affiliate, Okada Manila Resort & Casino in the Philippines. The Delaware Court of Chancery declined to order Okada to close a merger with 26 Capital Acquisition Corp, a SPAC. Perry and his team uncovered that a hedge fund, retained to advise the casino, secretly invested in the SPAC. In the ruling, the judge cited those actions in favor of the resort and casino.  

Working out of the Washington, DC office, Adam Di Vincenzo is part of the firms growing antitrust practice. Di Vincenzo joined Schaeffer as lead counsel for SLB, a global energy technology company, in connection with its joint venture with Aker Solutions and Subsea7. The antitrust team successfully argued in multiple countries that competition would continue to be strong after the joint venture. The transaction closed in October 2023. Joining Di Vincenzo in DC is veteran antitrust attorney Richard Parker. Parker has connected with Schaffer as co-lead counsel for US Steel in the ongoing merger review process.

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!” Clients also offer glowing reviews. One raves, “Based on my experience, MoloLamken provided a comprehensive legal defense utilizing highly skilled attorneys with extensive experience and knowledge of the subject matter. They are highly professional lawyers who care about their clients and are highly motivated to achieve the best possible results for their clients.”

     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.” Molo and Washington, DC-based Eric Nitz represent plaintiffs in a misappropriation-of-trade-secrets case concerning an aircraft conversion program for the Boeing 777 jumbo jet. “Eric Nitz is extremely passionate about his work and thus his clients,” extols one such appreciative client. “He is extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, creative, and detailed oriented. And of course he is highly persistent to achieve the best possible outcome.” Molo led a team is 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. 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!” Kry was lead appellate counsel seeking review of the dismissal of a securities fraud shareholder class action against Biogen and three of its executives. The allegations are that the defendants misrepresented the results of their clinical trial data for their Alzheimer’s drug by concealing portions of the data that showed that the drug was not in fact working. Upon the fraud being exposed, an advisory committee voted unanimously against the drug, and the company’s stock price plummeted, causing investors over one billion dollars in damages. In October 2023, the court of appeals reversed an earlier unfavorable decision and reinstated the plaintiffs’ claims in part. 

     Jeffrey Lamken, in the firm’s DC office, is an appellate specialist. 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 represented The Humane Society of the United States before the Supreme Court in a successful defense of California’s Proposition 12 (drafted by the client in 2018), which forbids the sale within California of pork that comes from pigs housed in certain extreme conditions of confinement, against a constitutional challenge from pork industry groups.

     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. A client buttresses this assessment: “Ben Quarmby is very clear and very reactive. He knows his subject perfectly.

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. “They familiarize themselves deeply with the case and are always familiar with the details,” testifies a client. “They clearly address the challenges of the case; they clarify the legal situation; they are convincing in their strategy of approach; they know the strengths and weaknesses of a case; the pleadings are clear and persuasive; the views of the other side and the court are always present; they are quick when necessary; they have been successful in all cases so far, and there have been no surprising court decisions so far.” Another enthuses, “The Morvillo team is very down to earth and knowledgeable. They served an invaluable guide in navigating the opaque legal system while being business friendly and efficient. Their experience and legal knowledge significantly reduced my anxiety and stress on the legal side, but as importantly their compassion and understanding were even more valuable for me and my family.  They were always promptly available weekdays or weekends, regular or after hours.”
     Considering how sensitive the issues are that the firm deals with, many of its engagements are unsurprisingly of a confidential nature. However, certain appointments are not only public but very high-profile. This year, Elkan Abramowitz and Richard Albert represented of the former CEO of American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, in connection with high-profile investigations relating to the Michael Cohen and Donald Trump prosecutions. The Morvillo pair obtained immunity for the client and prepared him for grand jury and trial testimony, including a week of trial testimony in the criminal trial in New York State centering on allegations relating to alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Robert Radick and Christopher Harwood lead the representation of a tech startup company and its CEO in connection with claims filed in New York Supreme Court by a former officer based on his termination and the forfeiture of his equity. The duo uccessfully litigated a motion to compel arbitration of the dispute, and currently representing the company and two of its executives, including its CEO, in the arbitration. Radick is championed by a client as “balanced, knowledgeable, realistic, smart, understanding and efficient.” About Harwood, a client raves “He is an outstanding personality who is always very convincing and can enter into a discussion at any time. He speaks very clearly, and his pleadings are clear and logically structured. It doesn't get any better than that. His presentation and his reactions in court are outstanding, always excellently prepared. He always addresses risks clearly. Telemachus “Tim” Kasulis, whose practice follows a similar trajectory as Harwood’s (the duo is humorously referred to as “The Fraud Twins”) is given a similarly glowing review by a client. “He is, above all, an excellent listener, a compassionate person, who understands the human nature of his clients and their family and deeply cares about them and the situation they are in. He is extremely smart, knowledgeable and very effective communicator.  His years of experience as a prosecutor gives him a unique perspective. Tim has been there for me, weekdays, weekends, regular or after hours.  My wife has incredible respect for Tim and his qualities.” Brian Jacobs, another young partner at the firm who has made great strides of late, is also involved in several securities-fraud cases. A client cheers Jacobs as “an extremely intelligent and thoughtful attorney,” and goes on to testify, “He has a deep knowledge of criminal law and is a go-to practitioner, particularly for criminal appellate work. Brian also possesses excellent judgment, is highly reliable, and is a pleasure to work with.” Karen King is addressed by a client as “a masterful strategist, [with] great communication, great research, team- and resource-management, great argument skills and writing. [She is] Great at managing client expectations and directing her team for seamless, flawless execution.”

Operating out of a single office in Manhattan, Patterson Belknap elicits resounding praise from a vocal contingent of peers and clients, the likes of which are 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 extrapolates 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 diverse 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 the 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 as of late for matters involving a more novel nature. 

     The firm, and namely Barbara Mullin, has been at the forefront of patent litigation as of late, with a series of Hatch-Waxman engagements for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, on which Mullin was lead trial counsel. She scored big for this client in a set of three consolidated actions against Mylan and is currently leading other cases against several other generic drug manufacturers. Peter Tomlinson led a team that secured a significant victory on behalf of the Baldwin County Bridge Company when a judge granted injunctive relief against the Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation due to alleged bad-faith conduct on the Director’s part. Josh Goldberg represents Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon in a multi-billion-dollar litigation concerning Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of the robotic-assisted surgical device manufacturer Auris Health. The allegations, filed by the entity representing former shareholders of the acquired company, took issue with the contingency payments that were to be made if certain FDA clearance and sales milestones were hit. Said milestones were not hit. The case proceeded to trial in January 2024. Geoffrey Potter leads the charge on an anti-counterfeiting crusade for Gilead, taking to task over 100 defendants, including pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies, who are alleged to be part of an international counterfeiting ring that trafficked counterfeits of Gilead-branded HIV medication throughout the US, putting patients at risk. The counterfeits included bottles of Gilead-branded HIV medication that actually contained entirely different medication inside, such as high-dose antipsychotics. The counterfeiting ring also trafficked Gilead-branded bottles with counterfeit patient instructions and counterfeit chain-of-custody documentation that fraudulently claimed that the bottles were sold through authorized channels. 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 represents household names such as Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and Hershey in numerous actions concerning a multitude of products.

Paul Weiss remains a brand name that is synonymous with blue-chip clients, and when these clients face extraordinary circumstances, the firm’s unassailable litigation team is a shortlisted crew in any conversation. “Paul Weiss sure has a whole lot of market share,” observes a peer. “They do great by their clients, and they are great at advising which cases to go all the way with and which cases to settle. The whole team is superb.” 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. Paul Weiss then followed with an office in Los Angeles, opened in 2024, with product liability specialist Kim Branscome installed in this outpost. “Kim made her bones on the talc cases for J&J,” testifies a peer. “I never tried a case with her, but I have read a few of her transcripts. She is known and respected in the products world, gets work.” The doubling-down on the West Coast was not the only recent development for the firm; a peer notes, “Paul Weiss is getting more involved in the employment area! [New York partners] Lisa Velasquez and Brette Tannenbaum are two people I would name for this, although Brette does a lot of other varied commercial work as well.”

     DC partners Bill Isaacson and trial lawyer Karen Dunn continue to draw acclaim for their antitrust work. The pair logged a March 2022 dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the DC Attorney General that challenged Amazon’s “fair-pricing” policy nationwide and then defeated the district’s post-trial motion for reconsideration and its motion to further amend its complaint in August. The case eventually wound up at the DC Court of Appeals, with oral argument taking place in December 2023. Appellate specialist Kannon Shanmugam is acting in the appeals capacity. “He’s amazing, really professional,” extols a peer on Shanmugam’s behalf. “He does a great job for his client and deserves the reputation he has.” Dunn and Isaacson, along with Jessica Phillips, also won a major bench trial victory in the District of Nevada on behalf of Oracle in a high-stakes, long-running copyright infringement dispute with Rimini Street. Issuing an extraordinary injunction order in July 2023, the court ordered Rimini to shut down its automated tools and issue and prominently post a 15-point press release in which Rimini discloses its alleged untruths to the public.
     New York’s Daniel Kramer and Audra Soloway, both stars in the securities capacity, logged another triumph for Amazon, and several current and former executives, in December 2023, when the Western District of Washington dismissed without prejudice a putative securities class action alleging that the defendants had defrauded investors in connection with statements made about Amazon’s relationship with third-party sellers and about the pace of growth in Amazon’s fulfilment distribution network. “Dan Kramer is really amazing,” raves a peer. “He’s got a great understated touch that is perfect for managing stressful borderline-crisis situations.” Kramer and Soloway also teamed up with Brown and Haag as trial counsel for Apple following the court’s denial of summary judgment in a securities fraud class action relating to a single statement by CEO Tim Cook on a 2018 earnings call concerning Apple’s business in China. Meredith Dearborn, another star in the firm’s San Francisco office, also was part of team. Dearborn lays claim to her own fan base in the securities community. “I like Meredith a lot,” asserts one peer, who goes on to confirm, “She worked with us on a case for [fintech and crypto entity] Ripple, and she impressed me. She’s young, maybe only 40, but is really poised for greatness.”
     In yet another Amazon engagement, a team composed of New York stars Roberto Gonzalez, Loretta Lynch and Jeannie Rhee were retained by the online retailing juggernaut in what is purported to be one of the largest publicly agreed-to racial equity audits to date. The audit analyzes the company’s overall policies, practices, programs and initiatives to determine their racial impacts on the company’s wage-earning employees.
     Enthusiasm for the always-championed New York securities star Brad Karp remains strong and shows no signs of abating. “Yes, Brad is still ‘the man,’” attests a peer. “You can expect that to be the case for a while yet. He’s in-demand, yes, largely due to his savvy, people-pleaser personality, but also because he really works hard for it.” Another peer supports this view: “He is still everywhere at once, still a hustler. One wonders if he sold his soul for this energy.” A team composed of Karp, Tannenbaum, Andrew Ehrlich and Lorin Reisner won a significant victory in April 2023 for The Blackstone Group and Blackstone Alternative Asset Management when a Kentucky Court of Appeals panel unanimously held that the Kentucky attorney general should never have been permitted to intervene in and revive a $50 billion derivative action in which the original plaintiffs were found to lack constitutional standing. The case was brought by a group of individual Kentucky public pension members in 2017, alleging that the Asset Management entity breached its fiduciary duties by unlawfully selling unsuitably risky custom funds of hedge funds to the pension agency, as well as engaging in a civil conspiracy among investment managers and trustees to conceal this.

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. Mungovan, the firm’s Chair and immediate past head of litigation, has developed a vocal peer following. One extols, “I think he’s superb. He’s not just a figurehead – the guy is a seriously good lawyer, absolutely dynamite.”
      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. “Bart is the driver of Proskauer’s litigation practice in LA,” insists a local peer. “His practice is just so spectacular, and what he says is very important.” Williams acted with LA’s Susan Gutierrez as trial counsel for Gilead Sciences, securing a landmark win 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. LA’s Shawn Ledingham, a future star with a burgeoning following, was also part of the team. “I think the world of him,” opines a peer, confiding, “I wish I could hire him! I think he’s going to be heard about in national cases in another five years.” Another LA-based future star, Vinay Kohli, a healthcare-focused partner, is cheered by a peer as “so underrated – more people need to be talking about him, including Benchmark!”
     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. Ondeck also led a team that included Ledingham and two other antitrust partners, DC’s Colin Kass and LA’s Colin Cabral, to secure a landmark victory for Sanderson Farms against the same allegations. The Proskauer team defeated a damages claim totaling more than $7 billion, which, had the jury ruled against Sanderson, would have been automatically trebled.
     New York’s Brad Ruskin remains as active as ever in matters concerning the firm’s famed sports practice, with a carousel of cases on the go for various athletic leagues and associations. Ruskinis defending Major League Soccer (MLS) against a federal lawsuit brought by the North American Soccer League (NASL) against MLS and the US Soccer Federation following US Soccer’s decision not to sanction NASL as a Division II professional league for the 2018 season. NASL alleges that MLS and U.S. Soccer are engaged in an antitrust conspiracy to ensure that MLS is the sole Division I soccer league in the United States, and further alleges that MLS is an illegal monopoly. A trial has been scheduled for September 2024. Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks, who divides her time between New York and LA, helms another celebrated Proskauer pillar practice, entertainment litigation. Crawshaw-Sparks is defending Live Nation and Madonna in a class action alleging breach of contract and false advertising in connection with alleged late starts for shows in Madonna’s Celebration Tour.

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. 

Sidley Austin occupies a prestigious position that has grown far beyond its Chicago roots and blossomed into a full-service international powerhouse. “They really cover the waterfront,” declares a peer, speaking to depth and breadth of the firm’s practice portfolio. “They have some great people across almost every area.” While the firm has grown to global stature, it is still considered primarily for its national footprint, particularly in its offices in LA and San Francisco, Dallas, DC and New York, as well as the aforementioned Windy City. The firm is also cheered for its approach to litigation; one peer testifies, “I’ve recently had good experiences with Sidley. They are not only good litigators but there’s also an ethic there across the board. You can tell how they lean, they’re very polite, and I value that. I view that as someone you want to work with. You know, we’re in litigation, but we don’t have to be doing battle all the time.”
     The firm’s DC office, already considered one of its strongest, made a significant augmentation in 2024, when it lured Greg Williams and Richard Smith to its ranks from Wiley Rein. “Greg and Richard were at Covington [& Burling] before – they seem to be moving in parallel! They are both great, and that’s a nice boost for [Sidley.]” Williams’ hire has been viewed as a strategic enhancement to the firm’s international arbitration and litigation practice, which has historically been regarded as one of the country’s most seasoned. The firm’s DC office is also home another Covington alumnus, Jennifer Saulino, a product liability star who makes the remarkable three-pronged debut in Benchmark as a litigation star, one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, and one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation on the strength of some considerable credentials and peer review. “Jennifer belongs in the top league,” insists another peer on the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list. “She’s versatile and great on her feet in court, where she spends a lot of time.” Saulino obtained a major victory on behalf of Roundup herbicide manufacturer Monsanto in a product-liability trial alleging that Roundup was linked to the plaintiffs’ injuries. In March 2024, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their case with prejudice, unable to prove that Roundup was the cause of their alleged injuries. The judge accepted the dismissal with prejudice and discharged the jury. The DC office is also home to not only the firm’s but the country’s top appellate luminaries, Carter Phillips. “I often forget to mention him, not because he’s not still killing it, but just because I take it as such a given,” states a peer. Phillips secured a major victory when the Second Circuit affirmed a judgment against Lynn Tilton and her companies for breaching her fiduciary duties to TransCare and conducting an actual fraudulent conveyance. Phillips argued the appeal and led the briefing team. DC’s William Levi is namechecked as the next generation of appellate firepower. “Will came into a case we had involving Microsoft, and he was the lead on the legal issues team. He’s not a trial lawyer, but he’s a great appellate counselor. He can write a brief on the fly that tells the judge the facts with common sense.”
     Based in the New York office, Eamon Joyce, who makes the leap from future star to litigation star in this edition, recently successfully settled the last of a series of putative class action cases, which began in 2014, involving allegations that Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s flushable wipes are not in fact flushable. In a series of cases filed around the country, plaintiffs (consumers and municipalities) alleged the claims of “flushable” and “sewer-and-septic safe” on the packages for Cottonelle and other Kimberly-Clark brand flushable wipes were false and misleading. In the firm’s San Francisco office, Sarah Brody is routinely championed by peers in securities capacity. “I’m a big fan of Sarah,” declares one, “and she’s got a great practice. She has had a lot of cases involving startups – there are a lot of them in the Bay Area – that go public…and then they fail. Sarah has had a sweet spot with that.” In the labor and employment practice, Wendy Lazerson is praised by a client as “very experienced, smart, and knowledgeable, who diligently and thoughtfully represented our interests.” In the Los Angeles office, Debra Pole has long been acknowledged as a product liability trial lawyer. “She’s still a rockstar,” enthuses a peer. “She still commands the room.”

With 21 offices throughout the US, Europe and Asia, Skadden has long been a totem of excellence in the global legal community as a full-service one-stop shop. While its capabilities span a wide spectrum, litigation is a key pillar. “Skadden has so much deal flow,” observes a peer, “that an equally strong litigation bench is essential. [Skadden] certainly has that to spare.” Virtually all of the firm’s domestic offices house an ample grouping of litigation stars, with peers noting that Skadden has strategically doubled down on the Los Angeles market as of late. “LA is a dynamic market right now, and it is increasingly the tip of Skadden’s litigation spear.”
     The observation of the firm’s bench strength in LA can arguably be best exemplified by the recent hire of Manuel Cachán, who boasts a proven trial lawyer pedigree. “He was a ‘must-get’,” quips a peer. “Skadden really scored there. He’s going to be trying the biggest and most important cases.” While Cachán, who earned his stripes at revered LA boutique Munger Tolles as well as a stint at Proskauer, is a multifaceted business litigator, he has most recently minted himself a pole position in the product liability area. “People like Manuel and [New York-based trial star] Allison Brown, they go across the country and just try cases all the time,” testifies one peer and opponent. “They have some subject-matter expertise, which is a lot of product liability, but they can try anything. I just tried a case against Manuel, and he beat me!” The duo of Cachán and Brown led a multi-firm trial team to secure a landmark complete defense verdict on behalf of Monsanto concerning claims that its Roundup weed-killer product caused lymphoma. Brown also led a trial team that secured a unanimous defense verdict in March 2024 on behalf of Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon in a case alleging personal injuries resulting from two pelvic mesh medical devices and seeking millions of dollars in damages.
     Skadden is also known for its blue-ribbon securities practice, mainly operating from New York. Jay Kasner has long been a leading figure in this area and continues to be. A peer marvels, “Jay is still humming along strong! He still shows up and delivers the goods like someone half his age. I don’t know how he does it.” Perhaps more remarkably, Kasner has demonstrated his prowess with newer and more novel industries like cryptocurrency. He recently represented Coinbase, who was sued in March 2022 by plaintiffs who alleged that the client operates as an unregistered securities exchange because 79 digital assets traded on the platform are actually securities. The plaintiffs sought to rescind their transactions and to recover monetary damages, as well to force Coinbase to register as a national securities exchange or broker-dealer. In February 2023, the claims were dismissed in their entirety, with prejudice. While Kasner remains the firm’s most seasoned securities partner, others are quickly becoming the names of the next generation. Scott Musoff has become particularly prominent in terms of visibility and activity. “Scott Musoff is awesome,” extols a peer. “[He’s the] nicest guy in the world, easy to work with, and still relatively young.” The duo of Kasner and Musoff were enlisted to replace existing counsel representing theme park entity Six Flags and certain directors and offices, who were faced with a class action alleging the company and the defendant officers issued false and misleading statements concerning the progress and accounting for certain Six Flags-branded theme parks to be built in China. The Skadden pair triumphed for the client in June 2023. This same pair, along with LA partner Peter Morrison, is also representing Hawaiian Electric Industries and certain of its current and former officers in a putative securities class action filed in California, also concerning allegations of false and misleading statements. A peer insists, “Peter Morrison has really come into his own and is increasingly taking the lead.” Morrison, along with LA future star Winston Hsiao, successfully defended venture capital firm Tulco, along with its founder, in a federal securities class action. A New York team of Susan Saltzstein and Patrick Rideout scored on behalf of Johnson & Johnson in a case concerning a shareholder’s proposal that J&J's shareholders adopt a bylaw requiring individual arbitration of securities class actions against the company and its officers or directors. A peer explains on Saltzstein’s behalf, “I’m seeing a lot of new 10b-5s securities class actions that are alleging companies failed to disclose #MeToo issues at the management or executive level, issues with individuals that would clearly have a material impact on the company’s value. When these things go public and people demand scalps to be claimed, and those scalps are of the guys who publicly run the company…there are allegations of failure to have policies in place, proper compliance, etc. I know Susan Saltzstein had a bunch of these cases in the defense role. She is perfect for them.” Rideout has developed his own fan base as well. “If I had a bet-the-company case of any kind that had a likelihood of going to trial, that’s who I’d call,” insists a peer. “He is a problem solver and a no-nonsense litigator but has a sense of humanity to him that I find gets lost in a lot of those large, complex cases of the type that he gets involved in.”
     Skadden has seen an increased level of activity in other areas as well. New York’s Timothy Nelson and Julie Bedard, who works out of the firm’s New York and São Paulo offices, are noted standouts. Both are experienced and active with tribunal matters such as ICC and ICSID. The firm also scored a key recruit in the antitrust arena, James Fredericks, who joined the DC office after decades acting as a prosecutor with the DoJ. A peer in this capacity advises, “Look into him! He’s only been with the firm about four weeks so far [as of spring 2024] but this is a major feather in Skadden’s cap.”

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 the 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.”
        The firm has made a substantial play in the bankruptcy sphere as of late, which was on full display two years ago with a firm team including James Bromley and Jacob Croke leading efforts at FTX, as Chapter 11 debtor, to investigate the events that led to the company’s embattled crypto entity’s collapse, assist government authorities in their probes and organize hundreds of potential litigations to recover assets. To date, the firm team has helped identify and recover $7.4 billion in liquid assets for FTX and has identified other potential claims that FTX could bring. This appointment is remarkable not only due to the highly scrutinized nature of the client and the claims involved, but also more generally due to the firm’s pronounced elevation in the bankruptcy practice. “Ten years ago, even five years ago, Sullivan & Cromwell was not known for bankruptcy, and they didn’t seem like they wanted to be,” asserts a peer, “but wow, now they are on the bankruptcy map in a big way. After that, I expect there will be more [work for the firm.]”
     In the securities capacity, New York’s Robert Giuffra scored for Ericsson in a putative securities class action in which the lead plaintiff alleged that the telecom entity and certain of its directors made false or misleading statements by failing to disclose an internal investigation in which the DoJ found that Ericsson had breached a 2019 deferred-prosecution agreement related to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in six countries. When the media reported on this internal report in February 2022, Ericsson’s market cap plunged by billions of dollars, whereupon the plaintiffs brought suit. In a decision issued in May 2023, the Eastern District of New York concluded that Ericsson did not violate any disclosure obligation to investors. An appeal followed, and in September 2024, the Second Circuit affirmed the case’s dismissal. “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.” Sharon Nelles, another New York all-purpose luminary, represented a majority shareholder entity in Rocket Companies and certain officers and directors in obtaining a victory on price impact in the Sixth Circuit in October 2024 when after the court denied class certification in a securities fraud and insider- trading action. Nelles and DC-based appellate specialist Jeffrey Wall acted for eBay, against whom the DoJ filed an action on behalf of the EPA arguing that in recent years there were sales on eBay of aftermarket emission-defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act; pesticides in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and products containing methylene chloride in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act.  eBay disputed the claims, noting that in all three of those statutes, Congress imposed liability on sellers. In September 2024, the Eastern District of New York dismissed the suit in its entirety. “It’s hard going against Sharon,” confides a peer, “but that’s because she’s so tough! She’s a fantastic lawyer.” Steve Peikin, a New York-based securities and white-collar star, is touted by a peer as “very accomplished, and someone who should become one of the leaders of that firm.” Another peer makes mention of the firm’s labor and employment practice, particularly Ann-Elizabeth Ostrager, who “has been impressive in growing that department, which deserves more recognition.”

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 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 the gold standard, still the best,” opines a Texas peer. “They started as a boutique but [they are] not one boutique anymore – they are 140 lawyers in three states! They are kicking ass and taking names.” 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.”
     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 (who a peer calls a “super sharp lawyer and strategist), 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 Newsmax, the latter of which the Susman team won partial summary judgment against in 2024. Trial is scheduled for 2025.   

     The firm’s groundbreaking courtroom action for the year certainly doesn’t end with Dominion. New York’s Jacob Buchdahl scored a $1.6 billion judgment in April 2025 after an 11-day bench trial in New York state court on behalf of BML Properties in a long-running fraud lawsuit against China Construction America (CCA) arising from the development of the proposed Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar, which failed to open on time and eventually faced bankruptcy. The client developed the multibillion-dollar resort complex and hired CCA in 2011 as the construction manager and general contractor for the project. However, beginning in May 2014, CCA deliberately misled the client about its intentions and ability to complete and open the resort to paying guests by March 2015, as planned and agreed to by both parties. Steven Shepard is praised by a client for “identifying the right issues at hand and finding the most appropriate legal solution. Steven's work is always of impeccable quality, and his advocate skills are absolutely brilliant.” Trial evergreen Bill Carmodyand Houston future star Sy Polky secured a $266 million verdict in November 2024 on behalf of the City of Baltimore against McKesson and AmerisourceBergen in the City’s nearly seven-year lawsuit against the opioid distributors and manufacturers that fueled what is purportedly the worst opioid epidemic in the nation. Carmody also led a team that served as lead trial counsel for a class of Direct TV subscribers, the plaintiffs in a case against the NFL concerning Sunday Ticket games, which are no longer available to residential subscribers and must be viewed in a commercial venue or by a YouTube account. The team obtained a victory after three weeks of trial, with a jury finding the NFL engaged in a conspiracy and violated antitrust laws. The jury awarded more than $4.7 billion in damages.
     Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Marc Seltzer is championed by a client as “a ‘lawyer's lawyer’ –logical, with an encyclopedic knowledge of law in his areas of specialization as well as litigation generally.”Kalpana Srinivasan is hailed as someone who has “done a tremendous job building out that office, particularly in IP and plaintiff work, and has had really stand-up roles in trial.” A team composed of Srinivasan, Seltzer, Carmody, Amanda Bonn (another Los Angeles partner) and Houston’s Max Tribble won a $65.7 million jury verdict in September 2024 after a four-day trial on behalf of Paltalk Holdings, a global communications software innovator, in a patent-infringement lawsuit against Cisco Systems in the Western District of Texas. Paltalk initially filed the lawsuit in 2021 based on infringement of its patent related to hybrid audio servers by Cisco’s Webex products. 

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.

Founded in 2015 as Walden Macht & Haran, this new New York boutique Walden Macht Haran & Williams underwent a substantial name and branding update this year, adding Milton Williams’ name to the masthead. The firm 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 testifies, “They served as my counsel in a SLAPP lawsuit filed against me. They were awesome. They have incredible legal minds. I knew I was in very good hands. They were extremely communicative and kept me informed every step along the way and they also made sure I understood my rights and responsibilities.” A peer also offers plaudits: “I sought guidance from Walden Macht on whether and how to bring an SEC whistleblower claim, where the whistleblower was a lawyer and sought to blow the whistle on his client. The whistleblower was my client, and we added Walden Macht to the team because of their expertise in this area. They are an excellent litigation shop, both civil and white-collar criminal.  Our matter was unique and complex, and they handled it well.” Williams, who balances white-collar work with employment law, was previously in-house counsel at Time. He is commended by a client as “upfront, clear, and [someone who] sets expectations well.” 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. Jeffrey Udell is championed by a client, who raves, “Jeff is Incredibly smart and communicative. He's just a fucking rockstar. I knew I was in good hands after our first meeting and over five years he has just delivered every single day. What a great lawyer!”

A global business firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher has been steadily increasing its litigation profile in both market share and a literal headcount/geographic footprint sense. “A few years ago, I would have said Willkie was a great business firm with a small but good litigation bench,” offers a peer. “Not anymore! They have really doubled down on litigation of late, and it seems to really be working. They are now in several key markets and building several practice areas to rival others.”  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 observation of 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, that office’s managing partner Alex Weingarten is a peer favorite. “Alex is the real deal. He represented Jamie Spears [father and former conservator of Britney], and I thought he did a very good job with that,” opines one peer. “Alex was at Venable before moving to Willkie,” states another 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 represents The Chosen, Inc. producers of the popular television series, The Chosen. The client is engaged in an arbitration against a licensor of the series Angel Studios.  Angel Studios has dramatically exceeded the scope of its licensed use of the series and is using its affiliation with the client to improperly promote its unrelated content.  An arbitration hearing was commenced in March 2024. Acting with Weingarten on this matter is Kori Bell, a white-collar-focused partner with an avid peer following of her own that the firm lured from LA boutique Larson in 2023. Weingarten also represents Fitness Technologies, a software company servicing enterprise fitness boutiques, in its lawsuit against a concerning claims, among other things, the rival has engaged in an scheme to exclude competitors from the industry, including the use of exclusive contracts and non-competes. In San Francisco, Simona Agnolucci, identified by peers as “a real player,” acted with Benedict Hur in leading Google to a March 2024 defense against allegations of violating New York and Minnesota privacy laws by improperly retaining consumer streaming video rental data, such as rental history and personal identification, beyond the legal limits. Agnolucci also acts with Jonathan Patchen in representing Ever.Ag., a  provider of technology, services, and intelligence platforms to the US dairy industry, in a hotly contested trade secret dispute against a Canadian startup competitor that has asserted antitrust counterclaims against the client, alleging that Ever.Ag has illegally monopolized the market for data services for milk producers and processors in the US through anticompetitive contracts and acquisitions of competitors. A peer also insists, “Let’s talk about [San Francisco-based IP-focused future star] Barrington Dyer – he’s great!”
     In the New York office, the firm continues to enjoy esteemed positions in the insurance and securities spaces. In the former practice, Christopher St. Jeanos represents AIG, which has a major role in current and expected future coverage disputes arising from the opioid lawsuits. There are now 15 active litigations against 13 different policyholders. “He’s a stand-up lawyer,” insists a peer, “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.” Securities partner Tariq Mundiya is representing Zayo founder, CEO, and Chairman Dan Caruso in an action arising out of a $14.3 billion buyout of Zayo by a consortium of equity co-investors. Plaintiffs claimed that Caruso breached his fiduciary duties by steering the sales process towards an acquirer so he could capture upside through a roll-over of his stock and remain as CEO post-merger. They further alleged that the company’s board was aware of the CEO’s actions and did not properly oversee his actions to maximize stockholder value and that Caruso was liable for making misleading disclosures and omissions in a proxy statement recommending that stockholders approve the merger. Another securities partner, Todd Cosenza represents several current and former Board Members of Wells Fargo & Company in a civil RICO action. The plaintiff is a business owner who contends that he was injured when about $1.3 million of three of his companies’ funds were deposited into unauthorized deposit accounts and then withdrawn without authorization.
    Craig Martin, Chairman, Midwest, 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, white-collar work, intellectual property, and pro bono human rights issues.

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.