Illinois

Firm overview

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 400 attorneys in 16 offices across the country. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Litigation team, including approximately 200 litigators, is routinely in court handling complex, high profile matters and bet-the-company lawsuits. The team is known for its success, having yielded a highly effective and accomplished track record of results including favorable jury verdicts, dismissals and summary judgments, creative settlements, and innovative solutions to disputes of all sizes and sophistication. Our litigators have experience in a vast amount of federal and state courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forums throughout the country. They have substantive experience in a full range of litigation matters ranging from commercial real estate disputes, high profile higher education investigations, construction dispute resolutions, and complex commercial contract litigation. Our litigators provide early case assessments and consider creative solutions to directly address the attendant risks and costs of litigation. Whatever the circumstance, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr litigators are ready to offer immediate, trusted, and experienced counsel. A few highlights of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s litigation experience include:

Real Estate Litigation
When disputes arise concerning real estate transactions, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr's Real Estate Litigation Practice combines real estate knowledge and litigation skills to provide advice and representation to both regional and national clients. Our experienced attorneys handle all types of commercial real estate disputes, including: land use appeals, acquisitions that fail to close, litigation over real estate arising out of bankruptcy proceedings, "takings" cases, landlord-tenant issues, disputes between brokers and buyers, real estate tax assessment appeals, and title disputes.

Higher Education Litigation 
The legal issues facing colleges and universities are more challenging than ever, reaching every corner of campus life with increasing complexity. From discipline to drones, Title IX to taxes, FERPA to financing, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr has a deep bench of lawyers who wrestle with these issues every day, including acting as general counsel to small colleges and universities without in-house lawyers. In the past few years, our Higher Education Practice has rendered service in some of the nation’s highest profile matters, including multi-campus university systems in large-scale government investigations and in proactive compliance reviews and audits (Clery Act, Title IX, Title IV, Title II, minors on campus) and defending institutions in front-page news lawsuits, including allegations of hazing, child abuse, sexual violence, student death, suicide, faculty dismissal, racial discrimination, ADA discrimination, and more.

Insurance Litigation
The Insurance Practice represents insurance industry clients in litigation in the United States and abroad. We litigate in many forums – including private arbitration and in federal and state courts – and in various substantive areas, including coverage for environmental, asbestos and other mass tort liabilities, coverage under professional liability, E&O, D&O, fiduciary claims and other insuring provisions, and claims and matters relating to life insurance and long term care insurance. Our insurance litigators have also represented a number of large, national insurers in putative class action suits challenging a variety of different business practices in the sale of insurance policies, billing and collection practices, claims administration and payment practices and policy administration practices. 

Construction Litigation
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Construction Practice provides experienced counsel throughout the life cycle of projects – from planning and contracting through project performance and dispute resolution – to clients across the country and around the globe. Due to our extensive knowledge on construction – ranging from project-specific matters to ongoing developments – our team is well equipped to handle disputes of any variety. We regularly practice before the Agency Boards of Contract Appeals, and in various forms of alternative dispute resolution. We have prosecuted and defended GAO, GSBCA, EPA and DOT protests, as well as Small Business Administration Size Appeals, and a variety of labor matters. Our conflict resolution experience includes representations in allegations of defective pricing, defective design, delay and inefficiency claims and time extensions, payment and performance bond sureties claims, among others.


White Collar and Government Litigation
Whether it is a search warrant, interrogation, subpoena, grand jury appearance, whistleblower claim or civil investigative demand, our White Collar and Government Litigation attorneys are prepared to respond quickly, conduct internal investigations, master the facts, and provide trustworthy and reliable counsel. As former federal prosecutors and regulators our attorneys have direct, practical experience to help our clients enhance their compliance procedures and to rigorously defend them against government investigations. We regularly handle ethics and compliance-related investigations involving a variety of regulations including: the False Claims Act (FCA), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), cybersecurity, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), U.S. government contracts, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, securities, and government lobbying activities, among others.

Updated Oct 2022

Firm overview

The Only Truly Global Law Firm: Truly a one-firm firm, Latham locates firm and practice management throughout the world, with no headquartered office. With 3,200+ lawyers across 14 countries and fluent in 60+ languages, Latham provides clients with an unmatched global platform that can quickly mobilize the best-suited teams regardless of location.

Litigation & Trial Practice: Latham’s nearly 1,000 litigators are located in key business centers around the world, bringing together diverse teams to develop and implement aggressive and creative litigation strategies. Latham’s extensive experience enables disposal of most matters well short of trial, and when settlement is not an option, clients count on the firm’s ability to win, including at trial or arbitration, in regulatory proceedings, and on appeal.

Antitrust & Competition: Latham’s Global Antitrust & Competition Practice is built around highly qualified lawyers accustomed to working across borders and skilled in local and international dimensions of antitrust and competition issues, no matter the business model or industry. We provide forward-looking, business-centric advice and counsel on the full scope of antitrust and competition law issues, including merger clearance, cartel investigation and litigation, competition-related litigation, intellectual property antitrust, and compliance counseling and training programs.

Connectivity, Privacy & Information: Latham leverages wide-ranging experience addressing the critical legal issues arising from digital technology and services in disciplines including communications, data privacy and cybersecurity, internet law, and digital copyright. We handle high-profile litigation, regulatory investigations and counseling, internal investigations, and technology transactions across diverse array of industry sectors. Additionally, we handle matters requiring experience in particular areas of the law governing digital commerce, as well as matters that cut across legal silos.

Complex Commercial Litigation:Latham represents public and private companies, leading financial institutions, private equity firms and portfolio companies, states and other municipal and governmental entities, and high-net worth individuals in complex commercial disputes. We understand clients’ business objectives and nuanced litigation strategies that support these broader goals, and we thrive on extensive trial experience and negotiation skills to achieve the best possible resolution for clients. We’ve tried or arbitrated hundreds of cases to verdict over the past decade with an extraordinary success rate, spanning every stage of litigation in US federal and state courts and before arbitration panels. We have 350+ former federal law clerks from each of the US circuit courts and 45+ district courts, as well as 30+ former federal prosecutors from districts across the US.

Environmental Litigation: Latham routinely resolves environmental disputes, delivering victories before administrative boards, at all levels of the judiciary, and in international and US-based arbitrations. We represent public and private companies, project developers, utilities, trade associations, financial institutions, and investors operating across industries. We defend clients against criminal and civil enforcement actions and citizen-suits, secure and defend permits and approvals in administrative record litigation, and litigate commercial disputes and potential liabilities in state and federal courts, and before regulatory bodies. 

Intellectual Property Litigation: Latham’s IP Practice consists of 120+ litigators with unparalleled experience in the full range of IP disputes, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade dress, and trade secrets. We practice in multijurisdictional litigation around the world, 45+ US district courts, and before the Federal Circuit, ITC, and PTAB. Our team includes 75+ technically trained lawyers, nine technical analysts, and 18 dedicated IP paralegals. Latham’s highly trained technical teams have litigated cases involving semiconductors, software, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, image processing, audio processing, therapeutics, medical devices, electric motors, engines, cloud computing and networking, packaging, building products and materials, and banking technologies.

Securities Litigation & Professional Liability: Latham’s securities litigators, among the best in the field, include former federal prosecutors, senior staff of the SEC Division of Enforcement, and former clerks at the US Supreme Court, federal appellate and district courts, and state courts. We’re a go-to firm for Fortune 500 companies, their officers and directors, major financial institutions, and the Big Four accounting firms. Our approach is simple: identify the most expedient, cost-effective means of ending litigation with the least disruption to the client and its business. Our execution sets us apart. We’ve obtained dismissals and favorable settlements in multi-billion dollar securities class actions, and in the rare instances where trial is unavoidable, we’re best positioned to achieve optimal results, as we are seasoned trial lawyers. In 2021, Latham represented clients in more federal securities class actions than any other defense firm, across 27 US district courts.

Supreme Court & Appellate: Led by a former US Solicitor General, Latham’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice has represented clients in numerous groundbreaking cases. This year, four different Latham lawyers argued five cases before the US Supreme Court, winning four — the best win record of any firm this term, and a tie for most cases argued. Latham also secured numerous high-profile wins in the courts of appeals. Over the past two decades, we’ve argued 100+ cases before the Court. The appellate team regularly prepares petitions for certiorari and merits and amicus briefs. Our lawyers served at all levels in the US Office of the Solicitor General and clerked for Supreme Court Justices and judges on every US federal court of appeals. 

White Collar Defense & Investigations: Latham’s roster comprises former regulatory practitioners, career defense advocates, and former government lawyers from Republican and Democratic administrations, including top-ranking officials from the Department of Justice, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office, and attorneys from the White House Counsel’s Office. We know the inner workings of the government and regularly deliver results that dramatically reduce our clients’ financial exposure, prevent or navigate potentially debilitating investigations, and manage potentially brand-destroying public discourse. Latham is a top firm in securing FCPA declinations, the world’s leading CFIUS regulatory group, and leader in healthcare regulation, CTFC enforcement litigation, and high-profile investigations.

Updated Sep 2022

Firm overview

History: Pomerantz LLP is the oldest securities litigation firm in the United States and one of the most highly respected. The Firm was founded in 1936 by legal pioneer and “dean” of the class action bar, Abraham L. Pomerantz, who helped secure the rights of investors to bring class and derivative actions. 

Practice: Pomerantz protects and vindicates shareholder rights through its securities litigation practice and proprietary PomTrack® portfolio monitoring service. The Firm’s global clients include more than 100 of the largest and most influential public pension funds, asset managers and private institutions, with combined assets of over $8 trillion. Pomerantz’s practice also includes corporate governance, antitrust and strategic consumer litigation. 

Global Expertise:Jennifer Pafiti, Partner and Head of Client Services, is dually qualified to practice in the United States and United Kingdom. The Firm’s Paris office is headed by lawyer Nicolas Tatin, the Director-Business Development Consultant for France, Benelux, Monaco and Switzerland. Attorneys Orly Guy and Eitan Lavie head the Firm’s Tel Aviv office. In addition to the Firm’s team in the United States, France and Israel, Pomerantz utilizes an extensive network of prominent law firms in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Middle East, to assist clients, wherever they are situated, in recovering monies lost due to corporate misconduct and securities fraud. 

Cutting-Edge Legal Strategies: Pomerantz’s position at the cutting edge of 21st century legal concerns is evidenced in the cases it pursues and the law it makes. For example, the Firm’s $80 million settlement in In re Yahoo! Inc. Sec. Litig. was the first ever significant settlement of a securities fraud class action filed in response to a data breach. Pomerantz is lead counsel in a securities class action against Wynn Resorts Ltd. concerning the company’s cover-up of sexual misconduct towards the company’s female employees by its founder and former CEO, Steve Wynn. The Firm also leads a case against Deutsche Bank AG for misrepresenting its anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer practices while repeatedly exempting high-net-worth individuals—including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and persons sponsoring terrorism—from any meaningful due diligence, enabling their criminal activities through the Bank’s facilities.

Results: In early 2018, Pomerantz, as sole lead counsel, achieved a landmark $3 billion settlement for investors in the securities class action against Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras. The allegations arose from a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar corruption scheme—a scandal that ensnared not only Petrobras’ former executives, but also Brazilian politicians, including every former and current living Brazilian president and at least one third of the Brazilian Congress. This historic settlement represents: 

• the largest securities class action settlement in a decade; 
• the largest settlement ever in a securities class action involving a foreign issuer; 
• the fifth-largest class action settlement ever achieved in the United States; 
• the largest class action settlement ever achieved by a foreign lead plaintiff; and 
• the largest class action settlement ever not involving a restatement of financial reports. 

Throughout the Petrobras litigation, Pomerantz achieved important precedents at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that will form the bedrock of securities class action jurisprudence and help protect investors for decades to come. 

In August 2019, Pomerantz achieved a $110 million settlement in a securities class action against Fiat Chrysler N.V., one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, alleging that the company misled investors about its compliance with regulations for safety recalls and emissions. 

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Morrison v. Nat’l Australia Bank Ltd. barred use of U.S. federal securities laws to recover losses from investments in foreign-traded securities. To overcome the barriers set by Morrison, Pomerantz developed novel legal strategies that have expanded global investor rights in litigations against, among others, BP plc, Perrigo Co. plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Ormat Technologies, Inc. 

Recognition: Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York stated at the February 2018 hearing for preliminary approval of the $3 billion settlement achieved by Pomerantz in In re Petrobras Securities Litigation: 

     ...the lawyers in this case [are] some of the best lawyers in the United States, if not in the world.

In approving the Petrobras settlement in June 2018, Judge Rakoff wrote: 

     [T]he Court finds that Class Counsel’s performance was in many respects exceptional, with the result that, as noted,
     the class is poised to enjoy a substantially larger per share recovery [65%] than the recovery enjoyed by numerous
     large and sophisticated plaintiffs who separately settled their claims.

In approving the settlement in Thorpe v. Walter Investment Management Corp. in October 2016, Judge Ursula Ungaro wrote: 

     Class Counsel has developed a reputation for zealous advocacy in securities class actions. ... The settlement …
     is an outstanding result.

Updated Aug 2022

Firm overview

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a global law firm with more than 3,000 attorneys representing clients in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, restructuring, and intellectual property matters. The Firm has 18 offices around the world: Austin, Bay Area, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Paris, Salt Lake City, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.

Litigation: Kirkland & Ellis is renowned for its experience in complex litigation and arbitration. The Firm believes that the best litigation results occur when the lawyers are fully prepared to try the case through verdict. Because of Kirkland’s trial-ready philosophy and training, the Firm is able to offer clients a deep bench of lawyers who have been taking cases to verdict since the early stages of their careers. Whether in the courtroom, at the bargaining table or helping clients avoid risks without litigation, Kirkland has a long and proven track record of generating successful results for clients in their most high-stakes cases matters.

The Litigation Practice Group comprises approximately 600 attorneys throughout the firm’s worldwide offices. Kirkland represents clients in trial and appellate courts at the federal and state level, before administrative tribunals, and in arbitrations and other dispute resolution proceedings. The Firm also represents clients in connection with proceedings involving government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, US Attorneys General Offices, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange, the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

Kirkland litigators have successfully litigated cases in virtually every substantive area and business segment including accountant liability, antitrust and competition, appellate, class action, mass tort and toxic tort, insurance, data privacy, labor and employment, breach of contract and securities litigation.

Kirkland has been recognized by clients and the media for its achievements in litigation:

• For the 11th time, Kirkland was selected as one of the “Fearsome Foursome” in BTI Consulting’s 2022 Litigation Outlook report.
• In 2021, Kirkland ranked #1 in The Lawyer’s “Global Litigation Top 50,” the fourth consecutive year the Firm earned that distinction.
• Kirkland was awarded “Illinois Firm of the Year” at the 2021 Benchmark Litigation US Awards, the eighth straight year the Firm has earned that distinction.
• Law360 named Kirkland among the 2021 “Practice Groups of the Year” for Appellate.
• Kirkland was named “Law Firm of the Year” for Commercial Litigation by U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers in their 2022 “Best Law Firms” rankings.
• National Law Journal named Kirkland as a “2020 General Litigation Department of the Year” in Washington, D.C.

Intellectual Property Litigation: Kirkland & Ellis’ Intellectual Property Practice Group is one of the oldest such practices in a full-service firm in the country, having been an integral part of Kirkland since 1925. Kirkland has approximately 200 intellectual property lawyers who are experienced in a variety of technical disciplines and registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office. More than 70 percent of the lawyers are engineers and scientists trained with degrees and professional backgrounds in technical areas.

Kirkland has one of the most respected intellectual property litigation practices in the country, with particular experience in large-scale patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret misappropriation and advertising matters. The work of the group frequently extends to antitrust, securities/compliance, products liability and appellate matters.

Kirkland’s experience in venues where IP cases are most often litigated is extensive. The Firm tries cases before juries, judges and arbitrators in venues across the country including state courts, district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Kirkland has one of the most active trial practices in the country. Our success rate at trial is among the best, with only a few of losses over the last 10 years despite handling some of the most challenging litigation cases in history.

The Intellectual Property Practice Group has been recognized by numerous publications for its achievements:

• In Managing Intellectual Property’s 2021 IP Stars, Kirkland was named as a leading firm for Copyright, ITC, Life Sciences, Patent Contentious and Trademark Contentious.
• Kirkland was named to World Trademark Review magazine’s 2022 WTR 1000 list of the world’s top trademark law firms and was recognized as a Tier 1 firm for enforcement and litigation nationally and in New York.
• In 2021, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine recognized Kirkland in Tier 1 for Litigation: United States - National in its IAM Patent 1000 guide. The firm was also Tier 1 for Litigation in Illinois, New York and Washington, D.C.
• The New York Law Journal named Kirkland as its 2021 “Intellectual Property Litigation Department of the Year.”
• Law360 named Kirkland among the 2020 “Practice Groups of the Year” for Intellectual Property.  
• Managing Intellectual Property named Kirkland “U.S. National Patent Contentious Firm of the Year” and “U.S. Northeast – Trademark Contentious Firm of the Year” at its 2021 Americas Awards.

Please visit our website at www.kirkland.com for additional information about Kirkland and office contact information.

Updated June 2022