The Legal 500

The leading firms in international trade are those with a global footprint who represent the interests of a variety of clients, which include multinational corporations, institutional investors and nation states. The major issues involved include export and import controls, economic sanctions, anti-bribery rules, foreign direct investment, trade agreement negotiations, antidumping and subsidy cases. There is some crossover with the international arbitration section which focuses more directly on purely contentious work.

The leading trial lawyers ranking and editorial provides an insight into the nation’s truly outstanding litigators. For the most part, all the names gathered here are generalists, equally well-versed in representing clients in patent disputes as they are in white-collar crime cases or securities litigation (to name a few areas of dispute). Several of those in the ranking will look to climb the table in the coming years. Equally, some of the big name lawyers who are less active than they were in their illustrious pasts are starting to move off the list, even though they are still nominally partners in their respective law firms.

The mass tort and class action arena has seen some of the most headline-making legal contests of recent years, with litigation centering on certain industries before moving on elsewhere. It has also been a busy area for precedent-setting decisions. The Riegel v Medtronic Inc decision in 2008 was a case of particular significance in the medical devices industry, establishing federal preemption as a valid defense barring tort claims in state court challenging the safety or efficacy of medical devices approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The larger debate regarding the federal preemption defense remains open following the subsequent 2009 decision in Wyeth v Levine, which demonstrated that the US Supreme Court would assess each case on its merits, rather than widely apply the principle of federal preemption. In the broader landscape, the Wal-Mart employment discrimination case, Wal-Mart Stores v Dukes – the largest civil rights class action in US history and currently on appeal to the US Supreme Court – brings uncertainty as to the required standard for class certification. The case has potential repercussions affecting class action suits across a number of practice areas and industry sectors.

The mass tort and class action sections have been subdivided to cover industries or legal disciplines of particular activity. In addition to life sciences litigation, both the antitrust and labor-and-employment areas are busy, as is securities litigation arising from the sub-prime mortgage crisis and other financial fallout. It is notable that a number of recent product liability class actions and toxic torts have shifted away from the traditional focus on alleged personal injury to focus more on economic loss deriving from the allegations.

Firms recommended in the tables will have a proven track record of success in complex litigation in the practice area under discussion, but often also on other bodies of litigation. For example, several firms that made their reputations in asbestos or tobacco litigation have now branched out into pharmaceutical or securities-related actions. The greatest weight is accorded to firms that are regularly selected to take lead counsel roles in litigation, particularly when serving on plaintiffs’ steering committees or acting as liaison counsel.

The product liability and mass tort sections are divided broadly by industry coverage and assess the leading firms for the full range of litigation needs in that discipline. Firms that represent aviation clients are covered separately from the general automotive and transport section due to the highly specialized nature of this work, while tobacco-related litigation is included under the wider umbrella of consumer products. Given that the pharmaceuticals and medical devices industry has been party to many of the highest-exposure cases of recent years, it is also accorded separate coverage. A key case in point is the multi-district litigation (MDL) over Merck & Co’s Vioxx pain reliever, which although now largely resolved, has spawned secondary litigation as states attempt to recoup associated Medicare prescription costs. The toxic torts section covers matters such as chemical exposure and asbestos litigation as well as climate change litigation, a growing area owing to increasing concerns over the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

The rankings in the product liability and mass tort sections take account of the fact that many practices have moved to encompass consumer fraud class actions relating to defective products, alleging economic loss rather than health risks or injury, which has moved practices beyond the traditional bounds of personal injury-based product liability.

The securities: shareholder litigation ranking is dominated by firms which have strong ties with major financial institutions and all those practices which appear in the top tier generate most of their work out of their New York offices. Firms handling the full array of instructions, whether it is from issuers, underwriters, directors, accountants or officers have been given careful consideration. Many of these practices ranked in this table also have significant white-collar and SEC capabilities. While we have different rankings to address competence in the area of white-collar criminal defense (as well as other related disciplines) due to the close ties between private litigation and SEC investigations, clients often instruct a firm which is able to handle all interconnected elements of a case.

The Supreme Court and appellate section is accompanied by two tables: one ranking the best firms for arguing before the US Supreme Court, and the other for the best appellate practices. Many firms are in both tables and are recommended for both types of work, although some firms with strong appellate practices are less focused on Supreme Court work, while a few are Supreme Court boutiques.

Although many lawyers are admitted to argue before the US Supreme Court, in practice relatively few do, and fewer still argue enough cases to earn familiarity with the justices and hone the skills that are peculiar to the nation’s highest court. Credit is given to practices that file and present amicus briefs or handle pro bono cases, but the greatest weight is accorded to those who argue as certiorari petitioners or respondents in cases of importance to the business community. Appellate practices are assessed on geographical scope, the caliber of cases and performance therein, primarily taking account of the federal appellate circuits and the highest of the state appellate courts. The order of the editorial is a fusion of the two separate tables, with all tier one firms discussed before all tier two firms, and so on.

Trade secrets law is becoming increasingly important for all businesses, with recent reports suggesting that up to $1 trillion is lost each year through the theft of trade secrets due to high levels of mobility in the workforce and increasingly sophisticated technology. Protection for business-critical information which is not available under other intellectual property regimes can be effected through trade secrets law, which is implemented at the State level, as opposed to the Federal level, with most States having ratified the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Since the value of a trade secret will be lost once it reaches the public arena, lawyers can assist businesses to prevent the dissemination of their proprietary information through placing restrictions on employees relating to disclosure of this information.

However, particularly in California, where courts are reluctant to enforce restrictive covenants and non-compete clauses, lawyers also need to focus on the trial aspects of trade secrets law to prevent loss of critical data for their clients. Hence the law firms listed are evaluated on a number of bases – ability to offer preventive counseling; strength in employment law-related trade secrets matters; and ability to operate quickly and effectively in national courts in matters requiring the highest levels of technical knowledge. Some firms score highly in all areas, some show excellence in one or more features. Some firms show particular strength regionally, such as those specializing in the high-tech patent-type cases prevalent in California; and some are particularly au fait with the algorithmic-based disputes of the East Coast financial community. In the future, the challenge to law firms appears to be controlling global threats to the integrity of clients’ trade secrets; and keeping ahead of the ever-changing legal landscape, with cases such as Bilski – throwing doubt on the patentability of business methods and consequently pushing them into the trade secrets arena – providing new challenges every year.

White-collar criminal defense and SEC enforcement continues apace off the back of the economic downturn. Continued scrutiny was placed on the financial services market in particular. A raft of new legislation, most notably the Dodd-Frank Act, also provided federal law enforcement with additional tools to use in investigating cases arising within the financial services industry. Insider trading continues to be an area of focus for the regulators, as do a raft of alleged fraud offences arising out of the economic downturn, including investigations into CDOs, the credit rating agencies and bonus payments. Healthcare is another regulated industry which has had ever more scrutiny placed upon it, most notably in relation to off-label marketing.

The best white-collar practices are equipped to handle the gamut of corporate crimes including fraud, bribery and embezzlement. In addition, as a result of the increased internationalization of the white-collar arena, particularly for cartel and FCPA matters, weight is also given to a practice’s ability to resource multi-jurisdictional matters. Often matters will proceed on numerous fronts, for example, it is not at all unusual to see an SEC and DOJ investigation proceeding, as well as a congressional inquiry and a civil class action, therefore it is essential that firms are effectively able to resource such mandates. Similarly important is a group’s ability to tap into the substantive expertise of other complementary areas of law practised by the firm. This is often particularly starkly brought into focus in relation to cases involving highly complex securities fraud, where the input of a firm’s capital markets practice can prove invaluable. Some of the smaller firms in the ranking, who cannot leverage off an institutional corporate client base, have more of a focus on acting for high-ranking individuals in the defense of corporate crimes. These firms will be often be more likely to try cases, since the stakes for corporates are so high as to preclude many of these from risking losing at trial. The main hubs of activity are on the East and West Coasts, in particular California and New York. Given its closeness to the regulatory agencies, Washington DC is also of great importance, particularly for SEC enforcement.

An acknowledged leader in the field of international arbitration, Debevoise & Plimpton fields a ‘highly professional team’, admired for its ‘sumptuous yet succinct submissions’. The firm advises on the most complex disputes and counts multinationals, sovereign states, international organizations, and non-governmental bodies among its enviable client list. It is one of the few practices which combines investment treaty arbitration, general commercial dispute resolution and strong public international law experience with a global footprint. The international dispute resolution team’s experience includes acting on long-term energy concessions; bilateral investment treaties (BITs); joint venture and distribution agreements; shareholder disputes; power and energy disputes; construction and engineering projects; insurance and reinsurance matters; political risk disputes; sovereign debt; intellectual property; international manufacturing and supply disputes; and public international law. Lawyers from the team have significant experience appearing before a wide range of tribunals including the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (IACAC) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Clients are impressed with its ‘instinct for knowing what the tribunal wants and then working hard to help get the answers we are looking for’. The practice was recently successful in a $3.5bn Russian shareholder dispute on behalf of Norilsk Nickel. Donald Donovan is ‘one of the world’s leading practitioners in both investment treaty and commercial arbitration’, while David Rivkin is ‘a brilliant lawyer and tactician’. Mark Friedman and Catherine Amirfar are highly regarded by clients and peers alike.

‘First-class’ and ‘top of the range’, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has a large dedicated international arbitration team with extensive experience in investor state work, large commercial disputes and public international law. The practice’s clients include the Government of Canada, the Government of Guatemala, National Grid, Pan American Energy and BG Group. The ‘large, hard-working team’ appears regularly before the world’s major tribunals. The practice is acting for the Government of Romania on the defense of a $500m claim commenced by multiple claimants under the Sweden/ Romania BIT, arising out of changes in Romania’s fiscal regime brought about by its accession to the European Union. It is also representing the Turkish state in a $11bn ICSID claim brought under the Energy Charter Treaty by a Cypriot company alleging the expropriation of an investment it claims to have made in the power sector in Turkey. On the investor side, the firm is acting for ConocoPhillips Company and several Dutch subsidiaries in an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela in connection with the expropriation of three major oil investments collectively worth in excess of $30bn. It is also active in several large construction disputes. Nigel Blackaby heads up the US international arbitration group and is highly regarded by clients. Lucy Reed ‘has a rare ability to spot the important trees in the forest and leads by example’, while Brian King is ‘organized, efficient, and strategic with an uncanny ability to bring out the most important factual and legal details for any case’. Alex Yanos displays ‘great attention to detail and fidelity to the client’s interests’.

King & Spalding LLP’s traditional area of expertise is disputes relating to the energy sector, but the firm’s arbitration practice has grown in recent times to cover a broader remit. 2010 saw the opening of a new office in Singapore as well as the arrival of Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez, formerly head of international arbitration at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Clients, including Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, European Foods, Murphy Oil and KBR, say the firm’s ‘overall service, commitment to clients and work product is unparalleled’. The team’s expertise spans both commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration, and covers a broad array of industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, airline, construction, infrastructure and utility, hotel and tourism, banking, telecoms, real estate, mining, taxation and insurance. The practice is representing Chevron in a second arbitration concerning a breach of contract and denial of justice claim in which the arbitral tribunal issued in March 2010 a partial award and decided that Chevron was entitled to approximately $700m in principal damages plus interest, with further proceedings pending to determine potential tax issues. The partial award represents one of the largest ever by an investment-arbitration tribunal. In the ICSID case of Teinver v Argentina, the firm is representing the claimant in a dispute arising under the Spain - Argentina Bilateral Investment Treaty concerning Argentina's nationalization of two Argentine airlines and their subsidiaries. The amount in dispute is in the range of $400-600m. Co-head of the international arbitration group Doak Bishop is ‘one of the most knowledgeable investor-state arbitration attorneys practicing today’. Edward Kehoe leads the practice on the East Coast, and is described as ‘excellent and client-focused’. John Bowman is also highly regarded.

With a ‘stellar reputation’ for providing clients with ‘outstanding service’, White & Case LLP’s international arbitration team is highly regarded by both clients and peers. The practice has a strong track record in investor-state work and has acted for both commercial entities and sovereigns. Industry experience includes acting on aviation, communications, pharmaceutical, defense, IT, manufacturing, media, energy and real estate matters. The practice acted for the investor in CSOB v Slovak Republic, an ICSID arbitration relating to CSOB’s restructuring. After defeating two rounds of jurisdictional objections raised by the Slovak Republic, the firm obtained an award of $877m for its client, the largest ICSID award on record. The firm defended the Republic of Peru in a landmark ICSID case relating to an energy infrastructure project, the victory notable in the light of Peru losing a related arbitration brought under a similar contract with different legal representation. In Plama v Bulgaria, the practice was successful in acting for the Republic of Bulgaria in the first Energy Charter Treaty case to go to a merits award at ICSID, by persuading the tribunal to adopt an innovative interpretation of the ‘Most-Favored Nation’ clause. The firm is currently representing approximately 180,000 Italian holders of Argentine sovereign bonds in a $4.4bn ICSID claim under the Argentina-Italy BIT. This is the largest case against Argentina, involving a mass claims procedure unprecedented in both Latin America and international arbitration. Paul Friedland heads up the firm’s international arbitration group; clients appreciate his ‘intelligence and ability to identify important points rapidly’. Abby Cohen Smutny is highly regarded for her ‘virtually unrivalled knowledge of state responsibility and investment treaty protection’.

Energy and insurance work are at the heart of Covington & Burling LLP’s international arbitration work, as part of a broader practice which encompasses high level commercial work and investor-state disputes. Clients describe the firm’s work as ‘truly outstanding in terms of its ability to prepare and present extremely complicated cases lucidly and persuasively’. The practice is acting for ExxonMobil in ICC and ICID arbitrations against the Republic of Venezuela and its state-owned oil company in relation to expropriation of assets and other acts of the Venezuelan government. These two related cases are among the largest and highest-profile commercial and investor-state arbitrations currently pending in the world. In Rovime Inversiones et al v Russian Federation (the Yukos case), the firm is acting for Spanish investors in Yukos Oil Company in a Stockholm Chamber of Commerce arbitration in connection with the Russian government’s liquidation of Yukos. This arbitration was brought under the Spain-Russia Bilateral Investment Treaty and presents an important test case for Yukos-related claims ultimately worth approximately $10bn. On the commercial front, the practice is acting for Norfolk Southern Corporation in an arbitration concerning an insurance claim in regard to a major 2005 train derailment and chemical release in South Carolina, one of the worst train accidents in US history. Thomas Johnson and Allan Moore are co-heads of the international arbitration group, described by clients as ‘international advocates of exceptional quality’. For insurance-related cases, William Skinner is ‘a very intelligent advocate whose oral presentations and cross-examination are of the very highest calibre’. Oscar Garibaldi is also well regarded.

With a mixture of high-end commercial matters and investor-state work, clients are impressed by the ‘practical and results-oriented approach’ taken by the international arbitration team at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP. The firm is acting on behalf of holders of sovereign debt issued by the Republic of Argentina under five different sets of governing agreements relating to Argentina’s default on $115bn of its debt in December 2001, when the government issued a moratorium on further payments of principal or interest on its sovereign debt, making it one of the largest sovereign defaults in history. Since the issuance of the moratorium, Argentina has failed to make any payments of principal or interest, thereby breaching the governing agreements. The firm has obtained judgments against Argentina in six of the actions so far; its clients include, among others, BNP Paribas with claims of over $250m, and other banks and investment firms with holdings in the hundreds of millions. In total, the actions filed by the firm seek over $900m in principal owed under the bonds. The practice also successfully represented American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) by having a $1bn dollar case brought by the Kingdom of Spain dismissed in what was described as ‘the largest law suit in maritime history’. John Townsend, co-head of the firm’s global arbitration practice, is ‘smart, practical and able’, while John Fellas is also highly regarded. Steven Hammond impresses with his ‘remarkable insight into legal matters, enormous experience and legal knowledge’.

Deemed ‘outstanding’ by clients, Shearman & Sterling LLP’s core competence is in high-level commercial work, though the firm is developing its investor-state expertise. The firm’s US practice had a particularly strong year in joint venture and construction disputes, while geographically the firm experienced continued strong growth in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The practice is acting for a North American industrial company as claimant in an ICC arbitration in London against a Middle Eastern State enterprise arising out of the failure by the respondent to close a petrochemical joint venture. The case is valued at $4.6bn. The firm is also representing three European chemical companies in an ICC arbitration in Geneva against the European subsidiaries of a large North American chemical concern. The dispute arose from a joint venture agreement formed to manufacture a product used for the production of nylon; over $1bn is at stake in the case which is governed by French law. On the investor-state side, the practice was retained by the Republic of Benin to represent it in a dispute with a consortium of contractors in relation to the development and expansion of port facilities in Benin. The port project is being funded by a grant issued to the state by the Millenium Challenge Corporation, a United States government agency created to provide aid to developing countries. Jonathan Greenblatt, Henry Weisburg and Christopher Ryan are the key contacts.

A leading player in international trade matters, Sidley Austin LLP’s arbitration practice is heavily weighted towards large investor-state matters. The firm’s lawyers advise companies and governments in disputes arising under international trade agreements and investment treaties under, among others, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) rules. The practice also represents parties in state-to-state disputes under NAFTA and the WTO agreements. Clients are impressed with the firm’s ‘extensive and unmatched knowledge of international trade rules and investment treaties’. The firm has acted for the Republic of Costa Rica on a number of matters, including a case brought by 135 Canadians who had invested in what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. The arbitral tribunal dismissed the case in May 2010 on jurisdictional grounds, holding that the Canadians’ investments were not made in accordance with Costa Rican law because the scheme itself was illegal. The firm is also representing the Republic of Turkey defending against the claims of a Dutch company under the Energy Charter Treaty and the Netherlands-Turkey BIT in connection with a power plant that was never constructed. The practice represents the investor in HICEE B.V. v Slovak Republic, an UNCITRAL case filed by a Dutch investor in the Slovak health insurance market in December 2008 under the Netherlands-Slovakia bilateral investment treaty. The dispute centers on changes in Slovak laws that now prevent health insurance companies from operating on a for-profit basis. On the commercial side, the practice acted for a Russian company in an ICC arbitration against a German company for a breach of an engineering contract to build a chemical plant. Daniel Price is ‘enormously talented’ and impresses clients with ‘strategic, cutting-edge thinking’. Stanimir Alexandrov provides ‘excellent, thoughtful analysis’, while Jennifer Haworth McCandless is ‘extremely astute and detail-oriented’.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s main focus is on high-end commercial matters, but the firm also has significant experience in investor-state matters, including a focus on Latin America. Clients say the practice is ‘first-rate in every way’. Clients include AB InBev, Exxon, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Occidental Petroleum and Telefónica. The firm is acting for the claimant in a dispute between a Cyprus-based company and an Eastern European government agency arising from Kyoto Protocol projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The case, being heard at The Hague, is the first dispute to be arbitrated under the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment. On the financial services side, it is representing a European-headquartered bank in ICDR arbitrations of claims by Latin American investors arising out of the $60bn Madoff Ponzi scheme, as well as advising a foreign-owned private pension fund manager in connection with Argentina’s nationalization in December 2008 of approximately $30bn in pension fund assets. Work in the mining sector includes acting as counsel to a project company in a $4bn project in an African country, with regard to ‘creeping expropriatory’ measures taken by the sovereign. In Latin America, the practice is advising a US owner of significant mining assets in Venezuela in connection with actions by the government inconsistent with Venezuela’s grant of the mining concession, including with respect to arbitration claims against the state and potential political-risk insurance claims. The international arbitration team is headed up by Joseph Neuhaus, who clients describe as ‘supremely talented’.

Arnold & Porter LLP’s core areas of expertise are the energy, telecommunications and government concessions sectors; the practice has had significant success acting for Latin American sovereigns. Clients are impressed with the firm’s ‘record of success’ and say its ‘prestige makes who to use an easy decision’. Eli Whitney Debevoise rejoined the firm as a partner in April 2010 after being appointed as US executive director at the World Bank in 2007 by the Bush administration. The practice recently achieved a significant victory on behalf of the Republic of Chile, obtaining a full dismissal of a $797m claim asserted by the claimants in the Revision phase of an ICSID dispute, brought under the Spain-Chile BIT. In the energy field, the firm is acting for EDF in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina, which involves claims of $260m. The dispute arises from an investment in the electricity distribution sector in the province of Mendoza in Argentina, and the claims were asserted under the France-Argentina and Luxembourg-Argentina bilateral investment treaties. In Europe, the practice is acting for the Republic of Hungary in an ICSID dispute under the multilateral Energy Charter Treaty, arising from Hungary’s efforts to restructure its electric power sector in the wake of its accession to the European Union. Paolo Di Rosa heads up the practice group and is recommended. Jean Kalicki is also a noted practitioner.

Strong on international trade and customs matters, Baker & McKenzie’s expertise lies in large commercial arbitrations, although the firm is beginning to develop its investor-state practice in emerging jurisdictions including Russia, Brazil and China. Clients say the international arbitration team is ‘excellent, knowledgeable and professional’. The practice is acting for the Brazilian state-controlled oil company in a dispute with KBR arising out of one of the largest offshore engineering, construction and procurement projects ever undertaken and concerns a turnkey Engineering Procurement and Construction Contract (EPC Contract). The value of the case is $200m. The firm is also acting for Weatherford Kopp in connection with a dispute regarding the construction of Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project in Turkey. Grant Hanessian heads up the firm’s international arbitration practice in North America and is described as ‘impressive’. Managing partner of the Chicago office Michael Morkin is also recommended.

Energy work is at the heart of Baker Botts L.L.P.’s international arbitration practice, though the firm also has significant expertise in financial services matters. Clients say ‘the level of service is excellent’. The firm is acting for a major oil company providing global coordination of numerous arbitration and other disputes. The practice coordinates with local and international law firms around the world including in the UK, USA, Netherlands, Ireland, Jersey, Armenia, BVI and several other jurisdictions. In the Yukos case, the firm is representing The Russian Federation in defending claims brought by various investors in the Yukos Oil Company for alleged violations of a bilateral investment treaty. The amount in dispute is not quantified, but claimants’ counsel has represented that the proceeding is a test case for approximately $10bn in claims. The matter is pending under the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. On the manufacturing side, the firm is representing a large Korean company in an enforcement action involving an arbitral award in excess of $100m. Jay Alexander and Michael Goldberg are co-heads of the international arbitration practice and are recommended. Jennifer Smith displays ‘excellent temperament and organizational skills and provides outstanding insight’.

Peers say the international arbitration team at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP contains ‘great lawyers’ and is a ‘tough opponent’. The firm has a strong mix of sovereign and commercial clients. On the state side, it has acted for Argentina, Russia, the Republic of Slovenia, the Dominican Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Japan, Sierra Leone and Iraq. Commercial clients include Citigroup, Bancomext, Nortel, SKY Italia and ArcelorMittal. The practice is acting as counsel to the Republic of Argentina in an ICSID claim brought by bondholders under the Argentina-Italy bilateral investment treaty. The claims allege unfair and discriminatory treatment and expropriation and seek billions of dollars in damages. It is the first attempt to pursue a mass claim – more than 180,000 claimants in a single proceeding – in an ICSID arbitration and also involves a novel attempt to use investment treaty arbitration to challenge a sovereign bond default. The firm is also acting for the Russian federation regarding the Yukos Oil Company case. On the commercial side, representative matters included acting as counsel to ArcelorMittal in an ICC arbitration commenced by Kaiser Netherlands under Austrian law, relating to the construction of a mill in the Czech Republic. Jeffrey Rosenthal and Howard Zelbo are the names to note.

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP is a major player in international arbitration relating to the oil and gas and energy sectors, reflecting the firm’s Texas roots. Clients include Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nova Scotia Power, Técnicas Reunidas and Yukos Oil Company. The practice acted successfully for Duke Energy International Peru Investments in an ICSID arbitration proceeding against the Government of Peru. The dispute concerned the alleged breach by the government of a legal stabilization investment agreement and the breach of international law with respect to the investment by the government as a result of improper assessment of various taxes. The firm also achieved a good result for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in a $1bn case involving claims and allegations of bribery and arbitrator misconduct. The firm secured a final judgment on behalf of NNPC upholding a favorable arbitral award; the judgment has now been affirmed on appeal. Mark Baker heads up the firm’s international arbitration group and is ‘impressive’. Matthew Kirtland and Kevin O’Gorman are also recommended.

Providing clients with ‘insightful opinion and advice’ Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP international arbitration practice covers investment treaty (both bilateral and multilateral) arbitrations, political risk insurance matters, commercial disputes as well as enforcement of arbitral agreements and awards. The firm currently represents the Republic of the Philippines in a dispute arising out of a 1997 Build-Lease-Transfer Agreement between Metro Rail Transit Corporation and the Philippines. The arbitration concerns the building, leasing, operation, and transfer of a light rail system in the greater Manila area. Each side alleges failures by the other under the agreement, the amount in dispute exceeds $2.5bn. Proceedings were initiated in 2008 under the UNCITRAL arbitration rules and a tribunal has been constituted. On the insurance front, the firm is acting for a major international insurer in connection with a subrogated $500m claim against a South American sovereign pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty. The arbitration is proceeding before ICSID. Christopher Dugan heads up the group and is recommended; Joseph Profaizer is also a name to note.

Clients describe the international arbitration team at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as ‘exceptional in all aspects’; the practice has particular expertise in insurance-related disputes. On the sovereign side, it acted for the Dominican Republic achieving a favorable resolution to the first ever investment treaty arbitrations launched against it, as well as a parallel arbitration under the ICC Rules. The backdrop to the disputes was the wave of privatization which swept Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. The firm also acted as co-counsel for Oil Basins Limited, a Bermuda corporation, in an international arbitration proceeding against the world’s largest mining company BHP Billiton Limited, Esso Australia, and related Australian entities. On October 2010, the latest tribunal issued its award in favor of Oil Basins Limited in the second round of arbitration in this long-running case. Peter Thomas has a ‘formidable international reputation in complex arbitrations’. Robert Smit is also highly regarded.

With a mixed practice which covers both top-level commercial arbitration and investor-state work, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s industry expertise extends to sectors as varied as power and energy, metals and mining, oil and gas, construction, banking, manufacturing, telecommunications and securities. The practice is representing a Brazilian corporation in a $200m arbitration involving a dispute under a Stock Purchase Agreement as well as acting for a Kuwaiti company in a dispute over payments under various service contracts valued at over $40m. It is also representing the Peruvian buyer of a major cement company’s interest in Chile in post-closing claims valued at $100m against the seller for violations of the purchase agreement. Work for states includes advising the provincial government of a NAFTA member state in connection with an investor that has threatened to bring NAFTA arbitration claims against the national government of that member state. John Gardiner heads up the practice and is highly regarded by clients and peers alike. Timothy Nelson is also a name to note.

While smaller than some of its competitors Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP has represented clients in arbitral proceedings all over the world in front of forums such as the ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, AAA, NASD and in ad hoc arbitration. Large commercial disputes are where the practice excels, though it does have some experience in investor-state work. The practice won a settlement on behalf of its client Homestore in an AAA arbitration of a contract termination case against AOL that provided over $57m in cash concessions. It also represented Grupo TMM, a Mexican railroad and transportation company, in obtaining a $54m recovery against Kansas City Southern in an indemnification dispute in AAA ICDR arbitration. Managing partner Jonathan Schiller is the key contact.

Large commercial disputes are at the heart of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP’s international arbitration practice. Clients are impressed with the firm’s ‘experience, knowledge and skill’. Construction, aviation and energy are sectors where the firm has significant expertise. The practice is acting as counsel to Basari Electronik in multiple ICC arbitrations in Helsinki and Istanbul against a large Scandinavian telecom equipment supplier in a $120m case. The firm is also representing a major European aircraft manufacturer in a commercial arbitration before the ICC. The dispute involves cross claims of breach of contract by both parties and is valued at $100m. Elliot Polebaum heads up the practice and is recommended.

Gibson Dunn has particular expertise in large commercial disputes in the energy and mining sectors. The practice is acting for Chevron in a BIT arbitration against Ecuador as well as representing Brazilian mining company MMX, in a $30m commodities dispute arbitrated under the ICC Rules. In the Yukos case, the firm is acting for Yukos Capital and obtained judgment to force the opposing side Rosneft to provide $600m in security in February 2010. Laurence Shore head of the practice and John Behrendt are recommended.

Large commercial arbitrations is the area where Latham & Watkins LLP is strongest. The firm’s expertise extends to disputes involving joint ventures, post-acquisition liability under share purchase agreements, insurance claims, reinsurance disputes, licensing and intellectual property, engineering and construction involving large-scale infrastructure projects, long-term purchase agreements, political risk insurance, as well as in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious public international law matters, including issues arising in the context of government concessions and expropriation. The practice is representing the world’s leading company in the design, certification production and marketing of an advanced technology for commercial and business aircraft in an ICC arbitration arising under a cooperation agreement with one of the leading manufacturers of business aircraft. The amount in dispute is over $100m. Mark Beckett heads up the practice and is recommended.

Clients are impressed by the ‘impeccable service’ afforded by the international arbitration team at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Large commercial disputes and insurance matters are areas in which the firm excels. The practice is acting for Invar International in a Swiss arbitration against a Turkish partner concerning a joint venture to build two power plants in Moscow. It also represents a southeast asian mining joint venture involved in a significant dispute with the government, concerning required divestitures. Moses Silverman is ‘a brilliant lawyer who displays excellent knowledge’.

Hogan Lovells US LLP is regarded by clients as ‘the best in the business’, with its lawyers ‘acknowledged experts in the field’. The firm’s broad practice includes everything from trade agreement work and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters, to negotiations and disputes arising under the World Trade Organization (WTO), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as well as other bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements. The firm is currently acting for the Government of China in major proceedings in both Europe and the United States. In Europe, the firm is acting on the first ever countervailing duty dispute against China which concerns coated paper and which is a ground-breaking case which may lead to further challenges in a variety of international tribunals. In the US, it is representing China in the Court of International Trade appeals concerning subsidy and antidumping investigations into certain types of steel product. This matter is the largest countervailing duty and antidumping case to date between China and the US with over $2.5bn in annual trade directly at stake. On the corporate side, Ford is an important client with the firm acting for the motor manufacturer on a global basis concerning international trade matters. Recent highlights include defending Ford before the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in antidumping and countervailing duty actions involving the export of vehicles from the US to China while, in Europe, the practice has asserted Ford’s interest in a European Union (EU) antidumping action against aluminum wheels that could adversely affect Ford’s global purchasing strategy in Europe, China and the United States. In 2010, the firm assisted Nestlé Waters North America regarding the implementation of the 2009 settlement of the long-standing Beef Hormones Dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The practice is also acting for New Zealand’s Fonterra, the largest exporter of dairy products in the world, in developing and executing its corporate strategy for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Fonterra exports almost 90% of New Zealand’s dairy production and, through a joint venture with the Dairy Farmers of America, has made the US the third largest dairy exporter in the world. With 14 partners concentrating on trade matters, the firm fields a wealth of talent. Deen Kaplan is ‘highly respected’. Mark McConnell provides ‘an extraordinary level of service’, while Beth Peters is ‘professional and smart’.

With a practice encompassing all the major facets of international trade work, Sidley Austin LLP’s clients praise the firm’s ‘outstanding level of service in terms of knowledge, innovation and approachability’. The trade team’s expertise extends to export controls, embargoes and economic sanctions compliance; trade and investment policy issues before key government officials, including DG Trade (EU), MOFCOM (China), METI (Japan) and USTR (US); international trade and investment negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and bilateral investment treaties (BITs); export control and countervailing duty matters as well as FCPA work. The practice fields a strong team with ‘some of the best international lawyers in practice in the US’. On the trade policy side, the firm’s clients include multinational companies, financial institutions, trade associations and governments. The practice acted as counsel to the Embassy of Korea on legal issues under US and international trade law regarding the proposed US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, as well as assisting First Solar, a leading manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, to address local content legislation adopted by the Province of Ontario in Canada. It is advising General Electric Company on G20 issues as well as providing continuing advice to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on US trade policy and compliance with regulation. The firm has a strong WTO disputes practice and is currently acting for the governments of both China and Japan while on the WTO negotiation side The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association are important clients. On the customs front, the firm successfully defended the Hartford insurance companies in an unprecedented $1bn class action lawsuit for the collection under defendants’ customs bonds of antidumping duties allegedly underpaid by defendants’ insured. The firm is well known for its FCPA work; the firm has successfully acted for multinational manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies on investigations brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Andrew Shoyer heads up the firm’s international trade group and is ‘an excellent practice leader’. Lisa Crosby brings ‘clarity and precision to difficult issues’, while Richard Belanger ‘knows the trade landscape very well and provides great advice and insight’.

With a broad-ranging practice that covers everything from customs work to international trade policy and negotiation, Steptoe & Johnson LLP’s clients say that the firm has ‘top-notch international trade attorneys, with substantive legal knowledge and experience in resolving complex controversies and handling trade policy matters’. The trade team has particular expertise in WTO dispute resolution and the practice has advised governments and private sector interests in nearly two dozen WTO proceedings, which have given rise to more than 40 panel and Appellate Body reports. The firm represented the Government of China in proceedings against the US concerning the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duty orders on four Chinese products as well as acting for the Government of Canada before the Appellate Body in the significant case of United States – Lumber ITC Investigation. On the trade policy side, the practice advised the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy (“MKE”) on the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), the largest FTA since NAFTA. The firm helped MKE formulate positions and draft proposed negotiating text on a wide array of issues, including tariff reductions, textiles, trade remedies, market access, investments, government procurement, autos, and electronic commerce. The practice also advised the Confederation of Mexican Industries (COECE) in the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and provided advice to the Government of Canada in connection with the negotiation of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. With a large trade team, clients are impressed with the firm’s ‘high-quality work, fantastic briefs and oral arguments’. Susan Esserman chairs the international practice and is highly regarded by clients and peers alike. Litigator Mark Moran has a wealth of experience before international tribunals, and is ‘a leader in the field’ and ‘exceptionally client-focused’. For trade policy matters, Richard Cunningham is ‘pragmatic and smart’.

WilmerHale’s full service trade practice is made up of ‘a strong group of former government agency heads who really understand the regulations and environment and who are blessed with great analytical skills’. Clients are impressed by ‘work which is always of the highest standard’. The firm’s expertise extends to export controls and economic sanctions; CFIUS matters; import compliance programs and trade remedies litigation. The firm is particularly well regarded for its work on trade policy and negotiation and its China practice. On antidumping matters, the practice has represented clients in proceedings arising under the laws of Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, China, Indonesia, Korea, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela, and in numerous GATT and WTO appeals involving antidumping issues. The firm has also been involved in some of the largest countervailing duty cases including the Foreign Sales Corporations, US-Softwood Lumber, EC-Sugar, Brazil-Aircraft and Brazil-Desiccated Coconut cases. The practice’s import compliance experience includes assisting the major US automobile manufacturers in supporting legislation on the classification of, and tariffs on, multipurpose vehicles as well as representing companies on issues of classification, valuation, country-of-origin marking and fraud in US and EU customs administrative proceedings, and subsequent litigation before the US Court of International Trade and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Representative matters on foreign investment into the US included advising two major US financial services firms in connection with substantial investments by Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds (completed without CFIUS review). Recently voted one of the most influential women in Washington, Charlene Barshefsky is ‘absolutely brilliant and able to grasp a problem in matter of seconds and come up with a quick and effective solution’. Robert Novick chairs the regulatory and government affairs group and is ‘astute, extremely knowledgeable and able to get straight to the heart of the matter’. Ronald Meltzer and David Weller are also highly regarded.

Clients praise the trade team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP for its ‘high standard of work, the professionalism of its attorneys and success rate’. The firm has extensive experience in antidumping and countervailing duty litigation; customs law; export control and economic sanctions work; anti-boycott laws; WTO disputes and trade policy matters. Trade remedies, export control and sanctions work are particular areas of strength. The firm’s clients include Georgia Pacific, Samsung Electronics, Posco, Bridgestone Firestone North America, Fujitsu and Hansol Paper. Valerie Slater heads up the firm’s international trade group and is well regarded for her regulatory practice. Warren Connelly has a strong litigation practice with a focus on import and export-related matters. Stephen Kho is also recommended.

With a highly regarded export control practice and a leading player in contentious matters, clients deem the trade team at Covington & Burling LLP to be ‘outstanding’. Representative matters on the customs side include advising several international companies on origin issues under EU preferential trade agreements and repairing ruling requests for a major Japanese electronics company and its US subsidiaries with respect to classification, government procurement, and foreign-origin marking issues. On trade policy, the practice advises several leading US companies on effectively responding to existing and proposed Chinese trade barriers, including in the areas of intellectual property, technology standards, and competition law, and has been instrumental in raising the profile of these issues in US bilateral negotiations with China. The firm also has a strong FCPA practice, advising a number of multinational companies on a global scale. Peter Flanagan is recommended for export control work, while Peter Troboff is well regarded on the regulatory side. David Fagan is the name to note for CIFIUS work.

A strong player in the international arbitration field, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has significantly strengthened its international trade practice with the arrival of Jennifer Choe Groves from the White House staff in April 2010, and the hires of Joanne Osendarp and John Ryan from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in early 2011. The firm’s expertise extends to export controls and sanctions, trade remedies and market access, intellectual property, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) work, while the new hires will strengthen the firm on the trade policy front. The firm acts for Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), the defense services company, and has advised on a range of compliance issues including product classification, export licensing (for military items and for dual-use items), sanctions compliance, anti-boycott mattes and compliance language in contracts. On the trade remedies front, the firm acted as defense counsel for the largest Thai exporter in a series of antidumping proceedings involving plastic bags from Thailand as well as being retained by a major manufacturing multinational to handle its US international trade remedies and other trade matters (antidumping, countervailing duty, Customs, NAFTA, FTA) on steel and a wide range of other products and services. Amanda DeBusk heads up the group and is well regarded for her export control work. Ken Pierce is also recommended.

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP is one of the few firms to specialise in petitioners work in international trade with a strong track record in protecting domestic manufacturers against unfairly traded goods and significant expertise in antidumping and countervailing duties matters. The firm also helps companies with traditional trade issues such as classification, valuation and country of origin and is active on WTO, NAFTA and other international agreements. The firm is representing Allegheny Ludlum Corporation in advising the US government in a precedent-setting appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties against American producers of electrical steel, used to make power transformers. The ongoing appeal alleges that China failed to follow WTO rules in its investigation, thus making it impossible for the US producers to defend themselves. On the policy side, the practice helped to forge a partnership between the global chocolate and cocoa industry, US Department of Labor, US Senator Tom Harkin and US Representative Eliot Engel and the governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. This agreement, known as the Framework Of Action in Support of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, represents a significant achievement in reduction of the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa growing areas. David Hartquist heads up the practice and is ‘exceptionally bright’; Kathleen Cannon and Paul Rosenthal are also recommended.

Providing clients with ‘an excellent level of service’, King & Spalding LLP’s work on trade matters is ‘of the highest quality’. The firm is particularly strong on the disputes side with significant expertise in countervailing duty matters. Clients include AK Steel Corporation, Bridgestone Americas, Credit Suisse, The Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil and General Electric. The international trade practice expanded in 2010/11 with a number of new hires and the opening of a new office in Geneva. Representative matters included acting for US Magnesium, the only US producer of primary magnesium, in the five-year (sunset) reviews of the antidumping duty orders on magnesium from China and Russia. The firm is also representing US Magnesium in numerous administrative reviews and judicial proceedings resulting from those reviews. On the WTO side, the practice advised the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce in successfully defending against China’s recent WTO challenge of four US countervailing duty findings involving OTR Tires, circular welded pipe, light-walled rectangular pipe, and laminated woven sacks. The firm was involved in three of the four underlying investigations before the US authorities. Stephen Jones heads up the international trade group and is highly recommended. Joe Dorn is ‘very responsive’ and ‘can explain issues in straightforward terms that are easy to understand’.

Despite the departure of Joanne Osendarp and John Ryan to Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP retains significant capability in the international trade field. The firm’s experience includes antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguards and other trade remedy proceedings; WTO and NAFTA dispute avoidance and resolution; investment arbitrations under NAFTA and bilateral investment treaties; state to state arbitrations; international trade negotiations; public policy counseling; customs compliance; economic sanctions, export controls, and anti-boycott issues; international intellectual property protection; national security reviews of foreign investment; and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance. The practice has particular expertise in economic regulatory laws and regularly advises clients on internal investigations and disclosures, diligence for various corporate transactions and designing compliance programs. The firm acted for the two largest Mexican producers of copper pipe and tube, as respondents in antidumping proceedings before the US International Trade Commission and the US Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission issued final determinations and the respondents are currently in the process of reviewing those determinations regarding appeals. Chip Roh is the name to note.

Trade litigation, export control and customs law are at the heart of Arent Fox LLP’s international trade practice, but the firm is also building significant capability in the anti-corruption and international corporate governance areas. Clients praise ‘extraordinary levels of service and responsiveness’ as well as a ‘solutions-based approach’. Since 2001, the firm has acted for the provincial government of Québec defending against allegations that it is providing standing timber to softwood lumber producers at subsidized prices. The softwood lumber case is the largest, most complex trade case ever filed, involving more than $5bn in annual trade. The underlying dispute over the alleged subsidization of standing timber has been raised, on and off, for more than 100 years. The practice is also acting for several ArcelorMittal Steel subsidiaries in antidumping duty administrative reviews, investigations and sunset reviews. Matthew Nolan heads up the trade group and is highly regarded. Clients praise John Gurley for his ‘business acumen’; Kay Georgi is also recommended.

Arnold & Porter LLP has a full service international trade practice covering trade regulation and disputes including antidumping, countervailing duty, and Section 337 intellectual property infringement cases in the US and in other countries. Clients are impressed with its ‘great knowledge of the law and capacity to understand the business requirements and client’s needs, plus great attention to detail’. The firm also has an active compliance practice advising on exports including controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), antiboycott legislation, and other laws governing international economic activity. The practice defended a South African aluminum plate producer in a US antidumping case filed by Alcoa. It obtained low dumping margins before the US Department of Commerce, and then obtained a ruling from the US International Trade Commission that South African imports were not injuring the US industry. No antidumping duties were imposed. Head of the international trade practice Lawrence Schneider and Michael Shor are the names to note.

With particular strength in trade sanction, anti-boycott and export compliance Baker & McKenzie’s clients praise the firm’s ‘great depth of knowledge and experience combined with a practical approach’. The practice is also well-versed in trade remedies and FCPA matters. The firm acts for Symantec as trade compliance counsel, and during 2010, assisted the company with the export control and trade compliance aspects of four acquisition transactions. On the contentious side, the firm is representing Hewlett Packard in the filing of an amicus brief with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the matter of BenQ America Corporation v United States. The case involves the proper customs classification of flat screen monitors. Nick Coward is chair of the firm’s global trade practice and is recommended. Paul McNulty heads up the firm’s global corporate compliance steering committee and is highly regarded.

The trade team at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is ‘very strong, always responsive, with a vast amount of knowledge’. Trade policy and FCPA work are particular areas of strength for the firm as part of a broader practice. The firm is preparing a major published study for the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) on China’s Renewable Energy Generating Equipment Industries designed to be a landmark study of China’s policies affecting the growth of its renewable energy equipment sector. The practice also acted for Alcoa in a successful appeal at the Commerce Department of an export classification request that had place an important company technology under a highly-controlled export classification. Alan Wolff leads the international trade practice and is described by clients as a ‘very fine lawyer’. Harry Clark is ‘excellent’.

Advising large corporate clients on CIFIUS and FCPA matters is an important part of Gibson Dunn’s trade practice. The firm also has significant expertise on export control and countervailing duty rules. American Honda is a longstanding client, which the practice has advised on a wide variety of US customs and international trade matters, including audits and investigations, covering areas such as customs classification, customs valuation, country of origin marking, and antidumping matters involving a variety of products. The practice also advises Western Union’s money transfer businesses in connection with compliance with the USA Patriot Act and anti-terrorism requirements, economic sanctions, and export controls. Judith Lee and Daniel Plaine are the names to note.

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has a strong WTO practice with particular expertise acting for clients in the agribusiness sector. Export control is also an area of strength. The practice acted as counsel to Chiquita and various Latin American countries and was heavily involved in the long-running ‘Banana Wars’ and with negotiating, in late 2010, two WTO Agreements aimed at settling the case. This long-standing dispute has included 13 successful GATT and WTO actions and two successful settlement agreements. The firm also acts for number of clients in the energy sector on import export matters. Carolyn Gleason and David Levine are well regarded in the market.

Miller & Chevalier Chartered’s trade team has considerable expertise in a wide range of areas, including trade remedies, customs, export control, FCPA and global compliance. The firm has been involved in hundreds of antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, and other import relief proceedings, both in the United States and abroad. The practice also covers the full spectrum of trade policy, including bilateral, regional, and multilateral negotiations and agreements; investment treaties; development of global market strategies advice and advocacy in connection with US and foreign government legislation and regulation; and bilateral and World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement and accession negotiations. Larry Christensen is recommended for export control work, while Homer Moyer focuses on FCPA matters.

The trade team at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP ‘operates at a high level and has the ability to solve complex problems’ say clients. The firm represents both US and non-US clients with respect to international trade litigation, policy and compliance matters. The practice has litigated trade cases for, and provided advice to, a broad spectrum of clients, including basic manufacturing firms, high-technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, as well as services and agricultural businesses. The firm also has an active trade policy practice advising clients on international agreements. Robert Lighthizer leads the firm’s trade group and is recommended; Jeffrey Gerrish and James Hecht are also names to note.

Stewart and Stewart is a boutique firm which focuses solely on trade matters. The firm’s areas of expertise include trade remedies, customs, WTO work, regional trade agreements as well as import and export issues. The firm recently acted successfully for the US Steelworkers Union on the first Section 421 safeguards investigation against the Chinese tire industry. The firm is headed up by Terry Stewart, who is described as a ‘first-rate advocate’ and ‘the trade lawyer’s trade lawyer’.

White & Case LLP has a full service trade practice which covers dumping, countervailing duties, safeguards and other national trade remedies; the application of WTO agreements and WTO dispute settlement; NAFTA and other regional agreements; export controls and sanctions; customs law and regulation Section 337 investigations in the United States as well as regulatory issues affecting corporate transactions. Clients praise the firm’s ‘outstanding know-how concerning antidumping and subsidy cases’ and report ‘there has not been a single case where its lawyers have not supplied fantastic service and quality of work’. The practice has extensive experience working with sovereign governments and assisted with drafting of the trade laws of many countries, including Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China. The firm also has first hand experience across an eclectic range of industry sectors including uranium, crude oil, steel, bicycles, lumber, textiles, semiconductors, cheese, flowers, fish and shrimp. On the contentious side, the firm has one of the strongest WTO practices in the world. Walter Spak heads up the international trade practice and is highly regarded; William Clinton is also recommended.

Fred Bartlit, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP: Based in Denver, Fred Bartlit has established himself as one of the country’s pre-eminent trial lawyers, and under his guidance, the firm is, according to clients ‘the best we have used’. During a career that has spanned over 40 years, Bartlit has tried over 50 major cases, including trials in state and federal courts and before the regulatory agencies. His experience as trial counsel on major matters such as the investigation into the 1989 Piper Alpha oilrig disaster has led to his most recent appointment as Chief Counsel to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill. More recently, Bartlit helped bring to an end a major 11-year federal antitrust class action on behalf of Bayer, in a dispute that arose concerning a patent settlement related to Bayer’s antibiotic, Cipro. Ultimately the Supreme Court denied certiorari, thus bringing the matter, which is worth billions of dollars to Bayer, to a close. Bartlit’s expertise extends to major technical, patent and product litigations, as well as white-collar crime, financial and securities-related disputes. In 2000, Bartlit also represented George W Bush in the Presidential election trial.

David Boies, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP: As chairman of the litigation powerhouse firm, it is unsurprising that David Boies’s name appears on the docket of some of the country’s biggest disputes. His most recent appearance was on behalf of Barclays, which he successfully defended, alongside fellow name (and managing) partner Jonathan Schiller, against $11bn worth of claims brought by the Lehman Estate and its creditors. This related to Barclays’ purchase of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc’s brokerage unit in September 2008, in the days that followed the bank’s collapse. The court upheld the acquisition following a lengthy trial in which the claimants argued that Barclays had received a ‘windfall’ and a ‘secret discount’. Another major highlight came in November 2010, when Boies was lead trial counsel for Oracle in a successful $1.3bn copyright infringement claim brought against SAP AG and its subsidiary TomorrowNow. Boies’ reputation as one of the country’s best trial lawyers is virtually unassailable.

Evan Chesler, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP: Described by one satisfied client as ‘the best trial lawyer I have ever seen,’ Evan Chesler has established himself as one of the foremost and best respected litigators in the country. Most of the clients who rely on his skills require little introduction. Most recently these have included American Express, Alcoa, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi-Aventis, Morgan Stanley and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. With Novartis, Chesler successfully represented his client in a patent enforcement claim against Teva Pharmaceuticals relating to the drug Famvir. Following a six-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favour of Novartis. The ‘exceptional’ Chesler also successfully led two cases for Morgan Stanley, one relating to a multimillion-dollar claim it brought against Discover Financial Services, which ultimately agreed to pay Morgan Stanley $775m, almost the entire amount in dispute. More recently Chesler’s team successfully defended Morgan Stanley against a shareholder derivative action, which was ultimately dismissed in December 2010. Another major highlight was representing Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis as plaintiffs in a patent infringement action against Apotex, involving its anti-platelet drug, Plavix, the world’s second-largest selling prescription drug with annual sales of $8bn. The claimants were ultimately awarded $550m in damages (currently on appeal), including prejudgment interest.

John Keker, Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P.: Extremely well known for both patent litigation and white-collar crime, John Keker has an excellent reputation. One client calls him ‘the best trial lawyer I’ve worked with’, whose ‘overall level of service is consistently excellent’, with ‘innovative, insightful and strategic approaches that are truly tailored to the case and issues at hand.’ Keker’s reputation is reflected in the ‘exceptional’ firm he founded in 1978, which is ‘stellar from top to bottom.’ Working alongside litigators such as the ‘excellent strategist’ Jamie Slaughter, ‘all round star’ Bob Van Nest, and ‘highly skilled, responsive and best in class’ Susan Harriman (herself one of the few female litigators on this list). Keker’s most recent high-profile instruction is on behalf of the plaintiffs lawyer Steven Donziger, who is fighting a RICO suit filed by Chevron, relating to the oil major’s multibillion-dollar dispute with the Ecuadorian government. Donziger, who is representing the plaintiffs in the Chevron case, is accused of ghostwriting the report of a supposedly independent court-appointed expert in Ecuador, which has had a large bearing on the case.

Gary Naftalis, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP: As head of the litigation department and firm co-chair, the extremely well regarded Gary Naftalis ‘brings a wealth of experience and perspective to matters’. With a career spanning over 30 years, Naftalis is particularly well known for his securities litigation and white-collar crime related work. One of his most major recent cases was the successful defense of United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, against a class action relating to a failed merger agreement with an affiliate of Cerberus Partners. Having had the claim dismissed in 2009, this dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2010. Other highlights included successfully dismissing all charges brought against Kenneth Langone, former chair of the New York Stock Exchange Compensation Committee, by the then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. This was in relation to claims of breach of fiduciary duty. This follows several major cases throughout the course of the past decade, including the successful defense of Michael Eisner, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, against a shareholders derivative lawsuit relating to the recruitment and subsequent firing of Michael Ovitz.

John Quinn, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP: Having co-founded the firm in 1986, John Quinn has helped it become the 450+ lawyer, litigation-only behemoth that it is today. The success of the firm as a whole has been matched by Quinn’s success in the courtroom, as well as his reputation among his peers, who consider him to be among ‘the very best’ trial lawyers in the country. This was illustrated in the recent victory that the Barbie doll manufacturer, and Quinn client, Mattel had over MGA, which manufactured the competing Bratz doll line. After the six-week trial, Quinn won a unanimous jury verdict which found that Carter Bryant, the Bratz designer and creator, had effectively created the Bratz dolls while he was still a Mattel employee. Mattel was awarded over $100m in damages, while MGA was prohibited from the further manufacture and sale of the infringing products. All worldwide rights to the Bratz trademark were also transferred to Mattel. During an interlocutory appeal, which the firm wasn’t involved in, a retrial was ordered for 2011, which Quinn will once again be leading. Another recent highlight was obtaining a $296.3m verdict from a California jury on behalf of his clients Jan Hendric Buettner and Andreas von Blottnitz, in an all-German (yet California-based) dispute with Bertelsmann over the profits from the sale of their internet business to AOL.

Dan Webb, Winston & Strawn LLP: ‘Its lawyers are among the very best in the country and Dan Webb is the best trial lawyer at the firm’, says one satisfied client, who isn’t alone in his praise for the hugely experienced Webb. Others add that his ‘understanding of the law and ability to strategise towards desired outcomes is unmatched’. Recently, Webb won a summary judgment in an antitrust class action against client Wyeth, which brought to an end almost ten years of related cases involving a patented potassium chloride product called K-Dur. One of his most high-profile matters in the past year was leading the defense of Philip Morris in Putney v Philip Morris USA, Inc. This involved almost 8,000 individual cases filed in the Florida state court. Despite finding for the plaintiff on liability, the jury was persuaded to find the smoker more at fault than the three defendants (including Philip Morris), thus reducing the damages payout. Of the three defendants, Philip Morris was also found to be least at fault.

Theodore Wells, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP: It is difficult to single out lawyers given the pedigree of the litigators at the firm, which include Jay Cohen, Kenneth Gallo, Brad Karp, Richard Rosen and Beth Wilkinson. As one client enthuses, ‘it provided the most excellent legal service I have ever seen in my 17 years of practice as a lawyer’. Still, few will dispute Theodore Wells’ pre-eminence, not only within his own firm, where he is co-chair of the litigation department, but across the entire US legal community. Few trial lawyers have caught the public imagination to such an extent, and this was in evidence when it came to Wells’ involvement in one of the most high profile trials in 2010/2011, the multibillion-dollar dispute between Citigroup and the UK private equity firm Terra Firma. Wells’ team successfully defended Citigroup against claims made by Terra Firma, and its chairman Guy Hands, that the bank defrauded Terra Firma in connection with its acquisition of the music company EMI in 2007. Following a twelve-day trial, the New York jury dismissed Terra Firma’s $7bn claim. Another highlight for Wells came with his successful defense of two cases filed against Exxon Mobil alleging complicity in human rights violations in Indonesia.

David Beck, Beck, Redden & Secrest: Co-founder of the Texas-based litigation boutique, David Beck has established a formidable reputation as a trial lawyer, not just in Texas, but nationwide. A major recent highlight was obtaining a complete defense verdict on behalf of Memorial Hermann Hospital System in an antitrust lawsuit in the Texas state court. The two and a half month trial involved over $25m worth of claims from a group of physician-investors in a defunct hospital in Houston, who alleged that Memorial Hermann was responsible for the failure of their hospital due to tortuous interference with prospective and existing business relationships.

Philip Beck, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP: The second name partner from the firm to appear on this list, Philip Beck has been on the winning end of several major trials in the past few years. Most recently, he successfully represented Ernst & Young in back-to-back victories relating to the bankruptcy of Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co, where in one case the accountancy firm defeated a malpractice claim. Together, the two claims were worth over $300m. Beck is also representing Bayer in a major case against Riceland Foods, and is defending Pratt & Whitney, the US jet engine manufacturer, against a claim brought by its British rival, Rolls Royce. In 2000, Beck famously represented George W Bush in the case relating to the Florida recount that ultimately helped resolve the 2000 Presidential election.

James Brosnahan, Morrison & Foerster LLP: Firm senior partner James Brosnahan is one of the most experienced trial lawyers on the US West Coast. With over 50 years of civil and criminal trial work and over 140 cases to have gone to verdict, few can match his expertise. Having written the book ‘The Trial Handbook for California Lawyers’, most of his West Coast rivals have in fact learnt from him. Brosnahan’s career as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer have served him well, particularly on high profile matters such as the defense of John Walker Lindh, who was accused of terrorism after being caught with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The decade-spanning case ended with Lindh receiving a 20-year sentence, rather than life, and having the terrorism charges dismissed. Other high-profile matters included representing Patricia Dunn, the former chair of Hewlett-Packard, on issues relating to her role in the illegal obtaining of private phone records of journalists and HP board members. Another highlight was successfully defending Maxxam, and its main shareholder Charles Hurwit, against a $1bn fraud claim, where, after a six-day trial, the figure was reduced to a settlement of $4m.

Robin Gibbs, Gibbs & Bruns LLP: Name partner in the ‘wonderful’ Houston-based litigation boutique, the ‘outstanding trial lawyer’ Robin Gibbs is ‘excellent in all areas of business litigation’. Alongside fellow partner Kathy Patrick, clients insist that ‘one could not ask for any better representation’. Gibbs has a versatile practice that encompasses most major commercial disputes, including securities litigation, energy disputes and professional negligence. Recent highlights include successfully representing Pioneer Natural Resources Company in an insurance dispute with the underwriters at Lloyds of London and Zurich American Insurance, which Pioneer claimed hadn’t fully compensated it for the destruction of an oil platform in 2005’s Hurricane Rita. Following a four-day trial, the case was settled favourably for Pioneer. Other recent clients include ConocoPhillips, Trustmark National Bank and Zachry Construction Corporation.

Marc Kasowitz, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP: A new entry onto the list, Marc Kasowitz is the highly rated founder and managing partner of the New York litigation boutique. Kasowitz has a superb track record as a trial lawyer, particularly in highly complex disputes in the financial services, leveraged-buyout and corporate arenas. One of his largest trials is defending MBIA and its subsidiaries against four separate actions that followed its recent restructuring. Most notably the client is up against some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, who are making claims in relation to financial products allegedly insured by MBIA’s structured finance subsidiary. Kasowitz is also representing Fairfax Financial Holdings, an insurance holding company, which is seeking $6bn in damages for the harm it suffered as a result of an alleged attack by a group of short-selling hedge funds.

Barry Ostrager, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP: Barry Ostrager’s extremely impressive career as a leading trial lawyer has seen him act on over fifty cases that have been successfully tried to verdict, five of which had over $1bn at stake. Clients continue to instruct him on their most critical cases, and recently he has represented Gray Development Group, as plaintiff, in a major dispute against competing real estate developer, Northeast Phoenix Partners. Following a six-week trial, Ostrager and his team secured a $110m unanimous jury verdict for the client; this was one of the largest jury verdicts in Arizona history. Ostrager continues to represent numerous clients in financial services-related disputes. This has included work for Fidelity National Financial, and its subsidiary insurance companies, in fighting 15 class actions across federal courts in 12 states, and representing Aurelius Capital Management and Fir Tree Partners in a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit against MBIA. Other recently clients include Travelers Indemnity Company, Swiss Re and Washington Mutual.

Daniel Petrocelli, O’Melveny & Myers LLP: Los Angeles-based Daniel Petrocelli is emerging as one of the leading trial lawyers of his generation. In 2010, Petrocelli’s heavy caseload was dominated by two major clients: former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and Lennar Corporation. In the case of the former, Petrocelli achieved a unanimous 9-0 victory in the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the ‘honest services’ law on which the government based its case did not apply to Skilling, as he had never been accused of acting for his own gain. Following this ruling, Petrocelli has returned to the lower courts, arguing that Skilling’s 19 convictions must be reversed. Meanwhile, Petrocelli has successfully represented the real estate developer Lennar Corporation on two headline-grabbing matters. The first involved a record-breaking 11-month trial, where Lennar fought off claims of mismanagement and accounting fraud made by the San Diego developer Nicolas Marsch III, and was ultimately awarded $12m in damages. The second case involved a lawsuit against the supposedly reformed fraudster Barry Minkow, who, since emerging from jail, had reinvented himself as a securities fraud investigator who targeted public companies for alleged improprieties. Following a public attack that Minkow made on Lennar, which resulted in the company’s stock losing 20% in value in one day, Lennar sued Minkow, who it later transpired had been recruited by Marsch III to help retrieve money he felt he was owed by Lennar. Based on the evidence that Petrocelli’s team had amassed, the SEC and Department of Justice ultimately dropped their investigations into Lennar and commenced investigations into Minkow, who has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Stephen Susman, Susman Godfrey LLP: Stephen Susman, founder of the Houston litigation boutique, has a superb reputation for major class actions and antitrust suits, and has recently established himself as something of a pioneer in major global-warming related litigations. The most high-profile matter was for a coalition of 37 Texas cities in their opposition of coal-fired electric generating plants by TXU. This has since resulted in TXU’s new owners suspending all the contentious permit applications in question. Since then he has acted as counsel to an Inuit tribe, which has lot its home due to global warming, in a suit against 24 energy companies. His track record in less esoteric, yet equally business critical areas, is highly impressive. Major highlights include, in 2005, successfully representing Masimo in an antitrust action against Tyco in the Los Angeles federal court.

G Irvin Terrell, Baker Botts L.L.P.: Another of Houston’s top trial lawyers, G Irvin Terrell has carved out a hugely impressive career. Recent major highlights include successfully representing the plaintiff, Asarco, in a four-week trial against Americas Mining Corporation relating to multibillion-dollar fraudulent transfer, which resulted in a $5bn verdict in favour of the client. No stranger to high profile matters, Terrell also served as trial counsel for President George W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in the contentious presidential election in Florida

According to clients, Berger & Montague, P.C. is ‘outstanding’ and ‘the best of the many players in this area of practice’. The firm has a sterling reputation in complex and class action litigation in a number of practice areas, particularly antitrust. The highly regarded Eric Cramer heads the team, which was appointed as co-lead counsel in Delaware Valley Surgical Supply Inc v Johnson & Johnson in an action brought against Johnson & Johnson as a dominant manufacturer and seller of sutures. The class of direct purchasers alleged that the defendant compelled them to pay penalties if they acquired endosurgical products from rivals, leading to a $13m settlement in 2010. During the case, the firm also won an important ruling, in which the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the firm’s argument that direct purchasers are the appropriate plaintiffs to sue for damages under antitrust laws even where end users partially set the purchase price. David Sorenson is leading a team as co-lead counsel for a proposed class of direct purchasers of the anti-diuretic DDAVP, in an action against Ferring BV, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Aventis Pharmaceuticals. The case is pending in the Southern District of New York, and addresses the issue of antitrust standing for claims involving improperly obtained or unenforceable patents. H Laddie Montague is ‘well seasoned’ and a ‘big name’ in the space.

Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP sits among the top firms in this field, having a track record of success for plaintiffs in a number of significant antitrust cases but also balancing that side of the practice by representing defendants, giving it a ‘unique perspective’. The firm, which operates from 11 locations across the US including New York and Washington DC, is involved in the TFT-LCD class action brought against manufacturers of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays with plaintiffs alleging that the manufacturers violated federal antitrust laws by conspiring to fix prices. The firm has also been appointed co-counsel representing the plaintiff, Piazza’s Carpet & Tile Shop, in a multi-defendant class action seeking damages and injunctive relief for price fixing of polyurethane foam. William Isaacson, Christopher Hayes and David Boies are the standout names.

Led by the renowned Michael Hausfeld, Hausfeld LLP has rapidly established itself at the plaintiff’s bar since its inception in 2008, bringing to bear its ‘crucial experience of the tactics which may be employed by both sides in litigation’. The group has a dedicated focus on complex antitrust litigation and class actions, and ‘provides creative advice to resolve issues’. In June 2010, the firm reached a $25m settlement with defendants Land O’Lakes, Moark and Norco Ranch in In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation. The firm had filed the first case in this action alleging a national conspiracy of supply reduction and price fixing in the egg industry. The firm also saw In re Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) Antitrust Litigation through to successful settlement in 2010 after seven years, winning class certification on summary judgment in 2009 and the subsequent Second Circuit appeal in 2010. The case was finally settled six months before the trial began. The firm also has a London office through which it is pursuing action against an alleged global cartel. Andrew Bullion and Megan Jones are recommended for having a ‘good understanding of business and operational environments’.

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll LLP exclusively represents plaintiffs in complex class actions, for which it enjoys a strong reputation nationally and internationally. Antitrust is one of the firm’s core focuses. The practice is made up of ‘top-flight litigators’, operating predominantly from Washington DC and New York as well as Philadelphia and Chicago, with Richard Koffman particularly singled out for praise. Koffman is leading a team from the firm as co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in a number of matters including In re Urethane Antitrust Litigation, Wallach et al v Eaton Corp et al and In re Plasma-Derivative Protein Therapies Antitrust Litigation. Plaintiffs in the latter class action allege a multi-year conspiracy to restrict the supply of plasma-derivative protein therapies in order to artificially inflate the price of these therapies. The plaintiffs’ steering committee filed a consolidated amended complaint in June 2010 which names the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) as a new defendant to join CSL, CSL Behring and Baxter International.

Heins Mills & Olson, PLC is a boutique law firm operating from one office in Minneapolis which nonetheless has the national reach and ability to handle large multi-district litigation (MDL) and ‘deserves recognition’ for its expertise on antitrust matters. The firm is staffed by 12 fee-earners focusing on antitrust, consumer fraud and securities fraud. In particular, Samuel Heins and Renae Steiner have well-earned reputations for complex antitrust litigation, while Vincent Esades is also highly recommended. The firm has recently been appointed interim direct-purchaser plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel by the District Court for the District of New Jersey in In re Magnesium Oxide Antitrust Litigation, in which defendants are alleged to have fixed prices for magnesium oxide sold in the US. Additionally, since its appointment as co-lead counsel in In re Puerto Rican Cabotage Antitrust Litigation, the firm has successfully obtained three settlements totaling $52m, which have been preliminarily approved. This action alleges price fixing for ocean shipping services between the US and Puerto Rico by shipping companies operating under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (also known as the Jones Act).

Labaton Sucharow LLP maintains high visibility in major antitrust class actions and clients say the firm ‘clearly has the horsepower to manage complex and demanding cases’, while adversaries comment on its ‘uniform excellence in all respects’. The firm is co-lead counsel in In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation, in which it has to date obtained over $200m in partial settlements for plaintiffs alleging the fixing of international airfreight services by airlines, including Air France, SAS, Japan Airline International and American Airlines. The court granted preliminary approval of these settlements in September 2010. Other mandates included In re Aftermarket Filters Antitrust Litigation; In re Puerto Rican Cabotage Antitrust Litigation; and Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves et al v Trelleborg AB et al. Hollis Salzman co-chairs the antitrust practice group and is ‘smart, hardworking and has a great deal of integrity’. Bernard Persky is a ‘prominent antitrust lawyer’, who is ‘dedicated to pursuing his clients’ interests, and is unfailingly ethical and professional’.

Susman Godfrey LLP has built a strong reputation in antitrust litigation, acting for plaintiffs in class actions as well as individual cases. It has an impressive track record of successes at the plaintiff bar, but is also well regarded for its defense-side representations. The firm has recovered millions of dollars for plaintiffs in claims including price fixing, market allocation, concerted refusal to deal and monopolization. The well-respected Stephen Susman heads the firm, which is representing plaintiffs in a series of patent infringement and monopolization cases in New York and Kentucky. It has offices in Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York.

Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP fields a team of 29 fee-earners in its ‘well-regarded’ antitrust practice. Opposing counsel hold Francis Scarpulla and Craig Corbitt in particularly high regard as two ‘excellent adversaries’, both of whom are based in San Francisco. Although the firm does undertake defense-side work, it is for its plaintiff representations that the antitrust practice has made its name. For example, the team was appointed liaison counsel and a member of the plaintiffs’ executive committee in a class action seeking injunctive relief and damages, brought by indirect purchasers of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) computer hardware. The defendants in the case face allegations of conspiracy to fix prices between April 1999 and December 2002. The firm is also representing a class of indirect purchasers of LCD products as the court-appointed co-lead counsel in In re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, in which plaintiffs allege that leading manufacturers of these products (such as flat-screen TVs) conspired to artificially inflate prices.

The Philadelphia-based litigation boutique of Fine Kaplan & Black has a well-established reputation in antitrust class actions and other disputes, and mixes its representation of plaintiffs and defendants. The team has valuable trial experience plus expertise in complex discovery management, antitrust economics, criminal antitrust litigation and drafting of class certification. Recent highlights include acting as co-lead counsel for a class of direct purchasers in In re Urethane (Polyether Polyols) Antitrust Litigation, and as plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel in a class action alleging that major US steel producers conspired to restrict supply, thereby artificially inflating steel product prices throughout the US. Allen Black, Roberta Liebenberg and the ‘top-notch’ Donald Perelman are recommended.

Another Philadelphia-based firm, Kohn, Swift & Graf P.C. is well respected for class action representation, particularly in antitrust cases. The 18-lawyer practice has been appointed co-counsel, lead counsel and as a member of executive committees in a number of class actions across the US. The firm is acting as lead counsel in In re Packaged Ice Antitrust Ligitation, representing plaintiffs alleging a conspiracy to allocate customers and territories in the US for packaged ice, thereby artificially inflating prices in violation of federal antitrust laws. Defendants in the case include Reddy Ice Holdings, Reddy Ice Corporation, Arctic Glacier Income Fund, Arctic Glacier Inc and The Home City Ice Company.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is well renowned for its trial work across the US and although it is perhaps better recognized for its work on the defense side, the firm has gained traction representing plaintiffs in antitrust class actions. The practice has been appointed co-lead counsel alongside Hausfeld LLP in In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Litigation in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, in which plaintiffs allege the defendants – Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation – conspired to artificially raise fuel surcharge prices. The team defeated a motion to dismiss the class action. The group has also been appointed co-lead counsel alongside several other firms in In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation. Stephen Neuwirth heads the practice.

Altshuler Berzon’s San Francisco practice is ‘really outstanding’, fielding ‘superb lawyers deserving of recognition’. Among these lawyers are Eve Cervantez, a ‘serious force’, Michael Rubin and James Finberg, while in 2010 Danielle Leonard and Peder Thoreen were made partners. The firm is strongly oriented towards representing workers and labor unions, handling a number of appeals and constitutional work. To this end, the firm regularly seeks injunctive relief for plaintiffs against defendant employers or other respective entities. The firm has been appointed co-counsel for nearly 14,000 current and former non-exempt workers in a class action against fast food giant KFC, where the US District Court for the Southern District of California granted class certification for plaintiffs to pursue their meal and rest period claims. A related class was not granted in relation to claims alleging forcible continuation of work after clocking out but leave was granted for plaintiffs to present further evidence on this issue.

‘Really in its prime’, New York headquartered Outten & Golden LLP is routinely praised for its work and has recovered over $100m in back wages, injunctive relief as well as other beneficial remedies on behalf of workers. It is acting as co-counsel alongside Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP in a gender discrimination class action against Goldman Sachs filed in September 2010. Plaintiffs in the case allege that Goldman Sachs engaged in a systemic practice of gender discrimination against female employers up to managing director level. The case is currently pending before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The firm has also recently filed discrimination cases against other high-profile employers such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Smith Barney. It is also involved in a series of overtime and wage-and-hour class actions. Chair of the class action practice group Adam Klein is highly recommended, and focuses his practice on employment discrimination and wage-and-hour claims.

Employment discrimination and wage-and-hour violations are two of the pillars of practice for Oakland-based Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian. ‘Historically a leader in the field’, the group has a significant track record of plaintiff representation in class actions. The firm is acting as co-counsel in Hudson v First Transit Inc, a class action filed in 2010 and alleging race and national origin discrimination by bus operator First Transit. The claims are based on the assertion that the defendant’s blanket policy of refusing or withdrawing employment from individuals with criminal convictions had a disparate impact based on race because of a higher incidence of convictions among African-American and Latin American employees. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The firm was also co-lead counsel in Contreras et al v Bank of America National Association, a putative class action that was filed on behalf of the bank’s mortgage loan officers, which had a settlement approved in September 2010. David Borgen is a sought-after attorney, particularly for wage-and-hour cases. Managing partner Teresa Demchak is also recommended.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP fields 60 fee-earners across its offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. In New York, Rachel Geman is recommended as an expert in employment discrimination cases, while in San Francisco, Jahan Sagafi is a specialist on misclassification. In 2010, the San Francisco pair of Daniel Hutchinson and Heather Wong made partner; both are experts on Title VII discrimination and ERISA cases. The firm has been appointed co-lead counsel in the highly publicized Goldman Sachs gender discrimination class action lawsuit alleging violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in that it has participated in systemic and pervasive discrimination against female professional employees. The firm is also representing former AT&T Operations technical support workers in Buccellato v AT&T, a class action that alleges violations of federal overtime pay laws because AT&T enacted a common practice of misclassifying technical support workers as exempt, thereby failing to pay them for all overtime hours worked.

Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP’s class action practice has grown from the firm’s traditional strength in individual plaintiff representation in the labor and employment space. Although still handling a larger portion of individual matters, the firm has become a recognized name in class action litigation and is capable of handling multi-district litigation; that said it is especially prominent in California, as a result of its base in San Francisco. The firm regularly handles an array of employment law matters including sexual harassment, race or age discrimination and wrongful termination. In December 2010, the practice obtained a $1.4m class action settlement approved by the Northern District Court of California to settle overtime and related claims against Ulta Salon on the basis of alleged violations of California law due to its failure to pay overtime wages to store managers. The firm also represented technical writers in a class action against Sun Microsystems, seeking recovery for unpaid overtime claims; the Santa Clara Superior Court granted final approval to a $5m settlement in October 2010. Standout figures include the wage-and-hour class action experts David Lowe and Steven Zieff.

Based in New Orleans, Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, LLP is recognized as ‘one of the premier firms in the country’ for plaintiff representation in mass torts and class actions. Russ Herman, an ‘outstanding trial lawyer and leader in all matters’, and the ‘highly skilled’ and ‘very professional’ Leonard Davis have developed into key figures for medical and pharmaceutical cases. Davis was recently appointed to the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the DePuy defective hip replacement MDL; the firm filed one of the earliest such cases, in Louisiana federal court. The firm’s ‘talented litigators’ have also played leading roles in a number of significant pharmaceutical MDLs including In re Vioxx Products Liability Litigation and In re Propulsid Products Liability Litigation. The latter case, although aspects remain ongoing, has reached a national settlement of between $69 and $90m. Other recommended attorneys are Stephen Herman and of counsel Joseph Kott, a qualified neurosurgeon who brings invaluable medical expertise to matters.

A ‘standout firm’, Pensecola-based Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, P.A. has a well-established reputation in mass tort cases and has significant experience in litigation concerning defective drugs – such as Accutane, Bextra and Vioxx – as well as defective medical products or devices. Timothy O’Brien is acting as lead counsel for plaintiff Shirley Boles in In re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation. The original complaint, which was filed against Merck Sharp & Dohme in 2006, alleged failure to warn and a design defect in the prescription drug Fosamax leading to harmful side effects. The action was transferred to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and, following a 2009 mistrial in which the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, the 2010 retrial culminated with a $8m verdict for the plaintiff. Subsequent motions challenging the verdict and seeking a new trial were denied, although the $8m damage award was held to be excessive and the Court ordered remittance of a portion of the award. Of counsel Ben Gordon has recently been appointed to the plaintiffs’ executive committee for the DePuy defective hip replacement MDL. Mike Papantonio impresses across the board for his expertise in the field.

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.’s mass tort practice is ‘certainly visible’ in various major drug product liability complex litigation cases. The firm was part of the plaintiff alliance in the historic and sprawling Vioxx litigation, which saw a $4.85bn settlement made by Merck & Co and its subsidiary Merck Sharp & Dohme. The settlement resolved certain plaintiffs’ claims and came after more than five years of litigation. Recently, Navan Ward was selected, along with another 19 lawyers from other firms, to the plaintiffs’ steering committee to help direct the litigation arising from the recall of ASR, DePuy Orthopaedics’ defective hip implant products. The cases have been consolidated in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Andy Birchfield is a pivotal figure in the practice.

The Lanier Law Firm has built a reputation as a capable and robust litigation practice with ‘a strong team’, and for which pharmaceutical product liability is one of the firm’s core areas of expertise. It has offices in Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Palo Alto. The firm’s founder is the ‘focused, dynamic and experienced’ W Mark Lanier, who heads the practice, and has ‘a high profile and is well recognized by opposing legal counsel’. The firm achieved an impressive winning verdict in one of the nation’s first Vioxx trials, and also successfully represented many Avandia users who suffered heart attacks, and related problems, after using the diabetic medication. It also represents clients who have suffered injuries involving Accutane and Ortho Evra. The practice is currently exploring claims in relation to patients who are suffering problems with Zimmer-manufactured knee replacement devices. It represents a number of patients who have used the Zimmer NexGen CR Flex knee implants and required additional surgery to resolve problems.

Seeger Weiss LLP achieved a series of notable successes in 2010, particularly in pharmaceutical product liability cases, which is one of the firm’s core areas. The highly regarded Christopher Seeger has been appointed to the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the Yasmin and YAZ (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, involving Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control pills which are linked to an increased incidence of blood clots. The ‘terrific rising star’ David Buchanan recently obtained a significant victory in an Accutane case, Andrew McCarrell v Hoffman-La Roche Inc and Roche Laboratories Inc, when the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County Court Civil Division, awarded $25.2m to plaintiff Andrew McCarrell. The Court found that defendant Hoffman-La Roche had failed to adequately warn doctors that the drug could cause serious intestinal problems. The award was the largest to date in Accutane cases, and marked a fifth consecutive win for Buchanan.

Recognized as a ‘fine firm’ for personal injury cases, Ashcraft & Gerel LLP is based in Washington DC with several offices throughout Maryland and Virginia. Head of the mass tort practice Michelle Parfitt specializes in product liability cases pertaining to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and is regarded as a leading individual in the area. The firm is representing clients in litigation regarding Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control pills; gadolinium-based contrast agents; Fosamax and other bisphosphonate drugs; Avandia; Accutane; and the DePuy hip implant recall cases. James Green was heavily involved in discovery for the Fosamax cases and the firm has been preparing for trial in the bisphosphonate litigation, which is due to gain traction and speed over the coming months.

Burg, Simpson, Eldredge, Hersh & Jardine, P.C. has been appointed as co-lead counsel on a number of significant cases alleging defects in drugs or medical devices. The firm is based in Denver, but its pharmaceutical mass tort and class action work is handled predominantly from the Cincinnati office; the firm also has offices in Arizona and Wyoming. The US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois recently appointed Michael Burg as co-lead counsel in the MDL involving the oral contraceptive birth control pills Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella. In addition, Janet Abaray and Seth Katz have been appointed to leadership positions on the MDL discovery committee. The claims allege that the drugs’ manufacturers – Bayer, as well as Teva and its subsidiary Barr Laboratories – failed to adequately warn about the increased risks of stroke, heart attacks and other ailments associated with the drugs. Peter Burg is co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in the gadolinium-based contrast agents MDL, which alleges a link between the use of gadolinium contrast dyes and the onset of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis for patients with advanced kidney disease.

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP remains a dominant force in securities class actions with around 90% of the firm’s lawyers dedicated to securities and related practice areas, including securities recoveries, derivative litigation and shareholder rights litigation. The firm has represented institutional investors as lead counsel in a number of major securities class actions arising from the sub-prime mortgage crisis. In one such matter, the firm achieved a $125m settlement on behalf of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System in litigation against New Century Financial. Other successes include obtaining up to $189.5m in additional recoveries on behalf of RH Capital Associates in In re Refco Inc Securities Litigation, bringing the total recovered amount to over $380m. The firm also continues to serve as co-lead counsel in securities class actions against heavyweights such as Lehman Brothers Holdings and Citigroup. The firm has its flagship office in New York, with other offices in Louisiana, California and New Jersey. Max Berger , Steven Singer and Salvatore Graziano are all recommended.

Labaton Sucharow LLP remains a formidable force representing institutional investors in securities class action litigation, having secured recovery settlements of $1.8bn in 2010 alone. The firm has had a pivotal role in actions against significant players such as Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley, alleging fraudulent activity or irresponsible practices. In another significant matter, Joel Bernstein led the firm as sole lead counsel for the plaintiffs in In re Countrywide Financial Corporation Securities Litigation. The group negotiated a $624m settlement with Countrywide, which is awaiting approval from the US District Court for the Central District of California. If approved, this settlement will be among the largest securities class action settlements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. The team also acted for New Mexico State Investment Council and the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico in achieving a $200m settlement with WellCare Health Plans in Eastwood Enterprises, LLC v Farha et al. The case involved allegations that WellCare overcharged state Medicaid programs. Thomas Dubbs, who led the team, ‘combines tenacity and objectivity in a way that makes him a formidable adversary of the defense bar’. Practice chair Lawrence Sucharow is another well-respected figure, while Christopher Keller, Mark Arisohn, Eric Belfi and Javier Bleichmar are also recommended.

Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP has a well-earned reputation for prosecuting complex litigation. It has a practice focusing on shareholder representation, predominantly in relation to securities fraud cases against public companies, directors and officers; ERISA; and consumer and antitrust litigation. The firm has a broad client base encompassing public pension funds, mutual fund managers, hedge funds and other investment entities. It acted for Erie County Employees’ Retirement System in a class action brought by institutional investor plaintiffs against BankAtlantic. The firm and its co-counsel won millions of dollars in damages following a jury verdict of securities fraud after it was determined that the investors overpaid by $2.40 per share between April 2007 and October 2007. The firm is also representing a number of US pension funds in a shareholder class action in federal court against Bank of America relating to the defendant’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. David Kessler and Marc Topaz are recommended.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s successes in securities class action litigation include the high-profile $400m settlement in In re Marsh & McLennan Securities Litigation and also the $586m settlement in In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation. The firm’s demonstrable expertise in this field means that it is regularly appointed to significant roles in complex or bellwether cases. The firm served as lead counsel in one of the consolidated actions in the securities MDL In re Mutual Funds Investment Litigation, which received the US District Court for the District of Maryland’s final approval of the proposed settlements in October 2010. The case involved allegations that Canary Capital Partners had market-timed and late-traded in certain mutual fund families. The highly respected Stanley Bernstein is recommended along with Jeffrey Haber, Rebecca Katz and U Seth Ottensoser. The class action practice is underpinned by a Supreme Court and appellate practice group, which includes five former clerks of the US Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits, and the US District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the District of New Jersey, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Delaware litigation practice of Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. specializes in securities and derivative litigation as well as corporate governance on behalf of investing institutions. The firm has incrementally built up a sterling reputation in this field under the guidance of its co-founder and joint managing director, Jay Eisenhofer. Significant achievements include the $2.8bn settlement on behalf of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana and the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System against Tyco International in a case involving acquisition accounting fraud by the company’s former directors and officers. The firm also represented Pacific Investment Management Company in the securities class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against officers and directors of Refco, among other defendants, a case in which settlements have totaled over $140m. Eisenhofer’s fellow co-founder and joint managing director Stuart Grant is also recommended.

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer is resoundingly recognized for its expertise in the field of securities litigation, where its six-partner team has been selected as counsel by a number of pension funds in individual representation as well as class actions. The firm is serving as co-lead counsel for two Ohio public pension funds in a securities class action against Bank of America, which has been brought in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The consolidated amended class action complaint (CAC) arises from the merger between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and alleges the defendant violated federal securities laws by making a series of highly material false statements and omissions on a number of issues. In 2010, the Court denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss and upheld the lead plaintiffs’ claims, allowing the case to proceed to discovery. Name partners Robert Kaplan and Frederic Fox are the practice’s key figures.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is a sizeable firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boca Raton, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Atlanta. It has 180 fee-earners who engage in complex litigation in a number of practice areas in addition to securities fraud, including corporate governance and shareholder derivative litigation. The firm has developed a significant practice representing institutional investors, including public and multi-employer pension funds, brings standalone cases as well as filing class actions. The firm’s reputation was bolstered by its achievement in In re Enron Corp Securities Litigation, where it served as sole lead counsel for Enron investors and obtained a settlement of more than $7.3bn. The firm has recently filed a series of complaints alleging violations of the federal laws against entities including Bank of America, American Apparel, The Washington Post and Wilmington Trust. Name partner Darren Robbins is recommended.

Baron & Budd PC is an industry leader in the field of toxic tort litigation. The firm represents all types of claimants, from individuals to municipalities, where exposure to toxic substances has led to injuries or economic loss. It fields more than 60 attorneys across offices in Dallas, Houston, Beverly Hills and Baton Rouge, allowing it to resource the most complex cases. Head of the water contamination practice Scott Summy is highly regarded for his work in the MTBE contamination litigation. His reputation saw him recently selected to serve on the plaintiffs’ steering committee as well as the executive committee in the Gulf Coast oil spill MDL, which was consolidated in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in August 2010. Russell Budd and Bruce Steckler are also recommended.

Weitz & Luxenberg PC’s attorneys are ‘masters in the field’ in asbestos litigation, for years having been at the forefront of these cases and recovered billions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. In 2010, it was selected to serve on the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the Gulf Coast oil spill MDL, a selection that consolidated the firm’s prominent reputation in toxic tort cases. With 60 lawyers, it is one of the largest personal injury and mass tort plaintiffs’ firms in New York. It also has an office in New Jersey and recently opened an office in Los Angeles, which is managed by the seasoned Joseph Maher. Robert Gordon, who co-led the MTBE litigation against the oil and gas industry on behalf of 153 public and private drinking water systems nationally, is the firm’s most renowned trial lawyer. The highly rated Robin Greenwald heads the environmental toxic tort practice and focuses her own work on vapor intrusion, contaminated water and toxic emissions from landfill. Frank Ortiz and Lisa Nathanson Busch are also recommended.

After beginning its practice representing victims in occupational disease and workers’ rights cases, Motley Rice LLC has expanded its practice into a number of toxic tort areas including asbestos and environmental matters such as ground water or soil contamination and vapor intrusion. In addition to its headquarters in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the firm also has several other offices including one in Los Angeles (operated as Motley Rice LLP), and another in Washington DC. The firm is currently litigating cases in relation to the catastrophic spill following the explosion of BP’s Deep Water Horizon oil well. In the occupational disease space, it is representing military veterans against several defense contractors including KBR Inc and Halliburton Company, alleging that prolonged exposure to burn pit emissions on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan caused injuries including chronic illnesses. In December 2010, the US District Court judge in Greenbelt, Maryland, announced a stay of discovery until the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled on three related cases. Name partners Ronald Motley and Joseph Rice are well established and highly respected figures in the field. Other recommended individuals include Anne McGinness Kearse, whose practice focuses on occupational health injuries; and John Herrick, who leads the occupational disease practice.

Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP is a three-partner firm supported by 24 other lawyers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, and which has plaintiffs’ personal injury and medical malpractice cases as its core areas of expertise. The firm’s capabilities in mass tort litigation were nationally recognized following its role as plaintiffs’ co-liaison counsel in achieving the $657m settlement relating to September 11 injury claims. It also acted for homeowners in Florida in environmental contamination claims that settled favorably. Marc Bern and Paul Napoli are recommended and have expertise including MTBE and other chemical contamination.

Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC, which has three offices across South Carolina, makes toxic tort one of its main practice areas. The firm represents individuals and government entities in complex litigation including class actions and multi-district litigation. Recently, the firm’s environmental work has focused on the intrusion of trichloroethylene (TCE) and benzene vapors into households from groundwater contamination. In other work, Jerry Evans and Gordon Rhea recently served as lead counsel for refinery workers as plaintiffs in toxic exposure lawsuits brought against Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corporation and Hess Corporation. The plaintiffs alleged that prolonged exposure to catalyst dust generated during the oil-refining process caused harm. A confidential settlement was reached late in 2010 after three weeks of trial in the Virgin Islands.

Condon & Forsyth LLP’s ‘widely admired’ practice provides ‘a consistently high level of service’ and continues to enjoy a solid reputation as one of the leading firms for aerospace mass tort and product liability litigation. Its attributes include ‘industry knowledge that is always in-depth’ and its ‘excellent value for money’. Among the practice’s high-profile roles is its representation of American Airlines in property damage and wrongful death litigation arising from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks; and acting as lead counsel to Colgan Air regarding the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York, in 2009. In the World Trade Center litigation, the group also acts as liaison counsel for all other airline, airport and security company defendants. It is also acting for Embraer in connection with the Henan Airlines ERJ-190 accident at Lindu Airport in China in August 2010. Other work includes representing parties in accidents arising from the Sudan Airways Flight 109 in Khartoum, Sudan; Airblue Flight 202 in Islamabad, Pakistan; and Aeroflot-Nord Flight 821 near Perm, Russia. Recent successes include the dismissal of a class action against British Airways in a case arising from transport disruptions involving more than 30,000 passengers. The Los Angeles office complements the New York team and is often involved in military product liability cases. The internationally renowned Desmond Barry and Christopher Christensen in New York, along with Los Angeles-based Frank Silane, ‘give practical and user-friendly advice’ and ‘look for solutions’. Also recommended are Scott Cunningham and Richard Lazenby in Los Angeles, as well as Stephen Stegich, David Harrington, John Horenstein and Marshall Turner in New York.

Cozen O’Connor’s aviation and product liability practice provides comprehensive and forceful defense of its clients’ interests. The firm has proven adept in acting both as national coordinating counsel and as lead trial counsel, and is renowned for its broad-ranging advice. The team served as defense counsel in product liability wrongful death suits relating to the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and advised TAM Airlines concerning an aircraft accident in 2007. Other clients include well-known aircraft and components manufacturers such as Bell Helicopter, Hartzell Propeller, Honeywell, Raytheon and United Instruments. The team also represents insurers, with US Aviation Underwriters a key client, and receives instructions from other carriers including ExcelAire private charter airline and from a mix of other aerospace-related clients such as Aero Kool and Jeppesen Sanderson. Airports and other facilities also draw on the firm’s highly regarded construction litigation team. The practice’s leading individuals include insurance litigator Thomas Harrington and Ann Thornton Field, who chairs the general litigation department. Both are based in Philadelphia. Also recommended is the firm’s vice-chairman Patrick O’Connor, who divides his time between Philadelphia and West Conshohocken.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s ‘excellent’ and ‘superior’ practice ‘provides timely and responsive advice and handles cases with professionalism and expertise’. The team is ‘strong across the board’ and is regularly instructed on ‘high-exposure, high-profile aviation product liability litigation’. It has been retained by Honeywell International and its insurer to handle the investigation and potential litigation arising from the Air France 447 crash in June 2009. The firm also continues to act for the same client in litigation concerning the mid-air collision between a Boeing 737-800, operated as Gol Airlines Flight 1907, and an Embraer Legacy 600 operated by ExcelAire Services over the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in September 2006. The practice also represented Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in six coordinated cases relating to the crash of a Goodyear Learjet in September 2008, all of which cases were settled for a nominal sum to avoid legal expenses. The firm is national coordinating counsel for Cessna Aircraft Company in a series of cases pending in various US jurisdictions arising from icing-related accidents involving Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft. Other key clients include Alaska Airlines, Columbia Helicopters and Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. Practice co-chair Don Rushing is a hugely respected figure in the market and wins plaudits for ‘always being timely and sensitive to the needs of his clients’. He is ‘not only a top-tier litigator with excellent judgment, but with client management skills that are second to none’. Equally well respected is fellow co-chair James Huston, renowned for his expertise with military aircraft. Also recommended are William O’Connor, who specializes in significant commercial aviation cases, and William Janicki. All four are ‘superior lawyers who are very easy to work with’. New York-based Charles Kerr is well known and respected for advising major manufacturers on product liability issues, and Erin Bosman has a wealth of experience including the Honeywell litigation. All recommended partners are based in San Diego, except where noted otherwise.

Perkins Coie LLP’s ‘very strong’ practice has a long-established reputation as a premier player in the aviation field handling ‘high-profile, high-exposure work’, and has been a key provider of legal services to Boeing for more than a century. Said to be ‘one of the best for aviation litigation’, the firm primarily represents manufacturers of aircraft and components for civilian and military aircraft and satellites, although it also represents insurer Global Aerospace. The firm’s primary base in Seattle is supplemented by additional resources in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Practice chair John Dillow is a key figure in the market and he continues to represent Boeing in litigation arising from the September 2005 crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091, a Boeing 737-200 aircraft, on takeoff from Medan in Indonesia. The lawsuits were originally filed and consolidated in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and were later re-filed in Indonesia, the first time that such a case has been tried in the country. The firm represents Boeing extensively, including serving as its worldwide helicopter crash counsel; the ‘phenomenal’ Steve Bell is regarded as one of the country’s foremost experts for cases involving helicopters. Joe Silvernale recently obtained a victory for Jeppesen – which specializes in aeronautical charting and navigation services, flight planning, pilot supplies and aviation training – in In re Comair Flight 5191. Other clients include aerials manufacturer Genie Industries, turboprop manufacturer Precision, and helicopter engine producer Turbomeca. V Woolston and Christian Moller, together with Bellevue-based Clark Nichols and Bruce Campbell, are very highly rated. Clients also recommend Thomas McLaughlin and David Biderman, who commutes between Los Angeles and San Francisco. All of the recommended partners are based in Seattle, except where noted.

Chicago-based litigation boutique Adler Murphy & McQuillen lacks the ancillary non-contentious practices available at full-service firms, but is widely admired for its ‘deep experience and technical knowledge’ of the aviation industry. This, together with its talented courtroom lawyers, makes it a go-to firm for a number of respected organizations. Over the years the firm has advised clients including AAR, Beech, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Republic Airlines, S-Tec and United Airlines. Its track record of success includes helping Honeywell avoid court in relation to a Sikorsky helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico. The firm has also handled a number of aircraft crash investigations and subsequent litigation for Cessna and Cirrus. Michael McQuillan is highly rated and well renowned across the market. James Murphy and John Adler are also recommended.

Bryan Cave LLP primarily acts for aviation industry manufacturers. It handles all of Boeing’s McDonnell Douglas legacy cases, including litigation relating to the 154-fatality Spanair MD-82 accident in Madrid, Spain in August 2008. It also regularly receives instructions from Teledyne Continental Motors on aircraft accident personal injury and wrongful death claims nationally. Other clients include Guam Airport and the port authorities of New York and New Jersey. The aviation team’s standout partner is Jeffrey Morof in Chicago. R Bruce Duffield is also recommended, along with Washington DC-based Douglas Winter.

Hogan Lovells US LLP’s team is ‘excellence personified’, regarded by some as one that is ‘never outsmarted’. Key to its standing is the firm’s relationship with Airbus SAS, the world’s largest airframe manufacturer, for which it acts as national counsel. Recent examples of work for this client include acting on the case of Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in June 2009. Following the accident, plaintiffs from a dozen countries including the US brought product defect claims against Airbus. Judge Breyer agreed that plaintiffs’ claims – including those by two US citizens – should be removed to France on grounds of forum non conveniens, and the litigation remains ongoing. Hogan & Hartson LLP’s merger with Lovells has also exposed the practice to a wider market. Practice head Thad Dameris is ‘a valuable lawyer: humble, reflective and always on the money’. He and his team ‘enjoy the respect of peers, competitors and clients’. Those singled out within the team include Bruce Oakley, ‘an anchor of the team’ whose ‘insights as a former judge and trial lawyer are key’. Washington DC-based David Weiner made partner in 2009 and is ‘an oracle of legal knowledge’ who has ‘the highest academic decorations combined with a persuasive ability well beyond his junior partner status’. Senior associate Christopher Odell is an up-and-comer who ‘shows promise’ and is ‘really starting to distinguish himself in the market’, and is ‘asked for by name by top people on the trickiest matters’. Trevor Jefferies is also recommended. All recommended attorneys are based in Houston except where stated otherwise.

Nixon Peabody LLP’s longstanding and significant aviation practice has expanded from the West to East Coast, with New York-based Joseph Ortego at the forefront. The firm has a solid reputation as an authority on National Transportation Safety Board crash investigations and represents a mix of aircraft and component manufacturers, insurers and airplane operators. Examples of recent work include defending EADS/Aerospatiale in litigation arising from the Concorde jet crash at Gonesse, France in 2000. It also represented a major airline in concluding a national class action relating to passenger ticketing. Other clients include AIG Aviation, Airbus Industrie, ATR, Bell Helicopters, Comair and Eurocopter. The bulk of the practice is located in San Francisco and includes Brian Dalrymple, who has extensive experience of NTSB investigations and product liability litigation. Stephen Johnson is also recommended.

Reed Smith LLP’s ‘excellent’ practice includes highly respected Princeton-based Patrick Bradley, who formerly worked for the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Aviation and Admiralty, before becoming the group’s practice leader. The firm has developed expertise in cases involving the design or manufacture of an aircraft or component parts, aircraft and airline operations and aircraft maintenance. It is defending aviation electronics manufacturer Rockwell Collins in litigation relating to the Air France Flight 447 crash. The firm also serves as lead counsel to Continental Airlines in litigation relating to the 50-fatality crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York, in February 2009. New York-based Oliver Beiersdorf is recommended, along with Washington DC-based of counsel Courtney Bateman, a former FAA counsel.

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP’s aviation group meshes its services with the firm’s wider product liability practice and combines contentious and non-contentious capabilities. Its responsive litigators have an excellent reputation and have a caseload that encompasses litigation arising from aircraft accidents. It has been advising Cessna on complex product liability litigation nationally and is national counsel for Freescale Semiconductor and Motorola in relation to aviation electronics liability. Other clients include AIG Aviation, Chartis Aerospace Adjustment Services, Global Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, as well as Esterline and its subsidiary Leach International. Philadelphia-based J Denny Shupe and Ralph Wellington, the firm’s chairman, are ‘excellent, attentive and quick to respond’.

Sidley Austin LLP’s aviation practice is part of the firm’s wider product liability practice. It has recently been acting on three cases against General Electric, Boeing and others relating to a Kenya Airways airplane crash in Cameroon that claimed 114 lives in 2007; plaintiffs have alleged negligent design and/or manufacture of the aircraft and its components. The cases were removed from the Northern District of Illinois by a forum non conveniens motion. Other clients include GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) and American Airlines. Washington DC-based Lory Barsdate Eaton is recommended. In 2010, Sheila Sundvall left the Chicago office to join Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.

The outstanding Roger Podesta heads the team at Debevoise & Plimpton, which has earned a solid reputation predominantly on the basis of its extensive and ongoing representation of American Airlines in the multibillion-dollar World Trade Center litigation, in which the firm is co-counsel alongside Condon & Forsyth LLP. While the firm does not maintain an everyday aviation litigation practice like the top-tier firms, its inclusion here is recognition that it can handle, and will be sought for, top matters for the largest aviation industry clients.

Dombroff Gilmore Jaques & French focuses primarily on trial and litigation, regularly acting for insurers, airports, light aircraft owners and manufacturers in the civilian and military aviation sectors. The firm is national product liability counsel to Mooney Aircraft and Piper Aircraft Irrevocable Product Trust. It also represents airports – including Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta Hartsfield and Miami International – through AIG Aviation’s Airports Litigation Program. Other clients include Cessna, Associated Aviation Underwriters, Northwest Airlines, Phoenix Aviation Underwriters and Southwest Airlines. Mark Dombroff in Washington DC is highly recommended.

Holland & Knight LLP has a well-known and respected aviation practice, of which litigation is the largest component. Displaying ‘strong expertise’, the group is ‘among the leaders in aviation defense’ and is regularly instructed to defend mass air disaster cases and smaller aviation accidents, with clients including US and foreign airlines and manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft components. The team operates principally out of New York but has additional capacity in Florida and California. BAE Systems is a key client, which it serves as lead counsel. The group is also lead counsel for Société Air France, which it is representing in litigation relating to the Air France Flight 447 crash, and for Turkish Airlines in connection with the Flight 1951 crash in Amsterdam. Other clients include UPS and AIRES. Clients thoroughly recommend aviation team chair Randal Craft and Alan Reitzfeld. Both are based in New York and ‘are very knowledgeable individuals who always exercise good judgment’.

Jones Day’s clients include component manufacturers such as Dow Corning, Lycoming Engines (and parent company Textron), Parker Hannifin, and carrier Swissair. Recently quiet on the litigation front, its aviation lawyers have focused on regulatory and finance work. Past work examples have included acting for Parker Hannifin, representing the company as a co-defendant in claims arising from the crash of Flash Airlines Flight 604, a Bowing 737-300 aircraft that crashed into the Red Sea off the Eqyptian coastline in January 2004. It has also represented Parker Hannifin in wrongful death suits relating to a Cessna crash in Argentina, and a Beech aircraft crash in Oregon. The team is based primarily out of Pittsburgh and Dallas, but is boosted by additional resources in London and Paris. Recommended attorneys include John Goetz and Dana Baiocco in Pittsburgh, Robert Walker in Cleveland, alongside Dallas-based Thomas Fennell and Michael Rice.

Treece Alfrey Musat & Bosworth is a Denver-based firm which enjoys an excellent reputation for representing airlines, fixed base operators, and commercial and private pilots and owners. The firm has been acting for Bombardier in the NTSB inquiry and litigation arising from the crash of Colgan Air’s Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, near Buffalo, New York; it is chief legal trial counsel for the ongoing MDL. It represented Learjet concerning the Mexico City crash of a Mexican government Learjet 45, and is acting for ExcelAire Aviation Services and its underwriters in arbitration in London concerning the Brazilian crash of Gol Flight 1907. Recent wins include a complete defense verdict in a case for Excel Aerospace. Aviation group chair L Richard Musat is a highly rated as a litigator and for his performances in the courtroom. Mark Pottinger is another ‘go-to person for trial work’.

Bowman and Brooke LLP fields ‘possibly the best integrated team with the broadest range’ of capabilities and produces ‘excellent work’. The firm’s large complement of senior lawyers enables it to staff trial teams on a genuinely national basis in multiple cases simultaneously. This ‘thoughtful and thorough’ group’s key partners include the ‘very bright’ Phoenix-based Paul Cereghini, one of the firm’s top trial lawyers, and Vincent Galvin who is ‘highly skilled and experienced’. David Graves in Minneapolis, Tom Branigan in Detroit and H Franklin Hostetler in Los Angeles are also recommended, along with Joel Smith, who joined from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in 2009 as head of a new office in Columbia, South Carolina. Also recommended are Los Angeles-based Mark Berry, Brian Takahashi and Detroit-based Fred Fresard, Richmond-based Sandra Giannone Ezell and Phoenix-based Thomas Klein. Among recent highlights, the firm has been instructed as co-lead counsel for Toyota Motor Corporation on the high-profile “unintended acceleration” litigation, serving as defense counsel for all personal injury and wrongful death cases. It also represents Yamaha nationwide in litigation involving Rhino off-road vehicles and, in 2010, won a unanimous defense verdict for the client in a four-month trial in Orange County. Other highlights included representing Ford in Poehler v Ford in Gaylord, Minnesota, a significant rollover and roof-crush crash case. The practice also serves as national trial counsel for Mitsubishi’s catastrophic injury and wrongful death product liability claims and acted for the client in Blanchard v Mitsubishi, in which the jury found that the roof design on the 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse was neither defective nor unreasonably dangerous.

Bryan Cave LLP is ‘one of the most prominent firms in the automotive sector’ and has an ‘outstanding reputation’ as a result of its involvement in a number of high-profile product liability cases. These include cases concerning automobiles (including trucks and ATVs), industrial vehicles (such as forklifts), tires and components, railroad equipment and watercraft. Highlights included representing Mercedes-Benz and Volvo in consumer fraud class actions. It also won a unanimous jury defense verdict for Ford in Garcia v Ford, a death and amputation case arising from a collision and vehicle fire in a 1997 model Ford Explorer, a win that significantly forestalled the threat of similar litigation. Other clients include Bombardier, Cottrell, Evenflo, Michelin and U-Haul. St Louis-based Stephen Strauss, Dan Ball and Peter Herzog are recommended, as is of counsel John Thomas. In Chicago, R Bruce Duffield is an experienced and well-renowned practitioner.

King & Spalding LLP displays ‘excellent knowledge in the automotive space’ and is reliably able to achieve favorable results. The product liability group is a very significant practice for the firm and fields attorneys based in San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington DC, giving it the ‘good depth’ and geographical reach to take on the most significant cases. As such, the firm has a strong track record in defending automotive manufacturers and transportation companies in product liability litigation, including wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. The firm has a substantial relationship with General Motors, most recently defending the client against claims and lawsuits brought by parties seeking to evade rulings that it was not liable for claims arising out of the use of its products if the accident occurred before July 10, 2009. These cases included Frye v General Motors Corporation et al, in which plaintiffs sought compensatory and punitive damages for the alleged wrongful death of a mother and the catastrophic injuries suffered by her sons during a rollover crash. The firm’s attorneys successfully moved to dismiss the claims. The group also serves as lead counsel to Toyota, and recently defended the company in the highly publicized “unintended acceleration” litigation. Other recent clients include Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Mazda and Volkswagen. The practice also represents a number of shipping and boating clients where its recent successes include securing defense verdicts on claims of negligent training and supervision in a wrongful death matter, and defeating punitive damages claims involving older equipment after a company’s decision to install new safety equipment. Chilton Varner is a hugely well respected appellate specialist and leader in product liability, and Randall (Randy) Bassett ‘does a very good job in all aspects of litigation’. Philip Holladay is recommended for high-exposure product liability cases and Harold Franklin is a ‘rising star’. Andrew Bayman is also highly recommended. All of the recommended attorneys are based in Atlanta.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP is best known for its product liability work in the life sciences and tobacco sectors, but has been steadily increasing its foothold in the automotive field. With major clients such as Toyota, General Motors and Ford instructing the firm, it appears to have consolidated its position as one of the leaders for ‘high-exposure lawsuits throughout the US, particularly those filed in the Midwest’. The group serves as national trial counsel on Tyco’s automotive and general liability litigation. It has also been retained to represent a sizeable commercial and school bus dealership in California litigation arising from a January 2009 accident in which a bus overturned in Arizona, killing seven tourists. In 2009, the firm tried and won a significant case for Kia arising from the first rollover crash case involving the client’s flagship SUV in Oklahoma City. In San Francisco, Frank Kelly is ‘a superb trial lawyer’, while H Grant Law is also an excellent trial attorney. Robert Adams in Kansas City is ‘excellent on technical issues’, as is Douglas Robinson in Orange County (Irvine).

Denver-based Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP is a single-office civil litigation firm that serves as national and regional counsel to a number of big-name clients across various industries. In the automotive space, the group advises automobile manufacturers, tire companies and rail operators, and clients describe the team’s high quality, responsiveness and good value. The practice has served as national trial and appellate counsel for product liability litigation for Ford, Kubota Tractor, Nissan and Toyota. Recent highlights include obtaining a favorable settlement in Colorado for a California-based manufacturer of industrial automotive equipment. In the case of Morgan v Ford, a rollover crash case in which shattered glass caused serious injury, the firm won summary judgement for Ford when the Supreme Court of West Virginia dismissed an appeal on a federal preemption precedent. Founding partner Malcolm Wheeler is ‘a leader in this area’ and ‘very well reputed’. Also recommended are fellow founder John Trigg, managing partner Hugh Gottschalk, Edward Stewart and Michael Williams.

DLA Piper LLP’s product liability group has an excellent reputation and is well equipped to handle major litigation for big-name clients from the automotive and other transport sectors. Significant recent cases include acting as primary defense counsel for Veolia Transportation with regard to the aftermath of the September 2008 Metrolink rail disaster in Los Angeles, which resulted in the deaths of 25 people and injuries to over 130 others. Other clients include Porsche Cars North America, for which the firm serves as national counsel with respect to its asbestos-related automotive litigation and select consumer product liability class action litigation, among other matters. The client regularly instructs the group to advise on liability exposures as part of new product development, most recently with respect to hybrid vehicles. The firm acts as regional counsel for Toyota defending personal injury lawsuits concerning “unintended acceleration” allegations against Toyota and Lexus vehicles. It also acts for Toyota nationwide in defending product liability lawsuits relating to rollover and other product liability matters. In Baltimore, Joel Dewey is ‘an excellent courtroom advocate’ who is ‘always absolutely precise’. Practice group chairs Loren Brown in New York, William Kiniry in Philadelphia and Christopher Young in San Diego are all recommended. Philadelphia-based James Brogan is recommended for tire cases.

McGuireWoods LLP’s product liability practice is relatively small, but has a solid record of good results for its clients. The firm’s expertise encompasses automobiles, boats, freight trucks, motorcycles and other recreational vehicles, and it has been instructed by clients such as Chrysler and General Motors in cases brought by mechanics exposed to asbestos in vehicle braking systems and clutch controls. The team also serves as national counsel for Ford in high-exposure product liability and wrongful death actions in various jurisdictions alleging defects in Ford vehicles, as well as representing it in asbestos litigation. For example, in 2010, it succeeded in moving to deny class certification in a putative class action pending in federal court in Maryland alleging defects in seat designs in certain Ford vehicles. Key members of the team include Terrence Bagley, who is the firm’s deputy managing partner and oversees all litigation, and J Tracy Walker, who chairs the firm’s product and consumer litigation department and heads the team representing Ford.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP’s large team has ‘true lawyers, not just litigators’, whose areas of expertise include litigation, risk management and accident investigations; it is a team of ‘highly skilled attorneys’ who ‘combine a collaborative style with unyielding commitment to deliver top-notch courtroom advocacy’. The firm recently served as lead appellate counsel for Ford in Watson v Ford, a product liability action in which the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed an $18m jury verdict and entered judgment for Ford. Other recent representations include acting for Michelin in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits arising from alleged tire failure. Marc Williams, Robert Massie and Melissa Foster Bird are ‘trusted partners’ and ‘exceptional trial attorneys’.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP has maintained its reputation as a ‘top class action firm’, despite the departure of John Beisner and Stephen Harburg to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. The firm’s tendency is to handle only trial and appellate cases with the highest exposure, rather than dealing with more mundane matters on a day-to-day basis. Ford has been instructing the firm for a number of years, and the group has recently been defending it against three class actions involving claims that the engines in its vehicles contained defects that resulted in issues including poor air conditioning and engine performance. The team attained a federal district court’s final approval of a favorable class settlement. Its track record for the client includes defending it against a number of putative class actions, including the highly publicized Bridgestone/Firestone controversy of recent years. It has also defeated attempts to certify nationwide classes in cases including Walsh v Ford. American Honda is also a key client. Randy Edwards, based in San Francisco, is particularly recommended for class actions. Brian Anderson in Washington DC and Tad Allan in Los Angeles are also recommended.

Snell & Wilmer LLP is a Phoenix-based firm with a national presence, and its product liability practice spans a number of industries. In the automotive and transport space, its expertise includes defending clients in litigation cases alleging defects involving motor vehicle stability and handling, post-collision fires and vehicle occupant safety issues. Key clients include Brunswick Boat Group, Caterpillar, Ford, General Motors, Land Rover, Mercury Marine and Searay Boats. The practice is headed by Vaughn Crawford, who divides his time between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Senior litigator Warren Platt in Phoenix and Orange County is ‘a tremendous trial lawyer’, while Bryon Benevento in Salt Lake City is also highly recommended.

Ballard Spahr LLP’s product liability practice is particularly strong within the automotive sector, wherein Kia is one of its longstanding clients. It is serving as co-counsel for the company in litigation over alleged defects – premature wear, vibration and the need for frequent repairs – in the design of the Kia Sephia braking system. Plaintiffs argued that the company’s alleged knowledge of the problems meant it breached warranty and violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The case was notable for the class action being decertified after a jury verdict without an appeal. The firm is also defending Subaru in class actions brought against a group of car manufacturers and OnStar, alleging fraud on the basis that the companies failed to disclose that OnStar’s analog telecoms equipment would become obsolete. Neal Walters leads the 15-partner team, which also includes John Kearney and Kelley Grady.

Frequently described as ‘outstanding’, Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy P.C. receives plaudits for its ‘expertise and legal acumen’. The practice has earned a fine reputation for taking a hands-on approach representing a select group of clients. Ford regularly instructs the firm, and one of the most significant trials it acted on in 2010 was Elick v Ford in the Western District of Pennsylvania, a case in which the plaintiff was rendered quadriplegic following the rollover of a 1994 Ford Explorer. The defense team successfully argued that the roof and seatbelt designs were safe and that the neck injury was not a direct result of the roof crush that occurred during impact; the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict for Ford. Routinely hailed as ‘one of the best’ in his field, James Campbell is an ‘outstanding trial lawyer who can grasp technical issues very quickly’ and ‘achieves tremendous results for his clients’. William Conroy is also thoroughly recommended.

Hartline, Dacus, Barger, Dreyer & Kern, L.L.P. has a sizeable product liability practice, with a remit that stretches from straightforward non-injury matters to complex multiparty cases. With offices in Dallas and Corpus Christi, the practice is a first choice as Texas counsel for a number of major manufacturers of automobiles, motorcycles, agricultural and industrial vehicles, although it also represents clients on a national basis. Recent highlights include acting for Nissan in relation to a putative consumer fraud class action alleging that the company delayed the correction of erroneous marketing which claimed the Altima vehicle model was fitted with an anti-lock braking system. Other clients include BMW, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi and Subaru. The firm is also on the trial counsel panels of General Motors and Toyota, and is Texas counsel for Ford and Chrysler. Clients recommend Kurt Kern, J Karl Viehman and David Stone, each of whom is based in Dallas.

O’Hagan Spencer LLC is an ‘excellent’ boutique of courtroom lawyers with offices in Richmond, Chicago and Los Angeles; its practice operates nationally but has a particularly strong presence in the southeastern US. The group’s clients include General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia and Nissan, for which it is regularly instructed on a mix of rollover and product defect cases and class actions. Chris Spencer is regarded extremely highly for his work in this field.

Thompson Coburn LLP has considerable expertise when it comes to risk management and litigation prevention, and its large and diverse product liability practice acts for a number of clients from the road, rail and shipping industries. These include manufacturers and operators of motorcycles, heavy goods vehicles, railroads, all-terrain vehicles and watercraft. The firm serves as national coordinating counsel for Kawasaki’s motorcycle product liability cases. Other clients include Goodyear, Hatteras Yachts, Honda North America, Michelin, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific Railroad and Yamaha. St Louis-based Thomas Jayne and Richard Mueller are recommended. The firm’s appellate practice is a useful adjunct.

At Jones Day, the ‘overall level of service is unsurpassed’ and the team ‘knows how to think about, prepare, and try cases; it always has ample depth for any contingency’. The firm has been representing Mattel in connection with federal, state and foreign lawsuits and regulatory actions arising out of voluntary recalls of certain Chinese-manufactured, lead-containing Mattel and Fisher-Price toys. The state court cases were consolidated as a federal MDL in the Central District of California and the practice was able to negotiate pretrial settlements with more than 40 state attorneys general, while the parties reached a negotiated global resolution of the MDL claims. The practice has also been advising Mattel on other issues relating to the recalls, including regulatory matters internationally and domestically. It is also defending Novo Industries and Plastibec in a case involving asphyxiation. Other clients include Colt, Sherwin-Williams and its subsidiary Mautz Paint. Clients recommend Michael Rice in Houston, Thomas Fennell in Dallas, Peter Biersteker in Washington DC, Theodore Grossman in Cleveland, Stephanie Parker in Atlanta and Elizabeth Kessler in Columbus. All of the recommended lawyers possess ‘the ability to see a case from beginning to end’ and provide ‘an outstanding service’.

Arnold & Porter LLP is renowned for its product liability defense expertise and is national tobacco counsel for Philip Morris, while other key clients include Atlantic Richfield and BP North America. The group has notable expertise in consumer product safety and California’s Proposition 65 legislation and advises a number of leading manufacturers, distributors and retailers on recalling consumer products, handling investigations and dealing with associated product liability and commercial disputes. Clients include Hasbro, Johnson & Johnson, Segway, TJX and Toys R Us. The firm has also been representing seven of the nation’s largest restaurant chains – including McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s – against allegations brought by animal rights activists that the companies failed to warn of the presence of the chemical PhIP, a suspected carcinogenic, in cooked chicken products. Other recent highlights include representing Applebee’s and its parent company, DineEquity, in six consumer class actions filed around the country challenging the accuracy of the nutritional information on the WeightWatchers portion of its menu. Some 100 lawyers operate within the practice, which is co-chaired by New York-based Philip Curtis and Washington DC-based Eric Rubel.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP is ‘a formidable force’, renowned for its ‘strong institutional knowledge coupled with great knowledge of the industry, risk trends and best practices for risk mitigation’. The team fields a number of high-caliber lawyers based in New York and Los Angeles, primarily focusing on tobacco and alcohol litigation while also picking up instructions from industries including cosmetics and other consumer products. The firm is the longstanding national product liability counsel for Jim Beam, which it defended in litigation brought against the alcoholic beverages industry alleging that beer and distilled spirits are improperly marketed to youths; defendants’ motions to dismiss were granted in each of the class actions filed in seven jurisdictions. The team also continues to serve as international product liability and regulatory counsel for British American Tobacco (BAT), and has been representing the client in the US government’s highly publicized lawsuit against several cigarette manufacturers for alleged civil racketeering under the RICO statute. Other recent work for BAT includes defending it in an action against various tobacco companies, in which around 40 public and non-profit hospitals in Missouri are seeking reimbursement for alleged smoking-related healthcare costs. Donald Strauber is ‘the dean of the US beverage alcohol product liability bar’, who ‘consistently provides pragmatic, balanced advice in the context of risk management and both proactive and defensive advice’. Thomas Riley is a ‘great long-term strategist’, while Phoebe Wilkinson and David Wallace are also recommended. All of the recommended lawyers are based in New York.

The product liability practice at Dechert LLP ‘provides a wide range of litigation services at the highest level of quality’. The firm is representing Google in two putative class actions, which assert breach of warranty and deceptive advertising claims based on allegations that the Nexus One smartphone – marketed and sold by Google and manufactured by HTC – fails to maintain sufficient connectivity to T-Mobile’s 3G network. In 2010, the district court granted Google’s motion to dismiss all claims asserted with leave to amend. The group is defending Time Warner Cable in a putative class action asserting claims of allegedly unlawful business practices in connection with rental charges for cable converter boxes and remote control devices for customers in California. The group is also representing Sunoco in several putative class actions brought against gasoline companies in which plaintiffs claim violations of state consumer fraud laws and breach of contract. For Philip Morris, the firm is acting as lead trial counsel in a case brought by a group of over 30 hospitals seeking reimbursement for the cost of treating smokers who allegedly did not pay their hospital bills. The department is co-chaired by Ezra Rosenberg in Princeton and Philadelphia-based Sean Wajert. Also recommended is Diane Sullivan in Princeton, who has recently increased her presence in the broader consumer products field, having previously focused predominantly on pharmaceuticals.

Clients of Goodwin Procter LLP say that ‘the level of service and results obtained are consistently outstanding in all areas’. Boasting 26 partners across offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC, the firm is able to ensure strong partner-level attention to matters. It has a rich history in aggregated actions and regularly acts as company and insurer-appointed counsel on a national basis. For example, the group is lead industry counsel in a large lawsuit centered in St Louis involving 36 hospitals seeking to recover from major cigarette manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars of allegedly smoking-related healthcare costs. The team is also international coordinating counsel for all of Philip Morris International’s Canadian litigation, which includes three multibillion-dollar smoker-led class actions and four multibillion-dollar lawsuits by Canadian provinces seeking to recover healthcare costs dating back more than half a century. Recent triumphs include settling a botulism poisoning case brought against Campbell Soup Company after discrediting plaintiffs’ position during a limited discovery phase. Boston-based Kenneth Parsigian chairs the practice and is highly rated, and William Hanlon in Washington DC is ‘an extremely competent litigator’. Richard Wyner, also in Washington DC, is ‘an outstanding brief writer and appellate lawyer who pays great attention to detail’. Forrest Hainline in San Francisco is also strongly recommended.

Morrison & Foerster LLP has an ‘outstanding’ product liability practice that is ‘excellent in every area’. The firm’s reputation is such that it is a trusted adviser to a number of major electronics clients and other household names such as Coca-Cola, Mattel, Costco and Target. Recent highlights have focused on issues of consumer fraud and potential liability, rather than cases involving actual harm. For example, it is representing Lucasfilm in a contractual dispute arising from a license agreement canceled due to product liability exposure issues caused by manufacturing defects that tested harmful for children. Other recent highlights include representing Unilever in successfully dismissing two class actions filed in the northern and central districts of California. Plaintiffs alleged that the organization’s advertising of its vegetable oil spread I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter was misleading and wanted Unilever to refund all revenue. The practice is headed by San Diego-based Don Rushing and Charles Kerr in New York. Also in San Diego, James Huston is highly rated and described as ‘the perfect trial lawyer’. In San Francisco, clients recommend Penny Preovolos and Andrew Muhlbach.

Product liability is one of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP’s flagship practices and thus it has an extensive number of experts dedicated to this area. The firm is ‘home to some excellent trial attorneys’ and is perhaps best known within the tobacco litigation space, where it has long represented industry giants such as Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International, as well as Lorillard. It has recently been representing Philip Morris USA and Lorillard in the Engle progeny litigation in Florida, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. The companies are defendants in more than 7,500 individual cases filed after the Florida Supreme Court decertified a statewide class action that had earlier been awarded a punitive damages verdict. The team is also coordinating and managing litigation brought against Lorillard in which plaintiffs are seeking damages relating to a filter that was used for a limited time during the 1950s in one brand of the company’s cigarettes. Cases have been filed across 24 states, but the firm has won verdicts for the client in 15 of the 19 cases that have been tried. Practice chair Gary Long is ‘a very good trial lawyer’ and Walter Cofer is hailed as a ‘fabulous attorney’; both are based in Kansas City. Clients also recommend Frank Kelly in San Francisco and Kenneth Reilly in Miami.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s focus on high-exposure cases necessarily means that it appears on relatively few matters in any single industry sector, but remains highly sought for its prowess. For example, the practice is lead counsel for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company in a nationwide arbitration arising from the 1998 Tobacco Litigation Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Other recent work includes representing Motorola in Farina v Nokia, a class action against 25 defendants from the wireless phone industry claiming that the phones cause cancer and other diseases. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal on federal preemption grounds and the case was widely perceived as a major victory for the cell phone industry. David Bernick, who previously won victories for Apple in the iPod hearing loss cases, left a noticeable hole in the practice when he left the firm in January 2010 to accept a position as general counsel at Philip Morris International. Stephen Patton in Chicago and Michael Jones in Washington DC are among the firm’s most high-profile product liability litigators, while Chicago-based Terrence Dee was a key player in the Motorola litigation.

Latham & Watkins LLP has a long history of handling consumer class actions, often across multiple jurisdictions, and its greatest expertise lies in defending clients in high-stakes, complex litigation. Serving as national and trial counsel to a number of major corporations, the wide-ranging product liability practice spans industries including heavy machinery, consumer electronics, sporting equipment, tobacco, food products, toys and furniture. The team is regularly called on to defend against consumer class actions including breach of contract, fraud and breach of warranty and recently represented Aurora Organic Dairy, winning a complete dismissal in a case where plaintiffs alleged it had falsely labeled its milk products as organic. Other high-profile work included acting for Playtex Products in multiple class actions that were filed around the country pertaining to use of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles made with bisphenol A, but the common law and statutory fraud claims were dismissed in 2010. And the firm is acting for mobile marketing and advertising agency ipsh!net in a putative class action brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claiming damages for almost $90m. Peter Winik is ‘intelligent, strategic and communicates exceptionally well’. Also recommended are Robert Howard in San Diego, Mark Mester and Mary Rose Alexander in Chicago, and Christine Rolph in Washington DC.

Sidley Austin LLP’s large product liability practice has long enjoyed an excellent reputation for advising major clients across a range of industry sectors. Its attorneys’ expertise is such that the firm is well versed in trials, appeals, multi-district litigation proceedings and class actions in personal injury and consumer fraud litigation. The practice has recently received new mandates from American Electric Power (AEP), Duke Power and others. It has also been defending KFC in class actions challenging its Grilled Chicken promotion and acting for Kimberly-Clark as national coordinating counsel to defend it against claims that its children’s bath products were contaminated. The firm is representing Costco in defending a putative class action filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the labeling and marketing of the client’s shrimp trays. The plaintiffs’ application for a preliminary injunction was denied and the district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Chicago-based practice chair Michael Davis holds enormous respect across the market.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP ‘does terrific product liability work’ and fields some ‘outstanding people’. The recent addition of John Beisner to the Washington DC office as co-head of the mass tort and insurance group further deepened an already thriving practice. Highlights in 2010 included defending Bausch & Lomb in a nationwide class action concerning an allegedly defective contact lens solution and representing Electrolux in defending class actions alleging that its front-loading washing machines had a design defect. Nextel also instructed the firm to defend it against claims that its cell phones were unsafe due to exposure to allegedly dangerous amounts of radio frequency radiation. The team is also active in tobacco litigation and serves as co-lead counsel for Philip Morris in multi-district litigation concerning allegations that its “Lights” cigarettes were actually no less toxic than regular products. Chicago-based Edward Crane and New York-based Sheila Birnbaum are thoroughly recommended.

The attorneys at Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP are ‘leaders in class action defense’ and are ‘a cut above when it comes to product liability litigation’. The one-office Denver firm represents good value for clients and has grown steadily from a civil litigation boutique to a fuller-service model that is attracting and expanding its work for major clients. Clients include Crocs, for which it is national counsel relating to its footwear, and Sears, which has hired the firm as regional trial counsel for class action and product liability litigation. The firm is also national trial counsel for Whirlpool, and recently acted for the company in a putative nationwide class action involving top-loading washing machines wherein the US District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed all claims against the client. The firm also acts for PepsiCo on a regional basis. Malcolm Wheeler is ‘a Renaissance man in the law who has no equals – he fully understands business and what businesses need’. Michael Williams is ‘a brilliant legal mind and a great trial strategist’. John Trigg and Michael O’Donnell are also thoroughly recommended.

DLA Piper LLP handles major litigation for a number of blue-chip consumer product clients, particularly from the food and pet food industries. The group represented Menu Foods in litigation following the recall of some of its dog and cat food products and negotiated a comprehensive settlement to resolve all claims. The team also represented the client in achieving voluntary dismissals with prejudice in two unrelated nationwide class actions alleging false advertising and violations of consumer protection statutes in the marketing of pet food. Other recent successes include representing Husqvarna and other manufacturers in settling a matter involving catastrophic personal injuries as a result of alleged product design defects. Other clients include Kraft and Deere & Company. The group is co-chaired by Loren Brown in New York, William Kiniry in Philadelphia and Christopher Young in San Diego.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s consumer products practice serves as national and regional counsel to a number of clients from the telecoms and tobacco sectors. Employing the group’s deep bench of trial lawyers, the group has partaken of several high-profile cases. For example, it is representing Lorillard in the much-publicized litigation relating to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), which placed advertising restrictions on tobacco companies. It also represents the same client in the Florida’s “Engle progeny” litigation – the thousands of individual follow-on cases arising from the original Engle class action filed in 1994 on behalf of injured and deceased smokers. Other mandates include representing TI and Sensata in a product liability case alleging that refrigerator components were defective. The group’s co-chairs are Francis Citera in Chicago and David Ross in Miami. Denver-based Brian Duffy heads the nationwide litigation department.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is often at the forefront of major cases involving alcohol and tobacco litigation. The group focuses predominantly on high-end work and is increasingly being retained to represent defendants in class actions and other nationwide aggregate litigation, often in the role of national coordinating counsel. Recent examples include acting for Seagram and Heineken in litigation relating to the marketing of alcoholic beverages and its influence on underage consumers in which the firm successfully obtained dismissals of nine putative class actions. It also defended Pinnacle in a high-profile case involving claims that it failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of pot pies it manufactured and sold but the district court granted a motion to dismiss the claims. Other highlights included acting as national coordinating counsel for British American Tobacco (BAT) in tobacco litigation across the US, including serving as trial counsel for the client in key cases and securing BAT’s dismissal from a number of cases. The firm’s most prominent product liability lawyers are Roy Reardon, who is widely admired in the market, and ‘results-focused’ and ‘service-oriented’ practice chair David Ichel. Also recommended are Mary Elizabeth McGarry, Joseph Wayland and head of litigation Barry Ostrager. Each is based in New York.

Winston & Strawn LLP’s product liability practice is relatively small in terms of headcount, but demonstrably has the capability to represent household-name clients on a national basis. The group’s consumer product experience extends across tobacco products, appliances, toys, electronics, food and beverages. The firm is national trial counsel to Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria Group for tobacco litigation, which has included a number of individual product liability claims, class actions and attorney general actions. These cases included general healthcare-cost recoupment actions as well as class actions and individual cases brought by smokers alleging personal injury. Other clients include LG Electronics and its subsidiary Zenith Electronics, which the group advised on multiple high-exposure product liability matters filed in state and federal courts relating to the companies’ electronic products and home appliances. It also advised Abbott Laboratories in a multimillion-dollar nationwide consumer class action lawsuit alleging that its liquid infant formula products were packaged in metal cans lined with epoxy resins containing Bisphenol A. The firm’s chairman Dan Webb is widely regarded as a ‘go-to lawyer for difficult, high-stakes cases’. Thomas Frederick and George Lombardi are also highly talented courtroom lawyers. All three are based in Chicago.

Dechert LLP has ‘an outstanding pharmaceuticals and medical devices practice’. Much of its work focuses on prescription drugs and biologics, and the team is well versed in handling cases involving latent injuries or illnesses and complex issues of medical causation. The group’s litigators have defeated putative class actions in more than 30 jurisdictions and often draw on the expertise of the firm’s European offices for claims with a transatlantic element or parallel European action. It is one of several firms representing AstraZeneca in more than 20,000 diabetes-related personal injury cases pending in federal and state courts across the US involving Seroquel, an atypical anti-psychotic medication for treating mental illness. The firm has played a key role in many of the defense victories to date, including the Baker case, the only Seroquel trial held so far, a case in which Princeton-based Diane Sullivan led the defense. The firm also acts as lead counsel for Merck & Co and Schering-Plough (now merged) in connection with more than 140 putative class actions relating to the marketing and sale of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Other recent highlights include representing Pfizer in a class action in Pennsylvania that asserted consumer fraud and breach of warranty claims relating to the promotion and sale of Neurontin for off-label indications not approved by the FDA. The team obtained a significant victory after persuading the court that the efficacy of the medicine was an issue that could not be resolved on a class-wide basis. The team represented Johnson & Johnson in multiple product liability lawsuits throughout the US relating to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, which can cause liver injury and death when taken in large doses. The courts concluded that Tylenol is safe when used as indicated and that instructions and warnings on the product label are adequate. Ezra Rosenberg in Princeton, and Sean Wajert in Philadelphia co-chair the department. New York partners Kathleen O’Connor and Hope Freiwald are recommended for their expertise in crisis management for pharmaceutical and medical issues, respectively, while Philadelphia-based Ben Barnett is noted for his expertise on e-discovery issues.

Kaye Scholer LLP has an outstanding reputation as one of the premier product liability practices and its greatest strength lies in the life sciences sector. This is reflected in the large number of national counsel instructions it receives from clients including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Allergan. The team continued to defend Pfizer in thousands of cases in the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) litigation, wherein the practice is acting alongside a number of firms and has a leadership role that includes overall litigation and trial strategy and tactics, legal briefing and settlement negotiations. It also represented Pfizer in Viagra product liability claims, defending it against various claims including heart attack, stroke, vision loss and priapism; the firm recently closed out the federal MDL, with the last of the cases being dismissed. For AstraZeneca, it is co-national counsel in thousands of lawsuits alleging that its anti-psychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes and related injuries. For Boston Scientific, the firm acts as national counsel in connection with over 200 claims involving the Taxus Express Coronary Stent System (Taxus Stent), a medical device used by doctors to treat coronary disease. Plaintiffs allege that patients implanted with the Taxus Stent have an increased risk of experiencing late stent thrombosis. In 2010, the team successfully obtained dismissals of several cases on the grounds of federal preemption. James Herschlein was instrumental in the Boston Scientific litigation, and is ‘very bright and experienced’. Practice chair Steven Glickstein is ‘responsive and efficient’, and Arthur Brown is a ‘phenomenal lawyer’. Former general counsel of Pfizer Allen Waxman led the ‘tremendous team’ in the HRT litigation, which also included Lori Leskin, Los Angeles-based Pamela Yates and Washington DC-based William Hoffman, as well as Randolph Sherman. All recommended partners are based in New York except where stated otherwise.

Life sciences work lies at the core of Reed Smith LLP’s product liability group, which is staffed by ‘highly qualified attorneys with excellent knowledge’ and is admired by clients for its strategic planning and courtroom skills. The firm is national coordinating and trial counsel defending CR Bard in litigation concerning Kugel Mesh Patch, a surgical patch for hernia repairs recalled by the manufacturer, and secured a full defense verdict in Whitfield v Davol and CR Bard, the first of the cases to reach trial. The group also continues to serve as national counsel representing Organon USA, a pharmaceutical subsidiary of Merck & Co, in litigation relating to NuvaRing hormonal contraceptive. The team is responsible for the overall defense strategy and coordination for more than 700 cases, and in 2010 it obtained dismissal of all New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) claims asserted in the NuvaRing mass tort in New Jersey. For Pfizer, the group has been serving as national and international coordinating and trial counsel in litigation alleging that Mirapex, a treatment used for Parkinson disease and Restless Legs Syndrome, causes certain impulse control disorders for which plaintiffs sought damages for personal injury, emotional distress and financial loss. The firm’s achievements to date include obtaining a summary judgment for Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim in a claim for $10m in economic losses relating to Mirapex. The team’s track record has also seen it pick up new instructions recently from JT Posey, a leader in hospital restraints and other medical devices, and Barrx Medical, which provides solutions for the pre-cancerous condition, Barrett’s esophagus. Michael Brown in Los Angeles is ‘exceptional and responsive’ and chairs the department. In 2010, the firm deepened its resources by recruiting Lawrence Stein, former general counsel of Wyeth, who joined the group as counsel and divides his time between Philadelphia and Washington DC. Michael Scott is also recommended.

A formidable defense trial firm, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP’s ‘first-rate’ practice has a longstanding history of success in the product liability field where its deep bench of first-chair trial lawyers is highly renowned, having represented leading pharmaceutical companies in high-profile litigation. Recent highlights include acting for Bausch & Lomb, for which the firm serves as national counsel in litigation relating to the 2006 recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, the subject of some 2,000 cases. It is defending Mylan in the 1,300-case litigation arising from its recall of Digitek (digoxin), including some 1,000 plaintiffs in 500 cases pending in MDL in federal court in West Virginia and in consolidated state court proceedings in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas. The firm also serves as national counsel for Sanofi-Aventis regarding Ambien, in which it obtained dismissal of a putative national class action by Ambien users. As national counsel for Covidien, the firm is defending it in the gadolinium contrast dye litigation, which has several hundred cases pending in an MDL in Ohio and in consolidated state court proceedings in California and New Jersey. Other noteworthy recent achievements include Schilf v Eli Lilly, in which the practice won summary judgment for Eli Lilly in a case brought by relatives of a teenager who allegedly committed suicide as a result of using Cymbalta. In Jodi McGookin v Guidant Corporation, the firm won a defense verdict for Guidant in a wrongful death case brought by the parents and grandparents of a baby who had been implanted with a pacemaker made by the company. Practice chair Harvey Kaplan is a prominent ‘veteran’ who is praised highly for his ‘outstanding trial and litigation skills’. In the Kansas City office alongside him, Marie Woodbury and Scott Sayler are also recommended. Houston-based Gene Williams, whose ‘scientific background is quite helpful’, is also appreciated.

Sidley Austin LLP’s wide-ranging product liability practice enjoys an outstanding reputation in a number of areas and has a strong body of work in the life sciences sector, leveraging the ‘deep knowledge of the pharmaceuticals industry’ within the wider healthcare practice group. The team provides ‘very business-focused advice’ and is based predominantly in Chicago but also has attorneys in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles, providing good geographical coverage, and can also call on its international resources where necessary, such as when dealing with multinational clients. The firm’s healthcare practice group usually takes a national counsel role on complex litigation or acts in a risk management capacity. It has been representing AstraZeneca in litigation in which more than 20,000 plaintiffs have alleged that they developed diabetes and other diseases as a result of taking Seroquel, an atypical antipsychotic that has been used to treat millions of patients worldwide. The federal cases have been coordinated in an MDL in the Middle District of Florida with state court actions in several other states. The group also acts for AstraZeneca on the Crestor litigation, in which it recently secured a voluntary dismissal with prejudice prior to the deposition of the plaintiff’s prescribing physician. For Bayer, it played a co-lead counsel role in the Trasylol heart medication litigation, which has a 1,000-plaintiff MDL in Florida, along with personal injury actions in various state courts. The group also represents Bayer in litigation concerning Yaz/Yasmin contraceptive. GE Healthcare and Schering-Plough are also clients. Michael Davis chairs the products liability and mass torts group, and is recommended for his ‘strategic vision’. Sara Gourley is highly regarded for her ‘simple, efficient and excellent approach’ and Los Angeles-based Debra Pole is regarded as an excellent trial attorney. Rebecca Wood in Washington DC is an emerging talent with commendable brief-writing skills, and John Treece is a ‘shrewd and practical lawyer’. Eugene Schoon, Maja Eaton, Susan Weber and David Barlow are also recommended. All partners mentioned here are based in Chicago except where stated otherwise.

Washington DC-based Williams & Connolly LLP is ‘a terrific firm for product liability’. This ‘outstanding’ practice spent many years acting for Wyeth in high-profile litigation and retained the relationship following Wyeth’s acquisition by Pfizer. The group acted for Prempro HRT litigation and has been appointed as Pfizer’s co-national counsel for litigation concerning Chantix smoking cessation aid. Operating from one office, the firm routinely works alongside local counsel, making it an ideal partner as part of complex litigation, where it can bring to bear its top-tier trial talents, strategic skills and organizational ability, along with appellate expertise. For example, the group played a significant role as one of Merck & Co’s national coordinating co-counsel in the Vioxx MDL. It is also part of the trial counsel for AstraZeneca’s Seroquel litigation, including a recent cost recovery action by Kentucky’s attorney general. Bayer has also been a notable source of mandates, for example on the Yaz/Yasmin and Baycol litigation. Clients recommend Douglas Marvin as a top strategist and manager of multi-firm litigation teams, and Stephen Urbanczyk as a strategist with strong writing skills and an ability to build a rapport with juries. John Vardaman, Heidi Hubbard, F Lane Heard and Richard Cooper are also prominent team members.

Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP’s ‘outstanding lawyers’ display top-end trial capability and have built a strong reputation in the product liability space following a succession of significant Vioxx cases for Merck & Co as well as matters for other leading multinationals such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer. The practice also represented Bayer on the MDL centered in the Southern District of Illinois concerning the recall of Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, following the emergence that the pills posed an increased risk of thrombosis. Unlike many of its counterparts, the firm eschews the full-service model and instead dedicates itself to winning trials, stepping into key cases and winning dismissals or jury verdicts with repeated success. It appears to have weathered the loss of several partners in 2009 – who went on to found Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP – and remains ‘a go-to firm’ for many in the industry. Philip Beck, ‘a phenomenal lawyer’, and senior statesman Fred Bartlit are particularly well renowned and widely viewed as trial lawyers at the top of their game. Younger partners such as Adam Hoeflich and Steven Derringer are also ‘very good’. All four are based in Chicago.

DLA Piper LLP’s deep team of skilled litigators has earned a reputation nationally and globally, particularly in the context of coordination and strategizing in MDLs and other complex litigation. The firm’s global presence is particularly useful to a life sciences client base that is top-heavy with multinationals, for which products may be subject to recalls and litigation in various jurisdictions. The product liability practice acted as counsel for Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) in disputes across the US concerning the HRT medications Premarin and Prempro, including involvement in various discovery and evidentiary motion practices. The firm also acted in defense of Wyeth against plaintiffs pursuing a general causation challenge alleging that Premarin caused breast cancer. New York partner Loren Brown, one of the lead partners in the case, successfully argued that there was a lack of reliable evidence to support the allegation. Heidi Levine, also in New York, was another key figure in this litigation. New York-based Heidi Levine and Baltimore-based Joel Dewey are lead partners as national litigation counsel for GE Healthcare in a mass tort relating to Omniscan, a gadolinium-based contrast agent used in MRI scanning procedures, which is alleged to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal impairment. The firm also represents Bayer in a number of significant One-A-Day and Yaz litigation cases.

Clients say that Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP is a ‘top-drawer small firm’ that is ‘strong’, ‘high quality’ and particularly adept at ‘developing strategies to put a case in the best position for trial’. The firm was founded in Chicago in April 2009 and has additional offices in Dallas and Santa Monica. The reputation of its founders, including three former Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP partners, has served the firm well in quickly establishing its credibility. These include Chicago-based Tarek Ismail, ‘an outstanding trial lawyer’, and Andrew Goldman, who also receives glowing feedback from clients. In Dallas, Joe Tomaselli is also highly recommended: ‘one of the best trial lawyers I have worked with’. The firm served as lead counsel for Merck & Co in ongoing litigation over Vioxx, the pain reliever that was withdrawn from the market, obtaining a complete defense verdict. Merck & Co has also retained the firm to represent it in litigation concerning its osteoporosis medication, Fosamax, which allegedly causes atypical fractures. Other recent instructions include representing Bayer in nationwide product liability litigation relating to its gadolinium-based contrast agent, Magnevist, which is the subject of over 500 lawsuits. The group also acted for Medtronic to obtain a complete dismissal of product liability claims relating to Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads.

King & Spalding LLP has one of the larger teams in this space, staffed by ‘first-rate lawyers who are dedicated and responsive’, and who display ‘excellent judgment’. Clients also value the firm’s efforts to be ‘cost effective and conscious of cost efficiencies’, mixing a strategic approach with a track record of taking complex cases to trial. Recent highlights include representing Baxter Healthcare in litigation brought by the actor Dennis Quaid relating to injuries allegedly resulting from the administration of Heparin to his newborn twins in Los Angeles. After removing the case to the District Court for the Central District of California, the firm successfully obtained a dismissal. It is also serving as national coordinating co-counsel and lead trial counsel to Purdue Pharma in litigation involving the pain medication OxyContin and related civil investigations. Over the course of this representation, the firm has obtained more than 400 dismissals and defeated 15 putative class actions. It also defended the company in a case filed by Kentucky’s attorney general seeking to recover Medicaid expenditure on OxyContin and in a putative nationwide class action filed by a consumer in California under its consumer protection laws. Chilton Varner, Andrew Bayman, Todd Davis and Robert Woo are ‘accessible and responsive, and will move heaven and earth to accommodate clients’ needs and requests’. Halli Cohn and W Ray Persons are also recommended. All of the recommended attorneys are based in Atlanta.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP is a ‘great firm’ with ‘uniformly excellent’ product liability lawyers located across the US, primarily Los Angeles and Washington DC. The firm typically acts on high-end cases and is representing Matrixx Initiatives before the US Supreme Court in a securities class action concerning the over-the-counter cold remedy Zicam. It was alleged that the company violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that Zicam caused a loss of sense of smell in some users. The team recently argued that the appeals court used the wrong standard in allowing the case to proceed, a line of defense that could have significant implications for the industry more widely if upheld. It is also defending Amylin Pharmaceuticals in 53 personal injury cases brought by approximately 270 plaintiffs concerning Byetta, an injectable medication for type-2 diabetes, alleging that the client failed to adequately test or monitor side effects and failed to warn doctors or patients of the risk of developing pancreatitis. The departure of John Beisner, Stephen Harburg and Jessica Miller to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was a significant loss that is still being felt. However, the expertise of highly respected product liability chair Richard Goetz in Los Angeles and Brian Anderson in Washington DC has ensured the practice remains busy and capable.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s product liability practice was boosted by the addition of John Beisner, who joined from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in what was a considerable coup for the firm. A hugely respected figure in the market, Beisner has been leading a team representing Merck & Co in Vioxx litigation. Other recent achievements include representing Pfizer and its subsidiary Wyeth in HRT class actions and product liability cases. The firm also secured a significant victory for Amgen in 2010, when a district court ruling dismissed claims that it allegedly engaged in a scheme to promote off-label uses of its anemia medicines, Epogen and Aranesp. DePuy Orthopaedics, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, retained the practice to represent it in relation to claims concerning ASR, its now-withdrawn hip replacement product. New York partners Sheila Birnbaum and Mark Cheffo lend considerable weight to the expertise and reputation of the group.

Baker Botts L.L.P. fields an ‘excellent’ practice for pharmaceuticals product liability defense, which is based in Houston and New York and is involved in many of the industry’s high-profile cases. It is co-national counsel for AstraZeneca on Seroquel litigation, for which the company has created a “virtual law firm” to handle the sprawling and complex caseload involving claims that the anti-psychotic drug causes diabetes. It has also been named as co-national counsel for Merck & Co on its Vioxx litigation, having initially represented it in Texas and Louisiana. Although this litigation is largely settled, the firm has continued to act for the client in cases brought by state attorneys general seeking to recoup money that state Medicaid programs spent on Vioxx. Other instructions from Merck & Co include a recently filed case pending in the Southern District of Texas in which plaintiffs allege liver injury as a result of taking a generic version of the company’s pioneer statin, Mevacor. The case has alarming significance for the industry due to its potential to spawn new precedents in Texas that could recognize that the pioneer manufacturer has a legal duty to warn regarding generic versions of the drug. Earl Austin heads the life sciences practice and co-chairs the pharmaceutical litigation practice in New York. Stephen Scheve in Houston is ‘an excellent trial attorney, not because of his superior court presence, but also his ability to strategize and adapt to ever-changing situations’. Kevin Jacobs and Travis Sales, also in Houston, are recommended.

Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC has developed a significant product liability practice and acts for a range of clients from the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sectors. It serves as national coordinating counsel for all prosthetic heart valve litigation for a medical device manufacturer and is regional counsel in cases involving blood product litigation; it serves as trial counsel in multi-state vaccine and breast implant litigation. The practice, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, attracted significant attention because of its important role in several bellwether Vioxx trials as part of Merck & Co’s “virtual law firm” defense model. Other clients include Baxter Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. A combination of reasonable billing rates and respected practitioners such as Christy Jones – an ‘excellent pharmaceuticals lawyer’ and a ‘very able trial attorney’ – and Lee Davis Thames make the firm an attractive option for clients.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare litigation group is led by ‘outstanding lawyer’ Lori Cohen, whose national practice focuses on product liability litigation. A significant factor in the practice’s reputation is its expertise in the medical devices sector, primarily through its work as a regular adviser to Medtronic. It is national counsel for the client in numerous federal and state court cases relating to the recall of certain of its implantable defibrillators involving over 2,800 plaintiffs’ claims that the batteries of certain models were defective. The firm also represented I-Flow Corporation as trial counsel in defending product liability lawsuits across the US relating to its elastomeric pain pump medical devices. It is also acting for Synthes and its subsidiary, Spine Solutions, in a pending case involving ProDisc artificial lumbar disc replacement device. In addition to Cohen, the practice’s other recommended individuals are Sara Thompson and Phoenix-based Pamela Overton, and Atlanta-based Victoria Lockhard, who recently joined from Alston & Bird LLP.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP’s ‘talented and client-driven’ team earned respect across the industry for its impressive performances in Vioxx cases for Merck & Co. It has also been acting for the same client in the Vytorin class action. Other recent highlights include serving as New Jersey trial counsel to Novartis in the ongoing Zelnorm litigation, in which the firm thwarted plaintiffs’ attempts to have the litigation designated as a mass tort and moved successfully to exclude plaintiffs’ key causation experts, leading to a favorable global settlement. Charles Cohen in New York was instrumental in the Vioxx litigation and is ‘the preeminent discovery and privilege strategist’. James Fitzpatrick is ‘incredibly bright and on the cusp of becoming a superstar’. Practice co-chairs Robb Patryk and Diane Lifton are also recommended, along with managing partner Ted Mayer.

Jones Day provides a ‘quality service’ at ‘affordable and reasonable’ rates. Recent mandates include defending Santarus against claims that it fraudulently misrepresented and suppressed material medical and scientific information about a phospho-soda product. The firm is also national coordinating counsel for LabCorp’s professional negligence litigation related to its pap smear and drug screening testing. It also acted for Mentor, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in a product liability lawsuit involving ObTape, a surgically implanted mesh sling used for treatment of stress urinary incontinence. The team as a whole is commended for its ‘promptness’ and ‘wonderful business acumen’, with Theodore Grossman in Cleveland singled out as ‘the consummate litigator, who is always gracious but steadfast for his clients’. Paul Pohl in Pittsburgh heads the product liability practice and is highly recommended, along with the ‘thorough and dependable’ John Lewis in Cleveland and the ‘very competent’ Carol Hogan in Chicago.

Morrison & Foerster LLP regularly serves as national trial counsel for major pharmaceuticals companies, and clients say that its ‘excellent’ service is ‘expensive but worth it’. Key recent instructions include acting for APP Pharmaceuticals and Abraxis Bioscience in litigation relating to local anaesthetic products used in pain pumps which allegedly contribute to the development of post-surgical chondrolysis, a degenerative condition of the shoulder. The firm is also representing APP Pharmaceuticals in its heparin litigation and advising it regarding possible claims and issues arising out of Baxter’s recall of similar products. Other clients include Iovate Health Sciences, Novartis, Daiichi and Bayer. Trial practice group chairs James Huston and Erin Bosman in San Diego are highly recommended. In San Francisco, of counsel William Tarantino is ‘an excellent lawyer with great insight and attention to detail’, while Arturo Gonzaléz is ‘great on his feet; and at strategy and the big picture’.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP’s relatively small practice is highly respected, not least because of the international reputation of its ‘extremely able’ managing partner David Dukes, who divides his time between Columbia and Washington DC. Recent high-profile instructions for the team include serving as lead counsel for Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) in a Prempro case. While the firm tends to take on local or regional counsel roles, it has proven its national scope by representing CR Bard in litigation relating to various urological products and in lawsuits relating to certain vascular devices. It is co-counsel to Eli Lilly for an action brought by South Carolina’s attorney general seeking restitution for state expenditure on Zyprexa. Michael Cole in Charleston is ‘great for multi-district litigation’. Stephen Morrison in Columbia is also highly recommended.

Pepper Hamilton LLP’s Philadelphia-based practice has a strong track record of success in health effects litigation and is regularly instructed by pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies. One of its strengths is the ability to adapt different strategies to meet client needs, whether through settlement, pre-trial dismissals or courtroom victories. The firm serves as national counsel to Eli Lilly and represented it in a Congressional hearing on the Zyprexa cases. The team negotiated a $1.4bn settlement with Pennsylvania state attorneys and Medicaid lawyers, among a number of other settlements reached with state attorneys general and, overall, the firm has settled or dismissed before trial more than 31,000 Zyprexa cases. Other successes for the same client included obtaining a significant judgment in federal court in the Eastern District of New York pertaining to Mississippi’s case seeking restitution for Medicaid expenses relating to Zyprexa, which was dismissed on summary judgment although plaintiffs appealed against one aspect of the verdict. The firm is also a trusted adviser to GlaxoSmithKline, for which it serves as national counsel for litigation relating to Avandia diabetes treatment, a 15,000-case MDL with coordinated actions in California. Other clients include the American Red Cross, CB Fleet and Medtronic. Practice head Nina Gussack is highly recommended.

Tucker Ellis & West displays ‘flexibility and creativity’ and offers ‘high quality, experienced attorneys’ at affordable rates. The firm is national coordinating counsel for Johnson & Johnson in litigation relating to Ortho Evra contraceptive and has recently been asked to serve as one of the coordinating firms in the ASR hip replacement product litigation following a product recall. It also represented Actavis in the Digitek MDL, involving allegations that double-strength tablets were erroneously distributed. Other mandates in 2010 included acting for Pfizer on litigation alleging cutaneous injury as a result of serious adverse reactions caused by the use of certain medications. It also defended the client in litigation relating to epilepsy medication. Los Angeles-based Mollie Benedict co-chairs the group with Cleveland-based Rita Maimbourg, while name partner Robert Tucker garners ‘huge respect’ across the market.

Denver-based Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP undertakes ‘a lot of high-quality work in the pharmaceuticals arena’ as part of its wider product liability practice. In 2010, the firm was added to Pfizer’s Legal Alliance, a select group of firms that handle the company’s product liability litigation. Part of its remit has been acting as national trial counsel for cases relating to Zoloft and Neurontin. Other recent work includes representing Advanced Bionics in litigation relating to cochlear implants, and GE Healthcare in relation to gadolinium-based contrast agents. The group also has regional roles for Abbott Laboratories and for Merck & Co in the Vioxx litigation. Malcolm Wheeler is an ‘excellent lawyer’, with James Hooper, Michael O’Donnell and Craig May also recommended.

Winston & Strawn LLP’s well-respected product liability practice acts for clients across a range of sectors, including some major life sciences companies. Notable recent highlights include acting as one of the trial counsel firms representing Pfizer – and its Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn subsidiaries – in HRT litigation concerning Prempro, Premarin and Provera, a number of which pending cases involve claims for personal injury including breast cancer and other health conditions. It also defended Pfizer and obtained settlements in litigation regarding its two prescription pain relievers, Celebrex and Bextra. In Chicago, litigation chair Thomas Frederick and firm chairman Dan Webb are thoroughly recommended, along with Los Angeles-based Neal Marder.

Jones Day obtains ‘good results’ and has a sizeable practice in the toxic tort space, where its extensive geographical reach is of benefit. Toxic tort has been an increasingly busy area for the firm, partly because of a growing number of cases relating to global warming issues, and it is adept handling cases brought by private citizens and public officials. It is defending Xcel Energy in a public and private nuisance lawsuit filed by the governing bodies of a village in Alaska, alleging that emissions of greenhouse gases from the defendant’s power plants are destroying the village. Other recent highlights include representing Sherwin-Williams as national counsel in all litigation relating to its lead paints and pigments and representing IBM in litigation alleging contamination of structures near its former manufacturing facility in Endicott, New York, via the medium of vapor intrusion from groundwater. For Motorola, it is defending against claims that exposure to chemicals at its former semiconductor facilities in Arizona and Texas caused prenatal injuries to babies. The highly rated Paul Pohl heads the practice from Pittsburgh. Other recommended attorneys include Charles Moellenberg, also in Pittsburgh, along with Thomas Fennell in Dallas, Carol Hogan in Chicago, Sharyl Reisman in New York and Houston partners Nancy MacKimm and Michael Rice.

King & Spalding LLP is ‘a big player in toxic torts, especially in chemicals’, and its 100-lawyer team and considerable scientific expertise makes it a tried and trusted option for many big-name clients. In 2010, the group was instructed by Shell to serve as lead national trial counsel in litigation alleging that drinking water in Redlands, California was contaminated with 123-trichloropropane due to defective products. The team won a defense verdict after demonstrating that the city was not harmed and the products were not defective. It also succeeded in removing 3M from a product liability case in Florida filed by the local water authority, which alleged that chemicals from fire-fighting foam manufactured by the client had contaminated two of its wells. The team also handles climate change litigation and has represented Chevron in successfully dismissing a number of cases. For example, in Comer v Murphy Oil – a putative class of Mississippi residents and landowners alleging that greenhouse gas emissions contributed to global warming that in turn intensified the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina – the firm took the lead in briefing the motions to dismiss, which were granted. The group’s lawyers are spread across offices in Houston, Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco and Austin, with Atlanta-based Kevin Buster identified as the firm’s standout individual for toxic torts.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has been a key player in a number of complex toxic tort cases and its highly respected practice has considerable environmental expertise. It represented Dow and Rockwell, federally appointed operators of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant north-west of Denver, in persuading the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to unanimously reverse the district court’s $926m damages verdict for plaintiffs in Cook v Rockwell, a case alleging plutonium contamination. The team also defended 3M in a toxic tort brought by plaintiffs living near a former reclamation facility for industrial barrel in Chicago. Residents claimed exposure to various chemicals and sought damages for personal injury but the majority of plaintiffs ultimately dropped their claims and the firm negotiated a favorable settlement for the remainder. Other recent successes include securing a complete defense verdict for Dow in an asbestos case and the firm is also representing BP in litigation arising from the catastrophic explosion and oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. It is defending Raytheon in a highly publicized class action alleging that groundwater contamination from a facility in Petersburg, Florida has lowered property values and increased health risks for residents of the neighborhood. Chicago-based Kevin Van Wart is recommended.

Reed Smith LLP has been active in the toxic tort arena for a number of years, often handling large and complex litigation in a mix of national, regional and local counsel roles. The firm’s attorneys have considerable expertise in asbestos litigation, as well as silica, benzene, welding rod and other toxic torts. 3M is a longstanding client, having instructed the team on a number of cases arising from claims of workplace exposure to benzene and hydrocarbon solvents that allegedly caused various forms of blood cancer. The firm is also representing Smurfit-Stone as national counsel in various lines of litigation including personal injury actions and asbestos-exposure cases. Other clients include Johnson Controls and Pfizer. Much of the practice is based in New York, from where John Hooper heads the practice.

Arnold & Porter LLP has been steadily increasing its visibility in this arena and is ‘becoming one of the big players’. Areas of expertise include lead pigment cases, on which it advises Atlantic Richfield, and climate change, for which the group is BP’s national counsel. Indeed, it is defending BP in a case brought by an Inupiat native village in western Alaska alleging that greenhouse gas emissions from BP facilities are causing the loss of protective barrier ice, which would eventually render the village uninhabitable. The firm also acted for the client in a case alleging that greenhouse gas emissions intensified the effects of Hurricane Katrina resulting in greater property damage across Mississippi. Practice chair Philip Curtis in New York and Eric Rubel in Washington DC are recommended.

Dechert LLP’s litigation group is ‘among the top in its field nationally’, the result of ‘excellent service’ and a ‘keen awareness in bringing value for the cost’. Recent toxic tort instructions include serving as national coordinating counsel for Firmenich in litigation brought by workers in the microwave popcorn, candy and baking industries alleging that they contracted respiratory illnesses as a result of exposure to certain chemicals in the company’s artificial flavorings. The practice was also recently called upon by numerous organizations to offer strategic advice relating to potential toxic tort litigation relating to lead, asbestos, BPA and other chemicals. It also advises on litigation-risk due diligence associated with possible M&A and on risk mitigation. Specialty chemicals group Rhodia is among the firm’s longstanding clients. Sean Wajert is recommended.

Greenberg Traurig LLP has wide-ranging experience in complex environmental matters including MTBE and asbestos litigation. The firm acts as coordinating and lead trial counsel for Robert A Keasbey Co, an insulation contractor targeted by nearly 18,000 asbestos cases across the northeastern US. Other clients include Coronet industries and Mosaic; it represented the latter in a putative class action filed by commercial fishermen and others for economic damages allegedly resulting from the release of approximately 65m gallons of process water into Hillsborough Bay during Hurricane Frances. David Weinstein chairs the practice and is located in Tampa.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP’s New York-headquartered practice receives glowing praise from clients, who say ‘there is no issue or difficulty that it cannot handle and handle well’. The toxic tort group is widely recognized for its ‘extremely talented yet caring’ attorneys. Recent highlights include representing the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in successfully moving to dismiss with prejudice a $1bn lawsuit brought by Spain alleging that ABS was liable for the oil spill from the tanker M/T Prestige, which sank in heavy seas off Spain’s northwest coast in 2002. The team is also representing Chemtall in a putative multi-state class action in West Virginia in which plaintiffs allege harmful exposure to polyacrylamide, a component of an industrial water-purifying chemical manufactured by the company. Co-chair Rob Patryk is ‘extremely intelligent, honest and hardworking’. Theodore Mayer, who was recently appointed managing partner, is ‘first class’ and always ‘thorough and responsive’.

The team at Latham & Watkins LLP has in-depth knowledge of the scientific issues present in environmental and toxic tort litigation. It is representing ConocoPhillips in MTBE contamination cases brought by water companies in the US, alleging that MTBE – an additive in gasoline used to reduce air pollution – affected drinking water. It also represented Ford in toxic tort litigation in which plaintiffs alleged personal injury and property damage from exposure to contaminants at a waste site. The team continues to represent Montrose Chemical in litigation concerning property damage and personal injury claims allegedly caused by exposure to chemicals at a former pesticide factory. Chicago-based Mary Rose Alexander is global chair of the environment, land and resources department, and is recommended along with Robert Howard in San Diego and Christine Rolph in Washington DC.

Mayer Brown’s practice is actively involved in numerous cases involving asbestos, diacetyl (the so-called “popcorn lung” litigation for Chemtura), and other chemicals. The firm has a longstanding relationship with Dow Chemicals and recently defended it in Comer v Murphy Oil, a multi-defendant case brought by Mississippi property owners alleging that energy companies contributed to climate change and increased the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The group also defended the same client in a consolidated action brought by Alabama coal miners alleging injury caused by exposure to defective products. Other recent work includes defending NXP Semiconductors in two parallel toxic tort actions involving former manufacturing workers alleging that chemical exposure caused birth defects in children. Herbert Zarov is ‘one of the deans of the practice’, while Daniel Ring and Craig Woods are also recommended. All three are based in Chicago.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s 13-partner toxic tort practice has considerable strength in toxic torts and has participated in a number of cutting-edge and precedent-setting matters recently. Although it operates on a national basis the practice remains best known for its work on the West Coast and is particularly busy in California. Recent mandates include serving as national coordinating counsel for Cytec in asbestos-containing product cases pending in several states. San Diego-based Don Rushing, one of the ‘stars of the practice’, has long worked with the client on all of its US asbestos-containing product litigation. The team is acting for Ricoh Electronics in a civil action filed against it and other major corporations by the Orange County Water District alleging that the historical release of perchlorate and solvents contaminated regional groundwater. The case, one of the largest of its kind, is anticipated to establish important precedent regarding the ability of a water district to utilize the provisions of a little-known Water District Act. The group has also been retained by Target in relation to allegations that its products contained small amounts of toxins that should be handled as hazardous waste. The California Attorney General’s Office and 30 district attorney and city attorney offices are seeking tens of millions of dollars in civil penalties and injunctive relief. San Francisco-based Robert Falk and Michéle Corash, and Los Angeles-based Peter Hsiao are also recommended. On the East Coast, New York-based Grant Esposito is the leading figure for chemical and asbestos matters.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP has a prominent environment practice and regularly acts for clients in toxic torts. In particular, it advises on climate change regulation and litigation and is often active in cases concerning alleged environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions released by a wide range of industries. The practice is Coca-Cola’s lead outside trial counsel in a mass tort action in Michigan involving allegations that historic wastewater handling practices at the company’s bottling facility caused the elevation of certain metals and compounds in groundwater, allegedly leading to personal injury, property damage and other problems. It was also engaged by Bayer CropScience to defend several toxic tort actions in Johnson County, Kansas, where plaintiffs were alleged to have developed cancer as a result of exposure to certain carcinogens at its facility. Other clients include Del Monte, Ford, Kraft, United Airlines, Siemens and Shell. Practice chair David Erickson in Kansas City is recommended. The practice also has teams in San Francisco and Miami.

Sidley Austin LLP regularly plays a leading role in toxic torts, including climate change litigation. It is representing several private utility companies, including American Electric power (AEP) and Duke Power Company, in a number of cases including litigation brought by a number of states concerning the defendants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The team’s other recent work includes a class action in which residents allege that greenhouse gas emissions contributed to climate change, thus intensifying the strength of Hurricane Katrina and increasing damage to their properties. The firm recently represented Bayer in three consolidated lawsuits filed by over 1,500 coal miners in Alabama alleging injury as a result of exposure to isocyanate-containing products used to secure coal mine roofs and facilitate ventilation. Other highlights included obtaining the dismissal of a complaint filed by Brazilian citizens in Indiana who claimed to have suffered injury as a result of environmental pollution and contamination emanating from manufacturing sites in Brazil. The ‘excellent’ David Buente in Washington DC heads the environmental group. Product liability practice head Michael Davis and James Mizgala, both based in Chicago, are also recommended.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP’s broad-based practice excels advising clients from all corners of the market, including issuers, underwriters and auditors. ‘Its expertise in litigation matters is deep and it is remarkably adept at wrapping its mind around highly technical problems. The firm is where I go with the most challenging questions and complex situations’. ‘Even though there is a general perception it is expensive, that’s true only if you evaluate the billing rates. But as it has an ability to get the job done efficiently and correctly, it is money well spent’. Clients comment that ‘one can count on solid and often exceptional work from most partners and senior associates’. Among the partners, the esteemed Evan Chesler is singled out as ‘the best trial lawyer I have ever seen’. The ‘excellent’ Antony Ryan is ‘knowledgeable, experienced, hard working and responsive’. Sandra Goldstein and Kevin Orsini are praised for their ‘responsiveness, knowledge and efficiency. They are also problem solvers. They are able to deliver this service because they have taken time to understand our company and what is important to us’. On the audit side, the firm is representing PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in litigation concerning its role as outside auditor of American International Group (AIG). The dispute is one of the largest class actions filed in recent years. In terms of financial institutions, one of its largest matters is its defence of Credit Suisse against several litigations filed throughout the US relating to mortgage-backed securities and mortgage-related debt. The firm has also been representing Vivendi, since 2002, in a major class action litigation that recently culminated in a four-month trial, one of the few securities class actions to reach the trial stage. The jury found in favour of the former CEO Jean-Marie Messier, and CFO, Guillaume Hannezo, but against the company, a finding that Vivendi intends to appeal.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP’s first-class practice is jointly headed by Joel Cohen and James Windels, and can draw on at least six top-notch litigators with excellent experience in securities litigation. The firm’s track record and client-base, which includes issuers, underwriters and auditors, speaks volumes. Recent highlights include serving as Morgan Stanley’s principal outside counsel in matters arising from the financial crisis. The firm has already achieved a number of significant victories on behalf of the bank, including defeating a motion for class certification in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank et al v Morgan Stanley et al. This was the first significant decision to address whether class certification is appropriate in an action that is based on the alleged reliance on credit ratings. The firm is also representing the board of directors and certain officers of Bank of America in connection with the sprawling civil litigation and investigations relating to the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. On the audit front, the group is representing PwC, a major client of the firm, in all of its civil litigations relating to the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. A major highlight was achieving a significant victory on behalf of Aetna in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the district court’s dismissal of a $9bn securities class action against the company and four of its current and former directors and officers.

Praised for its ‘invaluable experience in high-stakes cases’, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP has a superb reputation, particularly for representing financial institutions. ‘Excellent in all areas’, the ‘top-tier’ group, which includes the ‘very bright, incredibly responsive’ firm chair Brad Karp, boasts a string of first class litigators. Among them, Richard Rosen is ‘a brilliant analytical lawyer who consistently obtains outstanding results for his clients. A pleasure to work with’, while Dan Kramer is a ‘good writer, good oral advocate, well organised, and knows this area of the law backwards and forwards’. Unsurprisingly, given the firm’s client-base, the fallout from the financial crisis has dominated much of the workload. Highlights included representing Bank of America on claims brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in relation to the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The settlement eventually achieved required the bank to pay $150m into a fair fund for distribution to shareholders and to undertake a number of remedial actions. The firm also achieved a significant victory for Citigroup, Citigroup Global Markets and former officers and employees in relation to investments made into a collateralized debt consolidation underwritten by the bank. The court ultimately dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ claims. The firm is also representing JPMorgan Chase on a range of major disputes arising out of the financial crisis, particularly relating to the mortgage-backed securities. Major issuer clients include Merck, Ericsson and Paramount Pictures Corporation.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has an excellent track record defending major corporate issuers and financial institutions against bet-the-company securities disputes and securities fraud allegations. Primarily working out of New York, the firm has eight partners spending over half of their time on securities-related litigation. Among these, Bruce Angiolillo and Michael Chepiga are particularly well regarded for major class actions, derivative actions and internal investigations. Other litigators, such as Barry Ostrager, benefit from strong followings in the financial services industry, where the firm is currently representing Washington Mutual in connection with federal and state government inquiries and investigations arising out of events that led up to its bankruptcy in 2008, the largest bank failure in American history. The litigations include claims under the Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act, and in 2009 the Western District of Washington dismissed without prejudice all securities fraud claims against the clients, which include former officers of the bank. The firm, which has a considerable private equity client base, successfully defended the Blackstone Group and several senior officers against putative class action litigation arising from the fund’s 2007 IPO. The plaintiffs claimed that Blackstone’s prospectus failed to disclose that certain portfolio companies were underperforming at the time of the IPO, and that certain negative trends might affect the fund’s real estate portfolio. The court dismissed the complaint in its entirety, although this has since gone to appeal.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is praised by clients for its ‘very broad securities bench’, and in securities litigation head Jay Kasner, it has one of the best regarded litigators on the market. The firm acts for an impressive mix of major corporations, financial institutions and professional services firms on their related high-stakes matters, including securities class and derivative actions and federal investigations. Recent highlights include representing Deloitte & Touche in a settlement with investors, alleging it purchased inflated American Home Mortgage stock on assurances of the company’s well-being and scrupulous lending standards. Deloitte ultimately agreed to contribute $4.75m to the $37.25m fund established for investors. One of the firm’s largest clients is Merrill Lynch, which it has represented on numerous securities-related issues, and achieved a dismissal of a shareholder class action challenge to investments made in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Another key partner is Scott Musoff, who has worked alongside Kasner on most of the Merrill Lynch-related matters. Musoff also won a significant dismissal for Société Générale of a suit alleging that the bank knowingly understated its exposure to subprime mortgages through its CDO investments, and knowingly misstated the strength of its risk management controls after a French rogue trader put billions of euros at risk in unhedged trades. Other active partners include Susan Saltzstein, Seth Schwartz and Joseph Sacca.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s top-notch securities litigation group boasts a highly impressive array of corporate and financial institution clients, most notably Goldman Sachs, which regularly chooses the firm as lead counsel. Recent matters for the bank include achieving a successful result as defendant in an action arising out of the eToys IPO. The action involved claims about the relationship between the IPO underwriters and issuers, which the New York Supreme Court dismissed in its entirety, requiring the plaintiff to pay 50% of the cost of certain electronic discovery from Goldman Sachs, including attorneys’ fees. Another major banking client is Barclays, for which the firm won a victory in the dismissal of a federal securities law class action brought against the bank and current and former members of the board. This related to four offerings of over $5bn worth of American Depositary Shares. The plaintiffs alleged that Barclays had provided an inaccurate description of its risk-management policies, and failed to disclose its holdings in various mortgage-related assets, which it had overvalued and failed to take timely write-downs. The Court ultimately granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss in its entirety and denied the plaintiffs leave to further action. The firm is also representing BP and its directors in derivative, securities fraud and ERISA litigation arising out of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The group, which works primarily out of New York, includes several first-class litigators, including Robert Giuffra, Gandolfo DiBlasi, David Braff, Stacey Friedman and Sharon Nelles.

Praised for its ‘very in-depth knowledge of the securities litigation area’, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP comes highly recommended by clients, who consider the firm to be ‘good value for money’. ‘It understands both the technical litigation aspects as well as the internal political or business aspects, such as dealing with internal clients or the board, and can provide advice and guidance for all sides’. Among the partners, clients single out Mitch Lowenthal, who ‘has a broad base of experience and is very well respected internally. Even though he is senior, he is always available if needed’. Meredith Kotler also attracts considerable praise. While the group has previously been seen as quite small compared to its rivals, it has invested significantly and in the past two years promoted two experienced securities litigators to partner: Victor Hou in 2010 and Roger Cooper in 2011. The firm has a particularly strong following among major financial institutions. Recent major highlights include winning a complete victory in a securities fraud action for the mortgage company Countrywide Financial Corporation. The action was filed by two hedge funds that purchased mortgage-backed securities, and who alleged that Countrywide misrepresented the percentage of owner-occupied properties underlying the MBS. The firm has also been representing Bank of America in connection with the litigation and investigations arising out of its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and is also counsel to HSBC in matters arising from the Madoff fraud. Significant recent victories have also been achieved for non-financial services clients, including Sanofi Aventis and the Dow Chemical Company.

Latham & Watkins LLP’s ‘excellent’ securities litigation practice is one of the few that has deep bench strength on both the East and West Coast. Working out of Washington DC, New York and Silicon Valley respectively, the group is jointly headed by William Baker III, Jeff Hammel and Patrick Gibbs. While the firm covers all corners of the market, its auditor work is the real jewel in the crown, with California-based partners Miles Ruthberg and Peter Wald particularly well regarded. Highlights included representing Ernst & Young (E&Y) in multidistrict proceedings to emerge from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, to which E&Y had been independent auditor. The cases allege that various individuals and institutions, alongside E&Y, are liable under US federal securities laws for alleged misstatements in Lehman’s registration statements and financial reports. On the issuer side, the firm successfully defended Omnicom Group, and certain officers and directors, against a securities fraud class action claiming damages in the billions of dollars. Financial institution clients include Deutsche Bank Securities, which retained the firm to represent it in all current and future litigation related to its residential mortgage-backed securities business, including securities based on subprime mortgage loans. The firm is also representing Fannie Mae and its outside directors in nearly 20 shareholder class action suits.

Herbert Washer and Adam Hakki jointly head the quality securities litigation team at Shearman & Sterling LLP. The firm has a particularly strong practice representing financial institutions, a fact that is reflected in its current ongoing matters. The firm has been retained by Galleon Management in connection with all matters arising from the major insider trading case filed against its founder, including representing the company in all regulatory investigations and SEC litigation. Countrywide Financial is another major client, which the firm is representing in securities litigation filed in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Indianapolis by Federal Home Loan Banks and hedge funds related to the purchase of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities. The group has also achieved significant results for clients such as Boston Scientific, which was granted summary judgment in a securities class action brought against it by Mississippi Public Employees Retirement Systems. The plaintiffs alleged that the client withheld material information and made misleading statements about some of its coronary stent systems, which after they were recalled led to a 10.3% drop in the stock value. The firm’s West Coast practice has also been involved in a number of matters for the firm’s significant Asian client base. Among the partners, Stuart Baskin has an excellent market reputation.

‘As good as they come’, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has an outstanding reputation based on its ‘invaluable experience in high-stakes cases’, not only among clients but with rival law firms. While the firm doesn’t have a structured securities litigation group, the ‘very talented’ partners who focus on this area are among the very best. George Conway III has an excellent reputation, and his recent work on behalf of National Australia Bank has had a huge impact on securities litigation. Morrison v National Australia Bank ultimately went to the US Supreme Court, where Conway argued on behalf of the respondent. The Court ruled that Section 10 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act does not apply extraterritorially to claims of so-called ‘foreign-cubed’ plaintiffs (foreign investors who purchased securities of foreign issuers on foreign exchanges). More recently, he also won a case for European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. which dismissed ‘foreign-squared’ claims by American plaintiffs who purchased foreign company shares on foreign exchanges. These precedent-setting cases have had a huge impact on subsequent disputes. Other experienced partners at the firm include Lawrence Pedowitz and Eric Roth, who between them share over 55 years of experience in complex securities litigation. The practice is particularly well regarded in securities-related disputes emanating from company takeovers.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP ‘is the epitome of the “bet the farm” litigation firm. If price is no object you go to it’. The firm’s ‘outstanding’ securities litigation partners ‘are extremely commercial in their advice and know when to fight hard and when to do a deal. They are extremely thorough and will leave no rock unturned.’ The ‘extremely efficient’ practice is ‘extremely well versed in the different angles associated with complex shareholder litigation’. ‘You are not going to find a stronger team than the one led by Joseph Allerhand ’, who is commended for being ‘quick on his toes and has excellent judgment. He sees the big picture’. Scott Cohen is ‘one of the best lawyers I know’. The ‘excellent’ James Quinn also comes highly recommended. Recent highlights for the firm include obtaining a victory for AIG in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of all claims in a shareholder derivative action, which asserted breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement claims arising out of subprime credit default swap losses that led to the federal rescue in 2008. The firm also secured a complete victory on behalf of clients Tishman Speyer Development Corporation, Archstone-Smith Operating Trust, Archstone-Smith Trust and former officers and trustees in a securities class action based on the $22bn LBO of Archstone by affiliates of Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers; the case alleged securities violations, which were ultimately dismissed.

WilmerHale has a superb reputation for securities litigation and is particularly well regarded for the regulatory and enforcement side. Washington DC-based co-chair Harry Weiss has an excellent track record in SEC enforcement matters, thanks in part to his 11 years spent working at the SEC. Other key partners include co-chair Jeffrey Rudman and William Paine in Boston, and Lori Martin in New York. Given the firm’s high-tech and life sciences client base, the firm represents numerous issuers in the technology sector. In this area, the firm has recently achieved the dismissal of open market fraud and derivative actions against software companies and a medical devices company. The firm also has considerable experience defending investment banks, broker-dealers and other clients in the financial services and securities industries on related matters. Recent highlights include successfully representing an investment adviser in a major ERISA class action connected to the management of a cash collateral pool for the securities lending program provided to a trust fund in which the plaintiff invested. Major recent clients include Credit Suisse Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, State Street Corporation, Boston Scientific, PwC, Bear Stearns Asset Management and the mutual fund adviser Pax World Management Corporation.

Primarily working out of its Palo Alto headquarters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has the best West Coast securities litigation practice in the market. Given its western bias, it is unsurprising that the firm has a superb track record for representing issuers. Among these, major corporations such as Boeing, Dell Computer, Fluor, 3Com and Hewlett-Packard have all benefited from the firm’s expertise. Recent highlights include successfully defending Guidant Corporation and some of its former officers and directors against a securities class action that alleged the clients had issued false and misleading public statements concerning certain products and a proposed merger with Johnson & Johnson. In a major derivative action, the firm successfully defended Hewlett Packard against a claim relating to the departure package given to former CEO Carleton Fiorina in 2005. The lower court’s decision was ultimately upheld by the Ninth Circuit at the end of 2009. Among the partners, Boris Feldman has represented companies and their officers in over 160 shareholder class actions and derivative suits throughout the US. Steven Schatz, who divides his time between Palo Alto and New York, is also highly recommended, having been lead counsel in over 80 shareholder class actions and derivative suits in the past 20 years.

Praised for its ‘excellent results’, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP offers its clients a ‘highly effective, smart legal team’, which has ‘more collective knowledge of mortgage-backed securities litigation than any other firm I’m aware of’. Overall, the practice is praised for the ‘depth of resources it can bring to bear on a CMBS litigation matter, including top senior litigators and highly competent and well-trained associates’. Among the partners, group head Gregory Markel and Jason Halper ‘make a formidable team. They are thoughtful knowledgeable and insightful’. Markel ‘is highly effective at leading large litigation efforts and in providing wise counsel to clients’, while Halper ‘is extremely good in the court room’. Highlights included successfully defending Morgan Stanley in securities and derivative actions relating to auction rate securities. The firm is also defending Bank of America and its LaSalle Bank subsidiaries in five litigations relating to CMBS securitisations. Beyond the world of financial services, the firm has been defending Pfizer, which is a major client against claims of knowingly or recklessly misrepresenting facts regarding the safety and marketability of Celebrex and Bextra. It is also defending the pharmaceutical giant against ERISA and derivative suits. Other active clients include UBS, Wells Fargo Bank, MBIA and Xstrata.

Testament to Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s standing in the market is the fact that it is regularly instructed by law firms when they themselves face securities-related actions. The firm has over 16 partners well-versed in major bet-the-company securities-related disputes, including Thomas Kavaler, Floyd Abrams, Charles Gilman and Peter Sloane. One of the biggest instructions that the firm has received was from The McGraw Hill Company and its Standard & Poor’s subsidiary in all matters relating to its rating of securities backed by subprime mortgages across the country, as well as coordinating with counsel in foreign jurisdictions on such matters. This has included over 50 domestic and foreign jurisdictions, and involves private and class actions, as well as pending government and congressional investigations. Ten of these, involving claims for more than $311bn, were dismissed in 2010. The firm is also defending Household International and some of its former officers in one of the largest securities fraud class actions to reach the trial stage. Following a five-week jury trial, a mixed jury verdict exonerated the defendants on the majority of the 40 allegedly false statements and adopted a controversial measure of loss causation, which is currently the focus of post-verdict motions. Other major clients include HSBC, Deutsche Bank and XL Capital.

‘The overall quality of service is exceptional’ at Debevoise & Plimpton, whose lawyers ‘demonstrate true professionalism in all areas’. Overall ‘the partners work to achieve the highest level of client satisfaction while at the same time maintaining objectivity and independence in their actions and legal advice’. The firm is particularly well known for its white-collar crime and regulatory investigations practices, and its partners have a versatile and broad-base of expertise that they bring to major securities-related actions, both from the SEC investigatory side and in securities fraud and derivative actions. Among them, Washington DC-based litigator Colby Smith is noted for his ‘integrity, objectivity, passion for client service, and stature and reputation with the US regulatory agencies’. The ‘outstanding’ Bruce Yannet is also commended for his ‘overview, strategy, and ability to avoid conflicts in an area of conflicting jurisdictions’. New York-based partners Jeffrey Jacobson, Gary Kubek and Edwin Schallert are also highly recommended. Major work highlights included representing MetLife in an $8bn shareholder challenge to the company’s demutualisation, which was settled after the jury selection in a trial was expected to last at least two months. The firm also defended Hewitt Associates in a shareholder litigation related to its $4.9bn merger with a subsidiary of Aon Corporation. Hertz Corporation also retained the firm in a shareholder litigation relating to its $1.2bn acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.

‘A great team to have on your side in difficult times’, the securities litigators at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP receive excellent feedback from clients. ‘The firm has tremendously talented professionals and operates in a cutting edge environment, particularly in the corporate, finance and hedge fund arenas’. Among the partners, clients praise the ‘excellent’ Douglas Flaum, the ‘very knowledgeable and accessible’ David Hennes and William McGuinness, who is also group head, while the ‘outstanding’ Gregg Weiner is noted for his ‘strategic advice and relationship management with opposing counsel’. The firm is currently representing Wells Fargo, Wachovia Corporation and its former directors and officers in six consolidated class actions brought on behalf of Wachovia stock and bond holders alleging breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Ultimately the Court approved a settlement that required no payment by the defendants to the shareholders. The firm is also defending a group of underwriters, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, UBS, RBS and Citigroup against a claim relating to the issuance of approximately $36bn in mortgage-backed securities by Wells Fargo. The lawsuit claims that the bank and its officers and directors failed to make proper disclosures concerning the bank’s alleged exposure to the subprime mortgage market.

Gibson Dunn’s ‘excellent’ securities litigation group impresses on the back of some impressive recruits, (four partners led by Mark Kirsch joined from Clifford Chance in 2009), as well as a series of critical results on behalf of its clients. The group, which works out of California, New York and Washington DC, is jointly headed by Wayne Smith in Orange County, and Jonathan Dickey and Robert Serio in New York. The broad-based team covers all areas of securities litigation, regularly representing issuers, underwriters and accountants. In the latter, the firm’s successful defence of Ernst & Young, led by Lawrence Zweifach, in a class action arising from Bernard Madoff’s ponzi scheme, was a major highlight. The plaintiffs had sought to hold Ernst & Young liable for losses in the ponzi scheme, but the Court dismissed all claims. Another highlight was persuading the Department of Justice and the SEC to drop their investigations into the former AIG executive Joseph Casanno. The former CEO of AIG Financial Products was targeted by the authorities following the financial crisis, who wanted to investigate whether Cassano had misled his superiors, the outside auditors and the public regarding losses in AIGFP’s credit default swap portfolio. The authorities ultimately found Cassano to be factually and legally innocent and decided not to pursue criminal and civil proceedings. The group is also backed up by a first-class appellate practice, and the specialist appellate litigator Mark Perry has an extremely strong track record in securities-related appeals.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP’s securities litigation team, which works largely out of the firm’s New York office, has a very good reputation in the market. Well regarded for highly technical bet-the-company disputes, the firm regularly represents issuers, under-writers, broker-dealers (for which it has a very strong dedicated regulatory team), accounting firms, and individual officers and directors. The firm is also backed up by a strong group of white-collar crime specialists and a dedicated mutual fund litigation practice. The firm’s hugely experienced litigation chair, James Benedict heads the team, which includes 15 partners and counsel. Recent highlights include achieving a major victory for Capital Research and Management Company, the world’s largest mutual fund adviser, and American Fund Distributors in a securities action that challenged the more than $15bn in fees paid by eight of the largest American Funds between 2003 and 2009. This was the first securities case to go to trial in the mutual fund industry in more than 20 years. The firm also scored a significant victory for Legg Mason in the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action brought against the client, its CEO and CFO, and Citgroup Global Markets. The plaintiffs alleged that following the $435m swap of Legg Mason’s brokerage business for Citigroup’s asset management division, the defendants failed to disclose facts in connection with a secondary offering of 8m shares of Legg Mason stock. Firm vice-chairman Scott Edelman is also highly recommended.

Headed by Jeff Kilduff , O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s quality securities litigation group has made a big impression on the market in the past few years, both on the East Coast, which focuses more on financial institutions, and the West Coast. With top-notch litigators working at every level of the court system, the firm recently represented Matrixx Initiatives and some of its officers and directors in a consolidated securities fraud action argued before the US Supreme Court. The plaintiffs allege that Matrixx’s failure to disclose adverse information regarding its homeopathic cold remedy, Zicam, led to an artificially inflated stock price. The action was initially dismissed without prejudice by the district court, though this was reversed on appeal by the Ninth Circuit. While the firm has long represented major issuers, more recently it has landed several significant matters for underwriters and financial institutions in general. Bank of America, which is a major client of the firm, has also retained the securities litigation group on a number of critical matters. Most notably, the team scored a major victory for the bank in the Countrywide Financial Corporation Shareholder Derivative Litigation that was launched against officers and directors of Countrywide, which is a subsidiary of the client. The highly experienced Jeffrey Kilduff has also been leading the defence of Fannie Mae against securities class actions, individual securities actions, shareholder derivative actions and an ERISA class action. Other key partners include Matthew Close in Los Angeles, Seth Aronsen and Bill Sushonin New York, and Robert Stern in Washington DC.

Sidley Austin LLP’s already strong practice was given a significant boost by the recruitment of the former co-chair of Howrey LLP’s litigation group Gary Bendinger, plus two more partners: Gregory Ballard and Kevin Burke. Bendinger is particularly well known for his track record in advising accountancy firms on securities-related actions, and therefore adds weight to a group which already has a good track record advising issuers and underwriters. Bendinger also helps beef up the New York team, which works closely with litigators in the Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angeles offices. Overall, the lawyers ‘provide top-notch work,’ and are ‘very good at coming up with creative legal theories’. Securities litigation co-chair Bob Pietrzak is singled out for being ‘good on the papers and in oral advocacy. Bob has excellent contacts within the securities industry and at law firms on both sides, which are helpful in multi-party disputes’. Recent highlights include representing JPMorgan Chase & Co and various affiliated entities and individuals in three securities actions brought by investors in mortgage and asset-backed pass-through certificates issued by the defendants. The firm also successfully represented a major telecoms company against a multimillion-dollar class action alleging securities fraud, common law fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with its dealings with an internet company. The accountancy side of the practice has also been involved in several major disputes, including one related to the Madoff fraud.

Linda Goldstein and C William Phillips jointly head Covington & Burling LLP’s well regarded five-partner securities, derivative and transactional practice. The firm regularly represents issuers, underwriters, indenture trustees, investment managers, and corporate officers and directors in shareholder class action law-suits and related litigations. The firm also has an excellent reputation for SEC enforcement and investigations where it draws upon the unrivalled experience of New York partner David Kornblau, who was Chief Litigation Counsel for the SEC between 2000 and 2005. In addition, Washington DC-based partner Bruce Baird was formerly an assistant US attorney in Manhattan, where he was Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. On the West Coast, San Francisco partner David Bayless also has considerable experience, having spent five years as head of the SEC’s San Francisco office. One of the largest matters the firm has been involved in recently was as lead counsel to Bank of America in the multi-district securities litigation arising from the Parmalat fraud. The bank, which served as Parmalat’s placement agent for over $1bn private debt transactions, has been sued by multiple institutional investors, alleging that the bank knew or should have known that Parmalat overstated its assets and understated its liabilities.

Praised for its ‘extraordinary client service, superior knowledge, and thoughtful yet practical advice’, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP impresses on the back of some excellent client feedback and mandates. The ‘extremely experienced and talented team of securities lawyers’ are ‘as creative and hard-working as they come’, and are commended for their ability to ‘excel in big picture strategy yet do not miss any detail’. Among the partners, Washington DC’s Ann Ashton ‘is by far the best attorney in the United States in the field of shareholder litigation. She combines extraordinary knowledge, customer service with a calm and practical manner that provides the utmost client satisfaction. She is truly without peer’. Alan Salpeter is singled out for his ‘great judgment and business litigation skills’, and his ‘expertise on how to handle complex litigation against auditors. He is one of the top, possibly the very top, Chicago expert in this area. His performance has been brilliant, and, to my surprise, reasonably priced’. The ‘clever and energetic’ Ralph Ferrara is a ‘quick thinker, very creative and top notch within this area’ and ‘should be at the top of anyone’s list for securities litigation’, while Jonathan Richman is an ‘excellent legal writer’. A major recent highlight was achieving an appellate victory for Omnicare in the affirmance of the dismissal of federal securities class action claims. Other major recent clients include Wachovia Capital Markets, Royal Dutch Shell, Zurich Financial Services and Alimentation Couche-Tard.

With highly experienced partners working out of its Chicago, New York, Washington DC and San Francisco offices, Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s securities litigation group offers, according to one client, ‘the smartest, most dedicated large firm litigation team we have used’. Among the partners, Washington DC-based litigator Andrew Clubok is singled out for being ‘an exceptional lawyer who is at ease in the courtroom and well-received by judges’. In Chicago, Robert Kobecky is noted for his expertise defending major corporations and professional firms, as well as their officers, directors and partners, against securities class actions and shareholder derivative suits. San Francisco partners Elizabeth Deeley and James Lico are also recommended for their experience in complex securities fraud transactions and breach of fiduciary cases. Recent highlights include defending Bain Capital Partners against an ongoing putative nationwide class action alleging that several of the leading private equity firms and investment banks conspired to fix prices in violation of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs are former shareholders of public companies that the private equity firms took private. Another major highlight was the firm’s representation of Morgan Stanley in the district court and the court of appeal, which upheld a ruling to dismiss 30 securities derivative suits, and directed that an additional 24 cases be evaluated for dismissal on the same basis. The firm represented Morgan Stanley and acted as liaison counsel for the underwriter defendants, which included Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. The firm also handled the appeal.

‘One of the best of the best’, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP’s ‘excellent’ securities litigation group is extremely popular with clients and is ‘exceptionally responsive, knowledgeable, careful, thorough and cost-effective. Its approach to staffing avoids the needless overleveraging so often encountered at large firms.’ The ‘very knowledgeable, thorough, experienced and approachable’ Michael Dell is an ‘extremely effective litigator’, who is praised for his ‘excellent judgment’ and ‘combining excellent legal advice with a great deal of industry knowledge’. Alan Friedman is ‘knowledgeable, thoughtful and exceptionally diligent’. Stephen Sinaiko is praised for his ‘very fine appellate writing’, while name partner and group head Gary Naftalis ‘brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the matters we have worked on’. Recent highlights include defending United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, in a class action litigation relating to its failed merger agreement with an affiliate of Cerberus Partners. The lower court’s dismissal of the case was ultimately affirmed in the Second Circuit in August 2010. The firm is also representing Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu against a class action and other claims arising from the Parmalat Bankruptcy. So far, three of the cases against the client have been dismissed and another has been settled. The firm has also been representing Bear Sterns in parallel regulatory and civil proceedings focusing on the collapse of two of its investment funds following the subprime mortgage crisis. Since the bank’s takeover by JPMorgan Chase, the firm has continued to represent them in federal derivative lawsuits and in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought by Bank of America, the first major bank-to-bank litigation arising out of the financial meltdown.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s securities litigation group is considered ‘excellent all round’, and praised for its ‘very good analysis’ and for providing ‘a good outline of its strategy and being open to suggestions and ideas’. Another client adds that it is ‘reasonably priced for a firm of its experience, depth and reputation’. The New York-based co-head Jack Auspitz is ‘a great leader of the team and strategic thinker’, Jamie Levitt is ‘an absolute workhorse and excellent on strategy and execution’, while the ‘excellent’ Joel Haims ‘always has good ideas and is very succinct in getting to the point. His experience is extensive and is very reassuring in the way he goes about dealing with the case. It is easy to have confidence that he is doing the right thing’. One of the largest roles the firm has had is as court-appointed liaison for over 300 issuers and 1,000 individual defendants, as well as directly representing over 35 issuers and 200 individual defendants, in the case In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation. This relates to the allegation that prominent securities underwriters and high-tech firms illegally pumped up post-IPO stock prices by requiring initial purchasers to acquire more shares at higher prices after trading commenced. Ultimately, the firm successfully negotiated the issuers’ position both with the plaintiffs and underwriters’ counsel, as well as agreeing with the issuers’ insurance companies that their share of the settlement and the defence costs would come under their D&O policies. The firm also advised 11 of the 13 Countrywide Financial Corporation’s outside directors named in the securities class action and related litigation.

DLA Piper LLP’s ‘very responsive’ and ‘very competent’ securities litigation team offers ‘good levels of service, very good drafting’ as well as ‘good strategy and good value for money’. Among the partners, the ‘outstanding’ Robert Brownlie, who co-chairs the practice with Perrie Michael Weiner, comes highly recommended, while ‘the highly organised and structured’ Rich Hans is ‘good at handling complex litigations’. The firm recently strengthened its enforcement capabilities through the recruitment of Lou Mejia, who formerly served as Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC’s enforcement division. Recent highlights include successfully defending E*Trade Financial Corporation and E*Trade Securities LLC against a securities class action on behalf of individuals who purchased auction rate securities from E*Trade between 2003 and 2008. After a three-week bench trial, the firm also obtained a defense decision for KOR Electronics and members of its board against derivative and direct claims made by minority shareholders. The case is now on appeal.

The securities litigation team at Dechert LLP has a solid reputation for representing clients in civil securities fraud and disclosure cases, including class actions, multi-district litigation and derivative actions. The firm, which is commended for its ‘top-notch work’, also boasts a strong team of investigations and securities enforcement lawyers. The firm’s chairman-elect Andrew Levander is praised for his ‘experience handling very high-stakes cases’ as well as being a ‘skilled negotiator and strategist’. The ‘extremely organised and diligent’ Neil Steiner is also singled out by clients. Recent highlights for the firm include defending J Ezra Merkin and Gabriel Capital Corporation in numerous litigations arising from losses incurred by hedge funds they managed in Bernard Madoff’s ponzi scheme. It is also defending Family Management Corporation and its principals in securities class actions brought by clients who invested in hedge funds that made losses due to Madoff. The firm will miss its former co-chair David Howard, who left to become deputy general counsel at Microsoft, although the highly experienced William Dodds remains in sole charge.

King & Spalding LLP’s ‘excellent’ securities litigation team is very well regarded by clients, who praise the firm’s ‘engaged and responsive’ lawyers. Robert Thornton and the ‘responsive and easy to talk to’ Warren Pope are commended for ‘their knowledge in the area and good judgment’, while Michael Smith is praised for his ‘good sense of big picture strategy’. For representation in Georgia, ‘its knowledge of local judges, rules, opposing counsel and general practices is excellent’. Michael Malone is also highly recommended. The firm’s practices in Washington DC and New York were boosted by the arrival of a team of six partners, including Diana Weiss and James Cusick from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Recent highlights include winning a major jury trial victory for Jean-Marie Messier, the former chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal, who was facing one of the largest securities class actions to be brought to verdict. The firm has also been representing PwC in several major securities class actions.

The ‘very responsive’ securities litigation team at Morgan Lewis is ‘very knowledgeable in both the procedural and substantive areas of the law’, has ‘superior class action acumen’ and is praised for its ‘good brief writing’. Among the partners, Mark Sonnenfeld and Joseph Faye are ‘very knowledgeable, good strategists, with good powers of persuasion’. A major highlight has been the firm’s representation of Hewlett-Packard in seven derivative actions arising out of the separation from former CEO Mark Hurd. The firm also helped CardioNet dismiss securities fraud claims made against it and certain senior executives. In early 2010, the firm also boosted its California team by recruiting the experienced securities litigators Robert Gooding and Scott Garner from Howrey LLP.

Michael Torpey heads a quality practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which draws from over 20 partners, most of whom are based on the West Coast, albeit with sizeable teams in New York and Washington DC. The firm has achieved a number of significant victories, including on its representation of NovaStar Financial, where it obtained a Court of Appeals ruling affirming the dismissal of all securities claims. This is the first such dismissal for a subprime lender. The firm has a significant client base within the life sciences and high-tech industries, including Citrix Systems, eBay and Molina Healthcare. The firm also has good experience representing underwriters such as Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Daniel Tyukody and Michael Tu are well regarded by clients.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP’s ‘outstanding’ securities litigation team is praised for its ‘extremely knowledgeable, business-savvy and customer focused’ attorneys, who can be reached ‘any time of day or night’. Headed by the Los Angeles-based litigation chair William Sullivan, the team also has a strong presence on the East Coast. Recent highlights include representing UBS on a range of matters, including the defence of seven securities actions concerning $4.9bn-worth RMBS transactions, as well as cases concerning auction rate securities arising out of the global credit crisis. In other matters, the firm is representing former executives of Countrywide Financial Corporation, including the former CFO against a federal securities class action. The firm also defended Marvel Entertainment and its board of directors against several shareholder class actions relating to its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company.

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP is a good choice for complex securities litigation, particularly cases involving parallel SEC and regulatory proceedings. Primarily based in New York, the firm opened an office in Washington DC, where Richard Morvillo has a particularly good track record for securities and white-collar crime litigation. The firm has been involved in several high-profile securities trials in recent years, most notably it successfully defended Guillaume Hannezo, the former CFO of Vivendi Universal, against thousands of federal securities fraud class action, 15 of which went to trial. Hannezo was fully exonerated after a four-month trial and seven years of litigation. The firm is also defending Dr Edward Scolnick, the former president of Merck Research laboratories against a federal securities class action relating to the cardio-vascular drug VIOXX, as well as related ERISA and shareholder derivative actions. Other recent clients include ABN AMRO, Hansen Natural Corporation, and TD Ameritrade. The hugely experienced Martin Perschetz heads the well regarded team.

‘The overall level of service’ at Winston & Strawn LLP ‘is unmatched by any law firm that I have worked with in the past 25 years of business’, says one satisfied client. ‘The understanding of the law and ability to strategise towards desired outcomes is unmatched’. The Chicago-based chairman and star trial lawyer Dan Webb and Robert Michels are described as ‘very tenacious and excellent strategists’. A major highlight was scoring a victory for Cisco Systems in a securities class action relating to Scientific-Atlanta, which the client acquired in 2006. The Court ultimately dismissed all claims against the client. The highly regarded Bruce Braun and Catherine Joyce have also been leading the defence of Grant Thornton, the auditors of Refco, which collapsed in 2005 after fraud was discovered in its financial statements. The Court of Appeals eventually reaffirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss all claims against the auditor. Thomas Frederick heads the highly regarded team, which is largely based in Chicago, but also has top-notch litigators in New York and Washington DC.

Gibson Dunn is ‘at the top of the list’ when it comes to its experience in US Supreme Court and appellate matters. Its track record speaks volumes: in the past three years, the firm’s ‘top-notch lawyers with a keen focus on client service’ have won eight out of ten cases, and have persuaded the Court to grant more than 30% of certoriari petitions in the past five years. For the 2010 term (starting October 1, 2010), the firm remarkably had five cases on the docket. Perhaps most notable among these was Wal-Mart v Dukes, the largest employment class action in US history, involving over 1.5m plaintiffs. Renowned advocate Theodore Boutrous is representing Wal-Mart in the case, which will assess whether the claims by the individual employees may be combined as a class action. The diverse nature of its caseload is illustrative of the firm’s broad expertise, with cases including a patent dispute where Thomas Hungar is representing Microsoft (Microsoft v i4i), and a securities dispute where Mark Perry is representing Janus Capital (Janus Capital Group, Inc v First Derivative Traders). The two remaining cases (Cigna Corp v Amara, and Mayo Foundation for Medical Education & Research v United States) are being led by Theodore Olson, the esteemed former solicitor general, who led one of the most significant victories in the 2009 term, acting for Citizens United to invalidate provisions in the McCain-Feingold Act that had restricted corporate and union expenditures on political speech. Highlights in the lower appellate courts include winning significant decisions in favor of Chevron in its titanic environmental dispute with Ecuadorian plaintiffs.

Mayer Brown’s undisputed position as a pioneer in US Supreme Court and appellate litigation stretches back to 1982 when Stephen Shapiro, regarded by some as ‘the best US Supreme Court advocate in the country’, founded this dedicated practice. Shapiro is ‘a brilliant strategist, has a keen analytical mind and the ability to write in an incredibly clear, persuasive and compelling way’. This ‘excellent’ and ‘very deep’ team now has 55 attorneys where the ‘bench strength is a never-ending parade of the best and the brightest’, including four former deputy solicitors general, and three former assistants to the solicitor general. Kenneth Geller is ‘a great asset’, while Evan Tager, Dan Himmelfarb and Andrew Tauber ‘combine scarily smart legal minds and outstanding communication skills with pleasing styles’. Timothy Bishop is ‘superb and provides exemplary service’, Andrew Pincus is an ‘excellent US Supreme Court oralist’, and Andrew Frey provides ‘a razor sharp intellect and sees legal issues in a clear and simple way. His ability to boil a legal issue down to its core is exceptional’. In the 2008 and 2009 terms, the firm argued eight cases before the US Supreme Court, and is scheduled for four more in the 2010 term. One of these is AT&T Mobility LLC v Concepcion, where the firm is representing AT&T in a matter that could have a huge bearing on other class actions or class arbitrations, as it will consider whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts California’s Discover Bank rule on class waivers. Another case is for CSX Transportation, which will decide whether the Federal Employers’ Liability Act requires a plaintiff to prove proximate causation, a question of critical importance to the railroad industry that has long divided the lower courts. Other major clients include Altria Client Services (Philip Morris), which it is representing across a swathe of tobacco-related litigation; American Honda Motor; and Medtronic Inc.

Sidley Austin LLP’s litigators are ‘top shelf’, and ‘their strategic advice on US Supreme Court practice is worth its weight in gold’. According to one impressed client, ‘they deliver extraordinarily valuable legal advice and assistance. Their writing is so good that it makes me envious that I’m not that smart’. The firm’s partners are highly respected, most notably Carter Phillips, ‘one of the top US Supreme Court advocates in the country’ who ‘does not need recommendation. The weight of his experience and reputation before the Court is his calling card’. Another client favorite is Virginia Seitz, who is ‘brilliant and perceptive, and so warm and personable. She turns briefs around faster than anyone I have ever worked with’. The practice, which includes 15 former Supreme Court clerks, had four cases on the docket for the 2010 term. One of these was Kasten v Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp, where Phillips argued for Saint-Gobain that an oral complaint of a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act does not trigger the statute’s anti-retaliation provision. In the 2009 term, the group earned a significant victory for Duke Energy Carolinas and the Catawba River Water Supply Project in South Carolina v North Carolina. In this case, the Court held that the clients are entitled to intervene in a major dispute between the two states over apportionment of the waters of the Catawba River. This is the first time the Court has allowed a private party to intervene in an equitable apportionment action in an original jurisdiction case. On the appellate side, the firm won a key victory for Cinergy Corporation at the Seventh Circuit in United States v Cinergy Corp, which ended the country’s long-running enforcement suit against the client and will have a significant impact on the enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

WilmerHale’s ‘excellent’ practice is ‘among the very best’, and in group chair Seth Waxman, who has delivered 56 oral arguments in the US Supreme Court and is a former solicitor general, it has one of the most highly regarded advocates in the US. In the 2009 term, it won a landmark US Supreme Court victory for Odfjell SE and parcel tanker owners in Stolt-Nielsen v AnimalFeeds International Corp, where the Court held that a party may not be compelled under the Federal Arbitration Act to submit to class arbitration unless stipulated by contract. On the appellate front, the firm had an impressive 2010. Successes included the Ninth Circuit’s reversal and dismissal of an accounting and financial fraud conviction against former McAfee CFO, Prabhat Goyal. The firm also helped TiVo Inc win its long-running patent infringement case against EchoStar Communications, which affirmed a district court order finding EchoStar in contempt for violating a permanent injunction, and ordering it to pay over $300m in damages, sanctions and attorney’s fees. The firm, which has a particularly strong following in the life sciences and technology sectors, also achieved significant appellate rulings for Xilinx, in a tax appeal, and Medtronic Inc.

Covington & Burling LLP’s highly rated practice is headed by Robert Long, who is ‘outstanding as both a strategist and an advocate’. The practice includes a former federal court of appeals judge, Michael Chertoff; a former federal district judge, Roderick McKelvie; and six former assistants to the solicitor general and 17 former Supreme Court clerks. The practice argued three cases in the US Supreme Court in the 2009 term, with the highly experienced Gregg Levy representing the National Football League (NFL) in American Needle, Inc v National Football League. This high-profile antitrust case questioned whether the NFL and its member franchises operate as a single entity immune from antitrust liability when collectively licensing their intellectual property for use by third parties. Although the ruling was in favor of American Needle, the firm’s representation is indicative of its standing. In the ERISA-related case, Sally L Conkright, et al v Paul J Frommert, et al, the firm represented Xerox following two adverse decisions in the Second Circuit. The case was eventually remanded to the original district court for further proceedings consistent with the US Supreme Court’s decision in reviewing it. On the appellate side, the firm achieved a major victory for Eli Lilly when the Second Circuit reversed certification of a class action seeking $7.7bn in damages for alleged RICO statute violations, after third-party payers such as insurers claimed they had overpaid for the prescription drug Zyprexa. The decision is expected to end class claims of this type against the pharmaceutical industry.

Jenner & Block LLP’s practice is very well respected, with clients praising a team that ‘operates at the highest professional level and gets results’. Despite the 2009 departure of former group head Donald Verrilli to become Associate US Deputy Attorney General (currently the presidential nominee for the post of US Solicitor General), the practice remains active on leading cases. Now under the guidance of the experienced Paul Smith, in the US Supreme Court’s 2010 term the practice represented the respondents in Schwarzenegger v Entertainment Merchants Association, an important First Amendment case relating to the sale of violent video games to minors. It also acted for General Dynamics in General Dynamics v US, a case consolidated with Boeing Co v US, considering the issue of whether the government has the right to litigate claims against clients denied defense on grounds of state-secrets privilege. In the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Susan Kohlmann led a team in successfully defending the Estate of Elaine Steinbeck, widow of the author John Steinbeck, against challenges made by his surviving son (of an earlier marriage) and a granddaughter, for the IP rights to his works.

Jones Day’s ‘excellent’ issues and appeals practice is headed by Glen Nager and is staffed by top-quality lawyers across the US, with the appellate side of the practice especially well regarded. Recently it successfully represented JPMorgan Chase Bank in a federal breach of contract case against the US government, in which the Court upheld a $356m damages award to the client that could potentially increase by another $200m. The firm also obtained three favorable decisions in the 2009 term of the US Supreme Court. Representing Free Enterprise Fund and Beckstead and Watts LLP in Free Enterprise Fund v Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the firm convinced the Court to invalidate a key provision of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In American Needle, Inc v National Football League, the Court ruled in favor of the firm’s client American Needle by ruling that the NFL’s conduct is subject to scrutiny under antitrust laws. In Weyhrauch v United States, the team won a ruling in favor of Bruce Weyhrauch, a former Alaska state representative accused of federal fraud. Donald Ayer, Michael Carvin, Craig Stewart and Edwin Fountain are recommended.

Washington DC litigation boutique Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C. is extremely well regarded for its US Supreme Court and appellate work. One recent US Supreme Court highlight was the successful representation of investors in Jones v Harris Associates LP, in which the clients challenged excessive fees charged by a mutual fund investment adviser. The case had initially been dismissed, but the US Supreme Court unanimously vacated the lower court’s judgment in its interpretation of the fiduciary duty of the defendant. In Wyeth v Levine, the firm had the plaintiff’s judgment reaffirmed against the drug manufacturer and persuaded the Court to reject the defendant’s claim that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval of drug labeling provided federal preemption of failure to warn lawsuits. Michael Kellogg and David Frederick are outstanding for appellate and US Supreme Court cases, respectively.

King & Spalding LLP offers ‘outstanding, top-notch work: creative, thoughtful strategy and excellent writing’. Jeffrey Bucholtz, a former acting assistant attorney general, is ‘an extremely intelligent and thoughtful lawyer; outstanding in every way’. Ashley Parrish, who joined from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, is also considered ‘an intelligent, hardworking attorney with a strong base of experience. His ability to present complex technical and legal materials and arguments is a particular strength’. Daryl Joseffer, who joined the firm in 2009 after serving as Deputy Solicitor General, is ‘clearly a rising star’. Recent highlights include representing the National Rifle Association at oral argument in McDonald v Chicago, and filing an amicus curiae brief for 58 US Senators and 251 Representatives in support of the petitioners. The Court eventually found in favor of the client that the constitutional right of an individual to keep and bear arms is incorporated by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and applies to the states. In Philip Morris v Jackson, the firm was principal US Supreme Court counsel for one of the petitioners, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, and has also been retained by Philip Morris to advise on US Supreme Court proceedings.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has established an excellent reputation for high-stakes appellate work, and the ability to argue effectively before the US Supreme Court. This specialist group neatly complements the firm’s outstanding litigation team. Notable recent successes include representing The Dow Chemical Company and Rockwell International in a Tenth Circuit appeal against a $926m toxic tort judgment. The clients had been operating a nuclear weapons facility near Denver, Colorado, and local property owners claimed that plutonium emissions had contaminated their property. The Tenth Circuit ultimately reversed the judgment. Another highlight was acting for Teva Pharmaceuticals in an appeal challenging the FDA’s interpretation and application of the 180-day generic marketing exclusivity provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act. Former Supreme Court clerk Christopher Landau is ‘likeable and friendly’ and ‘very well prepared’; he is ‘very knowledgeable about the inner workings of the Court’, and ‘respectful and engaging with the justices; he does not have a “Supreme Court” ego’. Richard Godfrey, Patrick Philbin and Mike Shumsky are also recommended.

‘The results have been outstanding’ at Latham & Watkins LLP, which boasts an ‘exceptional’ team of US Supreme Court and appellate lawyers. While the esteemed Maureen Mahoney is less busy with the fee-earning side of the practice, global chair Gregory Garre, a former solicitor general, has now settled in after joining the practice in late 2009. Garre’s track record in the US Supreme Court is enviable, having argued 30 cases and lost only four. At the US Supreme Court, the firm’s success for Monsanto in Monsanto Co v Geertson Seed Farms was a major highlight. In this case, the firm won a ruling that the Ninth Circuit was wrong in affirming a broad-based nationwide injunction against the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa. The firm also secured a US Supreme Court victory for University of California Hastings College of the Law in Christian Legal Society v Martinez. This case related to the college’s decision to refuse registered status to the Christian Legal Society on the grounds that it discriminated against students who refused to affirm a statement of religious beliefs or who engaged in unrepentant homosexual conduct. The US Supreme Court ultimately upheld the constitutionality of the college’s policy. In addition to Garre, Richard Bress and Scott Ballenger are also highly recommended. While the core group is based in Washington DC, clients also praise the ‘fantastic’ Kristine Wilkes in San Diego.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s four-partner practice provides an ‘excellent’ level of service, ‘timely advice and an excellent work product’, and is particularly strong on the appellate side. The group is chaired by Deanne Maynard, who joined from the solicitor general’s office in 2009, and also includes Brian Matsui in Washington DC and former appellate judge Miriam Vogel in Los Angeles. Clients also recommend Seth Galanter for being ‘responsive to client questions and top notch in his research and writing skills. Also his oral advocacy is excellent’. Highlights included representing Ralphs Grocery Company in the California Court of Appeal in winning its bid to stop a union from picketing on its private property, a victory for California retailers as a whole. The firm also successfully represented Gap in the Ninth Circuit in a case pertaining to a data security breach involving the theft of two laptop computers from one of Gap’s third-party vendors; the verdict confirmed that companies may not be held liable for inadvertent releases of personal information.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP is highly recommended for its US Supreme Court and appellate capabilities. The ‘terrific’ Walter Dellinger is one of the most experienced advocates in the market, while Sri Srinivasan – who has argued 17 US Supreme Court cases, including five in the past two terms – has quickly established himself as one of the very best of the new generation. One client, who watched Srinivasan represent a rival, says ‘I saw him argue and was completely impressed by his presence, sense of engagement with the judges, ability to think on his feed, and his sense of humor’. Jonathan Hacker is also ‘among the very best’. One of the firm’s biggest recent highlights was its representation of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling in successfully petitioning the US Supreme Court for a review of his convictions. Following a unanimous ruling, the firm can now return to the lower courts to argue that Skilling’s remaining 19 convictions should be overturned. The firm achieved another unanimous ruling in the US Supreme Court for Hertz, in a case that establishes an important diversity jurisdiction standard. Elsewhere, in the Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, the firm represented ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Co in winning its dispute with Hewlett-Packard, thereby reversing a $51m judgment made against its client.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP has made a very good name for itself in US Supreme Court and appellate matters, not least through the ‘excellent’ Kathleen Sullivan, who is ‘a top-notch litigator’. Daniel Bromberg, Sandy Weisburst, Susan Estrich and Charles Verhoeven are also recommended. In the US Supreme Court, Sullivan and Bromberg achieved a victory for Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), after the Court held unanimously that ocean carriers such as K Line are not subject to the Carmack Amendment, which governs domestic rail and motor carrier transportation, when they provide intermodal “through” transportation. Another major result came in the Second Circuit, which unanimously reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims to the Stolichnaya vodka trade mark by the firm’s client, Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport, which is an agency of the Russian Federation.

Since the Washington DC-based litigation boutique of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber was founded in 2001, its attorneys have argued prolifically in the US Supreme Court, achieving 36 wins from 45 cases. Recent matters include representing the respondents in Monsanto Co v Geerston Seed Farms, regarding Monsanto’s ultimately successful challenge to a nationwide injunction against the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa. While the injunction was reversed, the Court justified this by stating that the clients’ interests were sufficiently protected by other relief that Monsanto did not challenge. The firm also regularly represents the US Chamber of Commerce in filing amicus briefs, most recently in the cases of Jeffrey K Skilling v United States; Delbert Williamson, et al v Mazda Motor of America, Inc; and AT&T Mobility LLC v Vincent Concepcion and Liza Concepcion. The hugely experienced Roy Englert is considered ‘one of the finest litigators of his generation’, while Mark Stancil and Lawrence Robbins are also highly recommended.

Winston & Strawn LLP’s seven-partner appellate and critical motions group, which is split between Washington DC and Chicago, divides its work between appeals and trials. The group has been representing Grant Thornton and other professional services firms as defendants in litigation stemming from the collapse of the brokerage giant Refco amid allegations of fraud. The New York Court of Appeals accepted the defendants’ position on all issues. The firm also won an important appeal for Hyundai in the Federal Circuit relating to the patentability of web-related technology. Hyundai was exposed to a $70m liability during the appeal and was up against a patent holding company controlled by the so-called “patent troll”, Erich Spangenberg. This was the first time a defendant successfully established on appeal the invalidity of one of Spangenberg’s patents. Gene Schaerr heads the group, which recently promoted Geoffrey Eaton to partner and was expanded by the recruitment of Elizabeth Papez, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s team remains in very capable hands under Patricia Millett – who has argued 28 US Supreme Court and 30 appellate courts – following Thomas Goldstein’s return to his former firm, Goldstein, Howe & Russell, P.C.. During the 2009 term, the firm presented oral arguments in three cases: Hamilton v Lanning; United States v Stevens; and Samantar v Yousuf. In appeals, the firm successfully represented United Technologies in a dispute with the US Department of Defense over the proposed publication of quality control documents.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP’s ‘expertise in litigation matters is deep and the lawyers are remarkably adept at wrapping their minds around highly technical problems. Response is quick, thoughtful and polished’. The firm’s appellate capability forms part of its ‘excellent’ litigation department, whose lawyers have very impressive track records in the appellate courts. These include Evan Chesler, Richard Clary, Rowan Wilson, the ‘experienced, hardworking and responsive’ Antony Ryan, and Robert Baron. Highlights for 2010 included representing Shell at the Second Circuit in its defense against a putative class action suit brought by former residents of the Ogoni region of Nigeria, who argue the company aided and abetted the Nigerian government’s alleged suppression of the Ogoni resistance movement. The Second Circuit panel ruled in favor of Shell, holding that all of the plaintiffs’ claims must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, since corporations cannot be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute for alleged violations of customary international law.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP’s busy appellate practice is co-chaired by ‘highly knowledgeable’ global litigation head Jeffrey Kessler. While the focus is primarily on the appellate side, the firm also has US Supreme Court experience and filed an amicus brief for players associations of the NFL, NHL and NBA, which supported the NFL’s stance in American Needle, Inc v National Football League. Ralph Ferrara is also experienced in the US Supreme Court, having argued five cases there. In appellate matters, the firm fields specialists by sector, including Kessler for antitrust and international arbitration appeals, as well as sports and entertainment matters; Harvey Kurzweil for securities litigation and corporate governance issues; and the ‘brilliant’ Alan Salpeter for class action litigation and disputes involving large groups. IP cases are led by Henry Bunsow, who was recruited from Howrey LLP prior to its dissolution.

Formed in 1981, Farr & Taranto is a small but very well regarded appellate law boutique, ably led by its two name partners H Bartow Farr and Richard Taranto, both of whom are former assistants to the solicitor general. The firm regularly represents private individuals, state governments and commercial clients, and has a strong track record in antitrust, patent and constitutional law. While the firm cannot handle the same volume of cases that most others in the rankings can, its reputation is excellent.

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s practice co-heads Miller Baker and Rory Little are both highly recommended. Respectively based in Washington DC and Silicon Valley, Baker and Little (and their wider team) offer extensive experience around the state and federal circuits. Among recent highlights, the firm represented Cisco Systems and 32 other affected multinationals in filing amicus briefs in support of Xilinx’s Ninth Circuit petition in Xilinx v Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The panel ultimately reversed its own decision in the tax dispute, and adopted the arguments of Xilinx and the amici led by Cisco, thereby saving the clients billions of dollars.

Morgan Lewis’ appellate group is jointly headed by the highly regarded Houston-based partners Ted Cruz and Allyson Ho, and Thomas Peterson in San Francisco. The firm has had a good run in the US Supreme Court recently, and is representing Groupe SEB in Global Tech v SEB, a major IP case concerning the standards of intent required for inducement to infringe a patent. The firm also represented USA Funds in USA Funds v Espinosa, a case addressing the circumstances in which student loans may be discharged in bankruptcy. One of the most prominent cases was the pro bono case of Thompson v Connick, et al, the concluding installment of litigation that had spanned two decades and been made into a movie. This matter concerned John Thompson, for whom the firm had won numerous stays of execution and the dismissal of a robbery conviction that had been used by prosecutors in a murder case that landed him on death row. Following a full acquittal, the firm achieved a $14m damages judgment for the client against the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. Gordon Cooney and Michael Banks led the case.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is ‘excellent’, with its ‘outstanding’ lawyers being ‘imaginative, pro-active, knowledgeable and timely’. In particular, group head Joshua Rosenkranz is ‘an excellent orator, strong strategist, and overall an outstanding advocate’, while Richard Mark and Daniel Thomasch are also recommended. The firm successfully appealed for MGA Entertainment in its titanic “Barbie Wars” dispute with Mattel over the Bratz brand of dolls. After the lower courts transferred the rights to the entire $1bn-a-year Bratz brand to Mattel and prohibited MGA from further production, Rosenkranz argued the case before the Ninth Circuit, which overturned the ruling and erased Mattel’s $100m jury verdict on damages. The case has now been remanded to the district court to address errors in the original ruling.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP is preeminent in employment law appeals, where practice co-chair Paul Cane has an excellent reputation. One of the practice’s biggest highlights was Sprint v Mendelsohn before the US Supreme Court, in which Cane achieved a unanimous victory for Sprint Nextel in an age discrimination case. In California, the firm acted for a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems to overturn a $12.9m verdict in a wrongful termination case, where the plaintiff was ultimately ordered to pay $110,000 in fees and costs. Cane’s fellow co-chair Stephen Kinnaird has a more general commercial disputes practice and is also extremely well regarded. He appeared before the US Supreme Court in a pro bono case arguing on behalf of Jose Padilla, a Honduran national resident in the US for 40 years, who was being subjected to mandatory deportation after pleading guilty to state drug offences on the erroneous advice of his attorney. The US Supreme Court ruled that a criminal defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to competent advice about the deportation consequences of a guilty plea, which would entitle Padilla to withdraw his guilty plea.

Proskauer Rose LLP is another firm with an excellent reputation for employment disputes, an area where practice co-head Edward Brill holds sway, although its expertise goes well beyond the confines of one sector. Clients say that ‘the level of service in all areas is outstanding’, and co-head Mark Harris is an ‘excellent brief writer and, from the client perspective, is very responsive and easy to work with. Mark is an outstanding oral advocate’. Acting alongside Charles Sims and Jon Baumgarten, Harris won a significant US Supreme Court victory for Reed Elsevier in Reed Elsevier Inc et al v Muchnick et al. In this long-running litigation, freelance authors and their organizations sued the client and other defendants in copyright infringement class actions concerning the republishing of articles. The Court ultimately overruled more than 200 lower court cases by ruling that copyright registration is not jurisdictional.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP does not have a standalone appellate group, but many of its top litigators combine ‘outstanding’ appellate expertise with sector-specific knowledge, and 14 are former Supreme Court clerks. For example, some clients regard Richard Urowsky as ‘the most knowledgeable lawyer on antitrust matters in the US’. This expertise was brought to bear when Urowsky represented Tenaris and Maverick Tube Corporation in a major dispute arising out of Tenaris’ acquisition of Maverick. The Second Circuit ultimately upheld the district court’s decision that the acquisition did not trigger a public acquirer change of control provision. Brendan Cullen and Garrard Beeney are also recommended.

In 2009, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. recruited John Elwood, a former assistant to the solicitor general, thus significantly strengthening its base in Washington DC and augmenting the firm’s ‘elite’ Texas-based practice. Practice co-head Marie Yeates in Houston is ‘an excellent appellate lawyer with a proven track record’, while Gwendolyn Samora is recommended for her ‘outstanding judgment and experience’, and co-chair Thomas Leatherbury is also highly recommended. A major highlight for the team was representing Fluor Corporation in obtaining appellate reversal of a $100m judgment against it. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. was not involved in the original trial, but was brought in for the appeal and has been appointed as trial counsel for the retrial.

Williams & Connolly LLP is a Washington DC-based firm with an excellent reputation across most areas of litigation, and its US Supreme Court and appellate team is a core component in this, allowing it to take cases throughout the court system from beginning to end. The ‘up-and-coming’ Kannon Shanmugan is a former assistant to the solicitor general who receives good reviews from clients and peers alike. Shanmugan’s arrival in 2009 represented the first time the firm had laterally recruited a partner in 22 years. Since then, the team has been involved in several major cases argued before the US Supreme Court, including Merck & Co v Reynolds and Textron v US.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is recognized as ‘a fine firm’ by peers practicing in the trade secrets field, with ‘deep and broad trial experience’ among its 550 nationally-spread general litigation attorneys. Some 240 IP lawyers are available to provide support to clients from a wide range of sectors requiring advice on trade secrets matters, from chemical and computer companies to heavy industry and services. Emphasis is placed on training lawyers, many of whom have technology qualifications or background, to quickly assimilate and cogently present issues arising in relation to specialist technology, in addition to having the ability to take sharp action in relation to business-to-business disputes. Washington DC-based Greg LoCascio recently secured an unusual mid-trial dismissal of all counts of misappropriation of trade secrets for Boeing; and a settlement for security solutions specialists Six3 Systems in a matter relating to appropriation of intelligence brought by suppliers of government intelligence systems and IT networks, CACI. The firm also represented IMG Worldwide in an action against former IMG sports agent Mark Baldwin, which turned on the applicable law governing the provisions relating to misappropriation and non-solicitation in Baldwin’s employment contract.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s brand has reached a wider public than many other trade-secret practices after it replaced Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in the battle for rights to Bratz dolls against Barbie manufacturers Mattel. Shortly after appointment in July 2010 as MGA Entertainment’s lawyers, the team, lead by New York litigation partner Joshua Rosencrantz and IP specialist Annette Hurst in San Francisco, succeeded in overturning the original verdict in favor of Mattel and clearing the way for a retrial of all issues relating to liability and damages. A strong Silicon Valley team, headed by Gary Weiss, recently set two trade secrets law precedents relating to proof of misappropriation and preemption under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act when defending cases brought by Silvaco Data Systems against Intel and Agilent Technologies. Clients nominate Chris Ottenweller, Michael Spillner and Rob Shwarts as ‘particularly good’ and consider that ‘this firm is the best in this area’. 130 globally-based IP, employment and litigation lawyers act for clients such as Hewlett Packard and Oracle.

Clients and peers consider Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP’s team to give ‘advice that is creative, timely and always helpful’. The dedicated trade secrets group is spearheaded by IP litigation specialist Victoria Cundiff – ‘a leading expert in the field’ – focusing on trade secrets and non-compete agreements – and Silicon Valley employment law department chair Bradford Newman. The team advises clients in the high-tech, financial services and green technology sectors such as Microsoft, Yahoo! and UBS on trade secret appropriation cases frequently originating through employee movement. Recent highlights have included settlement of a $150m case brought by Zynga Game Network against Playdom relating to appropriation of a cutting edge social gaming mechanism; and defending Yahoo! against Indian internet company Sify in a $50m case involving novel concepts around cross-border trade secrets and e-discovery. Strategic protection of key business assets is another strength, enabling leading clients in the financial services, heavy industry and technology sectors to avoid loss of vital revenue-generating information such as algorithmic trading strategies. ‘Definitely a level above other firms’, says one client.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP’s lawyers ‘are reputable, credible and have a deep trade secrets bench’. They ‘work hard and get good results’, and provide ‘great customer service, deep industry expertise, and a strong team – expensive but good value’. Having secured the rights to Bratz dolls in 2009 for Mattel in litigation over appropriation of the designs by MGA Entertainment, a retrial was ordered on appeal, bringing the team, headed by John Quinn and Michael Zeller, back into the fray this year. Packed with some 450 trial lawyers, 40% of whom are engaged in IP matters, the firm has a fearsome reputation in the courts and has represented General Motors, Shell, Motorola, Disney, and easyJet Airlines. Recent cases have included acting for Invista in relation to the unauthorised use of a chemical processing system; for IBM in relation to the licensing of mainframe system technology; and for Trust Company of the West in a suit for $200m damages and relief against a former employee who had allegedly misappropriated client and proprietary information. The ‘outstanding’ David Quinto is a published trade secrets expert.

The intersection between patent and trade secrets protection is key for Covington & Burling LLP. Clients from the life sciences, computer hardware and software, communications and energy sectors are advised on the most practical means of protection for non-patented trade secrets and assisted with the enforcement of their rights over their trade secrets in the courts and, increasingly, in ITC investigations. The 23 partners and 19 associates in the team are ‘well coordinated, vigorous in their protection of their client’s interest, and highly ethical’, and give ‘practical advice’. Kurt Calia in Silicon Valley is vice chair for the trade secrets committee of the Intellectual Property Owner’s Association. In 2010, ‘creative, practical, quick-minded and knowledgeable’ Johnny Chiu represented UPI in an ITC investigation initiated by Richtek involving allegations of trade secrets misappropriation and patent infringement, while ‘detailed, skilled, and knowledgeable’ Nitin Subhedar was active on behalf of Chinese telecoms player Huawei against Motorola in a case in the northern district of Illinois involving wireless base station technology.

A distinguishing feature of San Francisco specialist litigation firm Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. is ‘the ability to cut through to the essence of a case and empower juries and judges to decide complex issues’, a skill gained over some 30 years of trade secrets practice during which time the firm has consistently recovered a high total value of claims for plaintiffs. ‘A wealth of experience and demonstrated success’ has been shown in some of the leading cases with international elements in this field, such as that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing against Chinese SMIC, the largest trade secret misuse case ever brought. More recently, the team, led by experienced Jeff Chanin, has defended complex cases for clients Index Ventures, Palantir Technologies and national law firm Foley & Lardner LLP against trade secret and copyright misappropriation actions from California to Delaware and Virginia. John Keker is currently defending a technology company in trade secret and copyright infringement litigation against a software company – a sensitive case in the field of national security. The firm ‘usually finds a way to overcome whatever obstacles are presented – oftentimes making new law in the process’.

One hundred lawyers across McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s multidisciplinary global team have a day to day, organic relationship with trade secrets law, benefitting from the firm’s 25-plus years of experience handling trade secrets lawsuits and counseling clients from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. The advice given to clients in industries from technology to life sciences, manufacturing, financial services and entertainment on trade secrets protection and robust representation on contentious matters is supplemented by a white-collar crime group for criminal investigations where necessary. In 2010, Eric Hagen assisted Pacific Shore Holdings with corporate policy for trade secret protection. IP specialist Terrence McMahon continues to defend Seagate in the 10-year $1bn litigation over misappropriation of hard disk technology. Spansion is a notable client for Anthony de Alcuaz.

Morrison & Foerster LLP’s noted capabilities in intellectual property, data security and litigation provide the bedrock for the firm’s focused trade secrets practice which is embedded in its offices across the US. The group consistently provides clients such as Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Booz Allen Hamilton and Hansen Medical with training and documentation to prevent the loss of technical and proprietary information through employee mobility; and regularly wins trials. Co-chair of the group Daniel Westman is also co-chair of the US IP law association trade secrets committee. The experienced team litigated numerous suits in 2010, setting precedents in the areas of cross-border jurisdictional issues (opinion in Applied Materials v Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment) and over the question of whether innocent purchasers of software containing trade secrets could be liable for misappropriation (a victory in the $1bn Silvaco v Cypress Semiconductor Corporation). Bryan Wilson is ‘a very smart, thoughtful attorney’, who is ‘courteous and assertive in trial’.

The interdisciplinary non-compete and trade secrets group at Proskauer Rose LLP focuses on the intersection of trade secret protection and employee movement. The five-partner group provides counseling on the hiring and firing of employees possessing confidential information and material relating to customer relationships; drafting confidentiality and non-compete agreements, and policy manuals on information ownership and protection; and litigation involving claims of employee raiding and theft of trade secrets. In 2010, co-chair of the group John Barry in Newark led the defense of Honeywell in a lawsuit challenging Honeywell’s pre-invention assignment agreements, and commercial litigator Steven Kayman represented McGraw-Hill in enforcing a one year non-compete clause against a former senior executive who joined Bloomberg. The bulk of the 60 trade secrets lawyers operate out of New York under co-chairs and employment specialists Michael Album, who has particular experience advising financial services companies and private hedge funds, and Edward Brill and Steven Kayman. Anthony Oncidi and Allan Weitzman are recommended in Los Angeles and Boca Raton.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s trade secrets and restrictive employment expertise is spearheaded by employment litigation partners Jeffrey Klein and Gary Friedman, who have been instrumental in securing significant victories in restrictive covenant cases on behalf of Apple, United Health Group and insurance group March USA. Litigation partners in Boston, Silicon Valley – for IP patent-related issues – and newly-made partner Michelle Hartmann in Dallas have litigated and counseled clients in numerous different business sectors from pharmaceutical and biotechnology to computing, internet, healthcare, insurance and financial services. The group has recently achieved a potentially seminal federal court decision relating to the enforceability of garden leave provisions in financial services sector executive employment contracts. Gary Friedman was recently instructed by the Bank of Montreal to find a remedy for abuses by former employees who misappropriated trade secrets and other confidential data. A successful result was achieved using novel e-discovery strategies and analytics.

As highly experienced general trial lawyers operating nationally on behalf of clients in sectors as diverse as chip design, plant genetics, vacuum cleaner technology and jet engines, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP is capable of taking complex issues and simplifying them into a trial-friendly package as quickly and cost-consciously as possible. Recent cases in the trade secrets forum include successfully representing Creeden in litigation involving misappropriation of trade secrets against Infosoft, and Sensormatic Electronics against The TAG Company for misappropriation of trade secrets. Following a three-week bench trial, the Court entered judgment in favor of Sensormatic on all counts.

Six IP litigation partners at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York feature in the complex, high-value trade secret-protection litigation which the firm conducts on behalf of blue-chip clients in the insurance, technology, and financial services sectors. Stuart Gold has particular experience with business model theft in the insurance field, recently achieving a settlement on behalf of client Liberty Mutual Group against Aspen Insurance Holding Group. Roger Brooks continues to provide ongoing support with enforcement of the settlement reached on behalf of client Renaissance Technologies relating to use of proprietary and trade secret statistical algorithms by former employees to create a system of “statistical arbitrage” for a rival hedge fund, and has received instructions from a new client in this sector. Stephen Madsen is currently representing Quantlab in separate actions in New York, relating to the hiring by Tower Research of a Quantlab employee, and in Texas, regarding the appropriation of Quantlab trade secrets by an individual.

With patent and trademark protection as its bread and butter, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. is a natural choice for technology-focused operations from innovative start-ups to Fortune 500 giants in the battle to maintain control over critical know-how. Fifteen partners with trade secrets experience command a network of 400 attorneys, over 90 of whom hold doctorates in disciplines ranging from neurobiology to electrical engineering, and can consequently assimilate technical information quickly and impart this to judge and jury to full effect. Clients include Sinterfire, Force Protection Industries, A10 Networks, Toyota and Intercil. Leading partners Stephen Peterson and John Hornick in Washington DC complement the additional offering in Atlanta, Cambridge, Palo Alto and Reston.

Among a strong cohort of general commercial and IP litigators at Latham & Watkins LLP nationally and globally, Steven Bauer in San Francisco stands out as a key trial asset in the trade secrets arena. In 2010 he lead the team which obtained a complete defense victory for client Marvell Semiconductor in a trade secrets misappropriation case in which a “confessional” telephone conversation featured as a key piece of evidence in support of plaintiff Jasmine Technology’s case. Other recent instructions have lead to victories in trials and favourable settlements for clients including FLIR Systems and Entrepreneur Media (EMI) in cases relating to both theft of technology designs and misappropriation of company databases on departure of employees.

Mayer Brown’s global client base receives protection of trade secrets through the drafting of agreements to prevent disclosure to advice on policies; employee education to ensure retention of business-critical material; and representation in courts and tribunals to retain or defend sensitive information. The support of the firm’s competition and IP departments has been crucial in obtaining favorable outcomes in recent cases such as that relating to misappropriation of interactive video content, in which novel issues of cross-border intellectual property protection, exploitation, and first-mover advantage were examined. John Mancini represented a railway manufacturer in an arbitration against its former licensee arising from the licensee’s use of trade secrets to compete in bidding for contracts. James Ferguson achieved a dismissal of a claim for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets brought against a financial sector client by an IT provider. Dale Giali, who moved from the defunct Howrey LLP, is also recommended.

‘Outstanding trade secrets lawyer’ Mark Halligan has been building a dedicated trade secrets team at Nixon Peabody LLP in Chicago since joining in 2009 from Hogan & Hartson, and can also call on 20 attorneys in the IP, labor and employment, white-collar crime, and commercial litigation groups to take a ‘360 degree’ approach to trade secrets. The group provides trade secret protection through training; drafting of non-compete, non-disclosure and restrictive covenants in employee agreements; and 24/7 rapid response to emergencies including applications and representation. Major corporations including Baxter Healthcare, Texas Instruments and Hollister have instructed the team, whose recent litigation outings have included acting for Motorola against Lemko and Huawei Technologies, Miller UK against Caterpillar Inc and Ion Construction in Secure Energy, Inc v Coal Synthetics on cases relating to misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract, and computer fraud. The group is ‘one to watch’.

Clients from the high-tech, medical technology, banking, communications and media sectors consult the 21 IP partners at O’Melveny & Myers LLP for advice on trade secret litigation, encompassing employee movement issues, theft of intellectual property and the defence of white-collar criminal investigations. Strength on the West Coast is complemented by partner support in New York and Washington DC, with many lawyers holding degrees in technical subjects. Recent highlights include representing three defendants against patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation asserted by Taiwanese Richtek Technology, achieving the right to use the products at issue in a settlement. Eric Amdursky in Silicon Valley saw the creation of the largest provider of fingerprint sensor management software after client UPEK sued AuthenTec for patent infringement and defended counterclaims of trade secret appropriation.

Clients seek out Linda Stevens at Schiff Hardin LLP for her 24 years of experience in trade secrets practice, arising from the inception of the Illinois trade secrets statute in 1987 and the firm’s involvement in the seminal Pepsi Co v Redmond case. These days, the trade secrets and restrictive covenant team draws on 20 partners and 20 attorneys to attend to instructions from a wide range of clients to prevent the loss of technology or consumer data-related trade secrets and enforce remedies for breach of restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements. Among recent matters is the defense of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP (now SNR Denton) against Huron Consulting’s claim for $30m damages for breach of local trade secrets legislation in relation to the departure of several consultants.

The 30-lawyer practice at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, which operates out of seven offices around the country, has achieved some notable successes in the last five years, including the successful defense of two cases involving claims of $1.3bn and $450m for Cisco Systems; and the defense of Google in a suit brought by Microsoft seeking to prevent the hiring of three prominent former Microsoft executives. Dave Tank defended Lockheed in a case in which damages of $100m were claimed for theft of ‘Section 508’ technology. The case was settled for a nominal amount. Douglas Parry in Salt Lake City assisted Kowabunga! to recapture stolen customer lists and proprietary information from the vendor of an internet marketing business and achieved a favourable settlement. Key clients of the cross-disciplinary group also include KMG America, Adeptyx Consulting and Hormel Foods. Joe Hammell, Roy Ginsburg and Gregory Tamkin are also active in this area.

Following Hogan Lovells US LLP’s merger last year, the Chicago office, from which the Lovells LLP trade secrets practice operated, was closed. Steven Hollman in Washington DC now heads up the trade secrets group, which is formed from experienced IP and commercial litigation experts including Eric Lobenfeld. Areas of focus range from emergency injunctions to restrain the use of confidential information, to trade secret audits, licensing and litigation. Global coverage enables the firm to act in the growing number of cases of international misappropriation such as advice to a manufacturer of aquatic leisure products on the protection of design, know-how and trade secrets against their misuse by manufacturers, retailers and former employees in China and Hong Kong. Serving national clients in a widely varied range of industries, the group has represented a leading biotechnology and chemicals company in a dispute relating to industrial secrets in bacteria used in the production of one of the world’s best-selling antibiotics; and successfully defended a large communications company against damage claims exceeding $400m in which a plaintiff alleged misappropriation of trade secrets in connection with the development of air-to-ground telephone technology.

‘Top drawer’ Chicago-based Jenner & Block LLP provides satisfied clients with counseling on employment-related trade secret issues and drafting of documentation to secure proprietary information. The firm has taken action in relation to theft of trade secrets by third parties and conducted litigation in claims relating to software, source code and proprietary information. The ‘tireless’ Debbie Berman is a key name here, having participated in the seminal case on the doctrine of ‘inevitable disclosure’, Pepsico v Redmond.

As one of the larger firms specializing in general complex litigation, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP has entered the ring with its boutique-sized trade secrets team and punched above its weight in one of the most prominent recent trade secret cases – Starwood Hotels v Hilton Hotels. Aaron Marks led Hilton’s representation in the civil case and was joined by Daniel Fetterman in the grand jury investigation of the leading hotel chain over claims of theft of Starwood’s most sensitive trade secrets and proprietary information. Both cases were settled. Marks was also instrumental in obtaining a settlement of $38m for chemical company Purolite in a case against Thermax relating to stolen formulae and processes for water purification resin. The firm also recently defeated Dell’s summary judgment and Daubert motions in a case against Dell for misappropriation of client Modern Creative Services’ product-advisor software tool, leading to a satisfactory settlement.

Seyfarth Shaw is distinguished by its dedicated trade secrets, computer fraud and non-compete group which aligns 45 professionals nationally to focus on advice and representation within this practice area. Head of the practice Michael Wexler demonstrated the firm’s ability to combine specialist expertise in high-profile litigation relating to protection of client Hewlett-Packard’s trade secrets on the move of CEO Mark Hurd to Oracle, with support from employment partner Camille Olson and Los Angeles trade secrets partner Robert Milligan. This case also demonstrates the firm’s niche practice area – representing or defending claims involving the entry or departure of top-level executives, including representing Motorola on a matter relating to the departure of its COO to Nortel Networks; and Baxter in a trade secrets misappropriation matter against a former top Baxter scientist who joined Bayer, having copied files regarding Baxter’s products valued at over $1.5bn. Katherine Perrelli’s 20 years of experience demonstrates a significant focus on high stakes trade secrets and restrictive covenant litigation for clients in the financial services and insurance industries including Arthur J Gallagher & Co and Wells Fargo, recently achieving favorable settlements on behalf of both of these clients in non-compete cases. Michael Levinson is another stalwart of the team.

At the forefront of the white-collar bar for many years, the ‘very strong’ Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP provides a ‘fabulous’ service to an impressive cadre of blue-chip corporates and financial institutions including AstraZeneca, Bank of America, BHP Billiton, JPMorgan, Philip Morris and Siemens. Although it is ‘less often leading a major trial’ than some of its peers, it has tremendous credibility before the regulators and is seen by clients as a go-to-firm, in particular for high-profile government-led investigations. Deeply entrenched in the financial services industry, the firm has had a leading role to play in major investigations and litigation relating to the subprime and financial markets crisis. In this regard, Raul Yanes is representing Morgan Stanley in connection with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s investigation. Having relatively recently returned to private practice following five-years in high-level positions in the Bush administration, Yanes is particularly accomplished at handling matters with a strong Washington DC component, as illustrated by his recent involvement along with Scott Muller for Patriot Coal in connection with an investigation into safety practices by the House Committee on Education and Labor. Muller is considered to be a particularly safe pair of hands for handling international cases within the FCPA arena, and following his involvement for Siemens on its high-profile FCPA investigation, is currently representing BHP Billiton in a major FCPA investigation. A former government prosecutor, the ‘superb’ Carey Dunne is now one of the most experienced members of the team following the recent retirement of the iconic Robert Fiske and is seen as a safe pair of hands in matters that involve parallel proceedings, often with a political angle. As well as representing Intesa Sanpaolo, a major European bank, in parallel criminal and civil investigations regarding alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran, Dunne is also representing a senior executive of defense contractor BAE in the much publicized US and UK corruption investigations. Other recommended partners include Linda Thomsen and Angela Burgess.

Spearheaded by the ‘amazingly good’ Mary Jo White and the ‘excellent’ Bruce Yannett, Debevoise & Plimpton’s white-collar team provides ‘expertise and judgment’ to clients involved in criminal and SEC investigations and litigation, as well as in parallel civil and administrative proceedings which frequently also arise. Active across the full suite of white-collar matters, including financial fraud, FCPA abuses and matters involving the pharmaceutical industry, the team is frequently the ‘first-name on our list if we have a major corporate crisis on our hands’, says one client. Based out of New York but with a significant presence in Washington DC, the practice has excellent credibility before the regulators by dint of a ‘superbly talented’ cadre of lawyers that includes no fewer than ten former assistant US attorneys, including Neil Eggleston who also served in the White House as associate counsel to the President. Regularly involved in some high-profile matters for corporates and individuals, as well as his involvement for a student loan industry leader in the States Attorneys’ General investigations into loan practices, Eggleston also recently represented a senior pharmaceutical executive in an “off-label” criminal investigation. The financial services industry has also proved a fertile source of instructions for the team in recent years, and as well as advising a major global financial institution in connection with federal and state regulatory investigations relating to auction-rate securities, it is also representing Kenneth Lewis, former CEO of Bank of America, in regulatory matters relating to the Merrill Lynch acquisition. Sean Hecker, Andrew Ceresney and Washington DC-based Paul Berger are also recommended members of a team that maintains a ‘disciplined, respectful and ethical culture, in which intellectual excellence is a goal’. Clients include American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, HCA, JPMorgan, Siemens and UBS. The firm is also unique in having the former attorney generals of both the US, Michael Mukasey and the UK, Lord Goldsmith, making the firm well positioned to capitalize on the current surge in international white-collar crime.

‘Undoubtedly one of the leading firms in the white-collar area’, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s nine-partner team is ‘highly experienced, exceptionally bright, creative and hardworking’. Benefiting from a ‘deep knowledge of the financial services industry and extensive experience in white-collar cases in that sector’, the practice has benefited from the ever increasing scrutiny placed on the industry whether it be in relation to tax fraud, securities fraud, insider-trading or stock market manipulation. Able to successfully co-ordinate the civil, criminal, regulatory and congressional aspects of a matter, the firm has ‘invaluable experience in high-risk cases’. Recent highlights include successfully representing Citigroup in a case brought by London-based private equity sponsor Terra Firma alleging that Citigroup had tricked Terra Firma into overbidding for EMI. The team also represented Fitch Ratings, one of the three national ratings agencies, in reaching an industry-wide settlement with the New York Attorney General relating to the ratings of non-prime residential mortgage-backed securities. ‘Remarkably successful trial lawyer’ Theodore Wells led on the aforementioned Citigroup matter and also has a tremendous track-record of representing political figures in jury trials. Indeed, it is the firm’s willingness to take matters to trial that sets it apart from some other New York-based outfits who offer a more conciliatory approach. The ‘very wise and experienced’ Mark Pomerantz is ‘regularly involved in bet-the-company matters’ and has been particularly active recently handling a tremendous range of matters within the financial services industry, including securities fraud, mail and wire fraud and tax offenses. The work handled by the team is, however, by no means limited to issues affecting the financial services industry. Other areas of strength include FCPA matters and issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry. Notably, the firm successfully represented Merck in connection with an SEC investigation into its public disclosure relating to Vioxx. Other recommended partners include the ‘top-notch and deeply experienced’ Martin Flumenbaum and up-and-comer Roberto Finzi.

Able to leverage off a ‘spectacularly strong’ blue-chip corporate client roster, in addition to picking up standalone mandates, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP excels in defending clients in high-stakes matters across every stage of the enforcement process including grand jury trials, agency investigations, and trials and appeals. Although the firm has lost of a number of leading lights in the past few years to competitors, including Robert Bennett and Carl Rauh to Hogan Lovells US LLP, the rebuilding process has begun, most notably in 2010 by the recruitment of former federal judge Stephen Robinson. Robinson adds further credibility to a 30-lawyer New York-based team that already has seven former federal prosecutors including ‘excellent’ team head David Zornow. Zornow recently entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on behalf of Frederick Schiff, former CFO of Bristol-Myers Squibb, successfully ensuring that all criminal charges were dropped against Schiff for his alleged role in a major securities fraud. He also recently successfully negotiated on behalf of Dell in relation to a five-year SEC investigation concerning disclosure issues regarding certain aspects of its commercial relationship with Intel, and into separate accounting and financial reporting matters. Benefitting from a comprehensive global network, the firm is also ‘very accomplished at handling FCPA matters’, be it in relation to transactional due diligence, compliance programs or the defense of government investigations and criminal/civil proceedings. John Carroll spearheads the firm’s FCPA practice and is currently engaged by a Fortune 100 company in a global corrupt payments investigation. Carroll has also been active in representing financial institutions and their senior officers in investigations arising out of the 2008 market collapse and recently represented the former CFO of Citigroup in connection with charges brought by the SEC relating to Citigroup’s disclosure of its exposures to CDO issues.

Premier white-shoe New York-based firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s ‘strong team’ provides ‘specific, pragmatic and helpful advice’ to an impressive roster of entities, primarily within the financial sector. Able to tap into the substantive knowledge of lawyers within its banking and capital markets group, the team ‘understands the complexities of the banking sector’ and has had significant roles in most of the major regulatory investigations and litigation affecting the financial services industry, from matters relating to the rating agencies, to the representation of institutions being investigated for alleged violations of the commodities laws. The ‘terrific’ firm is representing Goldman Sachs in SEC enforcement proceedings regarding alleged violations of the securities laws as a result of disclosures made in relation to certain asset-backed certificate offerings. Led by the ‘intelligent, thoughtful, calm and intellectually robust’ Samuel Seymour and Sharon Nelles, the team represents ratings agency Moody’s in several matters including in relation to investigations regarding the methodology it used and fees charged for rating RMBS and CDOs. Notably the team has also concluded a number of long-running matters for clients on favorable terms. On behalf of Barclays Bank, it reached settlements with the various agencies investigating potential OFAC violations. In reaching a deferred prosecution agreement, the US authorities recognized the banks substantial co-operation during the investigation into its payment practices. The firm also reached a settlement on behalf of ENI with the DOJ and SEC concluding an FCPA investigation spanning several years and involvement with prosecutorial authorities in more than five countries. Although instructions from corporations account for the majority of the group’s matters, it does from time to time pick up some high-profile mandates from executives, as is illustrated by its representation of the former CEO of a public company and a major financial institution in ongoing investigations of insider trading relating to the Galleon Group. Steven Peiken led on this matter and is one of nine former federal and state prosecutors within a group that also includes the ‘personable and engaging’ Nicolas Bourtin and ‘outstanding’ Karen Patton Seymour.

One of the most complete practices in the country, Covington & Burling LLP’s 27-partner department provides ‘empathetic, responsive, professional and very thorough’ advice across the waterfront of issues including criminal antitrust, foreign trade controls, false claims act and congressional investigations. With equal strength on both coasts across its San Francisco, New York and Washington DC offices, as well as a strong international presence, particularly in London and Brussels, the team is well-placed to handle issues irrespective of geography and also able to handle the increased internationalization complexion of much of the work in the arena. Praised for its ‘tremendous credibility before the regulators’, this is no small part as a result of the tremendous number of individuals within the group who can lay claim to having high-ranking governmental regulatory positions. Although the team’s primary aim is to avoid litigation, it does have the necessary trial skills to do so should the matter become litigious. This is particularly borne out in the instances where it represents individuals, such as Lt Governor Aitofele Sunia of American Samoa. Following a three and a half week trial, the jury declared a mistrial against the charges of conspiracy, federal program fraud, bribery and obstruction of an agency proceeding brought against him. A ‘tremendously strong outfit for handling complex pharmaceutical investigations’, Matthew O’Connor is the leading light for this work and has recently handled a number of mandates for GlaxoSmithKline, including a grand jury investigation alleging, inter alia, off-label promotion and violations of the Anti-Kickback Act. The practice is also active within the financial services industry, particularly out of its New York office. As well as being able to tap into the ‘considerable talents’ of former chief litigation counsel for the SEC’s enforcement division David Kornblau, the practice also recently welcomed of-counsel Allison Lurton to its ranks. Formerly at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Lurton brings invaluable expertise on the implications of the increased powers of the CFTC as a result of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. Praised for his ‘calm demeanor and respectful and collaborative communication with SEC counsel’, department head Bruce Baird has an excellent track-record at handling complex securities enforcement criminal cases, as well as more recently handling a slew of significant criminal antitrust investigations. ‘One of the up-and-coming elite of the white-collar bar’, Alan Vinegrad has recently represented a number of individuals in high-profile criminal litigation including the representation of Mark Lenowitz in one of the largest insider trading cases of recent times. Other recommended partners include Haywood Gilliam, as well as Steven Fagell and James Garland, who both returned to the firm following a stint at the DOJ.

White-collar work has long been a staple of Washington DC-headquartered litigation boutique Williams & Connolly LLP’s workload. As one might expect coming from a firm with a litigation background, the team has a trial-ready approach and excels at handling high-stakes matters for corporates and individuals. Although it may not have the same focus on representing corporations as some of its peers – partly as a consequence of the absence of a significant corporate department through which it is fed work – it has handled a tremendous volume and variety of cases (many of which have resulted in a final trial) for high-ranking executives and political figures. Recent high-profile victories included securing the reversal of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens’ corruption conviction, having uncovered government misconduct in the prosecution. Without peer for his representation of high-ranking political figures charged with impropriety, ‘dean of the white-collar bar’ Brendan Sullivan led on this matter and is one of a slew of ‘highly impressive trial lawyers’ within the group. Dane Butswinkas is a name that has been gaining particularly impressive reviews for his work representing executives within the financial services industry; notably recently achieving the acquittal of former Bear Stearns hedge-fund manager Ralph Cioffi in a securities-fraud case. While the firm is more aligned to handling individual representations, it is by no means without corporate representations, and particularly within the FCPA sphere is active for companies from a broad range of industries in internal and external investigations into potential abuses, in addition to advisory work relating to compliance issues. It is currently representing a Fortune 500 corporate in an ongoing internal investigation and DOJ/SEC investigation involving possible payments to government officials in multiple countries related to foreign VAT tax refunds. As part of his broad-ranging practice, David Zinn handles FCPA matters, John Villa is ‘excellent at handling financial services-related matters’, while the ‘highly experienced’ William McDaniels is also recommended across a broad spread of white-collar matters including bank and healthcare fraud, and money laundering offences.

‘Thorough, thoughtful, proactive and commercial’, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s 11-partner New York and Washington DC-based team is ‘in the top echelon for work in this space’. Able to tap into the substantive expertise of lawyers in its formidable capital markets and banking groups, the practice is particularly accomplished at handling work within the financial services sector and has been at the heart of some cutting-edge issues including bonus payments for banks receiving TARP payments, CDO investigations on behalf of Bank of America and issues arising out of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Recent highlights include advising hedge funds in the SEC and DOJ’s Galleon Group and other insider-trading issues. Other work has included representing the audit committee of Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board in an internal investigation into questionable investigative and surveillance activities. Led out of New York by ‘consummate professional’ David Brodsky, this matter involved input from the firm’s Frankfurt office and speaks to the team’s ability to provide an integrated multi-jurisdictional solution. The firm’s comprehensive international network is also regularly brought into play in FCPA investigations and criminal cartel investigations such as the team’s representation of LG Display in DOJ and European Commission criminal investigations regarding alleged price-fixing activity within the LCD panel industry. A ‘deep bench’ includes former general counsel of the SEC Giovanni Prezioso, and Lewis Liman, Shawn Chen and Victor Hou, ‘who are all well-rounded consummate professionals’.

With ‘strong capabilities’ on both coasts, Gibson Dunn’s 17-partner team provides ‘very good and responsive’ representation to both individuals and corporates across a broad swathe of white-collar matters including FCPA violations, financial services matters, healthcare and criminal antitrust. In the financial services industry the practice has handled a raft of mortgage-related investigations and litigation. The highest-profile of these was the firm’s successful representation of former AIG executive Joseph Cassano following the SEC and DOJ’s investigation into his alleged improper activity regarding credit default swaps. Praised for his ‘excellence at handling FCPA investigations’, Washington DC-based co-head Joseph Warin has handled investigations relating to business in 35 different countries and as well as his high-profile work as compliance monitor for Statoil, also recently persuaded the DOJ to close its five-year FCPA investigation against the General Electric Company without bringing criminal charges. Los Angeles-based co-head Debra Wong Yang is another key member of the team and as well as handing a raft of FCPA matters is also particularly active in the healthcare space. The real jewel in the firm’s crown, however, is its ‘pre-eminent’ criminal antitrust practice. Spearheaded out of San Francisco by the ‘very able’ Gary Spratling, the firm continues to handle a number of multi-jurisdictional investigations and recently successfully negotiated with the DOJ the second lowest fine of the 15 air carrier pleas to date in the air cargo shipping services litigation. Other notable practitioners include ‘excellent trial lawyer’ Randy Mastro, the ‘knowledgeable and responsive’ Lee Dunst and co-head Jim Walden.

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP’s 12-partner New York-based group provides a ‘very balanced’ and ‘responsive’ service to clients and has ‘great depth in its organization to cover a number of areas’ including securities fraud, healthcare fraud, public corruption and environmental crimes. Particularly active within the financial services sector, the group has considerable trial experience where its joint heads Barry Berke and Gary Naftalis frequently feature prominently. ‘One of the most high-profile and sought after white-collar attorneys in New York’, Berke continues to represent Bear Stearns in various government inquiries, federal derivative lawsuits, and in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought by Bank of America. Naftalis is ‘at the top of his profession’ and represented Raymond Harding, former chairman of the New York State Liberal Party, against charges arising out of the New York State Attorney General’s inquiry into the awarding of investments by the New York State pension funds. He also represents senior officers of a number of financial services companies including Citigroup, AIG Structured Products, Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman in inquiries relating to their investments in structured products. Formerly a high-ranking government official, the ‘fiercely bright’ Paul Schoeman is ‘able to see the bigger picture’ and is highly accomplished at handling a raft of white-collar matters including insider-trading issues, market manipulation and FCPA abuses.

Elite New York-based powerhouse Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz provides ‘invaluable experience in high-stakes cases’ for major corporates and leading financial institutions across the waterfront of offences including accounting and securities fraud, cartel behaviour, FCPA violations and tax fraud. Although the group is active across many industry sectors, it is undoubtedly best-known for its expertise within the financial services industry, where it is viewed as a firm ‘at the very top of the tree’. Across many of the hot-button issues affecting the industry, the firm represented UBS in connection with the resolution of criminal and civil tax investigations by the DOJ, IRS and SEC. It also recently concluded its work on behalf of Citigroup, when the bank agreed to pay the SEC a $75m fine against allegations that it failed to disclose subprime exposure to investors. Able to tap into the expertise of its pre-eminent corporate practice that has stood at the vanguard of corporate governance issues, the team excels at high level counselling work and internal investigations. ‘Very responsive, smart and practical’, the team is praised for its ‘hardworking’ practitioners including ‘legendary’ team head Lawrence Pedowitz, the ‘terrific’ Jonathan Moses, John Savarese and the ‘up and coming’ David Anders.

Dechert LLP provides a ‘top-notch service’ to clients across the full gamut of white-collar issues. Particularly accomplished at handling high-stakes matters, the firm has recently been engaged by various private equity firms or principals in “pay-to-play” investigations undertaken by the New York Attorney General and the SEC. ‘The team is strong and the partners have at their disposal the junior lawyers they need when work heats up’, nevertheless, it is undoubtedly Andrew Levander who is the star of the team. A ‘skilled negotiator and strategist’, Levander has ‘experience at handling very high-stakes cases’, and as well as his involvement in the aforementioned private equity investigation, also continues to represent J Ezra Merkin, a prominent hedge fund manager, whose funds lost $2.4bn in the Madoff Ponzi scheme. The ‘very accomplished’ Benjamin Rosenberg has an excellent reputation on behalf of corporates and executives, and alongside Levander is currently acting on behalf of a major public company in an internal investigation relating to potential wrongdoing by its Russian office. One of many members of the ‘superb’ team who were former federal prosecutors, Robert Jossen provides a vast reservoir of experience to clients from a range of industries and is currently representing several executives of an international financial services company in a major multi-jurisdictional investigation into certain matters. Involving lawyers in the US and several of its European offices, the mandate is also illustrative of the firm’s ability to mobilize a truly international team on matters that require cross-border expertise. The ‘extremely organized and diligent’ Neil Steiner, is also recommended, as are Thomas Lee for healthcare fraud and Michael Gilbert, who is currently defending Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, one of the largest not-for-profit social services agencies in New York, in fraud investigations.

Praised for its ‘deep knowledge of the subject matter in this area’, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP’s eight-partner New York-based team provides a ‘high level of service’ to an impressive roster of blue-chip corporates, hedge funds, banks and private equity sponsors. Although it is perhaps less frequently seen in litigation than other firms in the ranking, it regularly handles regulatory or internal investigations across the waterfront of hot-button issues including FCPA abuses, securities fraud and insider trading. ‘At the top of her profession’, Audrey Strauss has an excellent pedigree within the field, particularly within the financial services industry and recently guided hedge fund adviser Pequot Capital Management to a settlement following a five-year insider-trading probe by the SEC. Led by Teresa Venezia and Carmen Lawrence, the firm was involved in another high-profile SEC investigation, this time on behalf of the State of New Jersey, against allegations that it had fraudulently marketed $26bn in municipal bonds to investors. Notably, this was the first time that a state had been accused of violating federal securities laws and was settled without any fines being levied against it. The firm has ‘a good team of lawyers with strong backgrounds in the white-collar arena’, including the ‘hardworking and knowledgeable’ Howard Goldstein and William Johnson, and Steven Witzel, whose ‘level of commitment and responsiveness to his client are extraordinary’.

Driven out of Washington DC and aided by significant offerings in New York and San Francisco, Hogan Lovells US LLP’s ‘excellent’ white-collar practice acts for a range of corporates, auditing committees and public bodies. Sitting at the intersection of government and business and benefitting from ‘good relationships with the DOJ’, the team has deep and broad substantive expertise in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and communications. Led by the ‘excellent’ Peter Spivack and Michael Theis, the firm successfully negotiated a non-prosecution agreement ensuring that Spectranetics avoided criminal sanctions against allegations that it illegally imported unapproved medical devices, conducted a clinical study in a manner that failed to comply with federal regulations and promoted certain products for procedures for which the company had not received Food and Drug Administration approval. Carl Rauh and Robert Bennett have bedded in well following their high-profile arrival in 2009 from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Bennett was recently engaged by the District of Columbia City Council to conduct an investigation into allegations that council member Marion Barry misused public funds and violated conflict-of-interest rules. The merger with Lovells has vastly extended the firm’s reach and plays well to the increased internationalization of the white-collar arena, particularly in areas such as antitrust and FCPA.

With 60 litigators at its disposal, ‘very strong’ New York-based white-collar and regulatory boutique Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, P.C. has the critical mass and ‘great reserves of knowledge’ to handle a tremendous volume of criminal matters affecting high-profile corporates and individuals. Praised for its ‘excellent work ethic, client orientation and a genuine culture of internal and external respect’, the firm is at the vanguard of many of the key issues shaping the law in the white-collar field. Involved in many of the recent hot-button issues affecting the financial services industry, for example, following a three-week trial the firm successfully defended Renato Negrin, former portfolio manager at Millenium Partners against allegations that he had engaged in insider-trading activity regarding credit default swaps. The firm also recently successfully defended hedge fund manager Kenneth Lipper against allegations that he was fraudulent, negligent and breached fiduciary duties flowing from the actions of an errant portfolio manager who was previously found guilty in a mismatching fraud. The culmination of nine years of litigation, following a 19-day arbitration hearing before a FINRA panel, all claims were rejected against Lipper, who was in fact awarded $15m in damages. Described as an ‘old school gentleman’ whose ‘natural habitat is the trial court’, Elkan Abramowitz led on this matter and is regularly involved in many of the firm’s highest-profile matters. ‘He is effective because of the familiarity, reputation, knowledge and the ability to show strength without being brawny or nasty.’ While Abramowitz is perhaps the most prominent figure within the team, a ‘deep bench’ also includes Robert Anello ‘who knows the securities industry well, is very responsive, attentive and tenacious’, and ‘quintessential attorney’ Jonathan Sack who ‘brings together a strong legal acumen and discipline, with a common sense approach’. ‘The firm’s excellence lies in its ability to negotiate with government agencies, do in-depth research, marshal the facts, conduct trials and appeals; all with total professionalism and client dedication.’

O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s bi-coastal 16-partner team has a ‘strong cadre of highly motivated and conscientious personnel’ who provide expertise across the white-collar landscape. As comfortable at handling internal investigations for major corporations, as it is representing executives on trial, the lawyers within the team ‘display a friendly manner’ but are ‘feverishly dedicated to pursuing the needs of the client’. The firm continues to handle a significant amount of work within the financial services sector advising on a number of the “hot button” issues including securities fraud and insider trading. Largely handled out of New York, Howard Heiss is one of the key contacts for financial services-related mandates and as part of an impressive caseload is representing a major financial institution in SEC and state regulatory investigations relating to its auction rate securities. Carolyn Kubota is ‘easy to work with and demonstrate considerable sincerity’. Praised for her ‘exceptional skills in front of the jury’, Kubota has handled more than 20 jury and bench trials in state and federal courts including securing a high-profile victory for Jack Wolter, a former senior executive at W R Grace, in one of the largest ever federal environmental criminal cases. Jeremy Maltby has a ‘very high level of legal knowledge’ across a range of matters including securities fraud, money laundering and FCPA abuses, and is ‘very effective in developing meaningful and timely briefs during trial’. Richard Grime is ‘excellent at handling FCPA matters’ and is regularly involved in worldwide investigations for both domestic and foreign corporates from a range of industries, where he is able to leverage off the firm’s impressive global network.

With over two-thirds of its litigators focusing on white-collar and regulatory matters, Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP has developed considerable experience within the field and provides ‘responsive, insightful and committed advice to its clients and is knowledgeable on some of the most complicated and difficult areas of the law’. Well integrated into the firm’s transactional practice, as well as attracting standalone work, the team picks up a regular pipeline of work from pre-existing clients, such as hedge funds who have sought compliance advice in light of increased regulatory scrutiny. Based out Washington DC and New York, the team is involved in ‘some of the most complex and difficult matters in the financial services area’, including its recent representation of a brokerage firm in connection with a CFTC investigation into LIBOR submissions by banks on the US dollar LIBOR panel. ‘One of the most effective white-collar defense lawyers in the bar’, New York-based practice leader Lee Richards was involved in the aforementioned matter and is ‘universally respected in the bar and by the government lawyers for his skills, his integrity and most significantly, his effectiveness’. Washington DC-based co-head Michael Mann is widely recognised as the “go-to” lawyer for clients in the international financial services sector. Praised for his ‘unparalleled command of the global regulatory environment’, Mann is currently representing several hedge funds in connection with investigations carried out by foreign regulators, including with respect to requests for mutual assistance through the US SEC’s Office of International Affairs. James Walker ‘very bright and knowledgeable younger partner’; MaryJeanette Dee ‘shows excellent judgment and knowledge of applicable laws and regulations’; Paul Leder ‘widely recognized as one of the best defense lawyers and counsellors in the bar’; and Shari Brandt are all well regarded.

With a strong presence on both coasts, as well as out of its Chicago heartland, Sidley Austin LLP’s white-collar practice is well-positioned to advise clients regardless of geography and provides an ‘extremely high level of service’ to corporates and executives across the waterfront of white-collar matters including securities fraud, FCPA violations, tax and healthcare fraud, among others. Benefiting from a plethora of former federal prosecutors, including former first assistant US attorney in the Northern District of California David Anderson – who now heads the firm’s North California white-collar practice – the team has tremendous credibility before the regulators. Also a former federal prosecutor, global co-chair of the firm’s white-collar group Karen Popp ‘has an excellent knowledge of the Justice Department’ and is regularly involved in many of the most significant matters handled by the group including representing a national food distribution company in government investigations regarding alleged false claims and related violations. Also very accomplished at handling congressional hearings and public corruption matters – particularly out of its Washington DC office – the team represents a major defense contractor in a Senate Armed Services Committee investigation into the use of private subcontractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The firm has an overarching strength across a range of highly regulated industries including healthcare/pharma where head of the firm’s food, drug and medical device compliance and enforcement practice Raymond Bonner provides ‘practical and balanced advice’ including representing employees of the Philippine office of a global pharmaceutical company against FCPA allegations. Clients include AT&T, Aventis, Bayer, Freddie Mac, Kraft, StatoilHydro and Tyson Foods.

Based out of its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, the ‘terrific’ Munger, Tolles & Olson has an excellent reputation across a diverse suite of mandates, from stock options backdating and securities fraud to campaign finance violations. With 13-former Justice Department lawyers among its ranks, the firm is well-placed to represent clients before the enforcement agencies and is able to leverage its ‘tremendous trial capability’. While it lacks a New York presence and is to some extent less visible in some of the major big-ticket mandates arising out of the financial crisis, the firm is by no means limited to work originating out of the West Coast. This manifests itself particularly starkly when conducting internal investigations on behalf of major multinational corporates in FCPA-related matters. Formerly a federal prosecutor, the ‘fantastic’ Jerome Roth has a superb reputation for representing both corporates and individuals in high-profile SEC enforcement actions or internal investigations, including recently acting for the former CFO of Apple in a stock-options backdating investigation. Another marquee name is Brad Brian, who can draw on a vast reservoir of expertise representing clients in high-profile trials.

Primarily based out of New York and Washington DC, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s 10-partner team provides an ‘excellent’ service to a host of corporates and financial institutions, many of which are institutional clients of the firm. Leveraging off the firm’s ‘pre-eminent reputation for corporate governance’, the group’s sweet-spot is representing corporates, audit committees or boards of directors in internal investigations – whether at the behest of the government or on their own initiative. Indeed much of the firm’s prowess lies in its ability to prevent entities from falling foul of the regulators through establishing robust corporate governance procedures. Able to tap into a highly accomplished securities litigation group, the practice is also able to seamlessly work on mandates involving multiple actions including agency investigations and the accompanying private actions that regularly come off the back of this. A former federal prosecutor, Jonathan Polkes co-heads the firm’s securities litigation practice, although he also has a foot in the white-collar group. Instructed by many high-profile clients caught up in the financial crisis, for example, Polkes is overseeing a vast docket of criminal and regulatory investigations and civil litigation arising from the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Former DOJ fraud chief Washington DC-based Steven Tyrrell co-heads the team along with Boston-based Thomas Frongillo that includes a number of ‘solid and good practitioners’.

‘The quintessential Washington DC practice in terms of breadth across the agencies’, WilmerHale provides ‘technically very good’ advice to corporates engaged in high-stakes regulatory investigations. Able to call upon the expertise of a number of former SEC lawyers, the firm is best-known for its ‘premier SEC practice’, and provides ‘strategic vision’ to the full litany of players in the market including issuers, private companies, accounting firms, hedge funds, as well as their managers, officers and directors. As well as the synergies heralded by its top-ranking SEC enforcement practice, the firm also has standalone capability in FCPA, criminal antitrust and healthcare fraud matters. Indeed, as part of Boston-based Robert Keefe’s broad ranging white-collar practice, he recently handled work on behalf of a client accused of Anti-Kickback violations and has also represented pharmaceutical and medical device companies in federal criminal investigations and parallel civil investigations about the companies’ marketing practices involving certain drugs or medical devices. Chair of the firm’s litigation group, Howard Shapiro has trial experience across a raft of white-collar matters and has also conducted numerous internal investigations for major banking and corporate clients in the US, UK and Asia. ‘At the top of his profession’, Paul Engelmayer heads the firm’s New York office and is highly regarded for his work on behalf of financial institutions in complex commercial disputes. Chair of the securities department, the ‘outstanding’ William McLucas is regularly sought out by corporates facing high-level crises and handles internal investigations as well as SEC actions.

‘Excellent in all categories’, Winston & Strawn LLP provides ‘superb advice’ to both corporates and individuals faced with internal investigations, grand jury and criminal litigation cases across a range of matters including FCPA violations, securities and health care fraud, and public corruption. While it does not have a formal white-collar group, a good many of its 400-strong litigation team have considerable experience of trying white-collar cases, with 16 also formerly holding high-ranking positions within the US attorney’s office. Indeed, it is this marriage of credibility before the regulators and trial strength that sets the team apart from many of its peers in the market. Best-known of these is undoubtedly the ‘fantastic’ trial lawyer Dan Webb. Having made his name in the white-collar arena, Webb continues to handle a significant number of high-profile mandates, as demonstrated by his continued representation of an Illinois power broker, William Cellini, charged with conspiracy, honest services fraud and extortion. ‘An excellent strategist and very good to work with on a personal level’, litigation chair Thomas Frederick has been particularly active recently handling grand jury investigations and regulatory matters. The firm’s capability in the white-collar arena was boosted by the recent hiring of high-ranking justice official Elizabeth Papez and former Mayer Brown partner Caryn Jacobs, who has considerable expertise on securities fraud matters.

With lawyers based in New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles, Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s approximately 40-strong team ‘performs at a high level’ across a raft of hot-button white-collar issues including FCPA abuses, environmental crimes, securities fraud, public corruption and healthcare fraud. Recognized as one of the nation’s ‘premier litigation firms’, this willingness to try cases was recently sharply brought into focus by successfully achieving the acquittal of WR Grace and several of its executives in what was the nation’s largest environmental case. In a dispute that looks set to become the new holder of the dubious title of largest environmental case, the firm is performing several roles for BP in relation to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, including as trial firm in the Marine Board of Investigation trial/hearings in New Orleans and as co-counsel with WilmerHale on the government investigations. The ‘very knowledgeable, smart well-prepared and responsive’ Andrew Genser is heavily involved in the work for BP and is one of a number of former prosecutors within the ‘experienced and strong team’ which also includes Henry DePippo, Mark Filip and Michael Garcia.

Mayer Brown provides an ‘excellent client service’ to corporates and executives across a broad range of criminal defense issues in a compliance, investigation and litigation setting. Although the firm recently lost a number of high-profile partners including David Krakoff and James Parkinson to BuckleySandler LLP, it still has significant expertise, and with 14-former US attorneys among its 20-partner team has significant credibility before the regulators. Recent highlights include representing Danny Alvirez, as one of the defendants in a “FCPA sting case”. In what is the largest ever foreign bribery prosecution, the government took the unusual step of using wiretaps and a confidential informant to bring corruption charges against 22 dealers in the defense and law enforcement products industry. As part of her broad-ranging practice, co-head Lynn Neils has extensive FCPA expertise, while the recent hiring of Shannon Klinger, formerly in-house at Solvay Pharmaceuticals, gives the group additional strength within the increasingly heavily scrutinized healthcare industry.

Numbering over 25-partners within the group, McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s white-collar and securities defense group is one of the largest in the country and provides ‘classy and empathetic advice’ to clients engaged in regulatory investigations, internal investigations, criminal and civil litigation. Praised for its ‘technically proficient and responsive advice’, the firm benefits from a ‘breadth of experience across other relevant areas’ including tax, healthcare and antitrust. The team ‘offers an array of experienced and well-respected trial lawyers who are expert on litigating and resolving complex disputes’ and includes first-chair trial partners in every one of the firm’s national offices. The Washington DC office in particular is regularly engaged to handle high-profile and sensitive matters involving political figures. The team recently successfully overturned the federal bribery convictions of Paul Minor, a Mississippi trial attorney charged with bribery and racketeering. Abbe Lowell was integral to the aforementioned matter and regularly handles matters with a political dimension. Also ‘highly competent in the tax arena’, led by ‘first-tier litigator’ Douglas Whitney, the team obtained the dismissal of numerous lawsuits brought against law firm Bryan Cave relating to its provision of tax advice concerning certain pension plan strategies implemented by its clients. Jeffrey Stone ‘impeccable judgment and expertise, both in the courtroom and boardroom’; Hoyt Sze ‘advice and work product of the highest calibre beyond his years’; Michael Kendall ‘very knowledgeable and responsive’; Russell Hayman ‘a fine, fine lawyer’; and H. David Rosenbloom ‘very knowledgeable’ are all highly regarded. Clients include Amgen, Care Investment Trust, FirstGroup America, ITOCHU International, Madison Square Garden and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center.

Jointly headed by Eric Sitarchuk and John Hermann out of Philadelphia and San Francisco respectively, Morgan Lewis’ bi-coastal 24-partner team provides practical trial experience across the waterfront of core white-collar issues including FCPA violations and whistleblower litigation. Praised for its ‘tremendous credibility before the regulators’, a high proportion of the team are former high-ranking prosecutors and afford the firm a unique perspective in the way the government run the cases. In keeping with the Obama administration’s heightened scrutiny within the healthcare area, the team has picked up a raft of mandates from the spectrum of clients in the field. Recent work in this area has included representing a number of pharmaceutical companies in investigations and litigation into their marketing practices, including AstraZeneca in litigation alleging that it had improperly promoted the drug Seroquel for “off-label” purposes and misrepresented the drug’s safety and efficacy. New York-based Leslie Caldwell’s broad-ranging practice has seen her involved in a raft of FCPA inquiries, including successfully concluding one such investigation for a company involving payments in China. While corporate mandates account for the vast majority of the firm’s workload, it does intermittently pick up work for high-ranking individuals as demonstrated by its recent work on behalf of a former Bear Stearns executive at a hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. While the group prides itself on the all-embracing expertise of its practitioners, certain partners have unique specialisms, including former chief of the IRS criminal investigation division Mark Matthews, who excels at handling criminal tax defense matters.

Driven out of its New York and California offices, Morrison & Foerster LLP’s team provides an ‘exceptional service’ to corporates and individuals across the waterfront of white-collar offences including FCPA violations, insider-trading offences, Ponzi schemes and a myriad of other matters arising out of the financial crisis. Subsumed within the its wider securities litigation, enforcement and white-criminal defense group, the firm is well-equipped to handle work on behalf of clients on numerous simultaneous fronts including regulatory investigations, grand jury trials and related civil litigation. With a number of former regulators amongst its ranks, the team ‘has an excellent understanding of the securities business as well as the related commercial nuances’, and recently represented six outside directors of a major multinational data company faced with an SEC investigation into various allegations relating to inter-alia, breach of fiduciary duties and securities fraud. Benefiting from a deep international footprint, the firm has developed an impressive reputation at handling cross-border mandates including for work on FCPA matters, where the ‘superb’ Carl Loewenson is co-head of the firm’s task force. Adam Hoffinger ‘has real presence in meetings, is tactically astute and is highly regarded by his peers in other firms and respected by prosecutors’, while Lawrence Gerschwer has ‘good business sense and relationships’ and is regularly involved on behalf of clients in regulatory investigations and enforcement actions.

‘Extremely responsive, pragmatic and proactive’, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s West-Coast-based 18-partner team is a ‘go-to-destination’ for high-stakes investigations or litigation across the gamut of matters including FCPA violations, antitrust offences and public corruption. Benefiting from 12-former assistant US attorneys amongst its ranks, as well as several former prosecutors and SEC enforcement attorneys, the team ‘has excellent credibility and is well-regarded by the regulators’. ‘Extremely knowledgeable and with deep experience in securities litigation’, it is representing David Sambol, former president of Countrywide Financial, in investigations and litigation alleging various charges relating to the collapse of the mortgage lender. Lead lawyer in the aforementioned matter, Walter Brown has a reputation as a ‘superb trial lawyer’ and is ‘equally adept at persuading prosecutors to decline cases as he is at winning cases at trial’. ‘A brilliant attorney who works hard to achieve his clients’ objectives’, Washington DC-based Preston Burton is ‘well-respected by the federal bench in Washington’ and is currently representing an executive in a DOJ criminal investigation of a lethal coal mine explosion in West Virginia. Other notable practitioners include Pamela Davis ‘she has impeccable judgment’, and Mark Beck and Anthony DeCorso, who are both ‘highly respected and credible within the Los Angeles legal community’.

Headed by the ‘very knowledgeable and well-respected’ Mike Barta and Samuel Cooper, Baker Botts L.L.P.’s 14-partner team provides regulatory and compliance strength, and also benefits from lawyers with a deep well of trial experience should the matter become litigious. One such lawyer is the ‘acclaimed’ Bill Jeffress, who as well as a recent success at trial on behalf of former Delphi CEO JT Battenberg accused of financial fraud, is also currently representing Joe Price, former CFO of Bank of America, in a lawsuit alleging that Price and the company failed to disclose material information in connection with Bank of America’s merger with Merrill Lynch. The firm also continues to be a leader in the increasingly important field of multi-sovereign and cross-border investigations. In addition to its ongoing work for Halliburton in its FCPA investigation, it is also currently representing a key individual in the multi-sovereign Magyar Telekom investigation.

Led by Raymond Banoun, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP’s Washington DC-based 15-partner business fraud group provides ‘outstanding’ advice to clients across a range of issues including money laundering, FCPA violations and securities fraud. While the firm is perhaps less trial-ready than some of its peers in the ranking, it excels at preventative measures through corporate compliance programmes, as well as handling internal investigations and audits of domestic and foreign businesses. Although the firm’s focus is on the representation of corporates, it does pick up work for individuals accused of breaching criminal laws. Led by Jim Robinson (note: since publication, Mr Robinson has sadly passed away) and Jeannine D’Amico, the team successfully represented assistant US attorney Jonathan Tukel in an effort to maintain as privileged e-mails he sent to his attorney using government computers. Former deputy Assistant Attorney General for the criminal division of the DOJ, Michael Horowitz ‘provides wise counsel’ to corporates, individuals and audit committees across a myriad white-collar issues including securities fraud, FCPA matters and cartel behaviour.

Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s New York-based nine-partner team is gaining increased prominence in the market since its inception over ten years ago. Instructed by a broad swathe of clients including financial institutions, major corporates, individuals and quasi-governmental institutions, the team particularly excels at high-stakes matters where there is an existential threat to the defendant and on matters at the intersection with public policy concerns. Bart Friedman spearheads the firm’s work in this area and has a raft of experience advising clients in matters affecting corporate policy and strategy. As well as his corporate governance and advisory strength, Friedman is also regularly sought out by clients who are the subject of criminal investigations. David Kelley is also a pivotal member of the team, and along with David Januszewski, is representing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in connection with the investigation by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program into several matters relating to its acquisition of an interest in AIG.

Although it has been depleted by a number of high-profile departures in recent years, Clifford Chance still has a ‘strong group’ based out of Washington DC that is part of a wider global team which excels in cross-border mandates. Able to tap into the resources provided by this legal leviathan and regularly fed a significant pipeline of work from its corporate and finance groups, the practice is regularly engaged by banks and corporates in relation to alleged breaches of securities laws, mis-selling, market abuse and money laundering, amongst other financial crimes. Juan Morillo and Steven Cottreau have a ‘great understanding of the different legal systems and are great negotiators’.

Cooley LLP’s ‘very strong’ 20-partner team provides expertise across the spectrum of white-collar issues from securities and bank fraud to stock-options backdating. Anchored by ten-former federal prosecutors, the group benefits from tremendous credibility before the regulators and gains further leverage as a result if its willingness to try cases. This most readily manifests itself in relation to the representation of individuals and was recently starkly brought into focus by the group’s complete victory for former Marsh & McLennan executive Edward McNenney. Following successfully achieving acquittals on 21 out of 22 counts after a ten-month bench trial, the New York Attorney General dismissed the one remaining indictment against him relating to alleged violations of state antitrust laws. The ‘excellent’ William Schwartz heads a team that ‘regularly gets involved in some pretty big cases’ and also includes recommended partners Scott Devereaux, Donald Stern and Michael Attanasio.

Based out of New York, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s white-collar group provides ‘excellent, responsive and business-orientated advice’ across the waterfront of issues, from securities fraud matters to criminal antitrust violations. A relative newcomer to the market, the firm has successfully been able to leverage off its impressive roster of institutional clients and has picked up a number of high-profile engagements, particularly in the financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. Benefiting from an impressive international network that includes offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Adam Siegel heads the firm’s global investigations group which is particularly active in relation to FCPA abuses and criminal antitrust matters. The team is regularly part of a multi-jurisdiction effort, as highlighted by its involvement with the London office on behalf of a major UK accounting firm in parallel US and UK regulatory investigations regarding its audit work for a leading investment bank. Other highlights included advising a domestic financial institution in regulatory investigations regarding the allegedly widespread use of improper documentation in processing home foreclosures. Aaron Marcu, Benito Romano ‘solid US perspective’ and Timothy Coleman are all well regarded.

White-collar criminal defense work has been a staple part of 65-lawyer San Francisco-based litigation boutique Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. since its formation over thirty years ago. Peopled with a preponderance of ‘outstanding trial lawyers’ including the ‘legendary’ John Keker, the team excels at representing high-level company executives in criminal trials across the waterfront of offences including securities fraud and insider trading. Stuart Gasner is particularly accomplished at handling stock option backdating cases and recently successfully defended Michael Shanahan, a former executive of St Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems, in a case brought against him by the SEC. Formerly an assistant US attorney, the ‘terrific’ Elliot Peters has an excellent reputation and has tried more than 40 criminal and civil cases and recently successfully defended an investment banker accused of obstructing justice

King & Spalding LLP’s ‘excellent’ 12-partner team has over 20 years’ experience at handling work for corporations and individuals facing the full range of scrutiny including complex federal and state criminal investigations, internal investigations and Congressional investigations, as well as in related civil and regulatory proceedings. Splitting his time between the firm’s Washington DC and Atlanta offices, team head Chris Wray is ‘one of the best in the business’ and provides a ‘highly credible’ service to corporates and individuals as a result of his former tenure as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ’s criminal division. Praised for his ‘excellent judgment, vast experience and responsiveness’, Wray is regularly at the forefront of many of the team’s highest-profile mandates including its recently concluded representation of Credit Suisse in parallel criminal and regulatory investigations into alleged OFAC breaches. The team also has an excellent pedigree in relation to healthcare fraud, as was recently underscored by its successful representation of Allergan in criminal and civil actions regarding the company’s sales and marketing of Botox. The ‘knowledgeable, smart and experienced’ Sedwick Sollers has a broad-ranging practice that encompasses healthcare fraud and FCPA matters, while the ‘brilliant and creative’ Mark Jensen has an excellent track record for handling healthcare fraud matters.

New York-based 23-lawyer litigation boutique Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP provides an ‘excellent’ service to clients across the waterfront of white-collar offences particularly within the financial services industry. Although the firm lacks the critical mass of many of the firms in the ranking and the ability to leverage off a pre-existing corporate client base, its partner-driven approach is perfectly suited to its particular area of expertise – the representation of individuals. The ‘excellent’ Helen Gredd displays ‘good judgment and a lot of tenacity’ and is a key member of a team that includes six partners that are former prosecutors including the ‘superb’ John Wing.

Spearheaded out of California by David Schindler and Steven Bauer, Latham & Watkins LLP has a ‘deep bench of highly qualified and responsive attorneys who provide an excellent client service’ across a range of white-collar matters including securities fraud, FCPA violations and improper political contributions. Able to leverage off the firm’s far reaching international network, the team is well suited to the increased internationalization of work in this area and is regularly involved in cross-border mandates, particularly in relation to FCPA and criminal antirust issues. ‘Very knowledgeable and tactically astute’ Manny Abascal has extensive trial experience, as well as expertise at handling complex internal and government investigations, while the ‘pragmatic’ Patrick Gibbs has a prominent reputation for handling securities litigation.

Based in Washington DC, Miller & Chevalier Chartered combines the focused experience of a boutique with the strength and experience of a full-service firm and provides an ‘excellent service’ to both corporate and individuals. The firm is particularly strong at handling matters sitting at the intersection of white-collar and the FCPA and over the past 35 years has handled matters involving over 35 different countries across five continents. ‘At the cutting-edge of criminal law enforcement’, the team is currently representing an individual targeted in a DOJ grand jury investigation with regards to alleged FCPA violations in the armaments industry. The matter is particularly noteworthy as it was the first time the DOJ used an undercover operative in an FCPA investigation. The firm also benefits from a number of lawyers who are as ‘good at trying cases as anyone in the market’, including the ‘superb’ Mark Rochon, who to date has been lead counsel in more than 160 jury trials. Barry Pollack is also well regarded for his trial skills and as a former certified public accountant is particularly focused on complex financial litigation often involving accounting fraud.

Spread across its national platform, Proskauer Rose LLP’s 19-partner corporate defense and investigations team’s expertise runs the gamut from securities and tax fraud to FCPA and False Claims Act matters. Very much a trial-ready practice, the group has benefitted from an increased willingness for prosecutors to indict individuals in areas such as FCPA and antitrust. Department head Robert Cleary has an excellent reputation in the market as a trial lawyer par-excellence, a fact underscored by successfully securing acquittals in 36 out the 37 counts brought against William Gilman, a former managing director of Marsh, regarding allegations of bid-rigging, price-fixing, customer allocation, larceny, and fraud. In collaboration with Dietrich Snell, Cleary is also currently representing Erin Callan, the former CFO of Lehman Brothers, in a series of DOJ, SEC and other investigations by regulatory and enforcement authorities focused on the demise of Lehman Brothers, as well as in numerous private civil actions arising from its collapse.

Specialist litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is ‘exceptional in its ability to defend and protect’ corporates and individuals in every stage of the criminal process – investigation, post-indictment, trial and appeal. Peopled by a raft of former federal prosecutors on both the East and West Coast, the firm is ‘very familiar with the social aspects of the area including those factors internally with the government’. This credibility before the regulators coupled with the firm’s trial ethos and the ability to draw upon substantive experts in the field, ensures that clients are well served across the white-collar landscape including securities fraud, healthcare fraud and criminal antitrust. Led by the ‘truly exceptional’ John Potter and ‘great trial lawyer and strategist’ Diane Doolittle, the ‘innovative and aggressive’ team successfully persuaded the DOJ to drop narcotics charges against Brodcom co-founder and former CEO Henry Nicholas before trial, arguing that governmental misconduct would unduly influence the fairness of a trial. Co-chair of the white-collar and corporate investigations group James Asperger is a ‘knowledgeable, professional and sharp litigator’, and as part of his broad-ranging practice is representing several clients in numerous issues arising from the current financial crisis including issues relating to mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. Asperger is also an expert in international business crimes issues and is currently serving as a DOJ-appointed monitor of Schnitzer Steel in examining its worldwide anti-corruption policies.

Shearman & Sterling LLP’s ‘outstanding’ six-partner New York-based white-collar group represents clients across the full range of matters in defense and enforcement capacities. Particularly strong within the financial services industry, the team provides a truly multidisciplinary approach to matters, regularly drawing on the substantive expertise of lawyers within the capital markets, corporate and banking groups. Led by Adam Hakki, the practice is representing the management of the Galleon hedge fund in relation to the civil and criminal investigations being undertaken regarding alleged insider trading activity. The firm is also representing another hedge fund in a “pay-to-play” investigation being conducted by the New York State Attorney General. Able to leverage off its significant international network, FCPA work is another core area of strength and as well as representing domestic and foreign corporates from numerous industries in investigations, the firm was recently appointed by the government to act as Independent Monitor to oversee post-settlement compliance in the high-profile investigation involving Baker Hughes. Stephen Fishbein was involved in the aforementioned matter and is recommended, as is San Francisco-based Patrick Robbins, who displays ‘intelligence, common sense, integrity, diligence and wisdom’.