The Legal 500

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