The Legal 500

Within International arbitration, tier 4

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.

Within Leading trial lawyers,

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.

Within Mass tort and class action: plaintiff representation – antitrust, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP is a first tier firm,

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.