The Legal 500

United States: Antitrust

Cartel

Cartel - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP features prominently in some of the largest and most high-profile US and global cartel investigations; in a recent highlight, it acted for Panasonic in the DOJ’s investigation into the capacitors market. Other recent mandates for the firm have involved areas such as optical disk drives, CRTs and rechargeable batteries. Jeffrey Kessler chairs the global antitrust practice. Paul Victor, Seth Farber, Eva Cole and of counsel James Lerner are other notable practitioners in the team. All named attorneys are based in New York. Heather Kafele joined from Shearman & Sterling LLP.

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Civil litigation/class actions

Civil litigation/class actions - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Equally well regarded in plaintiff and defendant representations, Winston & Strawn LLP’s team has a forte in handling some of the most complex class actions and private litigation. Its varied workload spans cases involving price-fixing conspiracies and abuses of monopolies, as well as patent disputes and unfair trade practice issues. Robert Sperling (who splits his time between Chicago and New York), Elizabeth Papez (who splits her time between Washington DC and New York), James Herbison (Chicago) and Susannah Torpey (New York) are defending Goldman Sachs in an MDL connected with an alleged conspiracy by financial institutions to manipulate the market for US Treasury securities. Another cornerstone of the practice is merger litigation; in a notable healthcare industry matter, Chicago-based Dan Webb and David Dahlquist acted for NorthShore University HealthSystem in litigation brought by the FTC and the State of Illinois in order to block the client’s proposed merger with Advocate Health Care. Jeffrey Kessler chairs the firm’s global antitrust practice from New York.

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United States: Dispute resolution

Appellate: Supreme Court (federal and state)

Appellate: Supreme Court (federal and state) - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Appellate: courts of appeals - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Chicago-based Linda Coberly’s expertise in securities fraud class actions and professional liability defense, combined with Steffen Johnson’s antitrust, constitutional and IP practice, is what distinguishes Winston & Strawn LLP’s ‘diligent and savvy’ group. Coberly represented the petitioner in Arias v Lynch and secured a favorable judgment at the Seventh Circuit, obtaining the court’s clarification on the interpretation of the immigration law term ‘crime involving moral turpitude’. Johnson is acting for Cox Communications in a case concerning 21 patents for VoIP technology. Elizabeth Papez argued for the respondent in United States, ex rel Anthony Oliver v Philip Morris USA; the DC Circuit FCA appeal arose from a whistleblower’s accusation of knowing and fraudulent over-billing of sales to the US military. Clients also included Apotex, Morgan Stanley and Panasonic. Geoffrey Eaton is recommended.

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Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense

Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s ‘exceptional’ practice is chaired by San Francisco’s Robb Adkins and New York’s Seth Farber. Adkins is among those defending Kim Dotcom and Megaupload at appellate level in the largest criminal copyright case in history, while Farber continues to represent Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane in connection with allegations of unlawful leaking of information. The Chicago-based Dan Webb is acting for the city of Ferguson, Missouri in the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s investigation into police misconduct. ‘Smart, experienced and pragmatic’ Chicago-based lawyer Daniel Rubinstein is, like Webb, acting for BP executives in connection with civil, criminal and regulatory matters following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Other clients include the City of Chicago, AIG and Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian businessman accused of FCPA violations.

Leading lawyers

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General commercial disputes

General commercial disputes - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP has an impressive trial record and demonstrates strong capabilities across a diverse range of commercial disputes. In a jury trial in Lake County, Illinois, Chicago-based Stephen D’Amore secured a $93.8m verdict in favor of client AbbVie in a breach of contract dispute with MedImmune. Class action expert Amanda Groves - who splits her time between Charlotte and San Francisco - is representing Diamond Foods in a consumer class action concerning the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in certain products. Key figures in the New York office include Harvey Kurzweil and Kelly Librera.

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International arbitration

International arbitration - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

The four-partner US team at Winston & Strawn LLP is mainly based in the Washington DC office. Recent highlights include representing telecoms mogul Michael Dagher on an investment arbitration filed before ICSID against Sudan, with claims arising under the Jordan-Sudan and Lebanon-Sudan BITs. This is the first-ever ICSID arbitration against Sudan. It is also acting for Ecuador on matters including a multibillion-dollar arbitration instituted by Chevron and Texaco, and on related investor-state arbitration proceedings under the US-Ecuador BIT. Based across the London and Chicago offices, Ricardo Ugarte heads the team. Eric Bloom, Tomás Leonard and Nicole Silver are key contacts in Washington DC.

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Leading trial lawyers

Dan Webb - Winston & Strawn LLP Dan Webb has served as first chair in over 100 trials, advising clients in the areas of commercial litigation and white-collar crime. Webb was part of the chief trial defense team in Federal Trade Commission v Advocate Health Care Network, arising from allegations that the proposed merger of NorthShore University with Advocate Health Care would unlawfully restrain competition in the acute care inpatient services in the Chicago metropolitan area. Webb, based in Chicago, also acted for Brunswick Corporation in a challenge to a $25m settlement in a post-trial fraud dispute with Brunswick’s trial opponents and their counsel.

Leading trial lawyers

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Product liability, mass tort and class action: consumer products (including tobacco)

Product liability, mass tort and class action: consumer products (including tobacco) - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s Chicago-based practice has a strong track record defending clients in the food and beverage, sports and pharmaceutical industries. In Los Angeles, David Aronoff continues to serve as national coordinating counsel to a sporting goods company in helmet concussion litigation, including a number of individual and class action claims. Co-head George Lombardi has been representing Philip Morris as lead trial counsel in a number of tobacco litigation cases. Co-head Stephen D’Amore and Dan Webb are also noted. Neil Murphy is now in-house counsel at Arthur J Gallagher.

Leading lawyers

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Securities litigation: defense

Securities litigation: defense - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

‘Superb, smart, incredibly articulate’ group chair James Smith is ‘an excellent lawyer with great judgment and leads a very strong litigation team’ at Winston & Strawn LLP. New York-based Smith and Richard Reinthaler and Los Angeles-based John Schreiber (who is ‘an excellent strategic partner who provides exceptional strategy’) are representing Omnicare in a review of the Sixth Circuit decision regarding statements of personal opinion and the grounds for liability in securities class actions. Smith and Schreiber are also leading the defense of RCS Capital in a 10b-5 stock-drop case. Clients also praise New York’s Stephen Sheinfeld (a ‘very smart, knowledgeable and tough negotiator and trial attorney who is dedicated to his clients’), newly promoted Ian Eisner, Chicago-based Caryn Jacobs and Robert Sperling, and Casey Berger in Houston.

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United States: Finance

Capital markets: debt offerings

Capital markets: debt offerings - advice to underwriters - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

In 2016, Winston & Strawn LLP strengthened its capital markets group with four lateral hires in New York: Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger and Elliott Smith all joined from McDermott Will & Emery LLP (where Rubinstein led the capital markets practice), while Keith Andruschak arrived from Mayer Brown. Manager-side mandates comprise the bulk of instructions, and the firm routinely acts on complex, high-value deals across a broad range of industries. In Chicago, Cab Morris recently advised the joint book-running managers on several deals, including Illinois Tool Works’ $1bn offering of notes, Newell Rubbermaid’s $8bn offering of notes and Exelon’s $1.8bn offering of notes. Matthew Bergmann and Christopher Zochowski jointly lead the M&A and securities practice from Chicago and Washington DC respectively.

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Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings

Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings - advice to underwriters - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

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Commercial lending

Commercial lending: advice to lenders - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP handles a broad range of lender-based work and has a strong track record in mid and large cap leveraged and asset-backed loans. The 40-partner team has a strong national presence, with partners spread across the New York, Chicago, Charlotte, San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, giving it the ability to handle major syndicated loans. The firm also acts for non-banking clients such as Ares Capital Management and Twin Brook Capital Partners. Co-chairs William Brewer, Mats Carlston, Patrick Hardiman and Ronald Jacobson are all very active in the market. On the West Coast, Warren Loui handles a range of financings for film industry clients.

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Financial services regulation

Financial services regulation - ranked: tier 7

Winston & Strawn LLP

The bank regulatory practice is led out of Chicago by the ‘experienced’ Christine Edwards, Winston & Strawn LLP’s team provides ‘robust advice’ to a diverse array of financial services clients, including banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds and insurance companies. Edwards continues to represent the Financial Services Roundtable in a range of regulatory matters, including recently drafting its comment letter to financial agencies in response to proposed rules on incentive compensation changes. New York-based Glen Barrentine chairs the firm’s broker-dealer regulatory practice; he recently provided complex regulatory advice relating to private equity firm GTCR on its acquisition of mortgage technology company Optimal Blue.

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Structured finance

Structured finance - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s structured finance group has been involved in a range of matters including CLOs, marketplace lending and esoteric asset securitization. The team has a particular focus on property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing and securitization, and Los Angeles-based Daniel Passage acted for Deutsche Bank Securities during the sale of preferred shares of HERO Funding II 2016-3B relating to HERO 2016-3 securitization of PACE bonds. The ‘extremely efficient, creative and bright’ Jeffrey Stern advised Orchard Platform on the structuring and documentation of the first fully electronic loan trading platform for the purchase and sale of pools of marketplace loans. Additionally, Peter Morgan acted for Credit Suisse Securities, Guggenheim Securities and Wells Fargo Securities as underwriters during a $342.5m issuance of equipment contract backed notes for one of the largest small ticket equipment leasing companies in the US. Other notable clients include THL Credit, Prosper Funding, Neuberger Berman and OppenheimerFunds. David Galainena jointly heads the department from the firm’s Chicago office, which also houses CLO expert Michael Mullins.

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United States: Industry focus

Energy litigation: conventional power

Energy litigation: conventional power - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP provides ‘high-quality and practical advice’ and frequently represents clients from the electric and nuclear power sectors in contentious regulatory matters. The ‘very approachable and knowledgeable’ Tyson Smith acted for ConverDyn in challenging a DOE program that transfers uranium from government stockpiles into commercial markets. Washington DC partners Raymond Wuslich and Gordon Coffee continue to represent FirstEnergy in litigation arising from California’s energy crisis of 2000-01. Joseph Karp heads the energy, project development and project finance practice group from San Francisco. Lisa Vaughn left to work in-house.

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Energy litigation: oil and gas

Energy litigation: oil and gas - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s team combines litigation and regulatory experience, giving it the scope to handle a wide range of energy disputes, including rate and cost allocation litigation, market manipulation and unfair competition cases. Washington DC partners Elias Farrah and Raymond Wuslich served as lead hearing counsel to New York transmission owners before FERC with regards to ITC Transmission’s and Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) proposed cost allocations of phase angle regulators (PARs) - built to safeguard the transmission grid in Michigan - to customers in New York. The case resulted in more than $16m of refunds to New York consumers. Wuslich and Gordon Coffee continue to represent FirstEnergy in litigation over California’s energy crisis during 2000-01 that spawned dozens of FERC proceedings and court appeals.

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Energy regulatory: conventional power

Energy regulatory: conventional power - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Commended for its wide-ranging expertise, Winston & Strawn LLP ‘provides practical advice’ and handles a range of nuclear, combined heat and power, hydroelectric generation, electricity transmission and storage matters. Its scope spans from NRC and FERC licensing, FERC rate and cost allocation issues, to market manipulation claims, power sale negotiations and proceedings before regional transmission organizations. ‘Very responsive’ FERC hydroelectric expert John Whittaker successfully represented Duke Energy in obtaining a FERC license for its Yadkin-Pee Dee hydroelectric project. David Repka and the ‘very approachable and knowledgeable’ Tyson Smith represented Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in its pursuit of a 20-year extension of its NRC operating license for the Diablo Canyon plant in California and successfully completed the contested NRC hearing process. The ‘very sharp and diplomatic’ Joseph Karp chairs the energy, project development and project finance team and is based in San Francisco. Raymond Wuslich is also recommended. Nuclear energy expert Lisa Vaughn left the team to work in-house. Since publication, Michael Yuffee has joined in Washington DC from Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP.

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Energy transactions: conventional power

Energy transactions: conventional power - ranked: tier 5

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP is particularly active in project acquisitions and project finance. The New York-based Jonathan Birenbaum advised Argo Infrastructure Partners on its purchase and $215m financing of a 49.9% stake in the 200MW Black Hills power plant in Colorado. He also acted for Hawaiian Electric in its $85m acquisition of the 60MW Hamakua power plant. The San Francisco-based Joseph Karp leads the team.

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Energy transactions: oil and gas

Energy transactions: oil and gas - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP handles asset acquisitions and disposals, corporate M&A, project finance and restructuring. Chris Ferazzi in Houston advised Continuum Energy on the $78m sale of its retail natural gas business to CenterPoint Energy Services, and New York-based Jonathan Birenbaum acted for Babson Capital Management in its purchase of $35m-worth of notes issued by Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline. Houston-based Craig Vogelsang leads the oil and gas group. Since publication, Douglas Atnipp has joined in Houston from Greenberg Traurig LLP.

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Energy: renewable/alternative

Energy: renewable/alternative - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

The ‘fast, top-notch’ team at Winston & Strawn LLP is ‘good value for money’. While the New York office is strong in M&A and project finance, the Chicago office is noted for its tax equity capabilities, and the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices are especially strong in development and regulatory matters. Clients include Invenergy, Apex Clean Energy Holdings and EDF Renewable Energy. ‘Super-sharp, diplomatic’ practice head Joseph Karp in San Francisco has ‘decades of experience and a great sense of humour’. Los Angeles-based Laurae Rossi is also recommended.

Leading lawyers

Next generation lawyers

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Sport

Sport - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP has a particular niche in athlete representation, particularly in disputes. David Feher and Jeffrey Kessler are representing a number of current NCAA student athletes claiming that a ban on professionalism in college sports is a violation of antitrust law (Jenkins v NCAA). Away from the courtroom, the pair advised the National Basketball Players Association in its new collective bargaining agreement with the NBA; other union clients include the NFLPA, which it successfully represented in an arbitration against the league concerning the calculation of revenue for the purposes of the salary cap. In addition, the firm advises a number of sports agents and the North American Soccer League; the league alleges that US Soccer’s decision to grant it Division II rather than Division I status alongside MLS is a violation of antitrust law. David Greenspan is also a name of note in the New York-based practice.

Leading lawyers

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Transport: shipping

Transport: shipping - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Led out of Washington DC, Winston & Strawn LLP’s maritime and admiralty team displays ‘broad knowledge’ of the ‘complex regulatory landscape’ governing international shipping. Practice head Charlie Papavizas and Allen Black have ‘sound working relationships with the regulatory agencies’, and act for clients such as Liberty Maritime Corporation, which the team represents before congressional and other agencies to promote and protect government programs, such as US flag international trade. In 2016, the group has been particularly active in litigation and arbitration; Larry Kiern, Bryant Gardner and Gerald Morrissey successfully represented Maher Terminals before the Federal Maritime Commission and the US Court of Appeals in a dispute with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey regarding unlawful discrimination in violation of the Shipping Act. In addition to regulatory, governmental policy and contentious work, the team handles related environmental compliance, commercial contracts and vessel financing.

Leading lawyers

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United States: Intellectual property

Copyright

Copyright - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s ‘excellent’ team is especially recommended for representing service providers in high-profile disputes at the intersection of copyright and new technologies. Highlights included the representation, respectively, of internet service providers Cox Communications and Charter Communications in multiple copyright lawsuits brought by Sony, Warner Bros, Universal Music Group and numerous other leading record labels alleging that the firm’s clients are liable for potentially billions of dollars in damages for allegedly turning a blind eye towards acts of alleged copyright infringement by their broadband customers. The team is also representing Bill Graham Archives (formerly Wolfgang’s Vault) in several matters, including another large-scale copyright infringement lawsuit involving sound and video recordings. Other clients include PepsiCo and Yahoo! Michael Elkin and Thomas Lane in New York are recommended, along with Jennifer Golinveaux in San Francisco and Erin Ranahan in Los Angeles.

Leading lawyers

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Patent litigation: full coverage

Patent litigation: full coverage - ranked: tier 2

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP provides ‘strong, quality advice, great knowledge and a solid work product’, and is ‘well placed to handle specialized biotech matters’. A team led by Washington DC-based Thomas Jarvis recently acted for Ericsson in two parallel patent infringement cases at the ITC, which concerned an expired patent license agreement with Apple. Leading figure George Lombardi in Chicago handles matters related to telephone and computer technology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and recently secured a victory for Warner Chilcott allowing it to obtain FDA approval to market a generic version of Merck’s NuvaRing product. Michael Brody and David Enzminger co-chair the IP practice from Chicago and Los Angeles respectively.

Leading lawyers

Next-generation lawyers

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Patent litigation: international trade commission

Patent litigation: international trade commission - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s team is led by Thomas Jarvis, who is ‘well regarded within the ITC patent litigation community’. Jarvis ‘works well with clients’ and ‘has assembled a team of lawyers and experts that has a great track record’. It is representing Comcast in ITC patent litigation brought by Rovi alleging infringement of 14 patents relating to electronic programming guides and their related set-top boxes, and is assisting Ericsson with patent litigation at the ITC against Apple regarding wireless and smartphone license agreements. Steven Anzalone is singled out for his expertise in the electrical engineering and computer science space.

Leading lawyers

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Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)

Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters) - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

At Winston & Strawn LLP, John Keville, Sheryl Falk and John O’Neill secured a $24.5m jury verdict for Suncoast Post-Tension in a case against a former manager and engineer pertaining to trade secrets misappropriation, tortious interference, contractual breaches and unfair competition. Keville and O’Neill are representing Total Rod Concepts in a trade secret misappropriation dispute with Glasforms pertaining to the defendant allegedly disclosing trade secrets to the plaintiff’s competitor. Named attorneys are based in the firm’s Houston office.

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United States: Investment fund formation and management

Private equity funds

Private equity funds - ranked: tier 5

Winston & Strawn LLP

‘An up-and-coming player in the world of private equity’, is how sources describe the legacy practice of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, which moved to Winston & Strawn LLP following Chadbourne’s combination with Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. The team, noted for its ‘extensive industry knowledge and ability to advise on almost all issues clients face’, has particular strength in Latin America, with Scott Naidech (‘an excellent transactional lawyer’) advising Southern Cross Group Management on its fifth Latin America-focused turnaround buyout fund. Beth Kramer attracts praise for her regulatory expertise. Other clients include SCL Energía Activa and Bolivian Investment Management.

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United States: Labor and employment

Employee benefits and executive compensation (transactions)

Employee benefits and executive compensation (transactions) - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s compensation attorneys are based in New York and Chicago, and handle all benefits issues arising from transactions entered into by the firm’s corporate clients. Practice head Michael Falk provides ongoing advice on benefits and incentive compensation plans, while Scott Landau advised Verizon on its landmark acquisition of Yahoo! and on its takeover of Fleetmatics, Telogis and Sensity. Steve Flores was promoted to partner in September 2016. Since publication, leading lawyer David Rogers has joined the firm’s Washington DC office from McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

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Employee health and retirement plans

Employee health and retirement plans - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP acts as counsel on a variety of issues related to the ACA, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans compliance under ERISA, and fiduciary oversight. From Chicago, practice head Michael Falk provides day-to-day advice to clients such as Ventas, Lear, and Société Générale regarding their employee health and retirement plans, while new partner Steve Flores advised on compliance with the IRC and the fiduciary requirements of ERISA. Erik Lundgren departed for Jones Day and Erin Kartheiser became a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

Next generation lawyers

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Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense

Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP defends against Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and NLRB charges, as well as whistleblowing and hostile work environment claims, among other high-stakes matters. Washington DC-based William Miossi obtained affirmation of a summary judgment at the Ninth Circuit for Energy Northwest pertaining to a whistleblower retaliation claim brought by a former employee. Rex Sessions represents LVMH in a range of disputes, including hostile work environment, discrimination and breach of contract claims. Other clients include Abbott and CR Bard. Michael Roche is the practice head, Joan Tucker Fife, who is the managing partner in San Francisco, is a ‘walking encyclopedia’ for wage and hour class actions and Joseph Torres ‘is extremely knowledgeable’. Michael Mulhern, Daniel Fazio, Aviva Grumet-Morris and New York-based Stephen Sheinfeld are key players, as are Marcus Torrano and Laura Petroff in Los Angeles. John Dickman joined Ogletree Deakins and Julie Capell is now with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Attorneys are based in Chicago unless stated otherwise.

Next generation lawyers

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Labor-management relations

Labor-management relations - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP advises non-unionized companies on employee relations, maintaining a union-free workplace and preventing litigation. On the unionized side, the firm represents its clients before the NLRB, federal courts and in arbitration regarding a wide range of matters, including union withdrawal and organization. Washington DC-based William Miossi and Chicago’s Derek Barella defended Arlington Metals against an NLRB attempt to bring an injunction against the company relating to its decision to withdraw from having United Steelworkers as its bargaining representative for production employees. Caterpillar, Paccar and Addus HomeCare are also clients. Chicago-based Joseph Torres and Los Angeles’ Michael Chamberlin are also noted.

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United States: M&A/corporate and commercial

M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)

M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m) - ranked: tier 1

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s M&A team regularly draws upon the firm’s tax, antitrust, employment, IP, environmental and employee benefits practices as well as its corporate and finance expertise. In New York, the firm recently hired insurance specialist Keith Andruschak from Mayer Brown and Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger and Elliott Smith from McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Rubinstein has particular experience in transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies. The firm’s M&A practice is under new leadership in the form of Matthew Bergmann in Chicago and Washington DC-based Christopher Zochowski. Upper mid-market highlights included advising Global Eagle Entertainment on the $550m acquisition of Emerging Markets Communications; while in the lower mid-market space, the team acted for Continuum Energy in the $78m sale of its retail natural gas business, and advised General Cable Corporation on the $71m divestment of its automotive ignition wire business, located in the US and Mexico. Evidencing the team’s ability to act on large deals, it assisted TreeHouse Foods with its $2.7bn acquisition of ConAgra Foods’ private brands operations, and acted for Motorola Solutions in the $1.2bn acquisition of Airwave, a private operator of a public safety network. Key Chicago advisers include former corporate practice chair Steven Gavin, Oscar David, Brian Schafer and Robert Wall. Other notable names include Houston-based Richard Wynne, Robert Rawn in New York, James Junewicz, who divides time between Chicago and New York, and Eric Green in Washington DC. Following publication, a group comprising Kevin Smith, Allen Miller, Morton Grosz, Sey-Hyo Lee, Claude Serfilippi and Talbert Navia joined from the legacy Chadbourne & Parke LLP firm.

Leading lawyers

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Private equity buyouts

Private equity buyouts - ranked: tier 5

Winston & Strawn LLP

Praised by clients for its strength in middle-market transactions, Winston & Strawn LLP provides a ‘full suite of services’ and the ‘requisite depth to run multiple deals simultaneously’. The firm ‘puts top partners on deals and can manage middle-market deals more economically’ than some competitors. It ‘invests’ in client relationships, supporting projects in the early stages without ramping up costs. The firm continued to build out the core private equity team and key support practices, with hires such as securities specialist Joel Rubinstein from McDermott Will & Emery LLP and sponsor-side finance expert Lynn Tanner from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Key clients include The Jordan Company, Baird Capital Partners, GenNx360 Capital Partners, Water Street Healthcare Partners, Norwest Equity Partners and Arbor Investments. The core buyout team is spread across New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, with New York-based Bradley Vaiana and Dominick DeChiara and Los Angeles’ Eva Davis as the joint practice heads.

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United States: Media, technology and telecoms

Advertising and marketing

Advertising and marketing - ranked: tier 1

Winston & Strawn LLP

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP’s practice is co-led by Brian Anderson and Paul Garrity in San Francisco and New York respectively. Anderson recently advised Benefit Cosmetics on a global marketing campaign and assisted Kate Spade with all elements of its fashion promotional campaigns. Garrity, who is particularly prominent in contentious issues, represented MillerCoors in a false advertising consumer class action and represented Beastie Boys in a copyright infringement and false endorsement trial. Other clients include Fitbit and Pirelli. Other notable names include, in Century City, Craig Cardon, who is recommended for false advertising issues, and Brian Pass; and in New York, fashion expert Theodore Max. Benjamin Mulcahy and Gina Reif Ilardi joined Jenner & Block LLP. Since publication, Liisa Thomas has joined from Winston & Strawn LLP.

Chicago-based Brian Heidelberger leads Winston & Strawn LLP's department. Chicago-based Ronald Rothstein and Charlotte-based Amanda Groves are key attorneys in the advertising and marketing group. The group advises a range of advertising agencies and brands, including Taco Bell and American Airlines; Heidelberger recently acted for the latter in a sponsorship deal with Uber. In the contentious space, Groves is representing Beam Suntory in two false advertising claims relating to products labelled as ‘handmade’ and ‘never mass produced’, and Heidelberger is defending PepsiCo in a copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding its 2016 Super Bowl commercial. Los Angeles-based Erin Ranahan is defending WX Brands (formerly Winery Exchange) and Sonoma Wine Company in several putative class action lawsuits alleging that dangerous levels of arsenic have been found in the clients’ wine, and Rothstein is acting for The Winning Combination in a Proposition 65 case in which it is alleged that several of the client’s nutritional health products contained lead. In other highlights, the team is advising 180LA and Boost Mobile on the development of a new Facebook Live show, and handling a naming rights agreement with the Chicago White Sox’s stadium for Guaranteed Rate. Robert Newman focuses on IP mandates and Scott Glauberman leads the firm’s product liability group. Brian Fergemann left for an in-house position at McDonald’s. Since publication, former team head Liisa Thomas has moved to Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.

Leading lawyers

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Cyber law (including data protection and privacy)

Cyber law (including data protection and privacy) - ranked: tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP covers the full range of data security matters, from investigations, litigation and data breaches to consumer, employee, financial and healthcare privacy. The team recently assisted Volvo Financial Services with a global movement of personal data and also advised on updating the client’s internal policies and procedures. Other highlights included advising Fortune Brands Home & Security and its subsidiaries on their respective privacy obligations, revamping the companies’ privacy disclosures, and assisting with general privacy compliance matters, including the launch of a new mobile app. New clients include Bonial Enterprises North America and Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide. New York-based Kari Rollins, Chicago-based Robert Newman and Houston-based Sheryl Falk are key contacts. Since publication, former team head Liisa Thomas has moved to Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.

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United States: Tax

US taxes: contentious

US taxes: contentious - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s expertise spans federal, state and local tax matters. The team advises Elan Pharmaceuticals in various states in several cases of first impression involving a number of high-profile biotech industry issues, and acts for Schlumberger Technology in an income tax appeal before the Alaska Supreme Court. Chicago partners Lou Weber (chair of the tax practice) and Jim Lynch both have market-leading practices in tax controversy and planning. The ‘exceptional’ Charles Moll in San Francisco leads the SALT practice. Amit Kalra joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in April 2017.

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US taxes: non-contentious

US taxes: non-contentious - ranked: tier 4

Winston & Strawn LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP’s 30-lawyer tax practice handles all aspects of tax law and its lawyers have vast expertise acting for large public and private corporations. Practice head Louis Weber led the team advising Heritage Food Service on the $260m acquisition of Canadian corporation Choquette CKS and its subsidiary Gestion PSL. Other key figures include Charles Moll in San Francisco, who heads the state and local tax practice and is a ‘great strategist and courtroom lawyer’. Andrew Ratts in Chicago and New York-based partners Edmund Cohen and Mitch Moetell are also recommended. Amit Kalra joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in April 2017. Since publication, David Gillespie has joined in New York from Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP.

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