The Legal 500

Within Appellate, Williams & Connolly LLP is a third tier firm,

Williams & Connolly LLP is a Washington DC-based law firm with a heavy emphasis on litigation, and excellent credentials in representing major clients in all types of litigation. The group enhanced its Supreme Court capabilities in 2008 with the addition of Kannon Shanmugam, who spent 2004-2008 as assistant to the solicitor general. Shanmugam is ‘very capable, and very quick on his feet in front of the justices’, and ‘the total package: very smart, very personable and very intuitive’. He argued Merck & Co v Reynolds before the Supreme Court in November 2009, representing certiorari petitioner Merck & Co in a statue-of-limitations securities fraud case turning on the issue of whether the Third Circuit erred in its application of the inquiry notice standard. The firm is also representing Textron as petitioner in Textron v US, a federal tax case concerning the work-product doctrine.

Within Product liability and mass tort defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices, Williams & Connolly LLP is a first tier firm,

Happily for Williams & Connolly LLP, its strong historical relationship with Wyeth survived that client’s acquisition by Pfizer, with whom the firm now has two significant instructions. It continues to serve as co-national counsel for the Wyeth legacy Prempro litigation alongside Kaye Scholer LLP and has been appointed co-national counsel for litigation concerning Chantix, Pfizer’s smoking cessation aid, alongside DLA Piper LLP. This ‘exceptional’ product liability, torts and medicine practice combines top-tier trial talents, strategic skills and organizational ability, along with appellate expertise. This Washington DC firm’s one-office model means its lawyers are at ease cooperating with local counsel in complex litigation and it fits well into the virtual trial team model, having performed admirably as one Merck & Co’s national coordinating co-counsel in the Vioxx MDL. The practice is trial counsel for AstraZeneca in Seroquel litigation, including a recent cost recovery action by the Attorney General of Kentucky. It is national coordinating counsel for Bayer on the Yaz/Yasmin contraceptive litigation and for Baycol cholesterol-lowering drug. With such a busy docket of cases, this firm looks set to remain at the top of the field for years to come. Douglas Marvin is ‘the master of organizing mass tort defense groups’. Stephen Urbanczyk is another highly rated strategist with good writing skills and command of juries. John Vardaman, Heidi Hubbard, F Lane Heard, and Daubert motions expert Richard Cooper are also recommended. Robin Jacobsohn left in 2009 to take up a deputy general counsel role at the US Department of Defense.

Within Supreme Court, Williams & Connolly LLP is a third tier firm,

Williams & Connolly LLP is a Washington DC-based law firm with a heavy emphasis on litigation, and excellent credentials in representing major clients in all types of litigation. The group enhanced its Supreme Court capabilities in 2008 with the addition of Kannon Shanmugam, who spent 2004-2008 as assistant to the solicitor general. Shanmugam is ‘very capable, and very quick on his feet in front of the justices’, and ‘the total package: very smart, very personable and very intuitive’. He argued Merck & Co v Reynolds before the Supreme Court in November 2009, representing certiorari petitioner Merck & Co in a statue-of-limitations securities fraud case turning on the issue of whether the Third Circuit erred in its application of the inquiry notice standard. The firm is also representing Textron as petitioner in Textron v US, a federal tax case concerning the work-product doctrine.

Within White-collar criminal defense, Williams & Connolly LLP is a second tier firm,

Single office Washington DC-based litigation boutique Williams & Connolly LLP provides a ‘platinum service’ to clients engaged in high-stakes white-collar matters. ‘An extremely tough and uncompromising litigation shop’, unlike many of the its competitor firms, the over-riding focus of the firm is on trying cases. While it is perhaps less focused on acting for major corporates – partly as a function of not having a significant corporate department through which it is fed work – the successes it has had for individuals are legion. Regularly picking up ‘high-quality mandates’, the firm has been involved in a raft of big-ticket mandates for executives embroiled in the financial meltdown. For example, led by the ‘very credible’ Dane Butswinkas, the team achieved the acquittal of former Bear Stearns hedge-fund manager Ralph Cioffi, who was tried on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and insider trading. In what was the first major criminal trial spawned by the financial crisis, the victory has been seen by many prosecutors as a potential blueprint for future cases brought against Wall Street executives. The firm also recently picked up a mandate from Angelo Mozilo, the former CEO of Countrywide Financial, to defend him in a lawsuit brought by the SEC accusing him of securities fraud and insider trading. The group also has an excellent track record at handling matters for politicians accused of impropriety. For example, it recently successfully represented Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens against corruption charges. ‘One of the deans of the white-collar bar’, Brendan Sullivan is an ‘extremely talented trial lawyer with terrific judgement’and regularly ‘picks up big-ticket litigation’ for corporate executives and politicians. The ‘terrific’ William McDaniels is also recommended across a wide range of white-collar matters and has defended clients in cases involving allegations of bank fraud, healthcare fraud, sports bribery, gambling offenses, money laundering, environmental crimes, and the Economic Espionage Act.