David Lender co-chairs Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP‘s global litigation practice, with a strong recent track record representing defendants in breach of contract claims, notably Exxon in a dispute with BP, where the latter accused Exxon of failing to keep to an agreement to defend it in relation to environmental claims brought on the basis of a contaminated site in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, subject to specific conditions. This matter is currently pending an appeal before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He also defended BASF in multi-district litigation alleging that it and a number of other defendants had, via their loyalty programs, created a monopoly in certain agricultural chemicals markets, causing farmers substantial losses, securing a dismissal in September 2024.

Based in King & Spalding LLP‘s New York office, Randy Mastro fields extensive experience in taking on high-profile matters in state and federal courts. He continues to represent Madison Square Garden (MSG) across a range of disputes, most notably helping it overturn a judgement that blocked its use of facial recognition to ban attorneys employed by firms suing MSG from entering its venues. He was also retained by Boies Schiller spinoff Freedman Normand Friedland LLP following an inter-partner feud with Jason Cyrulnik, whom they fired for cause, after which he filed suit; Mastro helped the firm negotiate a settlement in June 2024.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP‘s Diane Sullivan is sought after by clients facing class action and MDL proceedings concerning product liability, including representing GSK in claims alleging that the prescription drug Zantac caused cancer, where she was able to secure a settlement covering most claims in October 2024. Sullivan was also retained by L’Oréal to lead its defense in an MDL where plaintiffs allege its hair relaxer products caused breast and uterine cancers, and is also engaged by Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America in the latter’s Ch. 11 proceedings, tied to claims that J&J’s talc products caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Sullivan is based in the firm’s New York office.

Based in Chicago, Winston & Strawn LLP‘s co-executive chairman Dan Webb offers extensive trial experience in matters ranging from breach of contract to regulatory and white collar proceedings. He currently represents former Northwestern University football coach Pat Fitzgerald in a $130m breach of contract claim arising out of his July 2023 firing, and previously defended Fox News in the high profile defamation suit brought against it by Dominion in relation to claims it broadcasts covering Donald Trump’s accusations of vote rigging in the 2020 election.

Based in New York, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP‘s Theodore Wells is handling a spate of disputes for Exxon, including claims brought under the Clean Water Act, alleging the company failed to take into account remote impact on climate change of discharges at one of its Boston terminals. He is also defending Exxon against suits filed by a number of state attorneys general, accusing it of violating consumer protection regulations by misrepresenting its climate science findings. Under Armour co-founder Kevin Plank relied on Wells to defend him in a securities fraud class action arising out of an SEC investigation; plaintiffs demanded a $4bn payout, but Wells was able to negotiate a $434m settlement in June 2024.

Wilkinson Stekloff‘s Beth Wilkinson is sought out by clients for their most consequential courtroom battles, with considerable experience in antitrust hearings, including representing the NFL in its successful attempt to overturn a jury verdict that held its “Sunday Ticket” packages violated the Sherman Act. She also represents 3M Corporation in defending a personal injury MDL arising out of its use of PFAS in foam fire retardants, and is retained by Bayer in litigation arising out of the carcinogenic properties of its herbicide product Roundup. Wilkinson is based in Washington DC.

Based in Latham & Watkins LLP’s New York and Washington DC offices, Andrew Clubok, the global chair of securities litigation and professional liability practice, is renowned for his deep expertise in handling class actions, derivative lawsuits, and arbitrations. In a recent victory, Clubok secured over $16m in damages for Toptal, LLC in a jury trial, defeating Denis Grosz and Mechanism Ventures’ counterclaims and leaving Grosz with zero recoveries on claims exceeding $200m. In addition to this, he successfully defended Touradji Capital Management against former employees’ breach of contract claims, with Touradji counterclaiming SEC regulation violations and securing a $2.4m award from a New York Supreme Court jury.

The ‘creative and tenacious’ Robin Gibbs, founding partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP  in Houston, is sought after by clients for his experience across a range of disputes, including matters in the oil and gas industry, antitrust proceedings and the defense of legal malpractice claims. On the antitrust front, Gibbs is representing Google in its adtech battle with both the federal and multiple state governments, while both Baker Botts L.L.P. and Winston & Strawn LLP have engaged his services in relation to malpractice suits levelled against them by former clients.

In addition to his role as chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York-based Brad Karp remains a sought-after trial lawyer, notably representing Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute suit brought by the DOJ, alleging it paid kickbacks to a co-pay foundation with the intention of increasing sales of its macular degeneration drug Eylea and thereby increase reimbursement rates from Medicare.

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP name partner Marc Kasowitz continues to litigate cases spanning antitrust violations, breaches of contract and more. March 2024 saw him secure a settlement of $9.5m for two shippers of frozen fish, Alaskan Reefer Management and Kloosterboer International Forwarding, which CBP accused of violating the Jones Act – both parties had faced an exposure of up to $2bn. Teva Pharmaceuticals is a repeat client of his, with Kasowitz representing the generics firm in wide-ranging securities suits and in October 2024, handled a class certification hearing for the company in an antitrust MDL arising out of allegations of price fixing tied to over one hundred different drug types.

Kathy Patrick, partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, is engaged in a number of high-profile disputes in Texas and further afield, including the representation of Google in defending the antitrust suit brought against it by the DOJ and eighteen states, alleging its implementation of its adtech systems amount to anti-competitive practices. She also represents a number of national retailers in a long-running suit against Visa and Mastercard, which the retailers accuse of conspiring to fix card payment processing fees. Based in Houston, Patrick is frequently retained by clients in the oil and gas industry, including Occidental Petroleum, in matters ranging from antitrust issues to securities litigation.

Based in Los Angeles, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP co-founder John Quinn represents plaintiffs and defendants in product liability disputes, IP litigation and restructuring matters. Quinn secured a $6.01bn settlement from 3M for members of the US military who suffered injuries as a result using 3M’ faulty earplugs. He is also defending Shein Technology in a suit brought by WhaleCo (d.b.a. Temu) asserting claims of copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets, among several others. On the restructuring front, Quinn is retained by Softbank, which is defending Credit Suisse’s US, UK and Australia-based claims arising out of the collapse of Greensill Capital.

Barry Berke, a co-chair of the litigation practice group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s New York office is well versed in representing clients facing trial or investigations by state and federal bodies, with particular expertise in securities-related matters. Noted for serving as Chief Impeachment Counsel to the House of Representatives, Berke recently represented former Archegos Capital CEO Bill Hwang in his market manipulation trial in the SDNY. He also represented Under Armour in a securities fraud class action where plaintiffs demanded $4bn, ultimately negotiating a settlement of $434m in July 2024.

Based in New York, Peter Bicks of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is regularly contacted by clients regarding various business disputes involving intellectual property, commercial, and product liability matters. In the agricultural biotech sector, Bicks represents Corteva Agriscience against Inari for illegally obtaining and modifying Corteva seeds and seeking U.S. patents for the modified traits. Bicks is also involved in several ongoing cases for Avon and has already achieved a string of notable victories for the client, such as successfully opposing the consolidation of the Yerkes and Hofmaister cases in Alameda County and persuading a California appeals court to stay proceedings, preventing potential juror prejudice in the multi-month trial.

Jay Cohen is located in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP‘s New York office, from where he maintains a broad disputes practice. Recently he represented the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in litigation with the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) over a rates dispute concerning the license fee radio broadcasters must pay for musicians’ and composers’ protected works. Cohen was also retained by IBM in its breach of contract suit against GlobalFoundries (GF) following the spinoff of IBM’s semiconductor business to GF in 2015, which settled in January 2025.

New York-based founding partner of MoloLamken LLP, Steven Molo, is best known for his diverse trial practice, which spans business litigation, white-collar criminal matters, and IP disputes, where he often represents corporations, boards, funds, investors, inventors, and individuals. Among his recent highlights, he successfully prevailed on behalf of A-CAP, a major insurance provider, securing the dismissal of litigation against AM Best, which had threatened to significantly lower A-CAP’s credit rating due to a proposed $1bn asset write-off. Currently, Molo is acting for Suntory Global Spirits in a dispute with entities formed by Curtis J. Jackson III (50 Cent) over their collaboration to endorse Beam’s EFFEN vodka brand.

David Marriott, a New York trial lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, handles a broad range of matters in antitrust, intellectual property, and securities law. In April 2024, Marriott achieved a federal appeals court ruling for Mylan N.V. (now Viatris, Inc.), upholding a rare summary judgment that dismissed a class action claiming over $4bn in damages for alleged securities fraud. Among his ongoing mandates, Marriott is representing Live Nation in a monopoly lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, 39 states, and the District of Columbia in New York federal court, seeking to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Thomas Melsheimer is the chair of Winston & Strawn LLP‘s Dallas office, whose practice encompasses patent and trade secrets litigation, with a particular focus on medical devices, and also covers healthcare-related fraud and other criminal matters. In April 2024 he secured a hung jury in a patent dispute brought by TMT Systems against his client Medtronic concerning heart stents, after which the court adopted Medtronic’s position, and parties were able to resolve the matter. He also helped Flyp take on Google, bringing a claim that its Google Voice product infringed five of the plaintiff’s patents, securing a $12m jury verdict in February 2024.

Operating out of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP‘s New York office, Lynn Neuner boasts an impressive track record in insurance litigation, representing major American and foreign insurers in high-profile matters. Recent work includes the representation of Chubb, AXA XL and Swiss Re in coverage claims brought by aircraft lessors following the detention of their assets in Russia, securing settlements in a number of these. Travelers has also retained Neuner’s services in defending a claim brought by BASF, which seeks coverage for legal costs incurred in litigation arising out of PFAS-related injuries.

Daniel Slifkin, working out of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP‘s New York office, is well versed in defending securities class actions and derivative actions, offering a strong track record before the Delaware Court of Chancery, where he recently represented Tesla’s board in the highly publicised shareholder suit challenging Elon Musk’s compensation package. Slifkin also persuaded the Eleventh Circuit to deny plaintiffs suing Robinhood Markets class certification in their market manipulation case, ultimately securing a settlement in June 2024.

New York-based Orin Snyder, who co-chairs Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP‘s trial practice, has a notable specialization in handling commercial, media, and entertainment litigation. In September 2024, he successfully obtained a preliminary injunction for DraftKings in a trade secret and non-compete lawsuit against its former VIP business head, a decision that was unanimously upheld by the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, Snyder is currently representing the defendant, AMC Networks, in a high-stakes breach-of-contract dispute valued in hundreds of millions of dollars, where he recently secured a significant victory, with both a bench trial ruling and summary judgment affirmed in his client’s favor.

Jonathan Youngwood co-chairs Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP ‘s global litigation team out of New York, representing financial services clients ranging from federal bodies to insurance companies and a variety of other corporations. Youngwood is currently representing Paramount Global following its $28bn merger with SkyDance Media, the board of which is accused of breaching fiduciary duties in this deal by the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island. He was also able to secure a major appellate victory for fourteen underwriters concerning their due diligence obligations in relation to one another’s activities, arising out of Archegos Capital’s investments in ViacomCBS, avoiding potentially substantial future liabilities.

Sean Berkowitz at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago is the first port of call for companies and individuals facing government and regulatory investigations, as well as criminal and civil litigation. His diverse litigation docket includes cases involving securities fraud, antitrust, deceptive business practices, and commercial litigation. In a historic win in 2022, Sean secured an acquittal for Michael Sussmann, a former campaign lawyer for Hillary Clinton, who was facing charges of making a false statement. Currently, Berkowitz is representing Allergan, a pharmaceutical company facing personal injury claims worldwide — in the US, Canada, EU, and parts of Asia — related to its textured breast implant devices.

Dane Butswinkas, a trial lawyer based in Washington, DC, at Williams & Connolly LLP, is highly regarded for his exceptional work in trials and arbitration, frequently representing clients in both state and federal courts. In January 2024, he secured a significant victory for the University of Michigan by defending against Big Ten sign-stealing allegations, allowing the Michigan football team to compete for and ultimately win a National Championship. Since 2022, Butswinkas has been acting for Platinum Equity Advisors, LLC, in an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court against its portfolio company, Incora.

Atlanta-based Vice Chair of Greenberg Traurig LLP, Lori Cohen, who also co-chairs the firm’s global litigation and trial practice group, remains a go-to expert for pharmaceutical and medical device matters. Cohen frequently handles trials and settlement mandates related to pelvic mesh products for Bard, Inc., and recently secured a victory against plaintiffs seeking the reopening of product liability claims. Additionally, she is representing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. in personal injury and class action economic loss claims related to the presence of potentially carcinogenic nitrosamine impurities in the company’s blood pressure medication, valsartan.

Co-head of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP‘s business litigation team and since March 2025 head of the firm’s insurance litigation practice, Bryce Friedman is sought after by insurance companies facing coverage claims from insureds. Chubb is a repeat client of his, retaining his services in defending aircraft lessors’ coverage claims following the seizure of their aircraft in Russia and also assisting it in settling a claim launched by USC in the wake of the George Tindall sexual abuse scandal, which resulted in the university paying out over $1bn to victims, for which it sought coverage. Friedman also succeeded in having Travelers released from all liabilities in relation to CVS and Publix’s roles in the opioid epidemic in Delaware and Florida respectively.

‘Outstanding attorney’ Tarek Ismail is based in the Chicago office of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP, from which he defends a roster of major pharmaceutical clients facing product liability MDLs and antitrust disputes. May and August 2024 saw Ismail secure defense verdicts for GSK in relation to claims that the heartburn drug Zantac contained a carcinogen. Similarly, he was also able successfully defend Bayer in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he secured a jury verdict for the defendant where a plaintiff brought suit alleging Bayer’s Roundup herbicide caused cancer.

Winston & Strawn LLP‘s co-executive chairman Jeffrey Kessler frequently represents major player’s unions out of the firm’s New York office, which he represents in antitrust proceedings and in dealings with sports leagues. 2024 saw Kessler represent several classes of current and former NCAA athletes in negotiating a $3bn antitrust settlement and guaranteeing revenue sharing for future college athletes. He also represents the NASL in its antitrust case against the US Soccer Federation, which it accuses of violating federal competition laws by denying it Class I or II accreditation.

Based out of Chicago, Winston & Strawn LLP‘s George Lombardi represents an impressive client roster consisting of pharmaceutical and medical devices developers in patent disputes and is also tapped as trial counsel for product liability suits, including continuing to defend Bayer in numerous trials linked to the herbicide Roundup.

Enu Mainigi handles a mixture of commercial litigation and claims involving state and federal bodies out of Williams & Connolly LLP‘s Washington DC office, with a particular focus on healthcare and financial services clients. However, Mainigi’s recent work for Albertsons in the antitrust suit brought by the FTC and multiple state attorneys general to block the merger with Kroger, saw her depart from the aforementioned core areas. She also represents CVS and Omnicare, which in 2025 are facing a False Claims Act trial in the SDNY for allegedly providing drugs to people whose prescriptions had expired and subsequently billing a number of healthcare programs for these prescriptions.

Craig Martin chairs Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP ‘s Midwest practice out of Chicago, with a trial practice that spans both state and federal courts and arbitration proceedings. He is frequently instructed by Provisur Technologies, which he represented in several patent disputes against Weber, Inc. in both an appeal before the federal circuit in June 2024, in addition to appearing for it in several patent proceedings in Germany and the European Patent Office.

Based in Houston, ‘top-notch lawyer’ Barrett Reasoner of Gibbs & Bruns LLP is sought after by oil and gas sector clients facing a variety of suits, and in 2024 continued to defend Anadarko Petroleum in a suit where plaintiffs allege Anadarko made improper changes to payment methods, having previously secured the denial of class certification in 2022. He is also retained by a number of retailers suing Visa and Mastercard for allegedly charging excessive card processing fees.

Proskauer Rose LLP‘s Bart Williams heads the firm’s worldwide litigation team out of the Los Angeles office, representing a client base consisting of prominent names in the media, entertainment and pharmaceutical industries. He represented Gilead Sciences in state and federal court in suits where plaintiff allege that Gilead’s TAF and TDF drugs caused issues including kidney disease and bone injuries and the company did not provide sufficient warning of these risks. Williams also appeared for the NFL in the antitrust suit brought by plaintiffs seeking to challenge the league’s merchandise distribution policies.

Gregory Arovas, based in Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s New York office, is noted for his expertise in intellectual property disputes, regularly representing a roster of noteworthy tech clients in patent infringement proceedings and licensing disputes. He recently coordinated the multi-jurisdictional defence of Lenovo against suits brought by Ericsson, which sought to enforce licensing agreements for its 5G technology at an inflated rate. Arovas also secured a major reversal for Samsung in a patent infringement suit brought by Staton Techiya in the Eastern District of Texas, which dismisses Staton’s case following the discovery of considerable misconduct on its part.

The ‘exceptionally talented’ Gary Bornstein co-heads Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP‘s litigation department out of the firm’s New York office, handling securities, antitrust and merger-related disputes. October 2024 saw him inflict a major defeat on Google on behalf of Epic Games, with the court ordering a three year injunction against Google following a finding that it engaged in anti-competitive practices in the way it distributed mobile apps. Bornstein also represents Deutsche Telekom (DT) in its capacity as T-Mobile’s controlling stockholder before the Delaware Court of Chancery, where plaintiffs allege DT failed to secure the best terms in T-Mobile’s $26bn acquisition of Sprint.

Sandra Goldstein, a specialist in securities and M&A disputes based in Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s New York office, handles a range of shareholder and derivative suits, including class actions, including before the Delaware Court of Chancery. Honeywell relied on Goldstein to fight derivative claims arising out of the handling of the company’s asbestos liabilities, which plaintiffs alleged constituted a breach of fiduciary duty, securing a dismissal with prejudice in February 2024.

Operating out of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP‘s San Francisco office, Melinda Haag is called upon by companies facing consumer and securities class actions for both trials and settlement talks, in addition to leveraging her experience as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California to assist clients facing white collar and other regulatory investigations. March 2024 saw Haag negotiate a $490m settlement for Apple in a securities class actions stemming from comments made by CEO Tim Cook on the company’s business in China, which was approved in September.

Williams & Connolly LLP‘s Heidi Hubbard handles major antitrust cases out of Washington DC, with particular strength in representing pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Novant Health relied on her services when it took on the FTC’s decision to block its takeover of several hospitals, and she is also retained by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in defending an MDL in the Northern District of California, where plaintiffs allege it stymied generic competition to its narcolepsy drug Xyrem.

James Hurst, based in Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s Chicago office, is often called upon by major pharmaceutical clients facing claims ranging from product liability cases to IP infringement suits. In Whitfield v. Abbott, et al., Hurst secured a jury verdict for Abbott in a $5.2bn plaintiff suit, which alleged that the defendant’s infant formula products caused necrotizing enterocolitis.

Kevin Orsini, based in Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP‘s New York office, stands out for his expertise in securities litigation but is able to take on a variety of disputes, including antitrust and M&A-related matters. Orsini helped Robinhood Markets block class certification of claims arising out of its 2021 decision to limit GameStop share trading, resulting in a settlement being reached in June 2024. He is also currently preparing to go to trial on behalf of Xcel Energy in over a dozen putative class action linked to the 2021 Marshall wildfire, which plaintiffs allege was sparked by Xcel’s power lines.

Edward Reines moved to Jones Day‘s Silicon Valley office in March 2025, bringing with him a strong track record in pleading, inter alia, medical devices and pharmaceutical products infringement claims, frequently litigating cases in the Northern District of California. It is in this venue that Reines is currently defending Bio-Rad Laboratories against claims brought by ChromaCode, seeking a declaratory judgement that its PCR multiplexing products do not infringe Bio-Rad’s patents, and is also helping Bio-Rad coordinate a countersuit that seeks an injunction against and damages from ChromaCode. He is also representing LiquidPower Specialty Products Inc. (LSPI) in a dispute with Baker Hughes, which accuses LSPI of using its patents to create a monopoly in the drag reducing agents market.

Drew Tulumello handles a mixture of complex disputes and appellate proceedings out of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP‘s office, with expertise in matters ranging from white collar crime to privacy claims and a variety of class actions. June 2024 saw him secure a settlement for BNSF in a privacy suit relating to the collection of fingerprint data from third party contractors, having also achieved the overturning of the initial award of $228m award against the railroad under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Tulumello also saw three RICO cases dismissed against United Therapeutics, and defended PepsiCo in a number of lawsuits seeking to hold it liable for plastic pollution and misleading the public in calling their products recyclable, securing the dismissal of the former case in October 2024.

David Elsberg, co-founding partner of New York-based Elsberg Baker & Maruri PLLC is described as a ‘superbly competent and experienced’ litigator, who tackles a range of securities and other financial services disputes. He recently secured the dismissal of all claims brought against Sol Goldman Investments by descendants of Sol Goldman, who allege that aspects of the investment firm’s LLC agreement had been breached via under-valuations of the business at a time when the plaintiffs sought to sell their stakes.

Jaren Janghorbani litigates both M&A and tort disputes out of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP‘s New York office, and also serves as co-head of the firm’s M&A litigation group. Recent highlights include representation of CBS directors in shareholder and derivative actions in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising out of the CBS – Viacom merger, where shareholder Shari Redstone was accused of breaching fiduciary duties. In January 2024 Janghorbani also led the argument for Solvay Specialty Polymers in persuading a court to accept a $394m settlement between Solvay and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which initially filed suit following chemical discharges harming natural resources at the firm’s West Deptford plant.

Based in Orange County, Latham & Watkins LLP‘s Michele Johnson serves as chair of the firm’s global litigation practice, handling a wide spectrum of securities disputes and regulatory enforcement proceedings brought by the SEC, among others. She is currently preparing to represent former Celgene officers in a securities class action in the District of New Jersey, where shareholders claim they lost out as a result of the company’s over-optimistic evaluations of the drugs Otezla and Ozanimod.

Ava Lias-Booker heads McGuireWoods LLP‘s Baltimore litigation team, and has a strong track record in defending clients that include major financial and energy companies in matters ranging from breach of contract allegations to accusations of racial discrimination. Lias-Booker has assisted clients in overturning considerable jury verdicts on appeal and is also well versed in tackling matters arising out of allegedly discriminatory lending practices.