Lawyer Rankings

United States > Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is praised by clients for its ‘exceptional combination of legal, business and technical understanding‘. ‘Indisputably one of the nation’s largest and most qualified teams‘, the ‘very well-coordinated‘ group ‘tends to dig deeper than most firms‘; it has a broad sectorial spread and proven expertise in all the major US patent litigation venues, including the PTAB. Marcus Sernel in Chicago and New-York based practice head Gregory Arovas successfully defended Apex Tool Group against a patent infringement suit brought by LoggerHead Tools regarding a patent covering a wrench. New York’s Jeanne Heffernan defeated Sycamore IP Holdings in infringement litigation it had brought forward against AT&T Services over a coding scheme patent, sparing the client $200m in damages. In Chicago, Kenneth Adamo is ‘one of the nation’s top legal minds‘ and Russell Levine is ‘an exceptional litigator‘. San Francisco’s Sarah Piepmeier is ‘a great lead counsel‘. Adam Alper, also in San Francisco, and Los Angeles colleague Michael De Vries ‘are thorough and focused on ensuring decisions are made that support the long-term view of a case‘. IP practice head Gregg LoCascio in Washington DC, Amanda Hollis in Chicago and Leora Ben-Ami in New York are also recommended. Abbott Laboratories, Cisco and Samsung Electronics also feature on the client roster.

United States > Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation

Kirkland & Ellis LLP advertising, marketing and promotions group fields a team of intellectual property litigation experts and frequently handles false advertising disputes. In the consumer class action space, it defended Colgate-Palmolive in a dispute alleging false and misleading advertising of the whitening properties of its Optic White toothpaste, and represented Sanderson Farms in allegations of false advertising from two consumer advocacy groups relating to its ‘100% natural’ chicken. Washington DC-based Gregg LoCascio alongside Robin McCue and Megan New (both based in Chicago) successfully obtained a jury trial victory and $16m in damages for Dyson in false advertising litigation brought against its vacuum competitor SharkNinja. Ross Weisman, also in Chicago, is another key name to note. The practice also has experience advising clients before the FTC, the NAD and National Advertising Review Board (NARB).