Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes

Market-leading firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is regularly engaged by clients in high-stakes and sensitive litigation and investigations. Recently, this has included representing Exxon Mobil in a host of disputes, including defending the company in sprawling climate change-related investigations brought by state attorneys general and the SEC in various forums around the country. The firm’s extensive experience in the financial services sector is also of note; in recent work for client Citigroup, Brad Karp and Susanna Buergel secured dismissals of False Claims Act litigation filed in Illinois, California and New Jersey. Other clients include Pfizer, Comcast and the NFL. Among the department’s standout lawyers are highly regarded litigator Theodore Wells; Daniel Toal, who handles contract, environmental, antitrust and securities disputes; Jaren Janghorbani, who has handled multiple trials with stakes exceeding the $1bn mark; and Jay Cohen, whose clients include leading companies in the music and entertainment industry. Kannon Shanmugam joined the firm in 2019 from Williams & Connolly LLP.

United States > Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York has ‘an excellent group of corporate litigation attorneys who are valued counselors and can be aggressive litigators when necessary‘. Lewis R. Clayton and Andrew Gordon, who is ‘an up-and-coming litigation star‘, scored a major victory for German healthcare group Fresenius when the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that it was justified in canceling its agreement to acquire Akorn, Inc. for  $4.8bn. The firm’s deep bench has ‘tons of experience, superior judgment and excellent strategists‘. Among the highly regarded practitioners are Jaren Janghorbani, who was part of the team that acted for Alere in claims arising from the cancellation of its $8bn sale to Abbott Laboratories in 2016; and Geoffrey Chepiga, who scored significant wins both in Delaware and in federal district courts. Of counsel Stephen Lamb, who is a former vice-chancellor in the Delaware Court of Chancery, has a strong practice in Wilmington.