Continuing its recent streak of national recognition, Wilkinson Stekloff has again been named a Top Tier trial law firm by Legal 500 in its United States Nationwide 2026 Guide. The firm advanced across several practice areas and placed multiple Partners in leading tiers across four separate practice areas. Among the most respected worldwide legal benchmarking publications, Legal 500’s 2026 Nationwide guide is its largest yet—curated from months of independent research, analysis of nomination submissions, and interviews with peers and clients alike. After breaking in last year as a “Firm to Watch” in the premium “General Commercial Disputes” category that considers matters involving $500 million or more, Wilkinson Stekloff advanced to Tier 4 in the 2026 Guide, a rise that underscores the firm’s proven ability to handle the most high-stakes disputes across a breadth of specialties. Its ranking in the “Sport” industry also climbed, reaching Tier 3, owing to multiple significant …
Wilkinson Stekloff Earns Increased Rankings from Chambers in USA 2026 Guide; Eight Partners Receive Individual Recognition
June 9, 2026
Chambers and Partners has again distinguished Wilkinson Stekloff as an elite law firm across six practice areas in its newly released USA 2026 Guide, elevating the firm in multiple Washington, D.C. and nationwide categories. This acknowledgment arrives as the firm celebrates its tenth anniversary, having litigated two dozen high-stakes cases to trial since its inception with a remarkable record of success. As a boutique with just under 50 attorneys, Wilkinson Stekloff boasts a deep roster of talented litigators and rivals some of the nation’s largest and most established firms with its rankings in commercial litigation, antitrust, sports law, and product liability. Wilkinson Stekloff debuted in Band 2 in the newly created “Nationwide General Commercial Litigation: The Elite,” reflecting the firm’s breadth of litigation excellence and reputation for delivering results in jurisdictions across the country. Chambers elevated the firm to Band 2 in “Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite” …
First Chair Trial Lawyer Bill Geraghty Joins Wilkinson Stekloff’s New Miami Office
May 11, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff is thrilled to announce that William (“Bill”) Geraghty will join the firm as a partner on June 1, 2026, and will launch the firm’s new Miami office, opening this summer. A nationally recognized first chair trial lawyer, Bill brings more than 30 years of experience trying high-stakes cases to verdict in courts across the country. His arrival reflects Wilkinson Stekloff’s commitment to recruiting the very best trial lawyers across key markets, in service of a national practice. While Wilkinson Stekloff’s principal office remains in Washington, D.C., its New York and Miami offices reflect the geographic distribution of its trial talent. “Bill is a truly gifted trial lawyer. Over and over jurors have decided difficult cases in favor of his clients. I have seen first-hand how Bill earns the trust and confidence of jurors and judges through candid, compassionate and powerful advocacy,” said Wilkinson Stekloff Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson. …
The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily Spotlights Wilkinson Stekloff’s Next Generation
April 14, 2026
The second installment of The American Lawyer’s two-part series by Ross Todd, “No Benches, No Depth Charts: How Wilkinson Stekloff Set Out to Grow Trial Lawyers and Become a Litigation Institution,” further explores how Wilkinson Stekloff’s next generation of Partners is helping the nation’s premier trial boutique leave an enduring mark on the legal community. The article highlights the experiences of Partners Kosta Stojilkovic and Moira Penza, whose paths to the firm exemplify the unmatched trial opportunities central to the firm’s mission, and illustrate the close-knit culture that sustains teams during the pressure-filled moments when stakes are the highest—both hallmarks of Wilkinson Stekloff’s first decade. Kosta, who joined the firm within its first year, recalled that his very first day involved accompanying Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson to pitch Facebook for trial work on a significant trade secrets case. After landing that matter with Kosta as second chair, Beth next recommended …
Wilkinson Stekloff Featured in The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily for Pioneering Business Model
March 24, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff is proud to be featured by The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily in the first of a two-part series by Ross Todd, examining how the firm has grown into the nation’s premier trial boutique over its first decade. The article offers an in-depth look at the alternative fee model and trial-first philosophy that have defined the firm—and its success—since Founding Partners Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff left their previous positions in Big Law. Ten years in, the firm has grown to nearly 50 lawyers and 30 staff, with a client roster that includes household names such as the NFL, the NCAA, Microsoft, Bayer, and Cargill. Central to the firm’s growth and development has been its commitment to flat-fee arrangements over the billable hour, which frees the firm to focus entirely on what it does best: trying high-stakes cases. That approach, Beth explained, “gives clients and their CFOs a level …
Wilkinson Stekloff Wins Big at Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 U.S. Awards
March 12, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff was honored with multiple awards at Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 U.S. Awards ceremony on March 11 in New York City. The firm was named “Trial Firm of the Year” for an unprecedented third consecutive year. Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson was inducted into Benchmark’s “Hall of Fame.” Partner Rakesh Kilaru won “Antitrust Litigator of the Year.” And the NCAA’s groundbreaking $2.8 billion NIL settlement received an “Impact Case Award.” Beth Wilkinson and fellow Founding Partner Brian Stekloff were also finalists in the respective categories of “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “Product Liability Litigator of the Year”—distinctions each earned in previous years—and the firm was shortlisted again for “D.C. Firm of the Year” and “Boutique Firm of the Year,” having captured the latter in both 2017 and 2019. Beth Wilkinson’s appearance in Benchmark Litigation’s Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to one of the nation’s preeminent trial lawyers, having …
Wilkinson Stekloff Featured in Washington Lawyer Cover Story for Its Innovative Approach to Associate Development
March 2, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff is proud to be featured by the Washington Lawyer, the official publication of the D.C. bar, in its latest cover story titled “Redefining the New Associate Experience.” The article offers an in-depth look at how the firm—celebrating its 10th anniversary this year—has built a distinctive model to achieve its primary mission: developing the next generation of trial lawyers. Bucking the conventions of traditional big law practice, Wilkinson Stekloff’s approach offers a compelling model grounded in hands-on experience, early responsibility, and a culture that prizes mentorship over hierarchy. “There are a lot of great attributes, qualities, and development that you can get in Big Law, but it’s hard to develop those skills for a trial because you need a lot of repetition.” says Beth Wilkinson, one of the firm’s founding partners. “So, a lot of young attorneys don’t get that trial experience.” “Brian Stekloff, the firm’s other founding partner, …
Crain’s New York Business Recognizes Three Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Among Notable Women in Law
February 23, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff is proud to announce that Partners Keri Arnold, Moira Penza, and Ralia Polechronis have been recognized by Crain’s New York Business among its Notable Women in Law. This honor from one of New York’s premier business publications celebrates women leaders in the legal profession who demonstrate excellence in their practice while serving as role models and mentors for the next generation of attorneys. Keri Arnold is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers with more than twenty years of experience defending Fortune 500 corporations in high-stakes litigation. A true trial attorney, she has served as first-chair counsel in over a dozen cases tried to verdict on behalf of major pharmaceutical, tobacco, and energy companies. Keri currently represents a 3M Company in the sprawling AFFF multidistrict products liability litigation—the most significant PFAS matter in the country—and Exxon Mobil in its massive climate change litigation. She also serves …
Law360 Names Wilkinson Stekloff Practice Group of the Year in Competition/Antitrust and Sports & Betting Categories
February 18, 2026
Wilkinson Stekloff has been honored by Law360 as a Practice Group of the Year—an award that celebrates “the attorney teams behind litigation wins” that “resonated throughout the legal industry”—in both the Competition/Antitrust and Sports & Betting categories. This marks the first time the firm has won two PGOTY honors in the same cycle, underscoring landmark results across trials, appeals, and complex resolutions in 2025. The firm was previously recognized by Law360 in Competition/Antitrust in 2023 and Sports & Betting in 2020. Law360’s features spotlighted Wilkinson Stekloff’s many victories for the NCAA—beginning with securing approval of the groundbreaking $2.8 billion name-image-and-likeness (“NIL”) settlement, which resolved antitrust claims from multiple plaintiff classes against the NCAA and five major athletic conferences, enabling schools to directly compensate student-athletes for their participation in athletics. Despite a complex process that required lead defense negotiator Rakesh Kilaru to defend the deal at multiple hearings before it received …
Wilkinson Stekloff Celebrates 10 Years with a Look Back at 2025 Achievements
February 2, 2026
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we remember our beloved colleagues and friends Elizabeth Keys and Sarah Lee Best, whose lives were among those tragically lost in the airplane crash above Reagan National Airport a year ago. Liz and Sarah left an enduring mark on our firm and on all of us as individuals. We have kept them in our hearts and minds and always will. To honor their memories, we endowed scholarships in their names at their law school alma maters, Georgetown and Pennsylvania. With the support of our clients and colleagues, those scholarships have been fully funded and will aid new generations of lawyers in carrying on Liz’s and Sarah’s legacies. Continuing our tradition of excellence, in 2025 Wilkinson Stekloff again achieved landmark results spanning a variety of high-stakes matters, further entrenching the firm as the premier trial litigation boutique in the nation. Our recent successes include: As …