In recognition of the size, complexity, and significance of the litigation handled by Wilkinson Stekloff across the antitrust, product liability, and sports landscapes, legal industry research outlet Legal 500 has ranked the firm and its attorneys among the trial elite in the recently released 2024 guide for the United States. Across all types of high-stakes litigation, 40-lawyer firm Wilkinson Stekloff has delivered a slate of client victories that would be the envy of far larger firms, trying over 20 cases to verdict since 2016 and stacking up win after win. In recognition of these results, Legal 500 has maintained the firm’s top-tier status in the prestigious Leading Trial Lawyers category for Dispute Resolution and its Tier 4 ranking in Sports. The firm also improved its rankings in Product Liability, Mass Tort, and Class Action Defense for Toxic Tort (Tier 2) and Consumer Products Including Tobacco (Tier 3), and is newly …
11 Wilkinson Stekloff Attorneys Recognized in 2023 D.C. Pro Bono Honor Roll
June 17, 2024
D.C. Courts, in partnership with the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, honored 11 Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys in its 2023 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. The Honor Roll, which is jointly sponsored by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of D.C., recognizes attorneys who provide 50 or more hours of pro bono services or 100 or more hours of service for the High Honors category. These honorees played a vital role in providing desperately needed legal representation to those living in poverty and/or to disadvantaged small businesses and community-based nonprofits that are critical to the economic well-being of our community. The Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys recognized include: Matthew Skanchy, Counsel (High Honors) Hannah Bedard, Associate (High Honors) Elizabeth Keys, Associate (High Honors) Robert Laird, Associate (High Honors) Logan Page, Associate (High Honors) Jeremy Barber, Partner Rakesh Kilaru, Partner Anastasia Pastan, Counsel Anthony Ferrara, Associate Mikaela Meyer, Associate Jenna Pavelec, …
Beth Wilkinson Recognized Among the Hollywood Reporter’s 2024 Power Lawyers
June 13, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson has been recognized among the Hollywood Reporter’s “Power Lawyers” for 2024. The definitive ranking of the entertainment industry’s top 100 attorneys, this list spotlights the lawyers Hollywood relies on for negotiating top-dollar deals and arguing high-stakes legal battles. Beth has served as lead counsel in over 50 jury trials, including numerous bet-the-company, multibillion-dollar cases, earning an unrivaled record of victories in federal and state courts throughout the country. Beth recently served as lead trial counsel for Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — the second-largest merger trial in American history and the biggest involving a technology company. Beth’s team directed all aspects of litigation strategy from the time the acquisition was announced in January 2022. She and her team positioned the case for a federal court victory on an unprecedented timetable, defeating the FTC’s request for a preliminary …
Chambers Once Again Recognizes Wilkinson Stekloff Among Trial Elite, Honors Beth Wilkinson as Outstanding Individual
June 6, 2024
In recognition of Wilkinson Stekloff’s work on some of the most consequential trials across the antitrust, product liability, and sports landscape, legal industry research outlet Chambers and Partners has ranked the firm and its attorneys among the trial elite in their recently released 2024 guide for the U.S. and honored Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson with its national Outstanding Individual award. Across all types of high-stakes litigation, 40-lawyer firm Wilkinson Stekloff has delivered a slate of client victories that would be the envy of far larger firms, trying over 20 cases to verdict since 2016 and winning the vast majority. In recognition of these results, Chambers has maintained the firm’s position as one of the country’s most highly sought litigation boutiques, ranking it in the District of Columbia for General Commercial Litigation — The Elite (Band 2) and Antitrust (Band 5), and nationwide for Product Liability & Mass Torts — The Elite …
Bloomberg Law Features Rakesh Kilaru’s Lead Role in Negotiating Landmark NCAA Settlement
June 3, 2024
Bloomberg Law featured Wilkinson Stekloff Partner Rakesh Kilaru’s leading role in negotiating a groundbreaking and highly-publicized settlement to major antitrust lawsuits filed against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its five major athletic conferences by current and former student-athletes. Wilkinson Stekloff, led by Rakesh and Partner Cali Arat, has served as lead counsel for the NCAA in the series of overlapping class action lawsuits brought under the Sherman Act. Seeking to revolutionize college sports, plaintiffs challenged NCAA rules that limit student-athlete compensation and benefits, including rules restricting student-athletes from the commercial use of their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”), as well as rules prohibiting professional-style revenue sharing. From the moment each case was filed, Wilkinson Stekloff played a key role in coordinating and executing the overall defense strategy. In its article detailing the dozens of legal minds responsible for advising both the defendants and plaintiffs, Bloomberg Law highlighted Rakesh’s …
Wilkinson Stekloff Recognized at 2024 Global Competition Review Awards
April 12, 2024
At their 14th annual awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C. on April 9, Global Competition Review (GCR) recognized Wilkinson Stekloff for its work as lead trial counsel for Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. — the second-largest merger trial in American history and the biggest involving a technology company. The transaction was selected for “Matter of the Year,” which honors “creative, strategic, and innovative work by teams of in-house and external lawyers and economists” across all competition matters worldwide, as well as “Control Matter of the Year: Americas.” The go-to firm for clients who want to litigate cases with an eye toward trial rather than settlement, Wilkinson Stekloff has served as litigation counsel for Microsoft since the day after the acquisition was announced in January 2022. Led by Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson and Partner Rakesh Kilaru, the firm’s team positioned the case …
Wilkinson Stekloff Honored at 2024 Benchmark Litigation U.S. Awards
March 14, 2024
On March 13, 2024, Benchmark Litigation honored Wilkinson Stekloff at their 12th annual U.S. Awards in New York City in celebration of “the country’s most distinguished litigators and their firms for their exemplary work over the past twelve months.” Wilkinson Stekloff was awarded “Trial Firm of the Year” for serving as lead trial counsel in several major litigations, which culminated in significant activity and favorable results within only a three-month span. During that period, the firm took on a litigation docket unlike any other, including representing Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to its proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Altria in a range of high-profile cases related to its $12.8 billion purchase of a minority interest in JUUL Labs, and a major chemical manufacturer in the first bellwether trial in the most significant PFAS products liability MDL in the country. In addition, Wilkinson Stekloff received the “Impact Case …
Law360 Features Beth Wilkinson and Rakesh Kilaru on the Firm’s Competition Practice Group of the Year Award
February 22, 2024
Law360 recently featured Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson and Partner Rakesh Kilaru in an article chronicling the groundbreaking trial victories that led to the firm’s Competition Practice Group of the Year recognition. In 2023 alone, Wilkinson Stekloff solidified its standing as the go-to firm for clients who want to litigate cases with an eye toward trial rather than settlement, serving as lead counsel in numerous bet-the-company cases for major clients including Microsoft, Altria, NCAA, NFL, and Cargill. When asked about what has driven their success, Beth and Rakesh said the answer goes well beyond just having expertise in competition law. The firm has been, and continues to be, focused on trial work. “And one thing that I think has become clear over the last two years in particular is that antitrust is where a lot of the trials are,” Rakesh noted. “It has to do with trial work, getting down to …
Wilkinson Stekloff Lawyers Named to LCLD 2024 Class
February 13, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff is pleased to announce its selection of two rising leaders to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program. LCLD prepares future generations of diverse talent for the highest positions of leadership, and their programs are a premier professional development platform designed for diverse, high-potential attorneys. This year, Wilkinson Stekloff is sponsoring Associates Caroline Li and Tania Martinez. Lawyers selected for the LCLD Pathfinder Program demonstrate leadership skills, a positive impact on their organization, engagement within the community, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Participants will receive professional and personal development opportunities, leadership training, and relationship-building opportunities, including access to LCLD members and alumni throughout the year-long program. Caroline has represented corporate clients in both antitrust and products liability matters, and has been a member of two trial teams for a major pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. Prior to becoming an associate at Wilkinson Stekloff, Caroline served …
Wilkinson Stekloff Shortlisted in Six 2024 Benchmark Litigation Awards Categories
February 7, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff and Founding Partners Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff have been shortlisted for the 2024 Benchmark Litigation U.S. Awards. The firm is a finalist in three categories, including Boutique Firm of the Year, Trial Firm of the Year, and D.C. Firm of the Year. In 2023 alone, the firm served as lead trial counsel in four major litigations for clients including Microsoft, Altria, 3M, and Monsanto. The firm is currently recognized as a Top Boutique and Top 20 Trial Law Firm in Benchmark’s 2024 Litigation Guide, as well as Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation and Highly Recommended for Dispute Litigation. Following a year in which she and her teams delivered victories in several high-stakes, high-profile matters, including as lead trial counsel for Microsoft in the second-largest merger trial in American history, Beth Wilkinson has been shortlisted for Trial Lawyer of the Year and Antitrust Litigator of the Year. Beth …