Wilkinson Stekloff Celebrates Banner Year of High Stakes Trial Wins By Next Generation Of Trial Lawyers

WASHINGTON – Wilkinson Stekloff is racing into its fourth year after notching a series of high-profile victories, led by a large and diverse group of partners. In 2018, all of Wilkinson Stekloff’s partners participated in trials and case-dispositive hearings, and several other attorneys achieved significant on-their-feet experience, including through pro bono cases. The firm earned repeated recognition for the depth and successes of its bench and added a new crop of talented litigators to its roster. Wilkinson Stekloff won three trials in 2018, each of which was first-chaired by a different partner: On April 27, 2018, Wilkinson Stekloff, led by Brian Stekloff, Jeremy Barber, and Lori McGill, won a unanimous defense verdict for Bayer and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Russell v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the second state-court Xarelto bellwether trial in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. On May 21, 2018, Wilkinson Stekloff, led by Kosta Stojilkovic …

Wilkinson Stekloff Wins Another Decisive Victory for Bayer in Xarelto Trial

Wilkinson Stekloff’s Brian Stekloff Led the Team to Its Fourth Xarelto Win Washington, D.C. – Wilkinson Stekloff, led by Founding Partner Brian Stekloff, won the second state-court bellwether trial over the blood-thinner Xarelto when the jury rejected claims against Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Lori Alvino McGill and Jeremy Barber also served as counsel for Bayer in the trial. The plaintiff in the Russell case alleged that Bayer and Janssen were liable for claims that the Xarelto label did not adequately instruct doctors on the risks of bleeding associated with the anticoagulant Xarelto. According to Law360, the Philadelphia jury “rejected claims that warnings labels for the … drug left out key information about the increased risk the drug posed when combined with antiplatelet medications.” Previously, Wilkinson Stekloff secured two full defense verdicts for Bayer in similar cases in the federal multi-district litigation in …

Wilkinson Stekloff Wins Victory for Bayer in First State-Court Xarelto Trial

WASHINGTON – On January 9, 2018, Wilkinson Stekloff, led by Founding Partners Beth Wilkinson and Alexandra Walsh, won the first state-court bellwether trial over the blood-thinner Xarelto when the trial court entered judgment for Bayer and Janssen notwithstanding a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff.  Wilkinson and Wilkinson Stekloff had previously secured two full defense verdicts for Bayer in similar cases in the federal multi-district litigation in Louisiana. In December 2017, a jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded nearly $28 million to plaintiff Lynn Hartman in a lawsuit that alleged that Bayer and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals were liable for claims that the Xarelto label did not adequately instruct doctors on the risks of bleeding associated with the anticoagulant Xarelto.  Bayer and Janssen then filed motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a new trial.  The motions raised two key points (among many others).  …

Pro Bono Asylum Victory for Wilkinson Stekloff

Wilkinson Stekloff celebrates an asylum victory today for a sixteen-year old client fleeing persecution in Honduras. Our client suffered persecution in Honduras after his father, a member of a local taxi driver’s cooperative, defied a powerful international gang by refusing to make extortion payments. The gang stalked, threatened, and attempted to kidnap our client from school. Associate Max Warren led the case under the supervision of partner Brian Stekloff. Associates Norman Pentelovitch, Cali Cope-Kasten, and Meg Loftus, paralegal Youlan Xiu, and assistant Kat Phillips assisted with the case. The team worked in collaboration Human Rights First, a non-profit international human rights organization. We are proud of our client for the enormous bravery he has demonstrated in the face of adversity, and know he will be a model citizen in the United States.