Wilkinson Stekloff has been named a “Top 20 Trial Law Firm” for the fourth year in a row by Benchmark Litigation—one of the premier guides to leading law firms and legal practitioners—in their 2026 US edition. This elite distinction follows the firm winning “Trial Firm of the Year” in back-to-back years at Benchmark’s annual US Awards ceremony. The firm also earned a “Tier 1” ranking in Competition/Antitrust—its first appearance in the category—owing to a string of high-profile wins in bet-the-company antitrust matters. In recent years, Wilkinson Stekloff secured major victories for Microsoft in its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, winning the second-biggest merger trial in American history; for the NFL, by winning judgment as a matter of law on multibillion-dollar class-action claims challenging their Sunday Ticket subscription model; and for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, positioning the company to close its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks after a federal court …
Eleven Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Named among the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
September 10, 2025
Eleven Wilkinson Stekloff partners have been recognized among the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. This achievement marks the fourth consecutive year that the firm has placed at least nine partners in this prestigious guide—dating back to its inaugural release in 2022—underscoring the strength and depth of Wilkinson Stekloff’s litigation bench. Honorees from the firm’s Washington, DC and New York offices are recognized across a wide range of practice areas, including Trials, Antitrust, Product Liability, Mass Tort, Environmental, White Collar, Investigations, and Class Actions. This breadth of recognition reflects Wilkinson Stekloff’s generalist approach, allowing the firm to take on clients’ most complex and high-stakes disputes, regardless of the subject matter. The Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America is an annual guide acknowledging the nation’s most accomplished courtroom advocates, selected through a rigorous process of independent research, submissions, and vetting with both peers and adversaries. These outstanding attorneys distinguish themselves …
Wilkinson Stekloff Again Recognized by Chambers Among Trial Elite; Seven Partners Receive Individual Rankings
June 5, 2025
Chambers and Partners again ranked Wilkinson Stekloff as an elite law firm across multiple practice areas in its newly released USA 2025 Guide. The leading legal industry research outlet continues to recognize the firm’s work on the most significant trials and consequential litigation in the country across the antitrust, products liability, and sports landscape. Wilkinson Stekloff has maintained its reputation as a national litigation powerhouse despite its boutique moniker and modest 40-attorney roster, taking nearly two dozen bet-the-company, multi-billion-dollar cases to trial since the firm’s inception, stacking up win after win. Most recently, the firm scored a complete victory for the NFL and its 32 member teams after post-trial briefing in a class action lawsuit challenging the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” subscription package distribution model. In acknowledgement of these continued successes, Chambers has raised Wilkinson Stekloff’s rankings nearly across the board and vaulted the firm into an additional nationwide category, Antitrust …
Wilkinson Stekloff Recognized Again by Law360 and the American Lawyer for 9th Circuit Victory on Behalf of Microsoft
May 12, 2025
For a second consecutive week, Law360 and the American Lawyer have recognized Wilkinson Stekloff in their weekly features. Law360’s Legal Lions of the Week and AmLaw’s Litigator’s of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs acknowledge the Ninth Circuit’s decision affirming Wilkinson Stekloff’s victory at trial defending Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Wilkinson Stekloff’s appellate team was headed by Rakesh Kilaru — who led the briefing effort and argued the appeal for Microsoft before the Ninth Circuit in December 2023 — and Beth Wilkinson — whom the American Lawyer previously recognized as Litigator of the Week for the trial court win — and also included partners Kieran Gostin and Sarah Neuman, and associate Jenna Pavelec. A Sidley Austin team led by Will Levi, along with Rick Beckner and Daniel Hay, was also essential to Microsoft’s success before the court of appeals. In July 2023, Wilkinson Stekloff secured a groundbreaking victory on behalf …
The 2024 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll Recognized 16 Wilkinson Stekloff Attorneys
May 2, 2025
The District of Columbia Courts, in partnership with the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, recognized 16 Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys on its 2024 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. Established in 2011, the Honor Roll recognizes attorneys who have dedicated 50 or more hours to pro bono service, with those performing 100 or more hours receiving High Honors distinction. These honorees make a significant impact by providing critical legal assistance to indigent individuals, under-resourced small businesses, and vital community-based nonprofits. The Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys recognized include: Tania Martinez, Associate (High Honors)Mikaela Meyer, Associate (High Honors)Logan Page, Associate (High Honors)Dhruti Patel, Associate (High Honors)Jenna Pavelec, Associate (High Honors)Quinton Weinstein, Associate (High Honors)Jeremy Barber, PartnerKieran Gostin, PartnerRakesh Kilaru, PartnerSarah Neuman, PartnerMatthew Skanchy, CounselAnthony Ferrara, AssociateElizabeth Keys, AssociateKellen McCoy, AssociateDeon McCray, AssociateJasper Primack, Associate Pro bono representation is woven into the fabric of Wilkinson Stekloff. Since its founding …
Ten Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Selected to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
April 8, 2025
For a tenth consecutive year – each year since the founding of the firm – Wilkinson Stekloff partners have been honored on the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America list. After founding partner Beth Wilkinson was inducted into Lawdragon’s Hall of Fame in 2024, the firm has placed ten partners on the publication’s 20th edition of their flagship guide. The 500 Leading Lawyers in America is an annual guide that recognizes the most influential attorneys in the nation. The lawyers chosen for this list lead matters across the country in a variety of jurisdictions but have one thing in common – they achieve success for their clients. The honorees are identified through a nomination process and rigorous independent research, including vetting with peers and competitors to ensure those selected are truly at the top of the legal field. The ten Wilkinson Stekloff partners honored as Leading Lawyers are: Brian L. …
Wilkinson Stekloff Secures Pro Bono Win in Second Amendment Case
January 21, 2025
Wilkinson Stekloff secured a favorable settlement for a pro bono client whose firearm license was unconstitutionally revoked by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). In the summer of 2019, our client applied for a firearm registration certificate and a concealed pistol license. He complied with every step of D.C.’s rigorous application process, and satisfied each of D.C.’s stringent statutory and regulatory requirements. After reviewing his applications and all relevant facts, MPD rightfully approved both applications. Yet just six months later, MPD revoked both his firearm registration certificate and concealed pistol license based on his history of arrests alone— even though those arrests had not resulted in any convictions and the most serious charges against him had been dropped by the government after further investigation revealed that he had not committed the crimes of which he had been accused. Wilkinson Stekloff filed a lawsuit under Section 1983, arguing that MPD’s revocation …
Benchmark Litigation Selects Wilkinson Stekloff as a Top 20 Trial Law Firm, Honors Eight Partners
October 9, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff has been named a Top 20 Trial Law Firm in the 2025 Benchmark Litigation guide, marking the third consecutive year the firm has received this prestigious recognition. Additionally, Wilkinson Stekloff was recognized as a Top Boutique, ranked as Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation, and is Highly Recommended for Dispute Resolution in D.C. Considered the definitive guide to the world’s leading litigation firms and lawyers, Benchmark Litigation rankings are determined by six months of extensive research, which includes interviews with peers and clients. In addition to the firm’s rankings, Wilkinson Stekloff Founding Partners Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff were recognized among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, an elite group selected by peers and clients as the best of the best in the practice of trial law. This recognition comes on the heels of Beth being named a Top 10 Female Litigator by Benchmark Litigation for the fourth year in a row. Benchmark Litigation also recognized several Wilkinson …
Lawdragon Once Again Recognizes Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Among Its 2025 500 Leading Litigators in America
September 12, 2024
Lawdragon once again recognized Wilkinson Stekloff partners in the third edition of its 500 Leading Litigators in America. This guide spotlights attorneys who excel in representing corporations and other market-leading entities in their most significant legal battles. Lawdragon’s selection process involves extensive independent research into the attorneys making a significant impact on the legal field, emphasizing recent matters handled. Those selected for the guide typically have decades of experience in leading roles in state or federal courts, or before government agencies and international adjudicatory entities. They are also chosen for their intellect, wisdom, conduct, and leadership. The ten Wilkinson Stekloff partners recognized include: Beth Wilkinson Brian Stekloff Keri Arnold Jeremy Barber Kieran Gostin Rakesh Kilaru Moira Penza Ralia Polechronis James Rosenthal Kosta Stojilkovic
Legal 500 Continues to Recognize Wilkinson Stekloff as a Top-Tier Firm
July 1, 2024
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 …