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 …
Three Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Named “Top Women in Litigation” by Benchmark
July 19, 2018
WASHINGTON – Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Beth Wilkinson, Alexandra Walsh, and Lori Alvino McGill were ranked among Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation,” all of whom “share the distinction of being recognized as top players in their respective fields.” Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson was also named among the “Top 10 Female Litigators” in the country. Benchmark’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation” rankings recognize women who “have earned their place amongst the leading female litigators by participating in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history as well as by earning the hard-won respect of their peers and clients.” “Benchmark’s recognition of Beth, Alex, and Lori as leaders in our field is a great honor, reflecting the firm’s strong female leadership in a male-dominated industry,” said Wilkinson Stekloff Managing Partner Brant Bishop. “We’re proud to call Beth, Alex, and Lori our partners, and feel strongly that our firm’s diversity …
CFPB Dismisses Enforcement Action Against Wilkinson Stekloff Tribal Client
January 26, 2018
WASHINGTON – On January 18, 2018, the CFPB announced the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against the economic development arms of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, a sovereign Indian Nation based in California. The Tribe had retained Wilkinson Stekloff in February 2017, shortly after the Tribe was first contacted by the CFPB, to serve as lead counsel in the event the Bureau decided to bring an enforcement action against its economic development arms, which provide loans over the internet to customers throughout the country who freely consent to tribal jurisdiction as a condition of obtaining their loans. In April 2017, the CFPB sued the tribal arms in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that the loans they originate violate federal law and regulations because they allegedly violate the laws of several different states. Wilkinson Stekloff’s team moved to transfer the case to the U.S. …
Wilkinson Stekloff Wins Victory for Bayer in First State-Court Xarelto Trial
January 10, 2018
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). …