Over the past year, Wilkinson Stekloff reinforced its standing as the leading trial litigation boutique in the country — “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit,” according to The American Lawyer. In 2023 alone, the firm served as lead trial counsel in four major litigations, with significant activity and favorable results in each occurring within a three-month span:
- Microsoft: Wilkinson Stekloff won the second-biggest merger trial — and largest ever involving a technology company — in American history, defeating the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and prevailing in opposing the FTC’s request for stays of the district court’s ruling pending appeal. The deal closed on October 13, 2023. In recognition of this win, The American Lawyer named Beth Wilkinson “Litigator of the Week.”
- Altria: Wilkinson Stekloff represented Altria Group and some of its subsidiaries in San Francisco Unified School District v. JUUL Labs Inc., et al., Case No. 19-cv-8177 (N.D. Cal.), the first bellwether trial in the In re JUUL Labs, Inc. Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2913) MDL. On May 10, 2023, just one day after SFUSD rested its case and Brian Stekloff cross-examined three key plaintiff experts, plaintiffs agreed to a $235 million global settlement ending more than 6,000 related cases in state and federal courts.
- 3M: Wilkinson Stekloff represents 3M in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2873 (D.S.C.). The litigation, involving alleged PFAS groundwater contamination from the use of AFFF, is considered the most significant PFAS litigation in the country. On the eve of a jury trial in which Wilkinson Stekloff served as lead trial counsel, 3M announced a settlement to end all claims brought by water providers against 3M.
- Monsanto: Wilkinson Stekloff continues to represent Monsanto in litigation arising out of product liability claims its popular herbicide Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and leads the overall trial strategy in the federal MDL pending in the N.D. Cal., where hundreds of cases are being worked up for possible remand. This year Wilkinson Stekloff Partners Cali Arat, Keri Arnold, and Moira Penza served as trial counsel in three separate trials in New Mexico, Missouri, and Philadelphia.
In each of these and other bet-the-company cases, clients turn to Wilkinson Stekloff for its strategic guidance, courtroom expertise, and unparalleled track record.
The firm also continued its commitment to pro bono work — building on the more than 100 pro bono matters it has handled since 2016 — and took on matters across areas including family law, immigration, post-conviction representation, appeals, and drafting amicus briefs.
In October, the firm’s team — led by Ralia Polechronis and Anastasia Pastan — and together with the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), ACLU, and ACLU of Arizona, advanced a suit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s restrictive abortion laws, including a “Fetal Personhood” Law and Reason Ban. Reversing the district court’s ruling, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled that Arizona healthcare providers and medical associations have standing to bring procedural due process claims challenging a section of the law that criminalizes abortions sought because of a genetic abnormality. The case now returns to the district court, which will consider the merits of the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion.
In 2023, Wilkinson Stekloff also continued its long history of working with the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP), a non-profit organization that provides direct legal and advocacy assistance to domestic violence victims, at-risk children, and other vulnerable individuals. Associate Julian Jiggetts serves on the Junior Board, and numerous Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys volunteered their time to provide crucial legal services to DCVLP’s clients.
Wilkinson Stekloff’s 40-lawyer team, led by Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff, has remained committed to recruiting top-tier talent and growing its bench of trial lawyers capable of handling any case for clients. In 2023 the firm welcomed back Partner Tamarra Matthews Johnson following her nearly two years serving as Counselor to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland. Wilkinson Stekloff also welcomed renowned legal scholar and law professor Daniel Epps to the firm as Of Counsel.
An accomplished first-chair trial lawyer, Tamarra has taken numerous civil and criminal cases to verdict before juries across the country. She has represented and counseled corporate clients involved in a range of industries, from pharmaceuticals to energy, and manufacturing to sports. From 2021 to 2023, Tamarra returned to public service in the Department of Justice, where she had previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for more than a decade, to serve as Attorney General Merrick Garland’s primary counselor on matters involving the Justice Department’s criminal enforcement work, and to advise senior leadership on some of the most sensitive policy issues facing the Department. Tamarra served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court of the United States and continues to advise clients on appellate issues.
Dan is an experienced appellate litigator and is nationally recognized for his expertise on constitutional law, federal courts, criminal law and procedure, and the U.S. Supreme Court. His notable matters include serving as co-counsel for the defendant in Ocasio v. United States and drafting the successful petition for certiorari and merits briefing in Walden v. Fiore. He has also drafted several Supreme Court certiorari petitions and amicus briefs, as well as numerous briefs in the federal and state appellate courts. Outside his work for the firm, Dan is a law professor and legal scholar whose writing has been published in the nation’s leading law reviews, including the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the Columbia Law Review.
Known for training the next generation of trial lawyers, Wilkinson Stekloff welcomed a class of five associates from top-tier law schools, prestigious clerkships, and multinational firms. The firm also accepted six exceptional law students into its summer associate program.
Dedicated to the continued development of high-potential, early-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds, the firm selected three rising leaders to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows and Pathfinder Programs. In 2023, Wilkinson Stekloff sponsored Counsel Anastasia Pastan as a Fellow and Associates Hannah Bedard and Chelsea Shaffer as Pathfinders.
The many contributions and achievements of the Wilkinson Stekloff team in 2023 have led to prestigious recognitions and accolades, including:
- Brian Stekloff was named Litigator of the Year and shortlisted for Top Product Liability Litigator at Benchmark Litigation’s 2023 U.S. Awards Ceremony. The firm was shortlisted for Trial Firm of the Year and Top D.C. Firm.
- The National Law Journal recognized Beth Wilkinson as a 2023 Trailblazer for General Litigation.
- The National Law Journal selected the firm among its finalists for the 2023 Legal Awards Litigation Department of the Year: Products Liability. In addition, Brian Stekloff was named a finalist in the Winning Litigators category for the second year in a row, and Anastasia Pastan was named a Rising Star.
- The American Lawyer named Beth Wilkinson its Litigator of the Week for leading Microsoft’s successful defense of its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
- Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 ranked the firm and its attorneys among the trial elite in their 2023 editions.
- The 2024 Benchmark Litigation Guide recognized the firm as a Top 20 Trial Firm, as well as Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation, a Top Boutique, and Highly Recommended for Dispute Resolution. In addition, Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff were recognized as Top 100 Trial Lawyers; Cali Arat, Keri Arnold, and Moira Penza were recognized as Litigation Stars; and Kieran Gostin, Rakesh Kilaru, and Kosta Stojilkovic were recognized as Future Stars.
- Benchmark Litigation named Beth Wilkinson to its prestigious Top 10 Women in Litigation for the third year in a row, and Cali Arat, Keri Arnold, and Moira Penza were selected to the Top 250 Women in Litigation Guide. In addition, Cali Arat, Rakesh Kilaru, and Moira Penza were named to the 2023 Benchmark Litigation 40 & Under List.
- Keri Arnold was admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America.
- The New York Law Journal recognized Moira Penza as a 2023 Rising Star.
- Crain’s New York Business recognized Ralia Polechronis among its 2023 Notable Women in Law.
- Lawdragon recognized 10 Wilkinson Stekloff partners in its 500 Leading Litigators in America: Beth Wilkinson, Brian Stekloff, Keri Arnold, Jeremy Barber, Kieran Gostin, Rakesh Kilaru, Moira Penza, Ralia Polechronis, James Rosenthal, and Kosta Stojilkovic.
- Wilkinson Stekloff placed third nationally among firms with fewer than 100 attorneys in the 2023 Law360 Pulse pro bono ranking, and 15 of the firm’s attorneys were honored in the 2022 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, which published in 2023.
- Legal Aid DC recognized Wilkinson Stekloff among the top fundraisers for its 2023 Making Justice Real Campaign. With 100% participation among attorneys for a third year in a row, the firm raised the most money out of firms ranging in size between 25 and 199 attorneys.
Wilkinson Stekloff is immensely proud to reflect on our 2023 accomplishments and eager to tackle the challenges to come in 2024, delivering excellent service and wins to our clients.