In recognition of Wilkinson Stekloff’s work on some of the most consequential trials across the country, The American Lawyer selected the firm as its National Boutique / Specialty Litigation Department of the Year at the 2024 Industry Awards.
Across all types of high-stakes litigation, 40-lawyer firm Wilkinson Stekloff has delivered a slate of victories that would be the envy of far larger firms, trying over 20 cases to verdict since 2016 and stacking up win after win. The firm’s most recent accomplishments include winning the second-largest merger trial in American history, the biggest involving a technology company, by defeating the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The firm continues to represent Microsoft in the FTC’s appeal in the Ninth Circuit and the FTC’s challenge to the merger through an administrative proceeding.
This past year, the firm also delivered extraordinary results for clients facing the toughest and most consequential litigation in professional and college sports today. In August, Wilkinson Stekloff obtained a complete defense victory for the NFL and its 32 member teams in a class action lawsuit challenging the distribution of the Sunday Ticket subscription package and the NFL’s media agreements more generally. The firm also represents longtime client the NCAA in a groundbreaking settlement of antitrust claims brought by broad classes of student-athletes seeking greater compensation and benefits. Preliminary approval of the $2.78 billion settlement, one of the largest and most consequential litigation settlements in sports and antitrust history, was granted on October 7, 2024.
Read the complete list of American Lawyer Industry Awards 2024 winners here.