Wilkinson Stekloff was honored with multiple awards at Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 U.S. Awards ceremony on March 11 in New York City. The firm was named “Trial Firm of the Year” for an unprecedented third consecutive year. Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson was inducted into Benchmark’s “Hall of Fame.” Partner Rakesh Kilaru won “Antitrust Litigator of the Year.” And the NCAA’s groundbreaking $2.8 billion NIL settlement received an “Impact Case Award.”
Beth Wilkinson and fellow Founding Partner Brian Stekloff were also finalists in the respective categories of “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “Product Liability Litigator of the Year”—distinctions each earned in previous years—and the firm was shortlisted again for “D.C. Firm of the Year” and “Boutique Firm of the Year,” having captured the latter in both 2017 and 2019.
Beth Wilkinson’s appearance in Benchmark Litigation’s Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to one of the nation’s preeminent trial lawyers, having served as lead counsel in over 60 trials, including numerous multibillion-dollar, bet-the-company cases. This honor follows Benchmark’s perennial recognition of Beth as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer, Top 10 Woman Litigator, National Practice Area Star, and Litigation Star. She was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” in 2018 in addition to receiving a national “Impact Case Award” for her work representing Georgia Pacific in Kleen Products, et al. v. International Paper, et al., and received another in 2024 for winning the second-largest merger trial in American history defending Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Beth’s Hall of Fame inclusion comes as Wilkinson Stekloff celebrates its 10-year anniversary—a decade during which the firm has become the most formidable litigation boutique in the country. Other landmark victories for Beth since the firm’s doors opened include multiple bellwether wins for Bayer in its expansive mass tort litigation relating to its blood-thinner Xarelto, a complete victory for Altria before the FTC’s administrative law judge in an antitrust challenge to Altria’s $12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs, obtaining a defense judgment for the NFL and its 32 member teams in their multibillion-dollar Sunday Ticket antitrust litigation, and positioning Hewlett Packard Enterprise to close its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks after the DOJ agreed to an eve-of-trial resolution. Benchmark’s well-deserved recognition of an extraordinary career—one defined by courtroom excellence and an unmatched record of success—is a tribute to Beth’s unwavering commitment to her clients and her dedication to cultivating the next generation of trial lawyers.
Rakesh’s recognition as “Antitrust Litigator of the Year” caps a remarkable run for one of the foremost antitrust and sports litigators in the country, with the crowning achievement of guiding the NCAA’s $2.8 billion name, image, and likeness (NIL) settlement to final approval. Rakesh also earned other victories for the NCAA, beginning with the precedent-setting dismissal of Chalmers, et al. v. NCAA and wins in four ensuing suits brought by prominent former collegiate athletes seeking significant damages for past NIL use. He continued with a successful defense of NCAA eligibility rules and a denial of preliminary injunction in Patterson, et al. v. NCAA (M.D. Tenn.), and reversals of injunctions that had been granted by the lower courts in Fourqurean v. NCAA (7th Cir.) and Elad v. NCAA (3d Cir.). Rakesh also successfully argued a dual hearing appeal in defense of Wilkinson Stekloff’s district court victory for Microsoft, leading to a complete affirmance by the Ninth Circuit. In 2024, Rakesh also served as trial counsel in the “Sunday Ticket” antitrust litigation, spearheading post-trial efforts that resulted in judgment as a matter of law in favor of the NFL and its member teams. Benchmark’s latest recognition adds to Rakesh’s growing list of accolades: He was previously named to the 40 & Under Hotlist and earned repeat recognition as a Litigation Star before being distinguished as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Benchmark’s most recent guide.
The NCAA’s groundbreaking settlement earned the firm another “Impact Case Award.” The settlement is one of the most consequential resolutions in the history of sports—allowing schools to directly compensate student-athletes for the first time and resolving antitrust claims brought by multiple plaintiff classes of current and former student-athletes against the NCAA and major athletic conferences. Rakesh emerged as the architect of the settlement for the defense during the complex negotiation process and continued in that role, arguing before the court in multiple hearings throughout a complex approval process. Partner Cali Arat played an invaluable role for the NCAA as well, having represented the Association for nearly a decade in student-athlete compensation-related disputes.
A third consecutive “Trial Firm of the Year” win and a fourth national “Impact Case Award” further cement Wilkinson Stekloff’s standing as one of the most accomplished litigation practices in the nation. Already a Benchmark mainstay in the “Top 20 Trial Law Firm” and “Top Boutique” categories, the firm was ranked as “Tier 1” for Competition/Antitrust and Commercial Litigation, and “Highly Recommended” for dispute resolution in Washington, D.C. Coupled with the individual accolades earned by its partners, this annual recognition across Benchmark’s most prestigious categories displays the firm’s deep bench of talent across a spectrum of practice areas and reputation for excellence when the stakes are at their highest.