2013 lawdragon magazine

inside Q&As with Lawdragon 500 Members A Look at Crisis Management Practices Prosecuting Crimes from Rwanda’s Genocide

inside Q&As with Lawdragon 500 Members A Look at Crisis Management Practices Prosecuting Crimes from Rwanda’s Genocide

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NEW YoRK 540 Madison avenue New York, NY 10022 T: 212.607.8160

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ChiCago 300 North LaSalle Street Chicago, iL 60654 T: 312.450.6700

One of the nation’s premier plaintiff’s personal injury law firms renowned for its achievements in the courtroom and its contributions to the community.

Trial lawyers 33 N. DEARBORN, CHICAGO, IL 60602 | 888.364.3191 | WWW.CORBOYDEMETRIO.COM

North America

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www.winston.com

THE LAWYERS FOR CLIENTS WHO MEAN BUSINESS. Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, founded in 1997, has grown to over 250 lawyers practicing in offices strategically located throughout the United States and in London. With a world-class litigation practice and a fast-growing corporate group, BSF attorneys regularly serve as lead counsel on complex, high-profile, global matters.

BOIES, SCHILLER & FLEXNER PROUDLY CONGRATULATES OUR PARTNERS NAMED TO THE PRESTIGIOUS LAWDRAGON 500 LEADING LAWYERS IN AMERICA GUIDE.

OFFICES LOCATED IN: CALIFORNIA Oakland Santa Monica

NEW HAMPSHIRE Hanover

NEW YORK Albany, Armonk, New York City

FLORIDA Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miami, Orlando

NEVADA Las Vegas

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington, DC

UNITED KINGDOM London

David Boies

Karen Dyer

Donald Flexner

Nicholas Gravante

Armonk

Orlando

New York

New York

Hamish Hume

William Isaacson

Bill Ohlemeyer

Jonathan Schiller

Washington, DC

Washington, DC

New York

New York

Jonathan Sherman

Stuart Singer

Stephen Zack

Washington, DC

Ft. Lauderdale

Miami

L AW D R A G O N H O N O R S WWW.BSFLLP.COM

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14 editor’s letter 25 THe Lawdragon Law School Project

A new website devoted to legal education will help prospective students make better choices. It will also prompt important discussions about what schools are doing right and where there might be room for improvement.

25 30

30 The EMerGING CRISIS MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

Political insiders and powerbrokers showcase the appeal of a law practice — at firms big and small — that combines traditional legal skills with the inexact science of managing public relations during crises.

36 Rwanda’s LonG ROAD TO JUSTICE

Our third in a series of articles examining transitional justice mechanisms for gross human rights violations: In the nearly 20 years since the Rwandan genocide, domestic and international justice efforts have struggled to balance the demands for remembrance, criminal accountability and moving on.

52 The AChievers The Lawdragon 500

The nation’s leading lawyers shine even brighter in our annual photography spread. This page-turner also features “Lawyer Limelight” Q&As with:

62

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57 Roberta Kaplan (Paul Weiss) 63 C. Allen Parker (Cravath) 69 Ray Boucher (Khorrami Boucher) 79 Paul Schnell (Skadden) 87 Karen Dyer (Boies Schiller) 93 Barry Berke (Kramer Levin) 99 William Treanor (Georgetown Law Center) 105 Geoffrey Howard (Bingham) 111 Robert Giuffra (Sullivan & Cromwell) 117 Sean O’Shea (O’Shea Partners) 123 Gary Horlick (Law Offices of Gary N. Horlick) 129 Linda Kornfeld (Kasowitz Benson) 137 K. Craig Wildfang (Robins Kaplan) 143 Max Berger (Bernstein Litowitz) 151 Brian Tamanaha (Washington University School of Law) 157 Adam Klein (Outten & Golden) 163 Diane Sullivan (Weil Gotshal) 169 Jonathan Schiller (Boies Schiller) 173 Keith Flaum (Weil Gotshal) 179 Baher Azmy (Center for Constitutional Rights) 183 George Bason (Davis Polk) 187 Lawrence Sucharow (Labaton Sucharow) 191 Richard Revesz (New York University School of Law)

COVER SPREAD, from left to right: C. Allen Parker, Sandra Leung, Sara Moss, Adam Emmerich, Roberta Kaplan, Christopher Meade, Karen Dyer, Baher Azmy, Jeffrey Klein, Ray Boucher, Candace Beinecke, Geoff Howard, Brian Stevenson, Brian Tamanaha, Martha Bergmark, Mary Kay Vyskocil, Brad Brian.

52

LAWDRAGON The Guide to World-Class Lawyers

Providing Solutions

PUBLISHER/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER K atrina D ewey katrina @ lawdragon . com C H I E F F I NANC I A L O F F I C E R M ark B ucklin mark @ lawdragon . com E D I T OR - I N - C H I E F J ohn R yan john @ lawdragon . com

Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, L.L.C.

Chief o f S t r a te g i c Devel o p m e n t C atherine M c G regor catherine @ lawdragon . com L AW S C H OO L S E D I T OR M argot S lade margot @ lawdragon . com A S S I S T AN T E D I T OR J eff S chult jeff @ lawdragon . com CON T R I B U T I NG E D I T OR X enia K obylarz xkobylarz @ gmail . com AR T D I R E C T OR S ammy E lfatrany sammy @ elfatranydesign . com L AW S C H OO L S S E N I OR CORR E S P OND E N T J ames L angford james @ lawdragon . com E D I T OR I A L A S S I S T AN T M ichelle F ox michelle @ lawdragon . com MAR K E T I NG COORD I NA T OR M elissa C han melissa @ lawdragon . com CO V E R D E S I GN J oe L ucchese joel @ dopepope . com

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C HRISTOPHER A. S EEGER

A founding member of Seeger Weiss LLP, Christopher Seeger is one of the nation’s most experienced and accomplished attorneys in mass tort and injury litigation and has been recognized as such in publications including Lawdragon 500, Best Lawyers, and New York and New Jersey SuperLawyers.

Mr. Seeger has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile lawsuits. He lead the groundbreaking case against Vioxx, culminating in a $4.85 billion settlement, and negotiated the first-ever multimillion dollar settlement of third-party liens held against the Vioxx claimants. Mr. Seeger currently serves as co-lead counsel for former NFL players and lead negotiator in the highly publicized concussion lawsuit, achieving a $765 million settlement with the NFL. Chris Seeger has successfully represented plaintiffs in a variety of practice areas, including pharmaceutical injury, securities and investment fraud, consumer protections, and drug and toxic injury.

As industry leaders with decades of experience successfully prosecuting injury cases and recovering large financial awards, the partners at Seeger Weiss LLP are uniquely equipped with the expertise necessary to provide just compensation for individuals who have suffered injuries as the result of negligence or malfeasance.

To contact Christopher Seeger or another one of our partners, email us at info@seegerweiss.com or call directly at 212.584.0700.

SEEGERWEISS LLP DRUG AND TOXIC INJURY

PERSONAL INJURY

77 WATER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10005 888.584.0411 212.584.0700 W W W. S E E G E R W E I S S . C O M I N F O @ S E E G E R W E I S S . C O M

CLASS ACTIONS

S E C U R I T I E S L I T I G AT I O N

COMMERCIAL DISPUTES

Tom Ajamie Tom Ajamie Lawdragon Lawdragon 500500

Oneof ofthe thelargest largest civil One RICOjury juryverdicts verdictsininhistory. history. civil RICO Thelargest largest securities securities arbitration The arbitrationaward awardininhistory. history.

And many many more And moreawards. awards. teamof oflawyers lawyers who who work AAteam workfaithfully faithfullyand andtirelessly tirelessly to win to win your yourcase. case. 速 速 Ajamie LLP | We Work to Win. Ajamie LLP | We Work to Win. www.ajamie.com

www.ajamie.com www.ajamie.com

GIR ARDI | KEESE

STANDING (L TO R); Lyssa A. Roberts; James G. O’Callahan; Amanda L. McClintock; V. Andre Rekte; Shahram A. Shayesteh; Howard B. Miller; Robert W. Finnerty; David N. Bigelow; David R. Lira; John J. Girardi; Keith D. Griffin; Claus F. Mory; Amy F. Solomon; Graham B. LippSmith; Nicholas M. Hutchinson; Joseph Gjonola; V. Andre Sherman. SITTING (L TO R): Shaw J. McCann; Amanda H. Kent; Vince J. Carter; Neyleen S. Beljajev. STANDING, FRONT (L TO R): Thomas V. Girardi and Robert M. Keese

A national reputation built on helping the little guy Review the National Law Journal’s list of the top 11 plaintiff’s law firms in the country, Lawdragon’s list of the nation’s leading attorneys, or the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s ranking of the city’s best firms or its top 100 lawyers list, and you’ll regularly find Girardi & Keese attorneys named. Recognized for their legal acumen and superb trial skills, the 38 attorneys of Girardi & Keese frequently prevail.

RECORD OF SUCCESS | For more than 40 years, Girardi &

Keese has been at the forefront of injury cases involving physical hurt, property damage or financial harm. Since 1965, the firm has recovered more than $3 billion against some of the world’s largest corporations, including Exxon, Shell, the Ford Motor Company, DuPont and Walt Disney World. Girardi & Keese has also been involved in many groundbreaking verdicts, such as the first $1 million medical malpractice verdict in California in the 1970s, and more recently, the $1.9 billion settlement on behalf of California’s energy customers. Additionally, Tom Girardi was a significant architect of the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement.

Each win is important because every case represents the health and well-being of individuals in Southern California—the little guy.

Individuals who have been harmed in some way are at the heart of Girardi & Keese’s practice, whether the injury was due to medical malpractice, product failure, wrongful termination, vehicle accident or similar wrongdoing.

LEADING LAWYERS | This year, three Girardi & Keese lawyers made

the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide—founding partner Thomas V. Girardi, David R. Lira and Amy Solomon.

G K

GIR ARDI

|

KEESE

LAWYERS

1126 Wilshire Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90017 PH: (213) 977- 0211 | FX: (213) 481-1554 www.girardikeese.com

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A Note FROm The PUBLISHER AND EDITOR

his year really set a new standard for exciting developments at Lawdragon.

As many of you know, the former managing editor of Chambers, Catherine McGregor, joined as our new chief of strategic development. That means, among other things, more private firms and corporate legal departments will be engaged with us and have this magazine — and our website — in front of their eyes. She brings a much deeper focus on the needs of corporate counsel, which will generate a new series of “Insights” practice guides next year.

We also launched a project devoted to legal education, which will culminate in a new website later this year called the Lawdragon Law School Report. For this, we hired the tireless Margot Slade, the former editor of Consumer Reports and veteran of such paragons of journalism as the New York Times and Bloomberg News. More than two years in the making, the site will allow prospective students to better search and compare law schools while also providing daily coverage and features of interest to existing students and attorneys.

Then, of course, there is this magazine — stubbornly in print on quality paper and in vibrant color. We worked with more than 20 photographers around the nation to capture The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. In our view, this spread remains the best photojournalism in the industry, and as always it is coupled with Q&As with many of the world’s most prominent and fascinating attorneys.

Our feature stories this year reflect our continuing interest in trend-setting practices and global justice. Contributing editor Xenia Kobylarz delves into the crisis management practices led by the likes of Michael Chertoff, of Covington & Burling, and solo practitioner Lanny Davis, both D.C. insiders who blend legal know-how with PR savvy to get clients through the worst of times. And, for the third year in a row, Lawdragon editor-in-chief John Ryan travelled to a post-conflict setting to report on accountability mechanisms for massive human rights violations. This year, he examines efforts by Rwanda and the international community to document and prosecute crimes from the 1994 genocide — a follow-up to past, similarly themed stories on South Africa and the former Yugoslavia.

Taking all this together, let’s just say that the bar is set pretty high for 2014. But with our new team in place, and your help, we know we’ll reach new heights. Thanks again for taking the time to flip through these pages. And thank you, ever and always, for your friendship and support.

J o h n Rya n Editor-in-Chief john@lawdragon.com

Katrina DeweY Publisher and CEO katrina@lawdragon .com

L AW D R A G O N

14

Issue 14

When It Comes to Trials by Fire, Meet the Heatseekers.

Living and working in South Louisiana, the partners and attorneys of Herman, Herman and Katz, LLC, have faced and conquered the personal and professional challenges of unique and sometimes catastrophic events with enormous legal consequences, like the BP Oil Spill and Hurricane Katrina. We’ve taken the skills we’ve learned at home under unprecedented situations and applied them to nationwide fights for justice, setting precedents throughout the country in cases involving Big Tobacco, Chinese Drywall, Vioxx and other high profile cases.

For more than 70 years, from the smallest litigations to the most complex trial and history-making class action lawsuits, people in Louisiana and throughout the entire country count on Herman, Herman and Katz, LLC. Stephen Herman, Managing Partner of Litigation

Steven Lane, Managing Parter of Operations

820 O’Keefe Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113 t: 504.581.4892 hhklawfirm.com

When When Experience Experience Counts Counts

ENGSTROM LIPSCOMB & LACK ENGSTROM LIPSCOMB & LACK

Established 1973. Billions recovered for consumers.

Established 1973. Billions recovered for consumers.

$ 19 Million $$ 32 19 Million Million $$ 80 32 Million Million $$ 100 Million 80 Million $$ 150 100 Million Million $$ 295 150 Million Million $$ 333 295 Million Million $$ 455 333 Million Million $$ 1.7 455Billion Million $ 1.7 Billion

Fowler v. Caremark (Qui Tam) Dewald Knyal (Business Litigation) Fowler v.v.Caremark (Qui Tam) Bacome v.

Unocal (Avila Beach Pollution) Dewald v. Knyal (Business Litigation) Team Design v.

Reliant Energy, Inc., et al. (Price Indexing Cases) Bacome v. Unocal (Avila Beach Pollution) SDG&E Wildfire of 2007 (Property Damage) Team Design v. Reliant Energy, Inc., et al. (Price Indexing Cases) Aguayo PG&E (Environmental) SDG&E v.

Wildfire of 2007 (Property Damage) Anderson v.

PG&E (Erin Brockovich Case) Aguayo v. PG&E (Environmental) Fogel v.

Farmer’s Group Action) Anderson v. PG&E (Erin(Class Brockovich Case) Natural Gas Anti–Trust Cases I, II, III, & IV (Pipeline Cases) Fogel v. Farmer’s Group (Class Action) Natural Gas Anti–Trust Cases I, II, III, & IV (Pipeline Cases)

ENGSTROM ENGSTROM& LIPSCOMB LIPSCOMB & LACK 855 ELL WINS TOLL FREE LACK

310 855 552 ELL3800 WINS TOLL FREE elllaw.com 310 552 3800 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 1200 elllaw.com Los Angeles, 90067 10100 Santa CA Monica Blvd., Ste. 1200 Los Angeles, CA 90067

Co–Counsel, Co–Lead–Counsel, and Referrals Welcome Co–Counsel, Co–Lead–Counsel, and Referrals Welcome

Personal Injury |

A law firm featuring trial lawyers practicing in the areas of

Personal Injury |

Personal Injury | Products Liability |

A law firm featuring trial lawyers A lawpracticing firm featuring trial lawyers in the areas of practicing in the areas of

Products Liability | Medical Malpractice | Wrongful Death | Complex Civil Litigation

Products Liability |

Medical Malpractice | Wrongful Death | Complex Civil Litigation

www.yerridlaw.com

Medical Malpractice | Wrongful Death | Complex Civil Litigation

Bank of America Plaza, Suite 3910 BankEast of America Suite 3910 101 Kennedy Plaza, Boulevard 101 EastFlorida Kennedy Boulevard Tampa, 33602 (813) 222-8222 Tampa, Florida 33602 www.yerridlaw.com (813) 222-8222

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Ty Cobb

Lawdragon 500 Honoree

One of the nation’s leading lawyers in the areas of white collar criminal litigation, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement, Congressional investigations and hearings, and related complex civil litigation.

Columbia Square, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004 Phone: +1 202 637 5600 • Fax: +1 202 637 5910 www.hoganlovells.com

Congratulates its partners on their selection as

Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America

Max Berger

Blair Nicholas

Trusted Advocacy.

Proven Results.

www.blbglaw.com 800-380-8496

Salvatore Graziano

Mark Lebovitch

Gerald Silk

Steven Singer

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP is one of the nation’s leading law firms representing public pension funds and institutional investors in securities fraud and corporate governance litigation. Since our founding in 1983, we have recovered over $25 billion for investors, including 5 of the 10 largest securities fraud recoveries in history. We have also achieved precedent-setting corporate governance reforms on behalf of our clients that are changing business practices for the better across the country.

��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” ��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” ��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” ��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””� �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””� ��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” ��””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”” �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””� �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””� �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””� �”””””�”�”””””””�””””””””””�””””�”””””””””””””�

�”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” �”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” �”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” �”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” �”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” �”””�”””””””””””””””��”””””””””””””””””�”””””””””””””””””””�”””�”””””””�”””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” ””�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” ””�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” ��”�””�””””””””””””����”””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””�””””””””””””” ””�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” ””�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” �”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” ”�”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” ””�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” ”�””””�”””””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””�””�”””””””””””””””””” �”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” �”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” �”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” �”””””�””””””””””””””””””””””””””�”””��”””””””””””””””””””””�””””���”�”””””” ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” ”””””””””””””””””””””””�””�””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””�””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� ””””�””””””””””””””””””””�”””��””””””�”””””””””��””””””””””””””””�� �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�” �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�” �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�” �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�” “I’m “I’mattered attered to to be be included included in in such such distinguished distinguished company.” company.” �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�” �””””””�””””�””””�””””””””””””””��”””�””””””””��””�””””��””””�”””””�””�”

“I’m “I’mattered attered to to be be included included in in such such distinguished distinguished company.” company.”

“I’m “I’mattered attered to to be be included included in in such such distinguished distinguished company.” company.”

””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””� ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””� ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””” ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””� ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””� ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””� ”””””””�”””�”””””””””””””””””””””””””�”�”””””””””””�

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Issue 14

More graduates and students from Harvard Law School (pictureD) have taken the Lawdragon Law School survey than from any other law school — so far.

The Lawdragon Law School Project Photo by: Jorge Salcedo/Dreamstime.com

By Katrina Dewey

A new website devoted to legal education will help prospective students make better choices. It will also prompt important discussions about what schools are doing right and where there might be room for improvement. hree years ago, Lawdragon undertook an effort to improve law school choice. Our initial focus was the need for additional sources of information for prospective students. At the time, U.S. News & World Report’s Law School Ranking was relied on by at least 80 percent of prospective students in making their choice as to the best school to attend.

The train wreck from that was starting to occur. Student I s s u e 14

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debt soared as schools pushed tuition hikes onto students.

This boosted scores on two U.S. News criteria: school expense and size of tenured faculty budget.

And jobs were beginning to drop, creating a chasm between a law student’s investment and the likelihood that it would pay off.

We spent the next two years traveling the country, talking to law school deans and faculty, as well as prominent alumni, many deeply involved with their law schools. We found a need for a new approach to law schools – one based on individual choice rather than an outdated notion that one size fits all or the assumption that students should simply go to the most highly-ranked school that accepted them.

lawdragon . c o m

Lawdragon has created the Lawdragon Law School Report – a new site to launch later this year – to provide an alternative to one-size-fits-all thinking. Its philosophy is that a student should generally look to attend a school that offers him or her the best likelihood of getting a job in the region where they want to work.

And that other factors in a student’s life – the need to work full-time, the type of career he or she wants –should be weighed in search results for prospective schools. Now a few people have noted that “I didn’t know what I wanted to do” when I went to law school. And we get that. But it is indisputably true that students need to make better and earlier choices throughout their lives today; and a more thoughtful approach to legal education will likely lead to a better job result.

We are also aware of the debate within academia of whether the new focus on jobs detracts from the joy of intellectual pursuits. We are all for the life of the mind, but simply believe it’s a mistake to not value, equally at least, the realities faced by this generation of law students and young lawyers.

We searched hard and found the right anchor for our law school project: Margot Slade, who is the former editor of Consumer Reports as well as a longtime legal and education editor of The New York Times.

Our new site will offer:

The survey is here: www.research.net/s/lawdragon-lawschool-survey.

Question number 1 suggests there’s a lot for all of us to investigate further: 1. U.S. law schools are doing a good job preparing students to practice law or succeed in other professions.

32.4%

31.4%

36.2%

Agree

Disagree

Undecided/Mixed Feelings

Survey results as of October 5, 2013

At the same time, Question 2 reveals that a majority of you – even if by a slim margin – believe your school was worth the cost.

R Ability to search the schools that provide the top job placement in your preferred state

R Opportunity to narrow those schools for your individual needs, such as working part-time or full

R Side-by-side comparison of schools that are “best” for

2. My law school education was or is worth the cost.

that student

R Full biographies on all ABA approved law schools and daily news written by award-winning editorial staff

5.9%

R Reports on prominent alumni from each school,as well as faculty Members

13.5%

R Financial advice along with financial planning and analysis instruments

R Results From the largest survey ever of attorney

52%

satisfaction with their legal careers

In fact, the Lawdragon Law School Survey has served as the starting point for our editorial coverage by giving us a “lay of the land” regarding student and attorney opinions on core issues. The answers and feedback from this simple and quick survey – it takes about five-minutes – have given us ideas on what areas to cover and how to structure future surveys.

We released the survey in the spring. As of this printing, more than 2,000 attorneys and students have taken it, but that’s just the start — the survey will remain live and the results will accumulate (and we assume change) over time.

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28.5%

Agree

Disagree

Undecided/Mixed Feelings

Not sure due to my recent or pending graduation.

Survey results as of October 5, 2013

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And, of course, we couldn’t resist this question:

“We need to provide our students with the skills of the 21st century and stop calling them soft skills—ability to work collaboratively, communicate professionally in an electronic world etc. We also need to provide them with an understanding of basic business concepts and modes of analysis.”

5. Which of the following statements best reflects your beliefs on the state of the U.S. legal profession?

25%

43.6%

15.1%

16.3%

— Survey Respondent There are too many lawyers!

The number of total lawyers is not a problem, but the need to make a lot of money is.

A subsequent matrix question asks respondents to evaluate their schools based on a number of criteria:

We need more lawyers, but they need to serve people who can’t pay much if at all.

3. Please evaluate the law school on the issues below, choosing for each issue either Excellent, Good, Average, Not Good, Very Poor, N/A (No basis for judgment):

Other statement (you can explain below).

Survey results as of October 5, 2013

The broader goal of the survey is to foster an interactivity that we hope will define the site, with tips, comments, news and data coming from students, graduates and the law schools themselves. This will allow for even better, more insightful results in our law school search and comparison function.

We also hope students will build profiles on the site that they can use to market themselves and network in a professional online environment devoted to the legal profession. Lawdragon has always recognized the very best of the legal profession. Now we are hoping to provide a key service to those at the very outset of their careers, and with your help and participation, we will help both the legal profession and those who are its future. ■

As the answers pour in, the data will allow us to compare schools by these different criteria. That is why we are hoping as many of you as possible will take the survey. Most questions allow respondents to provide written comments to explain their answers, or just to make a point. As you might expect, these have been fascinating to sort through.

One thoughtful respondent told us: “We need to provide our students with the skills of the 21st century and stop calling them soft skills – ability to work collaboratively, communicate professionally in an electronic world etc. We also need to provide them with an understanding of basic business concepts and modes of analysis.”

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Be sure to check out our interviews with three leading minds on legal education in our Lawdragon 500 photography and Q&A section:

William Treanor, Dean of Georgetown Law Center | page 49 Brian Tamanaha, Professor at Washington University School of Law and author of “Failing Law Schools” | page 100 Richard Revesz, Dean Emeritus of New York University School of Law | page 140

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Issue 14

ChaMPions of the injured.

As one of Arizona’s most respected and successful plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death practices, Gallagher & Kennedy’s accomplished attorney team has represented injury victims and their surviving families in some of the highest profile cases in Arizona. With more than 100 years of combined experience protecting the rights of those harmed by others, Gallagher & Kennedy rigorously defends its clients, and is in the forefront of social change from results achieved on behalf of their clients.

Kimberly Allen

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Lincoln Combs

Liana Garcia

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Gallagher & Kennedy Department Head, Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Pat is recognized as one of the finest trial lawyers in America.

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The Emerging

Crisis Management Practice

By Xenia Kobylarz

P

Political insiders and powerbrokers showcase the appeal of a law practice—at firms big and small—that combines traditional legal skills with the inexact science of managing public relations during crises.

L AW D R A G O N photo by: Henning Schacht/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

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I s s u e 14

Photo by: xxxx xxxxx

Photo by: xxxx xxxxx

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lawdragon . c o m

IN THE AGE OF

He said Covington, which already had a thriving legislative and regulatory practice that involves similar strategic legal counseling, formally created a practice group in January 2011 because clients were asking for the services.

“We found that in advising clients, we were increasingly giving broader advice that required coordinating legal issues, concerns affecting stakeholders, general public reputation, potential congressional interests and regulatory matters,” Chertoff explained.

But building a crisis management practice is not as easy as simply creating one and marketing it to clients. “Every lawyer is not a crisis manager,” Chertoff said. “In our case, we had that rare, broad combination of senior lawyers with strong experience in public policy plus hands-on experience in actually managing crises at a very high level.”

DIGITAL MEDIA, when any tweet or blog post can go viral and practically everyone who has Internet access can claim journalist credentials, most lawyers would agree that dealing with the media can no longer be handled with a simple “No comment.” For many clients and their lawyers, winning in the court of public opinion is as important as winning in court.

Enter Michael Chertoff and Lanny Davis, two lawyers who know more about the law and its intersection with the media than most legal practitioners, based on their deep legal and political experience. Both are longtime D.C . insiders and powerbrokers who have held high-profile positions: Davis was a special counsel and spokesperson for the Clinton administration, and Chertoff was Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security during George W. Bush’s administration. And both are two of the most respected lawyers today in the field of crisis management.

Chertoff operates from the broader base of Covington & Burling, while Davis runs his own high-end niche solo practice at Lanny J. Davis & Associates. Both platforms show the potential of turning the inexact science of crisis management into a profitable and increasingly visible legal practice today — and one that is increasingly sought-after by the most sophisticated clients. In the Big Law world, Covington’s team is joined by other prominent firms that have built practices with star lawyers with a wealth of highend government service. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s team, for example, was the brainchild of partner Ted Olson, the former U.S. Solicitor General.

The practice has gained prominence in recent years as clients have realized the importance of having lawyers at the core of a PR strategy in a fast-moving media environment. Lawyers have greater access to client information than non-lawyer media professionals, and they will be more adept at crafting messages that do not expose clients to legal liabilities.

“Being able to give legal advice is key,” Davis said.

“If you are actually a lawyer and part of a litigation team, you qualify for attorney-client privilege. I can’t give what you call ‘media savvy’ advice unless I know all the facts, even the facts that other lawyers in the team don’t want to tell me.”

Clients involved in high-stakes litigation or government investigations are now likely to first turn to their lawyers for advice on talking to the media, as well as other audiences whose opinion they value, such as shareholders, lawmakers and regulators, according to Chertoff, a cofounder of Covington & Burling’s strategic risk and crisis management practice.

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Lawsuits are not solely legal problems. Often they are problems of perception, and as lawyers we need to help shape the environment in which our defense of our clients is viewed.”

—Andrew Tulumello Among the media-savvy at Covington are Chertoff’s fellow partners Stuart Eizenstat, former adviser to Jimmy Carter and ambassador to the European Union; former DC Attorney General Peter Nickles; former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; and Thomas Williamson, former U.S. Solicitor of Labor.

Chertoff’s own extensive credentials include being coauthor of the USA PATRIOT Act, serving as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General.

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“The special sauce for advising clients on crisis management is having advisers who have real experience managing a crisis,” Chertoff said. “When we go to clients and give advice, it is helpful to be able to say that ‘I’ve sat in your seat and have been through the same thing.’”

Covington’s crisis management team, which now has 50 lawyers firmwide, works with clients on everything from litigation media strategy to prepping C-Level executives for shareholder’s meetings or Congressional testimony.

Chertoff did not name clients but said that the firm is hired not just for crisis but also precrisis management.

“The speed and intensity of a crisis has increased tremendously over the last five years because of the technology and it is wise to do some pre-crisis planning,” Chertoff said.

At Gibson Dunn, Olson also leads a celebrity-studded group of veteran lawyers such as former U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang, former New York City deputy mayor and litigator Randy Mastro, appellate heavyweight Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. and former federal prosecutor Orin Snyder, one of the nation’s top trial attorneys.

“We were almost certainly the first among law firms to establish a crisis management practice,” said Andrew Tulumello, partner and co-chair of the firm’s crisis management group. “When Ted Olson came back from government service in 2004, he recognized immediately that the legal landscape had fundamentally changed.”

He added, “Some of the largest companies were facing multiple lawsuits, government investigations and congressional inquiries, and Ted saw that companies have significant need for a law firm that could deploy a team to handle and manage the crises that many companies face from all fronts.”

Over the years, Gibson Dunn’s team has advised Chevron, Dole Foods, Facebook and Goldman Sachs on crisis management involving some of the companies’ most high-profile litigation and government investigations. Most of the team’s work is highly confidential and happens behind the scene.

Damage control: “Lawsuits are not solely legal probLanny Davis during lems,” Tulumello said. “Often they his representation are problems of perception, and as of Rep. Charles lawyers we need to help shape the Rangel in 2008.

Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom

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environment in which our defense of our clients is viewed.

Often that requires being more affirmative in the media than some lawyers typically are comfortable doing.”

Davis, whose client list includes major corporations and celebrities embroiled in some of the most messy and highprofile scandals in the recent past, has extensive war tales to share, numerous enough to be the subject of a book. His third and latest book, which chronicles his own experience helping clients such as Martha Stewart, Trent Lott, Whole Foods and Penn State University, was published in March.

“Crisis Tales: Five Rules for Coping With Crises in Business, Politics and Life,” has a chapter detailing how he helped advise Penn State’s board of trustees after they decided to fire Joe Paterno over the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The decision caused a “humongous uproar” within the Penn State community, according to Davis.

“Penn State was being sued by the children so the lawyers didn’t dare to talk to the media or to the PR firm they hired.

The PR firm didn’t have any facts to share with the media,” Davis recalled. “So when I was brought on, the first thing I did was meet with the attorneys and convince them to allow me to interview all the trustees to find out the facts and legal problems. I then developed the strategy of getting the information out to a major newspaper without giving up attorney-client privilege.”

The result was a long profile on the front page of the New York Times sports section where each trustee told his or her personal story. “It was a miraculous result,” Davis lawdragon . c o m

MASTER CLASS

SEVEN TIPS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS

1

Understand your client’s business. Key to advising clients in this multidisciplinary practice is being able to address the full spectrum of a client’s business and how each issue intersects with the other, according to Michael Chertoff: “In a complicated crisis, you may have legal issues at the core, but you also have to think of the stakeholders, the health of the business and the general public.

Sometimes lawyers are overly narrow and they only look at the problem to make it easier to represent the client in court.” He added that in some cases, winning the case might not be the best result for the client. “The collateral damage might be too much and your client’s business or reputation might not be able to sustain it,” he explained.

2

Get all the facts out and get ahead of the story. Rule #1 and Rule #3 in Lanny Davis’ “Five Rules of Crisis Management” promote the virtue of being proactive. Pitching a story before it breaks, Davis writes, allows you the luxury of “getting an entire story written, all at once, with all good and bad facts summarized fairly and accurately.”

much to the point now that there’s almost no need to separate it from other media,” he said. Anyone, he added, can post anything at any time and can influence a large pool of people. A lot of people doing Google searches are not going to pay attention to the source of the information, whether it’s a blog or a tweet. “People only pay attention to content and content is out there and people are influencing other people,” Becker said.

5

Monitor what people are saying. Being vigilant to what other people are saying not only gives you a sense of how to maneuver your PR strategy, but also provides useful information. “Some of the information might actually be helpful if you’re investigating something or might show some of the legal challenges that might come your way,” Chertoff said.

6

Fight lies with truth. What happens if your client gets misrepresented on the Internet and everybody keeps repeating the same distortions a thousand times? Davis likens the experience to “being in the middle of a swarm of bees with honey on your hair.” And his advice is to “whack at them with the truth.” Use social media and post your side of the story on blogs and websites. Get the truth out there to help drown out the lies, Davis said. “Never give in, even though it is hopeless. Those who care about the issues will find your facts and truth.”

3

Humanize your client. Part of navigating out of the crisis is presenting a “genuine and authentic response to what’s happening,” advised Andrew Tulumello. “You’re not going to be able to humanize the situation or earn the trust of the public unless you take steps to go forward and really engage the media.”

4

Don’t ignore social media. “You can’t dismiss certain content because of the source,” Tom Becker cautioned. That’s a mistake many people and businesses still make. “Social media is very powerful and we are pretty

7

Develop a nose for news. Understanding what is likely going to gain traction in the press and what’s likely to interest people can help in developing your PR strategy.

“Something might not be interesting to you or your client but it could be important to other people,” Becker said.

manage the PR team, and most of the time, clients ask their lawyers to recommend a PR agency.

“Lawyers need to be at the center of the strategic process because you don’t want to do something that achieved a public benefit but you’ve made statements to the media that imply liability,” Chertoff said.

Tom Becker, a veteran crisis manager and co-director at crisis management firm Sitrick And Company in New York, says the majority of Sitrick’s work today comes from lawyer referrals. “In almost every case we work closely with lawyers who play a crucial role. Our job is supporting the legal strategy,” Becker said. ■

said. “Rather than giving the reporters the trustees’ stories, I allowed the trustees to tell their own stories about what a difficult decision it was to fire Joe Paterno.”

Davis’ professional approach to crisis management is original and personal, as the title of his first book on crisis management describes, “Tell It Early, Tell It All, Tell It Yourself.” And in almost every case he’s handled he has not deviated from his own advice: “What I hope my fellow lawyers learn from my experience is that you can’t just hire a PR firm, you have to do the work yourself.”

Covington and Gibson Dunn’s crisis management lawyers do work with PR consultants, but the lawyers themselves L AW D R A G O N

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Rwanda’s LONG ROAD TO JUSTICE

BY JOHN RYAN

In the nearly 20 years since the Rwandan genocide, domestic and international justice efforts have struggled to balance the demands for remembrance, criminal accountability and moving on.

Left: Concrete covers the mass graves of approximately 250,000 Rwandans at the Kigali Genocide Memorial center.

Photo by: john ryan

pressive site with a museum and research center as well as gardens and mass graves of more than 250,000 victims.

(The government estimates the ultimate death toll from the genocide at more than one million; academic works and advocacy reports more commonly estimate between 800,000 and 1 million.) The museum’s “Children’s Hall” presents pictures of murdered children with descriptions of their life goals and personality traits along with the manner of their death: “hacked by a machete,” “burnt alive,” “a grenade thrown in the shower,” “shot in the head,” “stabbed in eyes and head,” “tortured to death,” “smashed against a wall.”

Karengera Ildephonse, who works at Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, said the graphic nature of the memorials was important to refute those who deny or minimize the genocide.

“That is complete proof – the coffins of the children, the bones and clothes – of what happened,” Ildephonse, who is the commission’s Director of Memory and Prevention of Genocide, explained in an interview. “It’s not just talk, it is physical proof.”

He added that the process of memorializing is important for educational purposes, particularly for young Rwandans.

Ildephonse gave an interview at the commission’s offices in Kigali on April 8, the day after Rwanda commemorated the 19th anniversary of the genocide as part of its annual week of mourning, which includes commemoration events in Kigali and in villages around the country. April 7, 1994, is remembered as the first full day of the genocide. On April 6 of that year, Rwanda’s longtime Hutu president, Juvénal Habyarimana, was killed when his plane was shot down over Kigali, ending a tenuous peace between his government and the RPF; government forces and the Hutu militia known as the interahamwe started implementing the genocide within hours.

This year, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, the commission’s executive secretary, had criticized young people for their lack of interest in genocide memorial activities. In his televised speech to the nation on April 7, Kagame called for schools to teach the nation’s difficult history so that the youngest survivors and those born after the events better understood the genocide’s causes. That day, Kagame attended a memorial service at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and later participated in the “Walk to Remember,” an event organized by the commission and youth groups. The walk began at Rwanda’s National Parliament after all attendees had passed through an airport-like security screening and ended at Amahoro Stadium, the site of the nighttime memorial service. Most of the participants in the walk were Rwandans who appeared to be under the age of 30, with a scattering of Westerners who stood out by wearing sandals and shorts.

“This country belongs to them,” Ildephonse said of the Rwandan youth. “The country’s unity has to come from them. We encourage them to learn, to know why genocide

I. Remembrance The sky is overcast, with a chance of rain, as the celebration begins on Easter Sunday outside the church located about a quarter mile off the main road in Nyamata, a small town due south of the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, by a 50-minute bus ride. Drummers bang relentlessly as churchgoers exit under the scaffolding attached to the building and mingle outside. A nun smiles when asked for the location of the genocide memorial, pointing down the dirt road to a red brick building behind white metal gates.

There, a slight woman waits at the entrance of the former Catholic Church to give a tour to the only two visitors.

She speaks in Kinyarwanda, with a few English words thrown in. Thousands of Rwandans came here in April 1994 to seek refuge from the genocide, but they were all killed when government and militia forces broke in – one of many scenes of mass slaughter and rape over a 100-day period in which the Hutu-dominated government and its followers sought to stamp out the Tutsi population, as well as those perceived to be moderates or sympathizers among the Hutus. The goal was to bring a permanent conclusion to the civil war against the Rwandan Patriot Front, or RPF, the mostly-Tutsi rebel group led by Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s current president, whose forces ended the genocide by early July and assumed some control over what was left of the devastated country.

Clothes of the victims are stacked on the pews, and bullet and grenade holes mark the surrounding walls. The guide points to the altar, where the weapons of the genocide lay; she makes a gentle slashing movement with her arm as she points out the machete. Outside, behind the church, a path leads to a set of stairs that descend into a catacomb with a narrow passageway running between thousands of bones and skulls, as well as dozens of coffins, stacked on wooden shelves. Many of the coffins measure just a few feet or so long. The guide makes the slashing movement again, this time with the explanation: “Babies, babies.”

A 15-minute ride by a moped taxi leads to a more rural area, Ntarama, with another church memorial where about 5,000 Rwandans had also sought protection from the genocide. Here, clothing hangs from the walls and rafters, while bones and personal items from the victims can be found at the ends of the building. A short distance uphill is a smaller structure. Inside, the guide, a somber woman who speaks in English, points to dark blood stains on the wall. She says that the children were killed here by being thrown and smashed against the wall.

The slaughter of children illustrates the horrors of the genocide and its enduring effect on the nation. This idea receives special treatment at the nation’s largest genocide memorial, the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, an imL AW D R A G O N

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happened, to prevent it from happening again, to fight the ideology of genocide.”

Memorials may seem a relatively uncontroversial way to acknowledge and redress past human rights abuses compared to judicial or quasi-judicial means such as prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs or reforms of public institutions – all of which have come to be grouped together as the common set of “transitional justice” mechanisms that post-conflict societies consider adopting.

But they can be fraught with their own sets of complexities.

Both Rwandans and foreign workers in the country say that the memorial week brings an added weight and tension to the country, and it is not uncommon to hear people say that they prefer to travel during this time.

Regardless of the time of year, outsiders are advised not to bring up the genocide or to ask about ethnic affiliations in conversations with Rwandans, which can sometimes complicate what would otherwise be normal questions about a person’s family life and history.

(The U.S. government lists the present ethnic breakdown as 84 percent Hutu, 15 percent Tutsi and 1 percent Twa in a densely packed population of about 12 million.)

The goal of Kagame’s Rwanda is to leave ethnic divisions in the past and embrace the concept that “We are all Rwandans,” but ethnicity is wrapped up in the memorializing. The genocide memorial campaign is officially referred to as “The Genocide Against the Tutsi,” which to some observers contributes to an environment that does not fairly account for Hutu suffering. Ildephonse said, however, that the commemoration’s title is merely meant to be factual.

“Some Hutus did not kill and helped and protected Tutsis, and in fact some Tutsi assisted in the genocide, but the Hutus were not targeted as Hutus, but as sympathizers of the Tutsi,” he said.

The government has acknowledged that innocent Hutus were killed during the civil war, which began in 1990 when RPF forces attacked Habyarimana’s regime, and in reprisal killings by RPF forces during and after the genocide. However, the government In 2000, R wanda is strongly opposed to any language or Pr esident Paul description of events that appears to Kagame ( lef t ) equate Hutu and Tutsi crimes within and S out h Africa a civil war context, or that could be Pr esident Thabo at all interpreted as supporting the M bek i visited t he contention that “a double genocide” genocide memo occurred — which the government rial in Murambi.

Photo by: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom

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views as a dangerous component of the denialism within the broader threat of genocidal ideology.

Beginning with its new constitution in 2003 and in legislation since, Rwanda has outlawed ethnic “divisionism,” minimizing or negating the genocide and, in a 2008 law, the propounding of a broadly defined “genocidal ideology.”

The focus on genocidal ideology is not surprising, nor are attempts to regulate hate speech. In the years leading up to the genocide, newspapers and radio stations successfully distributed “Hutu Power” propaganda – such as the Hutu Ten Commandments, which dictated that Hutu associations with Tutsis were traitorous – that helped convince

Rwandans to kill their neighbors and made the extent of the 1994 genocide possible.

But critics contend that the Kagame regime has used provisions against genocidal ideology to quell legitimate free speech and political opposition in ways that violate international rights standards. Hundreds have been prosecuted under the laws, creating an environment not conducive to discussing RPF crimes or in general criticizing the Kagame government, including any perceived favoritism of Tutsis in Rwanda’s post-genocide rebuilding. The Parliament has reportedly passed a revised version of the 2008 genocide ideology law to clarify the elements of the crime and the requirement of intent; it also reduces prison sentences. As of this writing, the law was awaiting Kagame’s signature.

Among the best-known genocide ideology cases involved Victoire Ingabire, an opposition leader who attempted to oppose Kagame in the 2010 presidential election. She was arrested after a speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in lawdragon . c o m

Kagame nevertheless continues to receive praise around the world for his stewardship of Rwanda’s rebuilding and economic growth, even if relationships with allies like the United States have soured somewhat over the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC. In addition to its concern over genocidal ideology at home, Rwanda has long pursued Hutu extremists who fled the country

which she called for official remembrances of Hutu victims and punishments for their killers; she was also charged with providing support to a Hutu militia group operating in the region. Rwanda’s High Court found her guilty of genocide denial and conspiracy charges, and it handed her an eight-year prison sentence that she is now appealing before the Supreme Court. (Rather famously, authorities

"

That is complete proof — the coffins of the children, the bones and clothes – of what happened. It’s not just talk, it is physical proof.”

—Karengera Ildephonse, National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide. during the RPF’s victorious campaign in 1994 and continued to wage attacks from the outside. In 2012, the U.S. cut military aid on the belief that the Rwandan military was violating an arms embargo by providing direct support to the M23 rebel group, a mostly-Tutsi army in the eastern part of the country that opposes the DRC government and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, the Hutu militia in the area that has many former Rwandan genocidaires. Sanctions will also apply for the coming year now that the U.S. State Department has put Rwanda on the list of nations that recruit or support the recruitment of child soldiers, a tactic employed by the M23.

Rwandan officials have repeatedly denied providing support to the rebels.

This year, the theme of genocide memorial activities – seen on signs hanging throughout Kigali’s remarkably clean and orderly streets – was “Striving for Self-Reliance.” Ildephonse said the idea was to encourage survivors to remember the past but also to “live positively,” to have a goal in life and not always wait for help “that might not be there.” He added with a smile that it was an apt theme for the nation as a whole, as current events had suggested that Rwanda will not always be able to “rely on outside aid.” Even as Rwanda remains dependent on this aid, the government often takes a defiant tone towards critics from nations that failed to live up to their obligations under the Genocide Convention to intervene in the bloodshed of 1994. The cowardice and inaction that left Rwandans to die and the RPF to deal with the consequences is a fixture of the memorializing.

While the memorial events occupy a dominant space each April, they are not the primary means by which Rwanda

also arrested Ingabire’s controversial American attorney, Peter Erlinder, though Rwanda freed him for medical reasons and he is now at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn.) Kagame ended up winning that election with 93 percent of the vote; his second and last term under the constitution ends in 2017.

The opposing sides of the Kagame debate have been well established for some time: He is described favorably as a strong leader presiding over an unlikely success story, and unfavorably as an authoritarian leader of a repressive surveillance state. The U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report for Rwanda is replete with reports of arrests or harassment of political figures, journalists and human rights activists who have been critical of the regime, and murders and attempted murders of political opponents have gone unsolved. Kagame’s government has long had a contentious relationship with major international human rights groups, which have authored a range of critical reports and contended that would-be domestic activists have been scared into silence or into moving abroad.

Human Rights Watch, a regular critic of the Kagame regime, claimed in a recent report that the Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights – referred to in the report as the last independent human rights group in the country – had been taken over by government supporters through a questionable board election. The report said the event was part of a larger pattern of efforts to silence civil society organizations through intimidation and infiltration. Critics like to point out that, while the government has cited a culture of blind allegiance to leadership as a cause of widespread Hutu participation in the genocide, it is unfairly resistant to criticism of its own policies.

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and the international community have attempted to account for and document the genocide; that instead has belonged to a set of prosecutorial processes. In 1994, with Rwanda in ruins, the United Nations Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, or ICTR, based in Arusha, Tanzania, to prosecute the most senior leaders responsible for the genocide. As Rwanda rebuilt its legal system, the domestic courts also began prosecuting genocide suspects – eventually thousands of them – who did not rise to the leadership level of those pursued by the ICTR. Facing an immense backlog of genocide cases, Rwanda then established a third system based loosely on the traditional dispute resolution process known as gacaca, which involves village-based trials conducted without the participation of lawyers or formally trained judges.

Ingabire’s comments highlight one of the controversies associated with all three tiers of genocide justice: None of them have prosecuted RPF crimes against Hutus. The Rwandan government has preferred to prosecute these crimes in the military courts, a process that critics contend has failed to account for the full extent of the army’s crimes.

Though it was the last system launched, with pilot phases beginning in 2002, the gacaca system became the dominant player in the post-genocide justice scheme, particularly as it relates to the lives of everyday Rwandans.

These local trials discussing the crimes of the genocide became a part of the weekly life of virtually all Rwandans as survivors and perpetrators sought to rebuild their lives, often side by side. Regardless of the many criticisms levied at it, the gacaca system – which concluded last year with an astounding two million genocide-related cases processed, according to the government’s numbers – has earned its place as the most far-reaching accountability effort ever implemented for mass atrocities.

II. Local Justice Rwanda faced tough choices when it came to dealing with crimes related to the genocide. The justice system was essentially nonexistent given the destruction of the public infrastructure and the number of legal professionals who fled the country or were killed. In taking control of the country, the RPF imprisoned more than 120,000 suspects in a prison system designed for about a quarter of that. That number was expected to rise given that the genocide was carried out by masses of ordinary citizens who supplemented the work of government forces and the interahamwe militia. Most villages would have survivors (in some places, very few) and perpetrators who had not yet been arrested. Many of those imprisoned were never prosecuted, as brutal prison conditions led to about 11,000 detainees dying while awaiting trial, according to a 2002 Amnesty International report.

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Rwanda received international assistance to begin rebuilding its court system and adding to its depleted roster of legal professionals. The national courts began hearing genocide cases in specialized chambers in 1996, often grouping together many defendants into a single case. According to the government’s numbers, the courts had prosecuted more than 8,300 suspects by the end of 2002 for genocide and other crimes against humanity – a significant number given the limitations of the justice system but not one that made a serious dent in the pending caseload. (International observers praised efforts to process the cases of detainees but also expressed concern about the fairness and overall quality of the trials.) The ICTR, with a focus on senior-level suspects, has completed cases against 75 individuals so far; it had only issued judgments against a half-dozen or so suspects in its first four years.

As has been recounted in many works, Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu member of the RPF who became president after the genocide, held weekly meetings between May 1998 and April 1999 to discuss issues related to Rwanda’s rebuilding efforts, including what to do with alleged genocidaires and the possibility of appropriating gacaca to process their cases. (Kagame was vice president at the time.) Though it varied in form in different periods and regions throughout Rwanda’s long history, traditional gacaca is most commonly described as community meetings or informal trials presided over by village elders who resolved simple matters like property, family and inter-family disputes with an eye towards maintaining harmony. Gacaca, which in Kinyarwanda makes reference to the word grass, was not used for complex criminal cases.

One of the attendees of the 1998-1999 meetings was Augustin Nkusi, a judge who would go on to serve as the Director of the Legal Unit of the National Service of Gacaca Courts, a position he held until 2006. He is now a prosecutor with Rwanda’s National Public Prosecuting Authority, or NPPA, and he gave interviews at his Kigali office over a few evenings in early April.

By the late 1990s, much positive coverage had accompanied South Africa’s decision to document apartheid-era crimes through a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which gave amnesty to participants who provided a full accounting of their crimes. However, Nkusi said that Rwandan authorities did not seriously consider a truth commission or other qualified-amnesty approach out of a belief that punitive measures were needed to eradicate “the culture of impunity” that had contributed to the events of 1994. No punishment had met prior massacres of Tutsi, beginning in 1959, in the first wave of Hutu-Tutsi violence that preceded Rwanda’s 1962 independence and occurred intermittently after. (Belgium, which had controlled Rwanda since the end of World War I, exacerbated tensions between the groups by issuing ethnic identity cards and implementing policies favoring Tutsi, before shifting gears towards lawdragon . c o m

the lowest administrative level in Rwanda, elected 19 judges for a total of about 250,000 gacaca judges nationwide. (The judges were called “inyangamugayo,” the Kinyarwanda word for respected elder, though they could be men and women as young as 21 if held in high esteem in their communities.) That number shrank to nine judges per bench by 2005 as gacaca began its national implementation across approximately 12,000 cells and “sectors” – higher administrative levels that processed the more serious cases – and courts of appeal. The required number of judges-per-bench was reduced again to seven as officials sought to process cases more quickly. The pre-trial phase of information gathering and suspect identification took place in each cell, a process that dramatically increased the total number of suspects.

Rwandan law has three categories of genocide suspects according to the severity of their alleged offenses. Category one includes planners and inciters of the genocide, civic leaders who encouraged the genocide and perpetrators of sexual violence; category two includes murderers and those who committed serious assaults; and category three covers property offenses. Officials initially intended gacaca courts to process only cases from categories two and three, leaving the more serious category-one crimes with the regular domestic courts and the ICTR. However, the backlog of cases remained so severe that an amendment to the gacaca law in 2008 transferred many category-one cases to the gacaca courts, except for those of the highest-level accused planners.

By then, Rwanda had also undergone a series of judicial reforms and restructurings designed to modernize the justice system, but gacaca remained a separate system that handled its own appeals.

Gacaca judges did not have formal legal backgrounds but received a limited amount of training after election by their communities. The role of the president of each court was to guide the discussion among community members, officially referred to as the “general assembly,” which consisted of all residents over the age of 18. At trial, defendants could call witnesses on their behalf but did not have the assistance of defense attorneys. All assembly members were encouraged V illager s listen to to give testimony about the crimes in judges at gacaca question; in fact, gacaca law provided pr oceedings pho for the punishment of individuals tographed in Zivu.

the end of its reign and supporting a Hutu-dominated government and society.) In fact, Nkusi said the concern was that traditional gacaca would be offensive to survivors as too lenient.

Phil Clark, a political scientist at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, describes in his book on gacaca – subtitled “Justice Without Lawyers” – the serious divisions between policymakers in the late 1990s over how to best process the cases. Tharcisse Karugarama, who until recently served as Rwanda’s Justice Minister, told Clark that his early proposal for a gacaca-like system resulted in “so much condemnation” that he “nearly went into exile.”

Over the next few years, however, authorities settled on a modified gacaca system – one that was more punitive than the traditional model – as an acceptable solution that could work through the backlog of cases, mete out punishment to combat impunity and establish the truth about the crimes in a way that might promote reconciliation. Nkusi said it made sense for community members to play a key role in sorting through the crimes of the genocide. Given the intimacy of the violence on a village-by-village basis, local residents would be in the best position to give damning or exculpatory evidence about their neighbors. It would also prove that Rwandans could handle their own problems, even in remarkably difficult circumstances.

These sentiments are expressed in the preamble of the first Gacaca Law of 2001, which Parliament amended several times after initial pilot phases. Initially, each “cell,” L AW D R A G O N

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Photo by: Riccardo Gangale/Africa 24 Media/Newscom

who withheld information. Trials could proceed quickly or have the benefit of a lawyer. (In its final report on gacaca, unfold over multiple weekly hearings; the panel of judges the government said that defendants were not technically then discussed the evidence and gave their judgments. (Ga- barred from hiring lawyers and listed some of the rare cases caca proceedings can be seen in filmmaker Anne Aghion’s in which suspects had counsel.) Critics contend that potential defense witnesses remained silent out of a concern their acclaimed documentary film “My Neighbor My Killer.”)

The gacaca system’s sentencing structure allowed judges statements would be interpreted as denying or minimizto impose life sentences for the most serious offenses. By ing the genocide, or would subject them to condemnation pleading guilty, however, defendants could receive signifi- within the community and even false reprisal accusations. cantly shorter sentences, half of which could be spent do- The use of lay judges could also be problematic, given their ing community service. Nkusi said that the more lenient lack of experience in sorting through competing evidence sentencing scheme, which led to a vast number of guilty in cases, and reports emerged of survivors making false pleas, facilitated the revelation of truth about the crimes claims either to settle personal scores or gain property.

A number of academics see an even more sinister element and reduced the burden on the prison system.

A few years ago, Nkusi took a leave of absence from the in gacaca that is inseparable from the system’s exclusion of NPAA to pursue a master’s of laws in criminal justice at crimes committed by RPF forces – a type of one-sided or the University of Cape Town, in South Africa. He is now “victor’s” justice that prevents reconciliation and undermines hoping to publish a book based on his 2011 thesis, which the government’s stated commitment to accountability. These sought to determine whether gacaca constituted “retribu- critics see a significant degree of coercion and intimidation tive” or “restorative” justice. In the field of transitional by the government during gacaca, undermining a truly open justice, retributive justice generally refers to mechanisms and free exchange of testimony. One such critic, Timothy that prioritize punishment and deterrence while restorative Longman, a professor of political science at Boston Univerapproaches focus more on victim healing and reconcilia- sity, views gacaca not as a system of grass-roots popular tion. By measuring gacaca’s characteristics against these justice but as a top-down, heavy-handed means by which contemporary justice concepts, Nkusi concluded that the the government implies “collective guilt on all Hutu.” The system was more retributive than restorative, by a 57 to 43 government’s calculation of nearly 2 million cases processed – even if the majority of the cases involved the less-serious percent margin.

Nkusi said that the restorative elements were largely property crimes in category three – might contribute to an successful. Testimony by confessors allowed survivors to impression of collective guilt, though by sheer volume the learn how their family members were killed, to locate the system also had hundreds of thousands of acquittals and remains for proper burials and develop a sense of closure. successful appeals. (Some outside researchers doubt that As for reconciliation, he rejected the notion that weekly the total number of cases was quite as high as the governmeetings to discuss genocide crimes would increase ten- ment’s final tabulation of 1,958,634.)

Survivors had their own concerns, perhaps chief among sions in communities where survivors and perpetrators lived together. He said that the genocide was already followed them the retraumatization associated with public discusby years of suspicion in which survivors assumed that all sions of horrific crimes (though judges could hear some evidence in private, such as for rape cases). There were Hutus in their neighborhood were killers.

“Gacaca courts were able to distinguish between who also complaints that testimony provided by defendants was is guilty and who is not,” he said. “You could not reconcile often incomplete, even by those who claimed to fully confess, and that apologies were not sincere. Survivor witnesses, with this type of suspicion.”

The government considers the gacaca system, which for- often Tutsis in the minority living near those who killed mally closed in the summer of 2012, a major success. And their family members, also faced intimidation, harassment initially, outside of Rwanda, much excitement accompanied and even death. The Rwandan government reported an the idea of local populations and survivors taking control increase in murders of genocide survivors and witnesses over justice processes in a way that was culturally relevant; in the first few years after the national implementation of transitional justice advocates are often weary of one-size- gacaca; the establishment of a victim and witness support fits-all approaches to accountability that can interpreted as unit in 2006, and new security measures, seemed to help. overly formal or “Western” in nature. Over time, however, However, observers continued to note instances of intimidaa number of competing viewpoints have emerged in aca- tion by powerful Hutus, with reports that some wealthier demic works, advocacy reports and journalistic accounts that suspects were able to bribe either judges or potential withave examined gacaca, many of which draw on interviews nesses into silence.

Survivors and some human rights advocates also saw with participants.

An obvious concern from a human rights perspective problems with the perceived leniency of the system, which was the lack of traditional due process rights for suspects, became more so over time to keep gacaca from adding to who had limited time to prepare their cases and did not prison overcrowding. From gacaca’s earliest days, it often I s s u e 14

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Gacaca courts were able to distinguish between who is guilty and who is not. You could not reconcile with this type of suspicion.”

—Augustin Nkusi, former Director of the Legal Unit of the National Service of Gacaca Courts.

made sense for detainees to confess to certain crimes – whether or not they committed them – to gain freedom from horrible prison conditions, which led to false confessions. As documented in Clark’s “Justice Without Lawyers” book, tens of thousands of the earliest detainees were freed and sent to civic reeducation camps known as ingando before being sent back to their communities for gacaca to weigh their confessions. Most suspects who had been incarcerated were not sent back to prison if found guilty by a gacaca court. After amendments to the system in 2007, even convicts who had not previously served time would be given community service combined with a suspended sentence; the community service was done first and, if performed satisfactorily, the prison portion would be commuted.

These critical viewpoints, when viewed collectively, cast doubt on gacaca’s contribution to the goals of truth, justice and reconciliation. The Rwandan government was quick to perceive bias in some of the research, particularly the 2011 Human Rights Watch report, “Justice Compromised,” claiming that it focused on cases and problems that were not representative of the system as a whole. As a practical matter, of course, Rwanda had few good options once the government decided on a course of criminal accountability for all crimes committed as part of the genocide. The country would never have enough qualified judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers to process the cases, a fact that critics also acknowledged. In discussing gacaca research, government employees tend to refer to Clark’s work, which has taken a more favorable, if still mixed, view of gacaca.

Clark traveled to many villages throughout Rwanda from 2003 to 2012, often sleeping in the homes of gacaca participants or in a tent nearby. In a recent interview, he said that the most severe criticisms of gacaca tend to be rooted in the human-rights, legalistic perspective that emphasizes formal judicial procedures, including an adherence to international due process standards. He does not believe this is the best approach to assessing a “hybrid” system like gacaca, which blends modern and traditional elements L AWDRAGON

and has a range of “pragmatic” and “profound” objectives for society. He is far from alone in saying that gacaca generally succeeded in the pragmatic goal of processing genocide cases and decreasing the prison population.

He also believes that gacaca trials did a “pretty good job” of establishing the truth of genocide crimes. Clark, too, saw some coercion in the government’s efforts to ensure widespread participation, but in his observations the general assemblies often operated as an effective “check and balance” during the hearings.

“Many of the actors doing the speaking as well as those listening observed the crimes first hand,” Clark explained. “If someone stood up and said something that was categorically untrue, more often than not the general assembly would pounce on that.”

On the whole, Clark felt that communities were successful at locating bodies and uncovering other details about the crimes in a manner that likely would not have happened in formal justice systems. To him this reveals the “revolutionary” potential of a system like gacaca for documenting mass crimes when compared to more adversarial legal proceedings, where a defendant and his lawyer will attempt to narrow liability.

However, another longtime and prominent gacaca researcher, Bert Ingelaere, places a greater emphasis on gacaca’s own adversarial characteristics as it processed the more serious, non-property-related offenses.

“Most of the people on trial denied the allegations, and then it became a more typical prosecution, where it was ‘me against you,’ and ‘my word against your word,’” Ingelaere, an anthropologist at the University of Antwerp, in Belgium, said in an interview.

He believes these confrontational dynamics limited gacaca’s success in the production of truth and the promotion of reconciliation. The system operated more like traditional gacaca in the property cases, where the perpetrator and victim could agree on a form of restitution. This was a more natural fit for gacaca, and Ingelaere said that it might have been better to leave the more serious cases outside of the system. He added that one potential lesson for the field

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of transitional justice is to be cautious of hybrid systems killed during and after the genocide, estimated by human burdened with multiple and at times contradictory goals; rights workers to be in the tens of thousands.

After a second interview at Nkusi’s NPPA offices, he proa set of complementary institutions might work better.

Both Ingelaere and Clark observed variability in how vided me with a copy of his thesis. We then went to his home, the gacaca system operated over the years across Rwanda’s where Nkusi introduced his wife and children over juice many villages, though Clark sees this as a more defining and television, and he talked fondly about his past trips characteristic. In his view, even a centralized regime could to the U.S. to give presentations on Rwanda’s transitional not fully monitor, much less control, the vast number of justice efforts.

On our way, Nkusi had the driver stop at a nearby field hearings taking place each week, particularly in areas far from Kigali. In the later stages of gacaca, Clark observed that is the former site of the presidential palace of Juvénal hearings in which RPF crimes were discussed. Though the Habyarimana, where his plane crashed on April 6, 1994, judges did not record what was said or launch investigations killing him along with the president of Burundi, an ally, into the crimes, Clark found it remarkable that certain in- and several others. Wreckage from the plane remains in sulated communities had “carved out the space” to at least the field and was somewhat visible from our car; Nkusi suggested coming back during the day to get a better look. talk about these issues.

Controversy has lingered over whether the assassination This variability, however, also applies to the system’s contribution to peace and reconciliation. Clark said that was orchestrated by the RPF or by Hutu extremists who feared the success of gacaca proceedings often depended on the Habyarimana would adhere to the 1993 Arusha Accords, judges’ ability to manage the challenging discussions, as which had established a peace between the Habyarimana well as the amount of divisiveness and tension that existed regime and Kagame’s forces. The assassination is commonly in the community before gacaca arrived. Clark observed viewed as a catalyst for the main genocidal campaign of communities where gacaca seemed to offer a possible “avenue killing and raping, but not its cause, as the genocide was for reconciliation” and others where it “magnified tensions” well-planned in advance; its execution began with alarmand “made things worse,” undermining reconciliation in ing efficiency by government and militia leaders, and then regular citizens, soon after the plane crash. In the aftermath often traumatic and sometimes even violent hearings.

Among all the competing viewpoints, Clark said that of the genocide, the U.N. Security Council decided that a survivors and perpetrators tend to share one sentiment specialized international tribunal would provide the best venue to prosecute the masterminds of the campaign. about gacaca – relief that it’s finally over.

Recent transitional justice scholarship has tended to emphasize the limitations of justice mechanisms when it comes to reconciliation, a process that is dependent on so many factors and can often take a generation or two. Interestingly, Kagame himself has acknowledged the population’s widespread dislike of gacaca as well as the likelihood that any contribution to reconciliation will be seen more On Feb. 11 of this year, hundreds of Rwandans in the long term. In a 2009 New Yorker article that served protested outside the building of the International Crimias a follow-up of sorts to his book about the genocide, “We nal Tribunal for Rwanda, the ICTR, in Kigali. Though it Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed with has operated in Arusha, Tanzania, since 1995, the tribunal Our Families,” Philip Gourevitch reported that survivors he also has an office in the Remera section of the capital, spoke with did not have favorable views of participating in not far from Amahoro National Stadium, where the city gacaca. Kagame responded that that was how it should be, would hold its 19th annual genocide memorial in a few that both victims and perpetrators should not be happy with months’ time. gacaca – an admittedly painful process that is “something The protest, organized by Ibuka, an umbrella organization to build on.” for genocide survivor groups, came in response to the Feb. The leadership of Rwanda is inflexible on the matter of 4 acquittals of two cabinet members of the interim governRPF crimes, however, insisting they should not be grouped ment, formed after the Habyarimana assassination, which with genocide cases but instead handled by military courts carried out the genocide and ruled Rwanda until RPF forces responsible for prosecuting soldier misconduct and war took control of the country in July 1994. One defendant, crimes. In his thesis, Nkusi dismissed the criticism of ga- Justin Mugenzi, was the trade minister for the government, caca as one-sided, noting that military courts had started and the other, Prosper Mugiraneza, was the minister for prosecuting RPF soldiers well before the gacaca even began. civil service. In 2011, a three-judge ICTR trial chamber This is not disputed by critics, who instead contend that the had convicted Mugenzi and Mugiraneza of conspiracy to dozens of arrests and prosecutions of RPF soldiers have commit genocide and public incitement of genocide, and not sufficiently accounted for the number of Hutu civilians sentenced each to 30 years in prison.

III. The International Tribunal and Rwanda

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Amoussouga, who also holds the title of senior legal advisor and the chief of the tribunal’s external relations and strategic planning, defended the outcome of the Mugenzi and Mugiraneza case.

“Acquittal is a normal part of the process, part of the due process a defendant receives,” Amoussouga said in a recent interview. “This is not a kangaroo court that can just rely on the court of public opinion to convict people.”

He said he understood “the feelings and emotions of the laymen and the victims” but not the comments of Rwandan officials, whom he suggested may not have read the decision before speaking out.

“They should not be engaged in public shouting matches against the credibility of our judges,” he said.

In this case, the appeals chamber found that the trial court erred in using the available circumstantial evidence to conclude that Mugenzi and Mugiraneza had the required mens rea, or mental state, to support a conviction for conspiracy to commit genocide. The incitement allegations against the defendants stemmed from their presence at an April 19 speech by Théodore Sindikubwabo, the interim president, at a ceremony in Butare, intended to promote the killing of Tutsis. The appeals chamber found that the evidence did not prove that Mugenzi and Mugiraneza knew of the content of the speech before attending, which for the judges created doubt about the defendants’ own genocidal intent. (Like many suspects, Sindikubwabo fled to Zaire, now DRC, during the RPF advance; he died there without being charged by the ICTR.) Amoussouga said that the same appeals system has confirmed 95 percent of trial chamber decisions with guilty verdicts. Indeed, among the achievements most commonly ascribed to the ICTR is the establishment of an impressive, if incomplete, legal and historical record of the genocide, often through groundbreaking cases. The head of the interim government, Jean Kambanda, received a life sentence – the maximum under the ICTR statute – in 1998 after pleading guilty to genocide charges, the first-ever genocide conviction of a head of state. Also in 1998, the ICTR handed down the first-ever genocide judgment by an international court in the case against Jean-Paul Akayesu, the “bourgmestre” or mayor of Taba, who also received a life sentence. In addition to being the first case to interpret the 1948 Genocide Convention, the Akayesu case defined the crime of rape in international law and held that it could be a crime of genocide.

Over the tribunal’s history, prosecutors have succeeded in targeting various levels of the genocidal campaign. Several cases have been thematically grouped by categories of defendants, with a focus either on the military, the civilian members of the former government or the media. In one 2003 case, the court convicted Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza and Ferdinand Nahimana for their role in the incitement broadcasts by the infamous Radio Télévision Libre des Mille

Ibuka’s president, Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, reportedly called the decision by the five-judge appeals chamber to reverse the lower court and acquit Mugenzi and Mugiraneza “a nail in the coffin of the victims of the genocide.”

The head of the NPAA, prosecutor general Martin Ngoga, who oversees genocide cases in Rwanda’s High Court, also publicly questioned the ruling, which he said would call into question the legacy of the ICTR by exonerating leaders of the genocidal regime.

Debates over the ICTR’s achievements and shortcomings have never been in short supply, and they are sure to continue now that the tribunal’s case work is mostly done.

As a structural matter, the U.N. Security Council created the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, or MICT, with a more streamlined staff that has started carrying out the remaining functions of both the ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the ICTY, at The Hague. (The Security Council established the ICTY in 1993 to prosecute crimes from the wars that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia.) The ICTY and the ICTR have always shared the same appeals chamber, which is based in The Hague, and they shared the same chief prosecutor until 2003. That position was also based in The Hague, leading some Rwandans to feel that the ICTR received short shrift.

The MICT is part of the tribunals’ “completion strategy,” and its work will overlap with the two tribunals as they wind down their operations. At the urging of the Security Council, both the ICTY and the ICTR have set timetables for finishing their work and taken steps to refer more cases to the domestic justice systems. Even high-level suspects already indicted by the tribunals can be passed on to national courts, though tribunal judges have to sign off on transfers. The ICTR did not begin transferring indicted cases to Rwanda until last year, when prosecutors finally convinced the judges – who had rejected earlier transfer attempts – that defendants could receive a fair trial in the domestic system.

The ICTR has referred the cases of eight defendants to Rwanda; two of them are in custody in Kigali, while six remain fugitives. The ICTR branch of MICT will retain jurisdiction over three additional “top-priority” fugitives alleged to have played high leadership roles in the genocide; they will stand trial in Arusha if caught. Earlier, in 2007, the ICTR referred two cases to France involving indictees who had found their way there. Several jurisdictions around the world, most in Europe, have prosecuted transplanted Rwandan genocide suspects not indicted by the ICTR.

Of the 75 individuals prosecuted by the ICTR, 47 have been convicted, 12 acquitted and 16 have appeals pending. Six of the 12 acquitted were cabinet members of the former government, a source of great frustration in Rwanda. Still, ICTR spokesperson Roland L AW D R A G O N

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Collines, or RTLM, and Hassan Ngeze for his publication of the anti-Tutsi Kangura newspaper. The tribunal has also convicted priests for their roles in massacres.

As the first courts of their kind since the post-World War II Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals, the ICTR and ICTY are often credited with building on and refining their predecessors’ achievements in jurisprudence related to elements of the international crimes, individual criminal responsibility and command responsibility for offenses committed by subordinates. Supporters of the tribunals, and even critics, see them as pioneering institutions that contributed to the establishment of the International Criminal Court, located at The Hague. Unlike the tribunals, which are ad hoc institutions created by the Security Council, the ICC is a permanent court established by a treaty and run by its member states.

Though Rwandan officials have regularly called into question the quality of international justice, they have also acknowledged its benefits. The convictions of dozens of genocide suspects by an international court outPhoto by: Ricky Gare/EPA/Newscom

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side of Rwanda’s borders, and outside the control of the government, is a powerful counter to denialism or any suggestions that the commonly accepted narrative of genocide is RPF propaganda.

Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with the Mugenzi and Mugiraneza acquittals have contributed to scrutiny within Rwanda of the appeals chamber’s presiding judge, Theodor Meron, an American who is the president of the ICTY and who was also appointed to head the MICT structure. Meron was the presiding judge in a 2009 ICTR chief pr os appellate decision that reversed ecutor H assan Jalthe ICTR’s conviction of Protais low ( lef t ) meet s Zigiranyirazo, a businessman wit h Pr esident Paul convicted of organizing a massacre Kagame in 2003. of Tutsis. He also was on the ap- Jallow has had a pellate panel that, in 2011, reduced smoot her r elat ionthe sentences of three convicted ship wit h R wandan genocidaires, including former of ficials t han his defense ministry chief of staff pr edecessor. lawdragon . c o m

to pressure from American and Israeli officials to protect military leaders from the reach of international justice. The controversy erupted publicly with the leak of the letter to the media.

The New York Times reported that a “mini-rebellion” was brewing within The Hague against Meron, a Polandborn Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the U.S. from Israel in 1978, though ICTY judges this fall reelected him to another two-year term as tribunal president.

In Kigali, the letter fueled resentment over the recent ICTR acquittals, and the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide demanded that Meron step down. Amoussouga said he had no specific comment on the controversy. He said generally that tribunal judges “are fully independent, have the highest integrity and professionalism, and are not biased at all, guided only by the evidence before them.”

Tension has accompanied the ICTRRwanda relationship from the outset.

In the aftermath of the genocide, with its infrastructure destroyed, Rwanda asked the Security Council to establish an international tribunal as the council had the year before for the former Yugoslavia. Rwanda – at the time a temporary member of the Security Council – ended up being the only nation to vote against the November 1994 resolution establishing the ICTR. Rwandan officials were upset at the likelihood the tribunal would be established outside its borders (the decision to locate it in Arusha was made in 1995), as well as the fact that the tribunal would not impose the death penalty – a measure of justice Rwanda felt survivors deserved. Officials were also concerned about the court’s jurisdiction covering genocide and “other serious violations of international humanitarian law” for the entirety of 1994, which meant that non-genocidal reprisal crimes by RPF forces were, at least legally, fair game. (Rwanda also wanted the jurisdiction to extend back to the start of the civil war in 1990.)

The second sus The Security Council also en- pect t ransferr ed dowed the ICTR, as it had the ICTY, to R wanda’s High with “primacy,” meaning it could Cour t by t he take any case it wanted within its ICTR , Bernar d mandate, which became a problem Munyagishari, almost immediately. In 1996, both arrived in K igali the ICTR and Rwanda wanted control over Bagosora – the accused master- on July 24 , 2013.

Théoneste Bagosora, who is considered a leading mastermind of the genocide.

The recent ICTR acquittals received little attention in the U.S., or much elsewhere outside of Rwanda, unlike the recent acquittals of high-level ICTY defendants from Serbia and Croatia – for which Meron has received intense criticism. Because the tribunals share the same appeals chamber, Rwandan officials have also watched these ICTY events with interest.

Critics contend that the Meron-led court has raised the bar on the standard needed to convict command-level defendants as part of a “joint criminal enterprise” and for the acts of their subordinates. In freeing a Serb general earlier this year, the appeals chamber found that he did not specifically direct the crimes of his subordinates; previously, less explicit aiding and abetting theories had sufficed for conviction. The lesser standard is important for prosecutors given that commanders are often unlikely to explicitly order criminal acts. The heightened standard contributed to an ICTY trial chamber decision in May of this year that acquitted two senior Serb security officials.

On June 6, Frederik Harhoff, a Danish judge at the ICTY, wrote an angry letter to dozens of friends and associates that criticized Meron’s role in allegedly pressuring judges to acquit defendants, and he suggested that Meron was reacting L AW D R A G O N

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Photo by: Stephanie Aglietti/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom

mind from the defense ministry – who had been arrested in Cameroon. South African jurist Ricard Goldstone, the first chief prosecutor of both the ICTY and the ICTR, insisted on Bagosora’s transfer to Arusha. But he relented that same year after Rwanda threatened noncooperation with the tribunal in the case of a suspect arrested in India, Froduald Karamira, an ethnic Tutsi who became a leading Hutu extremist political figure.

The respective fates of Bagosora and Karamira highlight the differences between the two systems. The trial of Bagosora and his co-defendants at the ICTR did not start until 2002; it lasted until 2007 over hundreds of trial days. The trial chamber issued its guilty verdicts in December 2008, and the appeals process lasted another three years, with the chamber eventually reducing Bagosora’s sentence from life to 35 years at the end of 2011. In contrast, a Rwandan court convicted and sentenced Karamira after a three-day trial in 1997; he was executed as part of a larger public execution of convicted genocidaires the next year.

The length of ICTR proceedings (like the ICTY’s) is at least partially explained by the complexity and novelty of the cases, the need for translation in documents and court proceedings, witness travel and protection, and a commitment to the due-process rights of defendants. In addition, the tribunals do not have enforcement powers, such as a police force, and instead must rely on the Security Council mandate that all nations cooperate by arresting and transferring suspects and other evidence. This has been a challenge for both tribunals as they have sought help from often-reluctant nations.

However, even supporters have criticized the ICTR’s bureaucratic inefficiencies and expense (it has cost more than $1.5 billion) as well as its high-profile blunders. The tribunal discovered in 2001 that some of the defense investigators at the ICTR were actually Hutu genocide suspects; two of them ended up facing charges at the tribunal. Another embarrassment came in a 2001 case, when trial judges laughed during a difficult cross-examination of a Tutsi rape victim.

Though the judges’ behavior was explained as an exasperated reaction to the defense attorney’s aggressiveness, survivor groups, including Ibuka, protested and announced they would suspend the cooperation of their members as witnesses.

With its distant location, the ICTR has also struggled to explain its relevance to Rwandans. In 2000, with funding from the European Commission, the tribunal started an outreach campaign. However laudable in their own right, these outreach efforts, like those of the ICTY in the nations of the former Yugoslavia, have never been funded sufficiently to make a dramatic domestic impact. The ICTR set up an information center in Kigali that has case data, a library of international law books and computer terminals for research; press conferences and other events also I s s u e 14

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have been held there. (In my April visit, ten or so college students were using the center.) The tribunal later established smaller information centers near courthouses in other provinces.

To the anger of Rwandan officials, however, the vast archives of the ICTR’s work will be kept at the Arusha branch of MICT, a decision made not by tribunal staff but by the Security Council.

As a general rule, of course, Rwanda wanted cases against high-level Hutus to succeed, and both the domestic and international systems have shared an interest in cooperation over the past two decades. But this cooperative relationship has been strained at times, a topic explored in many works, including Victor Peskin’s book, “International Justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: Virtual Trials and the Struggle for State Cooperation.” Rwanda had tremendous leverage with the evidence and survivor witnesses under its control at home; cases would stumble without domestic cooperation. In Peskin’s telling, Goldstone’s capitulation on Karamira’s transfer to Rwanda emboldened officials to use threats of noncooperation in the future. In 1999, Rwanda hampered investigations in the country after the appeals chamber decided to acquit Barayagwiza, the hate propagandist from the RTLM, in response to prosecutors missing the deadline for the first pretrial hearing. Carla Del Ponte, who became the chief prosecutor in 1999, succeeded in persuading the appeals chamber to reconsider its ruling, and Barayagwiza was eventually tried and convicted.

In June 2002, the government blocked Tutsi survivor witnesses from traveling to Arusha to testify in pending cases, ostensibly to implement new procedures related to the travel of witnesses. As explained in Peskin’s detailed account, however, the move was also widely seen as a reaction to Del Ponte’s ongoing investigations of RPF forces. In her own memoirs, titled “Madame Prosecutor,” Del Ponte contends that the Rwandan government was willing to compromise cases against high-level Hutus in order to thwart the RPF probe. (Witness travel resumed after Del Ponte took her complaint to the Security Council.)

In her account, Del Ponte says that Kagame was initially receptive to her plans to bring a limited number of cases for RPF crimes, including an initial focus on the massacre of Catholic clergy and other civilians in June 1994. Eventually, however, Kagame changed his tone and became firm in his position that military prosecutors would handle RPF crimes. In one heated meeting, Del Ponte writes, Kagame told her that she was “destroying Rwanda” and that cases against the RPF would lead people to “believe there were two genocides.” She also believed that the extent of RPF crimes might point to the culpability of senior officers, including Kagame.

The U.N. and Western powers that supported the court, perhaps most notably the U.S. and Great Britain, could have pressured Rwanda to cooperate with RPF investigations, lawdragon . c o m

to exercise the primacy of the ICTR.” He also denied that threats of noncooperation had blocked RPF investigations.

He noted that, in 2007, the government had given him the details of 42 RPF soldiers prosecuted domestically.

The main concern of critics is that the tribunal will be seen as an instrument of “victor’s justice” and thus fail to build more convincingly on the achievements of the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals, which were set up and run by Allied powers and only prosecuted Axis war crimes. Even those who understand Rwanda’s refusal to vigorously prosecute RPF crimes domestically tend to struggle at finding an acceptable explanation for an international institution designed to be impartial. Del Ponte said that the failure to live up to the tribunal’s mandate to prosecute all sides of the conflict – as the ICTY was doing, and by now has done – would undermine reconciliation in Rwanda and the legitimacy of the court.

The position of Jallow, her successor, is that the ICTR’s cooperation with Rwanda on domestic RPF cases counters the “victor’s justice” argument, particularly since the genocide is “the main crime base” of the tribunal’s mandate. In his letter to Human Rights Watch, Jallow said that domestic prosecutions could “have a potentially greater impact on national reconciliation.”

In some ways, his position is strengthened not only by the demands of the completion strategy but also by trends in international criminal law that have placed a greater emphasis on the role of domestic institutions. Instead of having primacy, the ICC is a “court of last resort” intended to take cases only if nations that would otherwise have jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to prosecute.

The belief is that it is often better for victims and the promotion of rule-of-law principles and other judicial capacity building if nations handle their own cases in the aftermath of conflict.

Amoussouga declined to weigh in substantively on whether the lack of RPF cases would weaken the legacy of the tribunal, preferring to “leave that to the historians.”

as it had with nations of the former Yugoslavia concerning their own nationals. As many observers have pointed out, however, guilt over the failure to stop the genocide and the disastrous handling of refugee camps in its aftermath – which allowed Hutu extremists to regroup and rearm in the camps and continue attacks – muted would-be critics and gave the RPF something of a free pass when it came to international criminal accountability. Kagame and the RPF had also earned many admirers for defeating the genocidal forces and taking steps to rebuild the nation, all against great odds.

Del Ponte herself received pressure from Western officials, including from the U.S. State Department, who wanted her to relinquish RPF cases to domestic prosecutors but with the right to resume her own if Rwanda’s efforts were “not genuine.” Del Ponte remained insistent on pursuing the cases, and it likely cost her her job – or at least half of it.

Rwanda and other governments lobbied for her removal, with the ultimate result being the creation of separate chief prosecutors for the ICTY and the ICTR; Del Ponte was reappointed to the ICTY, though she says she offered to move to Arusha for the ICTR. The 2003 Security Council resolution that formalized aspects of the tribunals’ completion strategy also established the separate prosecutorial posts.

Del Ponte considered it a victory that the same resolution called on all states, including Rwanda, to cooperate on all ICTR matters, including investigations of RPF forces. But cases against the RPF never materialized at the ICTR. Hassan Jallow, a lawyer and judge from Gambia, took over as the ICTR’s chief prosecutor in 2003 and has enjoyed a smoother relationship with his domestic counterparts. He continued to investigate RPF crimes but chose instead to refer the investigations to domestic prosecutors. Rwanda’s military court ended up prosecuting the case of the murdered clergymen, which concluded with two convictions and two acquittals in 2008. In a 2009 letter to Human Rights Watch, which had criticized the case, Jallow said the trial was “properly conducted” and that he saw “no reason

"

Acquittal is a normal part of the process, part of the due process a defendant receives. This is not a Kangaroo court that can just rely on the court of public opinion to convict people.”

— Roland Amoussouga, ICTR spokesperson

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But he said that the tribunal has taken steps to ensure a positive legacy in Rwanda. Over the years, the ICTR has provided training and assistance to Rwandan judges, prosecutors and other lawyers, as well as to lay people involved in witness protection, all of which has increased the level of confidence the international community has in the domestic system’s ability to handle genocide cases. In addition to building the capacity of the legal system and its professionals, Rwanda’s desire for case transfers enticed it to implement judicial reforms, including the abolishment of the death penalty for genocide and all other cases.

Amoussouga considers these reforms among the ICTR’s most important achievements. And they now assume a great importance. With the ICTR winding down and with gacaca over, Rwanda’s High Court has taken center stage in the prosecution of genocide suspects.

In 2007, Rwanda passed a Transfer Law to meet the requirements of ICTR’s “Rule 11 bis,” which allows for the transfer of cases if the trial chamber is satisfied that the defendants will receive a fair trial in the new jurisdiction and that the death penalty will not be applied. Though the Transfer Law spelled out new witness-protection measures and fair-trial principles, ICTR trial and appeals chambers rejected Jallow’s first five transfer requests out of a belief that suspects still could not get a fair trial in Rwanda. A key issue was the anticipated inability of defense teams to secure the participation of witnesses, who feared reprisal violence and also the possibility that they could face charges for genocide negation or ideology, or prosecutions in the gacaca courts. In response, Rwanda made additional reforms, including the creation of a new witness protection unit within the judiciary and expanded procedures for non-residents to testify from outside of Rwanda.

Amendments also clarified the immunity granted to witnesses testifying at trial and guaranteed that detention conditions would meet international standards – including a ban on solitary confinement.

In 2011, a trial chamber approved the transfer to Rwanda’s High Court of Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi, a Pentecostal pastor facing genocide charges for a number of atrocities committed around the area of his church in Kayenzi; the appeals chamber upheld the decision last year. Uwinkindi’s team persisted that he would not get a fair trial in Rwanda, but judges were satisfied with the steps Rwanda has taken to improve the environment for genocide defendants. So, apparently, were other jurisdictions, such as Canada and Norway, which extradited genocide suspects to Rwanda after the Uwinkindi appeals decision. (The U.S. already had decided to deport genocide suspects after prosecuting them for immigration violations and did so in 2011 with a Rwandan native arrested in the Chicago area.) A London court is scheduled to hold a hearing in March to determine if five detained genocide suspects will be extradited to Rwanda.

France has provoked resentment in Rwanda by keeping I s s u e 14

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genocide suspects in its own courts, and also for the slow movement of the two ICTR cases – still pending – that the tribunal transferred there in 2007.

While many observers remain skeptical, ICTR prosecutors can reassert control of transferred tribunal cases if they are not satisfied with the performance of the domestic system. Monitors from the tribunal have attended all proceedings in Uwinkindi’s case, which so far have chiefly addressed defense requests for additional funds from the government – which is paying for the defense – for preparatory investigative work. (Proceedings were set to resume at the time of this writing.) In July, the ICTR transferred to Rwanda its last pretrial detainee, Bernard Munyagishari, a political leader accused of training the interahamwe militia, among other criminal acts. The six remaining cases approved for transfer by the ICTR are those involving fugitives, with cases of another three fugitives remaining under the jurisdiction of the ICTR branch of MICT. The hunt for fugitives is a joint effort by MICT, the Rwandan prosecutor’s Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit and INTERPOL. The War Crimes Rewards Program, under the U.S. State Department, provides awards of up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of ICTR fugitives and other war crimes suspects. (The last two high-level ICTY indictees were captured in 2011.)

An INTERPOL press release from April reported that 240 Rwandan genocide suspects are wanted for arrest or additional investigation. The NPPA has assisted with some cases in foreign courts by holding proceedings in Kigali for Rwandan witnesses and relaying testimony through videoconferencing. However, the agency has made clear its expectation that, postUwinkindi, future cases should be transferred to Rwanda.

Uwinkindi's trial should shed light on how many genocide cases domestic prosecutors and the High Court can handle at one time.

By one analysis, a lack of enforcement powers and the reliance on state cooperation have constituted the most obvious hindrance to the functioning of international tribunals, and one that has also plagued the fledgling ICC. Rwanda’s concern over the continuing threat of genocidal ideology is based in part on the vast number of genocide suspects still free around the world. Yet the arrest and transfer of high-level genocidaires may also be one of the ICTR’s most clear-cut achievements. According to the ICTR, 27 different national jurisdictions, with help from INTERPOL, have played a role in the apprehension of 83 tribunal fugitives.

However haphazard and protracted the effort, it is one that would not have existed without the tribunal at its center, particularly in the early years after the genocide. This is one area upon which ICTR proponents and Rwandan officials tend to agree.

“These people would have gotten away with murder, with genocide, if the ICTR did not exist,” Amoussouga said. ■ lawdragon . c o m

Rosemary Alito K&L Gates (NeWark, N.J.)

The Lawdragon 500 specializes in finding excellence. And this year is no exception. However, more firmly defining this year’s crew has been tough. You have Lawdragon royalty, who have practiced for four decades or more and shaped the law and our land.

But look a bit beyond the tried and true, and we think

T h e

A c h i e v e r s

you’ll see a new grit and gristle. These lawyers have the entrepreneurial spirit of their forebears, but also a worldly savvy much less common in earlier generations. Where many of us grew up we’d probably say these attorneys were full of piss and vinegar. We’ll just say here that we’re honored to introduce you to the achievers in the pages ahead.

lawdragon 5 0 0 L E A D I N G la w y e r s I N A M E R I C A

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

the lawdragon 500

500 Arthur Abbey A b b e y

S p a n ie r ( N e w York) The founding partner leads one of the

best teams in the country for complex class action litigation at the highest levels, having settled literally hundreds of cases and emerged victorious at trial in some of the biggest disputes to go before juries.

Matthew Abbott P a ul

W e iss ( N e w York) The M&A stalwart advised longtime

client General Atlantic in its acquisition, with BDT Capital Partners, of a minority stake in luxury fashion brand Tory Burch in a deal that valued the company at about $3.3B.

Nancy Abell

P a ul H a st ing s ( L os Ang eles ) Among the nation’s top employment

attorneys, Abell racked up another huge win in 2013 when the Sixth Circuit refused to certify a class of female job applicants denied employment as sales representatives at Cintas Corp. in a suit accusing the company of gender bias.

Robert Adams S h o o k

H a r dy ( Ka ns as City, Mo.) A master litigator, Adams won a

defense verdict in a highly emotional jury trial involving two severely injured children and one death arising out of a bus crash, and he also leads the national defense of a large medical device company in cases involving surgical mesh.

Linda Addison

N o r t o n R o se F ul brigh t ( N ew York) She successfully defended

GE Energy in one of the first Dodd-Frank whistleblower cases, while also leading the defense team for GE Healthcare in multi-jurisdictional litigation alleging overexposure to radiation from CT machines.

Michael Aiello W e il

G o t sh a l ( N e w York) The chair of Weil’s corporate department

guided the firm’s representation in a string of recent multibillion-dollar deals, including Health Management Associates in its $7.6B sale to Community Health Systems and American Realty in its $9B unsolicited offer for Cole Credit Property Trust.

Wylie Aitken A itk e n

A it k e n ( S a n t a An a, Calif.) Along with securing million-dollar

settlements and verdicts in personal injury, death and other individually brought cases, Aitken was national liaison counsel in the auto safety class action case against Toyota that was settled for $1.63B.

Thomas Ajamie Aja m ie

( H oust o n) Ajamie is the well-known bane of backroom

brokering and sweetheart deals that slight shareholders; his class action has so far blocked the $390M sale of Crimson Exploration to Contango Oil & Gas Co.

Mary Alexander Ma r y

Al e x a n de r & As s oc iates ( San Franc is c o) Alexander is relentless in the pursuit of justice in the related areas of consumer protection and personal

injury redress, with results that make her among the most sought-after lawyers in California.

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500

Christopher Meade U.S. Treasury Department (washington, D.C.)

Photo by: xxxx xxxxx

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

Roberta Kaplan paul weiss (new york)

By Xenia Kobylarz

Roberta Kaplan Roberta Kaplan credits her friends and family,

Underpants books. My son got to ride with Edie in the

which includes her wife and 7-year-old son, for helping

this year, an experience that I’m sure he will never for-

her get through the “out-of-body experience” and his-

get.

toric, high-stress litigaton work for which she is noted.

LD: There has been much discussion about the chal-

In recent years, the New York-based Paul Weiss partner

lenges women and minorities face in ascending to the

has managed to juggle a successful practice with cli-

top of the male-dominated legal profession. Can you

ents such as JP Morgan Chase and Fitch Ratings while

discuss if you’ve faced particular challenges over the

also working on the case that led to the landmark U.S.

years for being a lesbian? How has the comfort level for

Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v Windsor, which over-

being openly gay at Big Law environments changed in

turned the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. Kaplan is

recent years, or since you started practicing?

a 1991 graduate of Columbia Law School and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

LAWDRAGON: What is the biggest litigation lesson you’ve drawn from this experience? For example, is there a strategy you would “do over,” or some decision on your part that you felt was particularly instrumental in the ultimate success?

ROBERTA KAPLAN: Even in a Supreme Court case involving complicated issues of constitutional doctrine, facts really matter. Seconds after meeting Edie Windsor, I believed that her claim represented the best possible case for overturning DOMA, not only because of the huge damage she suffered —a $363,000 tax bill—but also because her life and love story so poignantly demonstrate the discrimination that gay people have experienced and why the marriages of gay couples are entitled to equal dignity and respect under the Constitution.

LD: A lot has been written about your client. Do you have a special memory of your time with her over the course of the case?

RK: Our entire legal team had a great deal of fun and an even greater number of laughs. I will never forget as long as I live the scene when we walked out of the Supreme Court building on March 27 after oral argument only to look down and hear the thunderous cheers of thousands. The Passover seder that we held with Edie, our family, friends and the legal team in

convertible at the front of New York’s gay pride parade

RK: To paraphrase the President, the American people, elected officials, and even the United States Supreme Court, from Romer to Lawrence to Windsor, have been evolving on these issues over the past several years.

Recently, that evolution has been amazingly rapid.

In 2009, for example, when we filed our case, only five states permitted gay couples to marry.

In 2011, New York became the sixth state to do so.

When I argued the case at the Supreme Court, nine states plus the District of Columbia authorized such marriages. Today, 13 states do. Since the legal profession obviously reflects our wider society, it too has experienced this same kind of dramatic change. At least in my own practice at Paul Weiss, I honestly don’t think that the fact that I am a lesbian is a disadvantage at all.

LD: You were already an accomplished litigator handling high-stakes cases for big corporations. How have you balanced the demands of a busy practice, an epic pro bono cause and a young family?

RK: I would not be telling the truth if I were to say it’s a “piece of cake.” But at least in my experience, it is possible as long as you continue to have fun practicing law and get a lot of help from friends and family. One thing is certain — I never could have achieved any of this without the support and wisdom of my wife, Rachel Lavine.

LD: Aside from the media blitz, how has your life

Washington, D.C., just prior to the oral argument was

changed so far since the Supreme Court ruling?

another once-in-a-lifetime experience.

RK: It’s truly been an out-of-body experience. The best

LD: Aside from the victory, what have been some of the

way to describe it is that I feel like the guy in the

biggest changes in your life since we last spoke in

Chagall paintings floating in the air over my own body.

2006? At the time, you were a relatively new mom.

And I am answering these questions while on a trip

RK: As a not-so-new mom, there is no question that rais-

with my family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The moun-

ing my son is the single most important job I have ever

tains of the Tetons were the perfect antidote to the

had or will ever have. In fact, Edie and my son have

stress of waiting for the Supreme Court to issue its

formed their own special relationship — Edie made him

decision.

a huge, life-size card on his last birthday and miracu-

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

lously never tires of reading him his favorite Captain

limelights/roberta-kaplan.

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Jeffrey Klein Weil Gotshal (new york)

500

Rosemary Alito K & L

G a te s ( N ewark, N .J .) She has the reputation as one of

the best-connected lawyers anywhere (even leaving her older brother aside) and as co-chair of K&L Gates’ global labor and employment practice she’s been lead counsel in defending a host of major ERISA and LMRA class actions.

Samuel Alito U . S .

S up r e m e C ourt ( Was h ington, D.C.) Alito and his fellow conser-

vatives on the high court succeeded in pushing back on the Voting Rights Act and making it harder to sue an employer for discrimination, but ended up in the minority on landmark cases that support same-sex marriage and gay rights.

John M. Allen D e b e vo ise

& Plimpton ( N ew York) Allen, known for expertise in

the energy space, represented Hertz Global Holdings in its $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in a complex and long-running legal and business saga.

Riley Allen R il e y

All e n L a w ( Orlando) Allen used his decades of experience in

achieving great results as a trial lawyer to launch a startup and become CEO of RBC Medical, which provides the healthcare industry and the consuming public with innovative products in the medical, biotech, and biomedical engineering fields.

Joseph Allerhand W e il

G o t s h al ( N ew York) AIG could have no better adviser

right now than this securities litigation master as Starr International, led by former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, pursues tens of billions in claims against the government and seeks to make AIG its unwilling partner.

John Amorosi D a vis

P olk ( N ew York) This top-flight M&A lawyer handles some

of the most complex strategic and cross-border transactions in the marketplace — for example, the $12B Cosan/Shell joint venture — as well as regularly acting for private equity sponsors, including the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs.

David Anders W a c h te ll

L ip t o n ( N ew York) The former federal prosecutor now

works at the highest corporate levels on white-collar criminal matters, internal investigations and governance; client Ernst & Young paid just $136M to settle a long-running government suit claiming the firm helped wealthy clients dodge more than $2B in taxes.

Bruce Angiolillo S im p son

T h ac h er ( N ew York) He remains one of the leading

minds and practitioners in securities litigation, having obtained the dismissal of a shareholder derivative action against Sirius XM Radio, its CEO and directors, for claims related to the merger.

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Francis Aquila

S ulliva n & C r omw ell ( N ew York) The co-head of Sullivan’s gen-

eral practice group has responsibility for 450 lawyers in 12 offices around the world and is a key M&A adviser for global firms such as Amgen, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Avon, Diageo, International Airline Group, Navistar International and United Rentals.

Stephen Arcano Sk a dde n

( N e w York) Skadden’s New York M&A practice leader

advises large corporations, including Valeant Pharmaceuticals on several transactions over the past year, as well as Gardner Denver, Dean Foods, Compuware and Nasdaq.

Clifford Aronson Ska dde n

( N e w York) He has been in high demand, recently

advising Anheuser-Busch InBev in its $20.1B acquisition of Grupo Modelo, Amerigroup Corporation in its $4.9B acquisition by WellPoint and Express Scripts in its $29B merger with Medco Health Solutions.

Kevin Arquit S im p so n

T h a c h e r ( N ew York) It came as no surprise that Virgin

Atlantic tapped Arquit as antitrust counsel for its joint venture with Delta, and that Office Depot did the same for its merger with OfficeMax.

Kim Askew K& L

G a te s ( D a ll a s) Even in Texas, where everything is big, Askew

has had an inspirational and larger-than-life legal career as one of the foremost employment lawyers and litigators of modern times.

Baher Azmy

C e n t e r f or C o n st it ut ional Righ ts ( N ew York) The legal director of

the CCR has been dogged in challenging U.S. policies related to indefinite executive detention, extraordinary rendition and torture, and the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” policy.

William Baer U . S . D e p A r tm e n t o f J us tic e (Washington, D.C.) Baer overcame months-long resistance by Republicans in the U.S. Senate to win confirmation to lead the DOJ’s antitrust division, where he has been as aggressive as expected by his supporters.

Jan Baisch L a w

Off ic e o f Ja n B a isc h ( Portland, Ore.) Baisch is the unquestioned

go-to lawyer in Oregon, with more than 40 years of experience in injury and liability litigation and a dozen jury verdicts in excess of $1M, unprecedented in state history.

S. Jack Balagia Jr. E x x o n Mob il

( Irv ing, Tex as ) He rose through the ranks to

become one of the most powerful lawyers in the energy industry as general counsel overseeing multibillion-dollar deals and partnerships around the globe.

Corinne Ball Jo n e s

D a y ( N e w Y o r k) Having been the bankruptcy attorney most

identified with saving Chrysler, Ball is now working on saving the city of Detroit as it seeks to emerge from the biggest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy.

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Terri Mascherin Jenner & Block (chicago)

C. Allen Parker Cravath (new york)

By Jeff Schult

C. Allen Parker Barack Obama, no doubt, is aware that

outstanding training and because of the people I met

his job was held by James Monroe in 1819. And we are

summer associate. I was convinced that the Cravath

of a certainty that John Roberts could tell you that John

system of associate training—in which each associate is

Marshall was chief justice in 1819. But not many people

trained as a generalist by going through a series of dif-

have jobs with what you’d have to call lineage .

ferent practice experiences within his or her chosen

As just the 15th presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine

department—was the best way for me to reach my full

& Moore, we’d expect that C. Allen Parker could rattle

potential as a lawyer. As for the people, I found the law-

off the august names of his predecessors since the firm

yers at all levels of Cravath to be not only bright and

began in 1819 with some measure of pleased alacrity,

creative, but also more engaging and enthusiastic than

though we didn’t ask. He has as reminders the artwork

the lawyers I encountered at most other firms.

and photographs hanging from the dark wood walls of

LD: Do you remember the first transaction you handled

the Cravath sanctum at One Worldwide Plaza, New York.

as an associate? Did you have a particular mentor who

There, looming, are Richard and Samuel Blatchford,

taught you how to be a dealmaker and trusted adviser?

William and Clarence Seward, names and visages forever

AP: I remember my first transaction very well—it was

associated with the important events in politics and com-

representing a fledgling cellular telephone company in

merce of the 1800s; and then, in tenures that encom-

its purchase of cell-site and switching equipment.

passed the first five decades of the 20th century, there

Although this was a straightforward transaction, it was

are the images of Paul Cravath, Robert Swaine and Hoyt

a great learning experience for a young lawyer in his

Moore, whose names outlive them.

first few months of practice, and it gave me the chance

Presiding partners since have been equally accom-

to work with two talented professionals who went on to

plished and successful at burnishing the firm’s legacy

become my mentors.

while reinventing and renewing it, to keep up with the

Bob Rosenman, the partner on the transaction,

times. The 15th presiding partner took the helm of

taught me the importance of being exhaustively pre-

Cravath in 2012. Responding to the news, a senior exec-

pared and treating everyone involved in the transaction

utive of JPMorgan Chase told The New York Times, sim-

with respect. Rob Kindler, who was the senior associ-

ply: “Blue chips don’t get any more blue than Allen

ate on the transaction and went on to become a Cravath

Parker.”

partner and, later, the vice chairman of Morgan Stanley,

Lawdragon: What does the firm of today owe to its

taught me the importance of taking personal responsi-

founders and partners from the 19th century?

bility for all aspects of the transaction and never losing

Allen Parker: The early partners established the princi-

sight of those issues in the transaction that are truly

ples that have been the foundation of the firm for nearly

important. Even nearly 30 years later, I find that these

200 years: excellence, integrity and an unwavering

lessons are still the foundation of everything I do as a

focus on client service. Building on these principles,

legal adviser.

Paul Cravath, whose time as a partner began at the end

LD: You’re the 15th presiding partner at Cravath. What

of the 19th century, continued the firm’s dedication to

does that mean for you, personally and professionally?

those principles and developed the institutional frame-

What do you hope to say you accomplished when you

work that gave rise to the firm we know today—a firm

leave this post?

that strives both to provide the very best legal advice

AP: I have always been a person for whom the firm itself

and to work beside our clients to enable them to

was paramount. While I am honored to serve as Cravath’s

achieve their business goals.

presiding partner, my focus is on my responsibility to do

LD: What did you know of Cravath when you joined the

what is best for the firm and its nearly 1,400 employ-

firm? Was its reputation attractive to you?

ees. As you would expect, I have a long list of tasks I

AP: In the early 1980s, I was of course attracted, as

would like to complete during my tenure—but all these

were a great many other law students, by Cravath’s

tasks are mere components of my larger goal to leave

reputation as one of the country’s preeminent law firms

the firm a stronger and more enduring institution than

and an acknowledged leader in complex transactional

it was when my tenure began.

and litigation matters. But I ultimately chose to prac-

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

tice at the firm because of its dedication to providing

limelights/c-allen-parker.

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during the interview process and my experience as a

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Douglas Cawley McKool Sm ith (dallas)

500

Preeta Bansal HSBC

( Lon do n ) The former Skadden partner and General Counsel

at the federal Office of Management and Budget returned to the private sector as HSBC general counsel for litigation and regulatory affairs, charged with the ongoing overhaul of the troubled bank’s legal and compliance functions.

Peter Barbur C r a va t h

( N e w York) This stalwart attorney regularly handles high-

profile antitrust litigation, regulatory clearance matters and government investigations, representing American Express in antitrust suits brought by merchants and the DOJ, Crown Castle International in its $2.4B acquisition of T-Mobile towers and IBM in FCPA investigations.

Robert Barnett W illia m s

& Conn oll y ( Was h ington, D.C.) He continued to handle

cases and deals for corporations and individuals, including television news correspondents, authors, and individuals leaving public service for the private sector — most recently, General David Petraeus, Timothy Geithner, David Axelrod, Joe Lieberman, and many more.

Neil Barofsky N e w

Y or k Un ivers ity Law Sc h ool ( N ew York) The former SIGTARP

— Special United States Treasury Department Inspector General — authored “Bailout” about his experience and now is back teaching those who hopefully will not be doomed to repeat the mistakes he chronicles.

Robert Baron C r a va t h

( N e w York ) The firm’s litigation managing partner is a

prominent force in the defense of Fortune 500 clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Merck, IBM and Qualcomm in litigation related to securities, M&A and complex financing transactions, among other business disputes.

Francis Barron Cravath (New York) The 30-year veteran of the firm returned last year after a stint as CLO at Morgan Stanley; his clients have included CBS, Citigroup, DreamWorks, GE, Goldman Sachs, Lucent Technologies, Morgan Stanley, Nestlé, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Texaco and UBS, among others.

Scott Barshay C r a va th

( N e w York) Known as a top legal innovator, the head of

Cravath’s corporate department bolstered his bevy of big-ticket M&A deals by representing Delta Air Lines with its investment in and joint venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways and advising IBM on its $1.3B purchase of Kenexa.

Charlene Barshefsky W ilmerHale

( Was h ington, D.C.) The former U.S. Trade

Representative brings unparalleled experience to the table in the negotiation of international regulatory and investment agreements as WilmerHale’s Senior International Partner.

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Daniel Bartfeld Mil b a nk

( N e w Y ork) Bartfeld leads the Milbank project finance

team in many of the largest energy-related project financings ever undertaken in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America.

George Bason D a vis

P o lk ( N e w York) He closed CNOOC’s $15.1B acquisition of

Canadian oil producer Nexen and, as co-head of Davis Polk’s M&A practice group, managed teams that accounted for $92.7B in the first quarter of 2013 alone.

Hilarie Bass G r e e n b e r g

T r a ur ig ( Miami) A noted social activist in South Florida,

she was named co-president of her 1,700-lawyer global firm in 2013, another achievement in a 30-year career as a star litigator.

John Baughman P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) His latest big win came in the form of a

summary judgment for Citigroup in a case versus Sungate Securities over claims that threatened core aspects of Citigroup’s business model and put billions of dollars at risk.

Samuel Baxter Mc Kool

Sm ith ( D all as ) He’s one of the top intellectual property

players in East Texas federal courts, perhaps the biggest stage for patent litigation in the country, having represented a host of big-name companies in high-stakes trials.

Richard Beattie S im p son

T h a c h er ( N ew York) The firm’s storied senior chairman

specializes in counseling boards of directors and non-management directors on blockbuster deals, as well as on governance issues, investigations and litigation involving corporate officers and other crisis situations.

Philip Beck B a r t l it

B e c k ( C h ic a g o) Renowned for his trial skills, his niche for

much of the past quarter century has been high-profile cases, with clients ranging from Merck and Google to George W. Bush (Gore v. Bush) and the DOJ (U.S. v. Microsoft).

Candace Beinecke H ug h e s

H ubbard ( N ew York) One of the most successful law

firm leaders in the country, the head of Hughes Hubbard is sought after in the corporate governance arena for her business savvy and personal experience in representing clients and in chairing and serving on numerous boards of directors.

John Beisner Sk a dde n

( W a sh ing ton, D.C.) He leads Skadden’s mass torts, insur-

ance and consumer litigation group; Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Electrolux and Pfizer, among others, turn to Beisner for guidance in complex multidistrict cases.

James Benedict Mil b a nk

( N e w Y ork) Milbank’s revered litigation leader is

defending a precedent-setting derivative suit for client AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. and AXA Equitable Funds Management Group over AXA’s receipt of more than $1 billion in mutual fund management fees.

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Candace Beinecke Hughes Hubbard (new york)

Ray Boucher khorrami boucher (los angeles)

By Katrina Dewey

Ray Boucher Nearly a decade ago, prominent Los Angeles

then you had all the plaintiffs’ lawyers, all of whom had

plaintiff lawyer Ray Boucher made headlines predicting

clients. ...

that clergy sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church

in Southern California would exceed $1B. Little did he

ated with the evil. I sat down and edited the personal

know then that he would lead a tenacious five-year land

DVDs of over 500 victims where they told their story so

war against the church on behalf of victims of horrifying

judges and insurance carriers could evaluate them.

abuse that would top that figure—including the $660 mil-

These human life experiences of my clients will remain

lion against the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Lesser known

a part of who I am for the rest of my life.

outside of Southern California is how Boucher battled on

LD: What did you learn from the energy and clergy

after the 2007 settlement to help secure the release of

cases, both of which netted more than a billion dollars

secret church records, which were unsealed earlier this

for consumers and victims?

year, revealing that senior church leaders knew of abuse

RB: You know, it’s what I learned from the cases, particu-

and worked in concert to hide it while sheltering those

larly clergy. There really aren’t any big cases or small

who molested children.

cases, at least not to our clients. I mean we all want to

The sex abuse litigation was hard fought and exacted

make an impact. We all want to bring justice to the bar

an enormous toll on Boucher, who recently formed

of justice. We all want to help fix an imperfect society,

Khorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti with noted Los

we believe the civil justice system is a means of being

Angeles lawyer Shawn Khorrami.

able to do that, at least we hope that it is and that we

LAWDRAGON: Can you talk a bit about how you got

can be part of the instruments of that change. But what

involved in that case?

I learned from the clergy cases was a reinforcement of

RAY BOUCHER: Call it coincidence, serendipity. I have

sort of the perspective I came out of law school with. We

been significantly involved in California politics and I

are here to help people heal from injustice. ...

was working heavily to expose the five primary market-

LD: You also paid a huge personal price [for the church

ers of electricity in California for their gaming of the

case]. Your wife left you a few days after the settlement

system. I had convinced Sen. Joe Dunn (now head of the

was announced and you have endured six tumultuous

State Bar of California) to begin a bipartisan investiga-

years of a divorce. Would you bring the church claims

tion of the electricity crisis in California and the market

again knowing all you would go through?

manipulation that led to that crisis.

RB: Without hesitation. Without batting an eye. I’d do it

In the course of preparing him for a hearing he was

110 times out of 100. It’s what I’m supposed to do. I

conducting and the cross-examination of some of his

always think of the image of that man in Tiananmen

witnesses, I came into his office and there was

Square as the world watched and tanks bore down on

Minnesota lawyer Jeff Anderson and several victims of

him, he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his

clergy sexual abuse meeting with Senator Dunn. They

family, his country, humanity, the world knowing that it

were trying to open a window in the statute of limita-

was too much of a price to pay yet it wasn’t sufficient.

tions for abuse victims. By pure coincidence I happened

to be there that day, and met the victims. [Boucher

lawyer, in particular the clergy abuse clients, have

ended up helping with passage of a law that opened a

shown that courage and tenacity that makes you

one-year window in which victims of molestation from

applaud them and root and cheer for them. And I know

years prior could bring their claims in court.]

that the work we did in the clergy cases changed a lot

LD: Was this the most difficult case you ever worked on?

of lives. I still get messages from so many victims

RB: It’s hard to say. In many ways it was because often

whose lives have been changed for the better. There are

in law and politics you have to play on a five-level chess-

still many victims suffering in silence. So the docu-

board. This case was 10 to 15 levels because you had

ments coming out are helping others. We’ve lost clients

the Archdiocese and all of its fears, its denial, the cen-

who’ve taken their lives since the settlement. But I

turies-old desire to sweep the dust and dirt underneath

can’t imagine not stepping up and helping to provide

the rug and project this pristine image. That was a sig-

them with a voice.

nificant layer that required a nimble strategy to man-

See the full Q&A at www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-lime-

age. … You had the carriers with all the conflicts and

lights/ray-boucher.

Photo by: Dave Lauridsen

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their own independent clients and obligations to those On top of all that you had the sheer emotion associ-

I think that the clients I’ve had through my life as a

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Dianne Elderkin Akin Gump (Philadelphia) LAWDRAGON

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Bruce Bennett Jon e s

D a y ( Los Ang eles ) Bennett had another busy year repre-

senting the City of Detroit; the senior bondholders in the Travelport Ltd. restructuring; and debtors in the MF Global Holdings, Ltd. plan of reorganization.

Kerry Berchem Ak in

G um p ( N ew York) The co-head of her firm’s corporate prac-

tice has a string of billion-dollar deals to her credit, recently advising Alterra on its $3.1B sale to Markel Corp.

Max Berger B e r n st e in

Litow i tz ( N ew York) The “Dean” of the plaintiff securities

bar has negotiated more than $25B in recoveries and six different settlements over $1B, most recently a $2.425 billion settlement with Bank of America over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Martha Bergmark Mississippi

Center for J us tic e ( J ac ks on, Mis s .) Named a

“Champion of Change” by the Obama administration, Bergmark’s public interest practice currently leads a five-state, 12-program consortium of legal aid providers representing victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster.

Barry Berke Kr a m e r

L e vin ( N ew York) The veteran trial attorney was named co-

chair of his firm’s litigation department in 2013, and most recently won a federal court dismissal of a suit alleging deception by Bear Sterns hedge fund managers.

Steve Berman H a g e n s

B e r m a n ( Seattle) He’s been among the leading class action

lawyers in the country since founding his own firm 20 years ago and is currently representing basketball players who are suing the NCAA and giant game-maker Electronic Arts over their use of college athletes’ names and likenesses.

Leo Beus B e us

G il b e r t ( S c o t t sdale, Ariz.) His powerful firm specializes in land-use

issues critical to the region, but Beus also represented Brigham Young University in reaching a $450 million deal to settle claims that Pfizer breached a research agreement and ripped off trade secrets to develop its blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex.

Preet Bharara U . S .

D e p a r tm ent of J us tic e ( N ew York) He’s been called the

enforcer of Wall Street, a reputation built on his pursuit of corporate criminals in insider trading and other financial crimes.

Peter Bicks O r r ic k

( N e w Y o r k) The Ninth Circuit in 2013 affirmed Bick’s huge

copyright win for Dish Networks over Fox and other broadcasters over the “Hopper” DVR technology, and he also obtained a dismissal for Dow Agro Sciences against Bayer CropScience AG in a multibillion-dollar gene patent suit.

Photo by: Andrew Kahl

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Martin Bienenstock P r osk a ue r

( N ew York) There are few attorneys as experi-

enced in bankruptcies and reorganizations as Bienenstock, who most recently led the legal team that steered Rotech Healthcare through and out of Chapter 11.

Lisa Blatt A r n ol d

& P or te r ( W a sh i ngton, D.C.) Along with high-profile cases for

corporations, Blatt has taken on several major pro bono cases and recently won a Supreme Court case that blocked a Native American father from using a federal law to unwind an adoption proceeding to which he had previously agreed.

Steven Bochner W il so n

S on sin i ( Palo Alto) WSGR’s former CEO is one of the

country’s leading IPO, disclosure and governance lawyers; he helped design the IPO provisions of the JOBS Act, serves on the Board of the San Francisco Fed and has been a senior adviser to Nasdaq and the SEC.

David Boies B o ie s

S c h ille r ( A r m onk ) The nation’s most celebrated trial lawyer,

routinely steeped in the cases that matter — be it pension reform, novel constitutional claims or bringing to justice financers of international terrorism — added “civil rights icon” to his CV with the Supreme Court victory in Hollingsworth v. Perry legalizing gay marriage in California and opening the gateway to full federal equality in all 50 states.

Ray Boucher K HORRA MI

BOUCHER ( Los Ang eles ) The longtime high-end class

action plaintiff’s lawyer in 2013 won a six-year battle over the release of confidential files of the archdiocese of Los Angeles, 12,000 pages of documents which reveal a painful history of cover-up and betrayal of sexual abuse victims by the Catholic Church.

John Bouma Sne ll

& W ilm e r ( P h o enix ) The chairman of his state’s largest firm

with offices throughout the Southwest and now in Mexico, Bouma has represented Arizona in defending the state’s tough and controversial anti-immigration law.

Theodore Boutrous G ib so n

D unn ( Los Ang eles ) Boutrous’s talents were on

display at the highest levels as a member of the team that prevailed before the U.S. Supreme Court in overturning California’s ban on same-sex marriage and also in winning a unanimous Supreme Court decision enforcing the Class Action Fairness Act.

David Braff S ulliva n

& C r omw e ll ( N ew York) Braff now has overall responsibility

for Sullivan’s litigation practice after years as managing partner of the litigation group and as counsel to Goldman Sachs and Barclays; he’s also counsel to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

John Brandow D a vis

P olk ( N e w York) A leading expert on capital markets,

Brandow represented the U.S. Treasury Department as it divested itself of AIG stock, winding down the government’s bailout with a $7.6B public offering.

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James Hurst Winston & StrawN (CHICAGO)

Adam Emmerich wachtell lipton (new york)

500

Stephen Breyer U . S .

S up r e me Court ( Was h ington, D.C.) Though the Clinton

appointee has come to be associated with the more liberal side of the High Court he has long championed a pragmatic and relatively centrist juridical point of view, well established in two books he has written while serving as an associate justice.

Brad Brian Mung e r

T olle s ( Los Ang eles ) Brian continues to represent Transocean

in the complex litigation arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with billions of dollars in insurance, damages and settlements at stake.

Beth Brinkmann U . S .

D e p a rtment of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) Brinkmann

heads up the Appellate staff in the DOJ’s Civil Division and her reputation fuels occasional speculation that she’s on the short list for an appeals court judgeship or even, perhaps, the Supreme Court.

Craig Brod Cle a r y

G o t t l ie b ( New York) A distinguished expert in capital markets

work, Brod represented underwriters in a series of transactions that enabled AIG to reaccess the capital markets, including the largest secondary equity offering in U.S. history in September 2012 and AIG’s “re-IPO” in May 2011.

Barry Brooks P a ul

H a sting s ( N ew York) The head of the Paul Hastings New York

office advised Suddenlink Communications on its $6.6B sale to private equity firm BC Partners and, more recently, negotiated a $150M deal for Primary Wave Music with BMG.

Barbara Brown P a ul

H a stings ( Was h ington, D.C.) A master at guiding employ-

ers through sensitive situations and defending them against legal claims, Brown is representing Goldman Sachs in a nationwide class action alleging gender bias against female employees.

Lisa Brown G e or g e t o wn

Un ivers ity ( Was h ington, D.C.) Brown came aboard at

Georgetown in 2013 after more than two decades of public service at the highest levels of government in both the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Susanna Buergel P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) The battle-toughened litigator has

represented Citigroup in subprime, auction rate and credit crisis-related proceedings and also in matters arising out of the activities of former Salomon Smith Barney research analyst Jack Grubman.

Tom Burke D a vis

W r ig h t ( S a n Franc is c o) In Hollingsworth v. Perry, Burke repre-

sented a national media coalition in the 9th Circuit and in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s proposal to broadcast the trial and to make the video public in the landmark constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Donald Bussard R ic h a r ds

L a y t o n ( Wilmington) The senior member of his firm’s

transactional team was Delaware counsel to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Clearwire Corp. in connection with its acquisition by Sprint Nextel Corp.

Elizabeth Cabraser Lie ff

C a b r as er ( San Franc is c o) She prevailed over Google

in a noted privacy case when the 9th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that the company cannot routinely gather unencrypted Wi-Fi data, adding to a three-decade record of wins in high-profile plaintiff actions.

Michael Calhoon B a k e r

B otts ( Was h ington, D.C.) A seasoned corporate trial

lawyer, Calhoon won the fourth-largest jury verdict in the U.S. in 2012, a $956M judgment for Liberty Media Corp. against Vivendi S.A.

Tim Cameron C r a va t h

( N e w Y or k) Cameron achieved a precedent-setting victory

for Vivendi in 2013 by successfully rebutting the so-called “fraud-on-the-market presumption” in a securities fraud case after a trial on the merits, highlighting his expertise representing non-U.S. clients in complex litigation.

Richard Capelouto S im p so n

T hac h er ( Palo Alto) Simpson Thacher’s Silicon

Valley M&A mainstay represents longtime client Silver Lake Partners in the planned $24B buyout of Dell.

David Caplan D a vis

P olk ( N e w Y o rk) Caplan represented Comcast in its acquisition

of a majority stake in NBCUniversal and its related joint venture with GE, and Comcast’s subsequent acquisition of GE’s remaining 49% common equity stake for $18.1B.

Bill Carmody S usm a n

G o df r e y ( N ew York) The head of Susman’s New York office

wins cases all around the country and is one of the few nationally renowned commercial trial lawyers who, for both plaintiffs and defendants, stakes his fees on his results.

James Carroll Sk a dde n

( B o ston ) A seasoned class action and complex civil litiga-

tor, he recently secured a victory for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a case that alleged the bank conspired with private equity firms to suppress prices paid to shareholders of several companies involved in leveraged buyouts.

Michael Carvin Jon e s

D a y ( W a shington, D.C.) He successfully argued to the

Supreme Court that Obamacare’s individual mandate violated the Commerce Clause (although it was upheld as a tax), and successfully represented six states in redistricting and voting rights cases.

Douglas Cawley Mc K ool

Sm it h (Dall as ) The talented veteran added to his string

of impressive results with a $368M patent infringement verdict against Apple for VirnetX.

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Photo by: Alan Matthews

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Bryan Stevenson Equal JusTICE Initiative of Alabama (Montgomery)

Paul Schnell Skadden (new york)

By john ryan

Paul Schnell The M&A lawyers

LD: Backing up a ways, I read in the New York Times selected for our annual

that you were a philosophy major. What led you to law

Lawdragon 500 guides are the types who stay busy al-

school? How did you start to develop an interest in han-

most regardless of what the economy is doing, and Paul

dling big deals for a living?

Schnell is among the more striking examples. The Skad-

PS: Philosophy is terrific training for the law. It teaches

den partner in New York has played a role in a number

you to be a better, more rigorous thinker. I find myself

of large deals in recent years, even as the M&A market

thinking through legal issues much the same way I did

has been slow to enter into a post-crisis boom. Schnell

philosophical questions. But, while the thought process

represented Pfizer in the nearly $12B purchase of its

is vey similar, there’s a big difference in the end result.

nutritional business by Nestle, and he also handled An-

In philosophy you don’t worry about coming up with the

heuser-Busch InBev’s $20B acquisition of Grupo Mode-

answer, there often isn’t one; in the law, you of course

lo, among other high-profile matters. A graduate of New

need to come up with an answer, a solution, for your

York University School of Law, Schnell studied philoso-

client.

phy at Amherst College for his B.A.

I’ve always liked the drama of M&A transactions.

LAWDRAGON: Can you share a few thoughts on why the

Many areas of law are as intellectually exciting as M&A,

slowness of the M&A market stuck around even as we

but few involve as much drama. In M&A, you get to work

moved away from the crisis?

with companies, investors and individuals engaged in

PAUL SCHNELL: Market participants often have too

transactions that are truly transformative for them: a

short a memory, but the 2008 financial crisis was trau-

100-year old company may cease to exist as an indepen-

matic enough that people still can’t put it behind them.

dent entity; a CEO’s career may be defined by the suc-

While the economy and the M&A market have slowly

cess or failure of the transaction. It’s fascinating see-

improved since the crisis, there’s still some unease

ing how “bet the company” deals can bring out the best

about the health of the global economy and wariness in

in really talented people, and occasionally the worst.

boardrooms about making big acquisitions. A board

LD: As you developed as a lawyer in the early years of

needs to make a leap of faith when it decides to pay an

your practice, who was a key mentor for you?

acquisition premium in a transaction; the premium rep-

PS: I’ve had the best mentors in the world over the years

resents a bet that the target company has strong future

— Joe Flom, Jim Freund, Roger Aaron, Peter Atkins, Bill

prospects and is likely to achieve them. If the board

Frank and Barry Garfinkel, to name a few. I could write

doesn’t have enough confidence about the future, it

a book about what I’ve learned from them, though Jim

won’t take the chance.

Freund has written ten books over his career so you can

LD: What’s ahead in the next few years?

read it directly from him.

PS: There is every reason to think we will see a gradual

increase in M&A activity, though not as quickly or

example in the most compelling, accomplished and

evenly as anyone would like. As conditions improve,

inspiring ways: always demand the most you can from

you’ll see bigger strategic deals and more private equity

yourself — integrity in everything you do, the highest

activity. We’ve already had two PE-like deals in the $25

quality work, creativity, team play, tenacity, total dedi-

billion range this year — Dell and Heinz. These acquisi-

cation to your client — and always have as much fun as

tions are several times larger than the biggest private

you can along the way.

equity deals we have seen since the 2008 crisis.

LD: With all the lawyers at other firms who you come

Naysayers say that Dell and Heinz are not indicative of

across, can you share a few that you admire?

an improving trend because those deals involved

PS: I would get myself into trouble if I named names.

unique circumstances. But, any $25-billion deal is

The bad ones take themselves too seriously, are lazy

encouraging. ...

thinkers and service providers, approach deals as if

Their advice focused on the basic, and they taught by

Of course, I don’t place any real value on these pre-

there can be only one winner, and don’t listen closely

dictions about the future of M&A. In talking about the

enough to anyone — their client, the party on the

future, I am certain of only one thing, which is that you

other side, other advisers. The great ones do the

can’t know where things are headed. Maybe I should

opposite.

have made that point first so your readers could have

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

skipped straight to the next question.

limelights/paul-schnell.

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Jonathan Cedarbaum W ilm e r Hale

( Was h ington, D.C.) A former acting head

of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, Cedarbaum is known for his innovative analyses of complex statutory and regulatory problems and helps lead WilmerHale’s False Claims Act and data security and privacy practices.

Dale Cendali Kir kla n d

& Ell is ( N ew York) She’s an acknowledged superstar liti-

gator for intellectual property cases, representing clients as disparate as J.K. Rowling, Twentieth Century Fox, the Associated Press and Victoria’s Secret.

William Chandler III W il so n

Sons ini ( G eorgetown , Del.) The former

Chancellor of the Court of Chancery helped lead the team from Wilson Sonsini’s new Delaware office in achieving a significant victory for Chevron in defense of its exclusive forum bylaw, which the Chancery Court sustained as valid and enforceable under state law.

Mark Cheffo Q uinn

Em a n ue l ( N e w York) Formerly at Skadden, Cheffo is a top-tier

trial lawyer and expert in product liability litigation, a veteran whose clients include Pfizer, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Amgen.

Bryan Chegwidden R o p e s

& G ray ( N ew York) One of the top fund lawyers in

the country, Chegwidden represented long-time client Blackrock in its acquisition of Zurich-based Swiss Re’s fund of funds business.

Steven Cherny K ir kla n d

& Ell is ( N ew York) A giant in the patent litigation field,

he’s been lead counsel for clients including Oracle, IBM, Cisco and C.R. Bard, among many others, in numerous high-profile cases spanning 20 years.

Evan Chesler C r a va t h

( N e w Y or k ) The renowned trial lawyer and firm chairman

continues to dominate the courtroom in an incredible array of matters, handling major litigation — including five trials in 18 months for American Express, NCR and Mylan — as well as high-profile white collar investigations.

Rollin Chippey II Mo r g a n

Le w is ( San Franc is c o) Chippey, among the Golden

State’s most admired trial lawyers, has won a string of major land-use cases in California for Wal-Mart, paving the way for the retailer’s expansion in major markets.

Ken Choe U . S .

D e p a r t m e n t of H e a l th and Human Serv ic es ( Was h ington, D.C.) As

Deputy General Counsel at HHS, Choe has been integral in implementing Obamacare and in promoting equal rights in healthcare.

Thomas Christopher K ir kla n d

& Ell is ( N ew York) A top dealmaker and board

adviser, he represented Community Health Systems, Charter Communications, NRG Energy and the board of directors of Office Depot in multibillion-dollar M&A transactions.

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Martha Bergmark Mississippi Center for Justice (jackson)

Thomas Ajamie Ajamie LLP (houston and New York)

500

Morgan Chu I r e ll

& Ma n e ll a ( Los Ang eles ) The master IP litigator has now

secured $1.6B in judgments and settlements for TiVo in a range of disputes, including $600M-plus from EchoStar and Dish; $490M from disputes with Motorola and Cisco; $215M from AT&T; and another $250M in a case against Verizon.

Richard Cieri Kir kla n d

& Ell is ( N ew York) When it comes to debt management

and restructuring it is hard to beat Cieri’s track record; client Charter Communications appears to have turned the corner after wiping out $8B in debt in bankruptcy.

Michael Ciresi R ob in s

K a p l an ( Minn eapolis ) The former U.S. Senate candidate is

at the top of the list for product liability, intellectual property, business and commercial litigation cases, with a recent $57M judgment against Wells Fargo for breach of fiduciary duty in violation of the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act.

Richard Clary C r a va th

( N e w York) Highly esteemed securities litigator Clary has

handled some of the toughest bet-the-company litigation facing financial services clients in recent history and is Credit Suisse’s lead strategist and courtroom advocate in actions relating to residential mortgage-backed securities nationwide.

Paul Clement B a n c r of t

( W a s h ington, D.C.) He argued 16 times before the Supreme

Court over the last two terms alone — an unprecedented number for a lawyer in private practice — on behalf of a wide variety of clients from the House of Representatives to GlaxoSmithKline to the Guardian ad Litem for a baby girl at the center of a disputed adoption.

Richard Climan W e il

G o t sh al ( Redwood Sh ores , Calif.) This M&A master rep-

resented the Los Angeles Dodgers in their sale for more than $2B and also handled Illumina’s successful defense against Roche’s $6B-plus hostile takeover attempt.

Ty Cobb H og a n

L ove lls ( W a sh ington, D.C.) Internal investigations on five continents

for the Fortune 100, a foreign government, royalty and billionaires and the successful defense of many FCPA, antitrust and FCA cases before the SEC and Justice Department made for a heavily traveled year for this Ethisphere-compliance Hall of Famer.

Fielding ‘Tres’ Cochran III Vins on

& Elkins ( Hous ton) Cochran has been

a major force in energy-related businesses for decades, from oil, coal and gas to wind farms, in M&A, financing, partnership deals and project management.

Charles Cogut S im p son

T h a c h er ( N ew York) The much-admired veteran deal-

maker represented the non-management directors of Aetna in the company’s $7B purchase of Coventry Health, and Rockwood Holdings in its $730M acquisition of Talison Lithium.

Photo by: Laura Barisonzi

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500 Audra Cohen S ull iva n

& C r o mw e ll ( N ew York) She’s playing a lead role in the

pending $8.2B acquisition of NYSE Euronext by ICE; the deal would cap a decade of high-end M&A work, much of it involving major consumer brands including Avon Products and Hershey Foods.

H. Rodgin Cohen S ull iva n

& C r omw ell ( N ew York) The senior chairman since

2010, he remains among the world’s most influential advisers and dealmakers in banking and finance, an insider whom The Wall Street Journal described as the “lawyer for all Wall Street.”

Jay Cohen P a ul

W e iss ( N e w Y o r k ) His comprehensive expertise in media, anti-

trust, securities and intellectual property has been on display for 20 years in courtrooms across the country, in high-stakes litigation for clients ranging from music publishing entities such as ASCAP to Time Warner and Citigroup.

Lori Cohen G r e e n b e r g

T r a ur ig ( A tlanta) One of the leading experts in the U.S. in

medical device and pharmaceutical litigation, she’s tried 55 cases, all to defense verdicts, worth millions to her clients.

Robin Cohen K a sow it z

B e n so n ( N ew York) She’s among the best of the best insur-

ance litigators and, in total, has helped her clients obtain more than $4 billion in insurance assets over the course of her 25-year career.

Sarah Chapin Columbia Mc Dermott

( Bos ton) She’s had an extraordinary

run of success in intellectual property and patent litigation, representing clients such as Seikagaku Corporation and Zimmer, Inc., Siemens, Akamai and CIBA.

Richard Cordray U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Washington, D.C.) He’s no longer “Acting” — President Obama’s pick as first chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally won Senate confirmation to a five-year term in July after 18 months on the job.

Lucia Coyoca Mitc h e ll

S il b e r b e r g ( Los Ang eles ) This entertainment all-star

scored a $50M verdict for film producer and distributor David Bergstein in a case against his former in-house counsel for breach of fiduciary duties.

Gregory Craig Sk a dde n

( W a sh ington, D.C.) A veteran of Washington’s political

corridors, he is advising former Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright in an investigation involving allegations of classified information leaks regarding cyber-attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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Brad Brian Munger Tolles (los angeles)

Karen Dyer Boies Schiller (orlando and New York)

By Katrina Dewey

Karen Dyer For those who say you can’t have it all, we’d

this trial will be a battle of experts as it is estimated the

like to introduce Karen Dyer. She’s the most senior fe-

though we should only be fighting about that difference,

male trial partner at Boies Schiller & Flexner and has

it’s a $2 billion dollar difference to our client, whose fam-

been a trusted lieutenant to David Boies for over two

ily will be bought out of its 50% interest. ...

decades. On the side, she’s the First Lady of Orlando,

LD: And you have a major qui tam action in Texas.

married to Mayor Buddy Dyer, and the mother of Trey

KD: That’s the Trinity case, in Federal District Court in

and Drew.

Texas, which is really a case about matters of life and

In court, she’s a dynamo, examining witnesses in Starr

death. The complaint in that case alleges that people

International’s trial victory against AIG and the firm’s

are dying needlessly because the guard rails on many of

more recent victory for John Ferolito, founder of AriZona

our nation’s roads and highways—which were designed

Iced Tea, who is locked in a multibillion-dollar battle with

to certain very exact specifications in order to save

his co-owner. Currently, she’s preparing for the retrial of

lives—are defective because the specs were changed

the $7 billion Terra Firma case while running a multibil-

without the knowledge or consent of the states and fed-

lion-dollar case in Texas against Trinity Industries.

eral government who purchased them.

LAWDRAGON: What’s it like being the top female trial

lawyer at Boies Schiller?

those cases where you think, this is what I went to law

KAREN DYER: Top female is a funny term to me. There

school for; it could be one of my sons out there on the

are so many talented female lawyers at Boies Schiller;

road. This product was designed so that people who veer

I just happen to have been here the longest. I laugh be-

off the road and hit a header on a guardrail are able to

cause when I joined the firm I had no idea I was the first

get up and walk away from vehicles. Now, because of the

female partner. At the very first firm retreat, there was

unauthorized design change, most are killed instantly.

a partners’ meeting. I walked into a room of all men and

How would you feel?

tried to play it cool, but quickly looked at the agenda to

LD: You have such a wealth of career highlights to

make sure I was in the right room. Fortunately we imme-

choose from. What are some of the tops?

diately elected two women to the partnership, who are

KD: This is really going to date me, but working with

both terrific, very talented lawyers.

David Boies and the late Tom Barr, when they were both

LD: How do you balance everything in your so-called

at Cravath, on the Michael Milken junk bond litigation.

glamorous life?

That’s where my practice started. I graduated in 1987,

KD: The one thing over the years that I know I have been

clerked for a federal judge until 1989, then joined Carl-

able to contribute is to show young lawyers, especially

ton Fields, where I started working with an extremely

females, that you can—and should—have a life outside

talented litigator, Anne Conway, who’s now the Chief

the firm. It takes a lot of support from friends, family,

Judge for the Federal Middle District of Florida. We did

and colleagues, and you have to find a good assistant.

FDIC and RTC work during the savings and loans crisis,

We’re in a profession where, albeit difficult, with the

which is how I started to work with several top-flight

right support one does not have to choose between hav-

New York law firms. ...

ing a family or continuing to practice law.

LD: Is your life as glamorous as it seems?

LD: Tell me a little about some of the big cases you’re

KD: Ha! It’s one of those days. I started off by calling

working on now.

my son Drew, a freshman at the University of Colorado

KD: Well, there’s Terra Firma right now, which is fasci-

at 3:30 a.m. to see if he was affected by the floods in

nating not just because of its size, but also because of

Boulder; our realtor decided to show our condo in New

several interesting issues including the application of

York today so I had to get that in order; I’m meeting

English law to an American trial. Our client asserts it

our expert to defend her deposition at Paul Weiss to-

was duped by Citibank into bidding for EMI Records and

day, after which I have several other matters to attend

we hope the jury will agree.

to. It’s a whirlwind and my “to-do” list is crazy, but is it

glamorous? No! It’s often anything but glamorous--but I

The AriZona Iced Tea case is also very interesting and

company is worth between $4 billion and $6 billion. Al-

Although the case is in the early stages, it’s one of

the valuation trial, which should implement one of the

wouldn’t trade it for anything.

largest corporate divorces in history, is scheduled for Jan-

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

uary. I’ve been working with our valuation experts, and

limelights/karen-dyer.

Photo by: Laura Barisonzi

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Susan Creighton W il so n

S o n sini ( Was h ington, D.C.) Creighton served as lead

outside counsel for Google in the FTC’s investigation of the company, which was closed without action by unanimous vote, while also representing clients such as Adobe, Genentech, and Autodesk.

Lisa Damon S e y f a r th

S h a w ( B o ston) A founding partner of her firm’s Boston

office, Damon is a recognized innovator in employment and labor law, both in the courtroom and in advising clients on how to avoid litigation.

Frank Darras D a r r a s

La w ( On t a rio, Calif.) The nation’s leading disability attor-

ney, Darras focused the spotlight on Cigna’s handling of longterm disability claims following a five-state investigation that resulted in the company reevaluating denied disability claims from 2008-2010.

Cari Dawson Alst o n

& B ir d ( A t l anta) Dawson earns praise as a creative problem-

solver and strategist who never loses sight of her clients’ overarching business goals as she manages multi-firm and multidisciplinary teams in the most complex MDLs, including the product liability class actions involving the unintended acceleration of Toyota cars.

Walter Dellinger O ’Me l ve n y

( W as h ington, D.C.) The former acting U.S. Solicitor

General in the Clinton administration has argued some of the most compelling cases before the Supreme Court in recent years including representing the defendant in United States v. Antoine Jones, in which the court overruled the warrantless government use of a GPS device to track a suspect.

Thomas Demetrio C or b oy

& D emetrio ( Ch ic ago) The leading light of the Illinois

bar played a lead role in litigation that forced a $765M settlement between the NFL and former pro football players that will fund medical exams, concussion-related compensation and medical research.

Robert Denham Mung e r

T olle s ( Los Ang eles ) The former head of Salomon

Brothers helped seal the $28B H.J. Heinz Co. deal for Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the largest ever such transaction in the food industry, fending off shareholder challenges along the way in the latest in a string of multibillion dollar M&A coups.

Otway Denny N o r t o n

R ose F ul b righ t ( Hous ton) When calamity and disaster

happen, Denny is among the very best to lead a litigation team, with a long record of favorable settlements and verdicts in the most difficult of circumstances.

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500

Kelly Dermody Lie ff

C a b r a s er ( San Franc is c o) A nationally-recognized employ-

ment litigator and bar leader, Dermody fearlessly prosecutes employment abuses on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, most recently against Goldman Sachs for discrimination and against Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar for conspiring to suppress employee wages.

Marshall Doke G a r de r e

( D a llas ) Small business or large, he’s No. 1 when gov-

ernment contracts are being deciphered, enforced or awarded, with clients that include Bell Helicopter Textron, Raytheon, Texas Instruments and the University of Texas.

Sean Donahue D on a h ue

G o l dberg ( Was h ington, D.C.) This estimable appellate

and environmental litigator has staked out his own turf in the nation’s capital, most recently successfully briefing and arguing Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp. for the petitioners at the Supreme Court.

David Drummond G oogle

( Mountain View, Calif.) Google Google’s chief coun-

sel and he seems to be everywhere, with his hands on censorship and privacy issues, global competition inquiries and even M&A with Google Ventures.

Thomas Dubbs L a b a ton

S uc harow ( N ew York) A leader in representing institu-

tional investors in securities cases, Dubbs helped secure a $1B-plus settlement from claims against AIG and is lead or co-lead counsel in cases again Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fannie Mae.

Daniel Dufner W h it e

& C a se ( N ew York) Always busy on big deals, Dufner repre-

sented longtime clients DISH Network in its unsolicited $25.5B bid to acquire Sprint Nextel, and WellPoint in the completed $4.9B acquisition of Amerigroup Corp.

Dennis Dunne Mil b a nk

( N e w York) Dunne is a leader who finds creative and

workable solutions in the most difficult creditor and debtor restructurings, and has been advising LightSquared Inc. in its bankruptcy and complicated disposal of its multibillion-dollar wireless spectrum.

Karen Dyer B oie s

S c h ill e r ( O rlando) A virtuoso trial lawyer, Dyer won the right to

a retrial of a fraud claim for its client Terra Firma against Citigroup over the $7B leveraged buyout of EMI, while handling a wide-ranging international portfolio of major clients.

Scott Edelman Mil b a nk

( N e w York) Milbank is in safe hands with Edelman, its

new chairman who earned national acclaim for his successful handling of a wide range of high-stakes litigation, investigations and regulatory matters.

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Michael Egan King

& S p a l ding ( Atlanta) He headed his firm’s team that advised

Sprint Nextel on its long-contested $3.6B takeover of Clearwire, which closed in July.

Jay Eisenhofer G r a n t

& E ise n h o fer ( N ew York) He secured a $139M settlement

for shareholders against News Corp. over the phone-hacking scandal, believed to be the largest-ever settlement reached in a derivative lawsuit in Delaware Court of Chancery.

Mitchell Eitel S ulliva n

& C r omw e ll ( N ew York) Among the latest deals for the

co-head of Sullivan’s Financial Institutions Group: Bankia SA’s $883M sale of City National Bank of Florida to Chilean bank BCI, and KeyCorp’s $246M divestiture of Victory Capital Partners to Crestview Partners.

Dianne Elderkin Akin

G um p ( P h iladelph ia) She continues to rack up jury wins

in high-profile life sciences patent disputes, including defeating Abbott’s claim against client Centocor Ortho Biotech for hundreds of millions of damages for sales of the Stelara antibody drug.

Michael Elkin W in st o n

& S t r a wn ( N ew York) Elkin is a widely recognized trial

lawyer who has earned numerous accolades for his successful defense of “bet-theindustry” digital media copyright disputes involving the streaming of motion picture, television, and music properties.

Howard Ellin Sk a dde n

( N e w Y or k) The global co-head of Skadden’s corporate

transactions and M&A group routinely advises on blockbuster deals within the technology, media and telecom spaces, including representing News Corp. on the $12B split of its publishing and entertainment businesses, and The Walt Disney Co. in its $4B acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Adam Emmerich W a c h te ll

L ip t on ( N ew York) He led the way for the $1.5B

merger of Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile and MetroPCS and also represented the Wertheimer family in the $2B sale of Israeli toolmaker International Metalworking Cos. BV that brought the company fully under control of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

James Esseks ACL U

( N e w Y or k ) The director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual

Transgender & AIDS Project has his hands full, working for equal treatment under the law for all LGBT people nationwide — because it takes a lot more than a Supreme Court ruling or two to bring about equality.

Douglas Eyberg G a r de r e

( H ous ton) In recent years, Eyberg has been lead M&A

counsel to BP in numerous acquisition and divestiture transactions — upstream, midstream, downstream and renewables — totaling almost $2oB.

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Photo by: Eli Meir Kaplan

Michael Hausfeld Hausfeld LLP (washington, D.C.)

Barry Berke kramer levin (new york)

By john ryan

Barry Berke Barry Berke

bar in the city at the time. While I received this advice didn’t take the “tried and true”

from many respected sources, I decided to keep my origi-

route of working as a federal prosecutor before starting a

nal plan, since I had always wanted to defend, I knew I

white-collar criminal defense practice. But his time at the

would be doing something good for the community by

Federal Defenders’ Office in New York clearly served him

being a public defender, and it would be a great way to

well, helping to mold him into one of the nation’s leading

learn how to be a trial lawyer.

lawyers in the white-collar area. Berke is equally adept

LD: Among your best-known cases of the past few years

at convincing authorities not to bring charges, as in his

is the Brubaker acquittal in the tax case. Can you men-

representation of Bear Stearns in investigations related

tion a few factors that led to your success?

to the subprime mortgage crisis, and at convincing juries

BB: In that case, we did have to deal with the challenge

to acquit, as in his work for Deutsche Bank’s Raymond

of there being multiple defendants on trial and multiple

Brubaker, who was cleared of all charges related to an

counts against our client, Craig Brubaker. We had to con-

abusive tax fraud scheme in 2011. The other four defen-

tinually reinforce for the jury that there really were five

dants were convicted at trial.

separate trials taking place simultaneously, so that every

A 1989 graduate of Harvard Law School, Berke is co-

time we stood up to cross-examine a witness or address

chair of the litigation department and the white-collar

the jury, the jurors realized that it was the continuation

and SEC regulatory practices at Kramer Levin Naftalis &

of the trial of Mr. Brubaker. As the trial approached, we

Frankel in New York. He also serves as chairman of the

also had to contend with the unwelcome development

board for the Coalition for the Homeless.

that one of the defendants made a deal with the govern-

LAWDRAGON: How did you develop an interest in having a

ment to plead guilty and testify for the prosecution, but

white-collar practice? Was there a course or professor at

we were ultimately able to use it to our advantage.

Harvard that played an important role in you deciding

that’s what you wanted to do with your degree?

dant, we were able to show that he persuaded our client,

BARRY BERKE: When I decided to go to law school, I had

just as he had countless taxpayers, that the tax shelters

a strong interest in being a trial lawyer and a belief that

being challenged by the government were legal loopholes

I wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer. That was reaf-

that he and his prestigious law firm had developed and

firmed by my experiences at Harvard, which included

successfully marketed.

representing prisoners in disciplinary proceedings as

LD: Given your experience and your work as a teacher, is

part of a Harvard Law School organization known as

there a certain part of the trial process,that you see more

Prisoners Legal Assistance Project, or PLAP. As part of

prone to costly mistakes?

my work with PLAP, I ended up representing an individual

BB: There are two quotes that I like to use when thinking

who had been convicted of a serious crime and had been

about trials. The first is by the former basketball coach,

representing himself in challenging many aspects of his

Bobby Knight, who once said: “The key is not the will to

trial. Under the Massachusetts student practice rules, I

win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win

was able to represent him, along with a fellow student, in

that is important.” For me, I believe the key to winning

a series of hearings attacking his conviction. The case

at trial is to work very hard to prepare a “path to victory”

received a lot of attention, and the hearings were even

that defines everything that your team must do leading

televised. ...

up to trial to be prepared for how you expect the trial to

LD: What led to your decision to join the Federal

proceed to lead you to a successful result.

Defenders’ Office, as opposed to taking a job at a law

The second quote I use is by the former boxer, Mike

firm at that time?

Tyson, who once said, “Everybody has a plan until they

BB: After graduating, I had a clerkship for a federal judge

get punched in the face.” I think that is particularly apt

in the Southern District of New York. My plan upon gradu-

for trial work because no matter how much you prepare,

ating had been to try to get a position in a federal defend-

there are always surprises at trial, some of which are

ers’ office after my clerkship. When I arrived in New York,

unwelcome, and the key to winning is being able to

virtually everyone told me that if I ultimately wanted to

adapt your trial plan and successfully deal with the

have a white-collar criminal defense practice in New York

unexpected.

City, I had to first be a federal prosecutor, which was the

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

tried and true route for most of the white-collar defense

limelights/barry-berke.

Photo by: Laura Barisonzi

I S S U E 14

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In our lengthy cross-examination of this lawyer-defen-

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Tom Goldstein GOLDSTEIN & RUSSELL (Washington, D.C.)

500

Greg Ezring P a ul

W e iss ( N e w York) He’s a wizard of leveraged finance transac-

tions, representing private equity funds and alternative asset managers such as Apollo Global, in the most intricate of debt restructurings and public equity offerings.

Leslie Gordon Fagen P a ul

Weis s ( N ew York) In more than 35 years of prac-

tice he’s litigated civil matters for what might as well be a Who’s Who of international brands and corporate entities; recently he was lead trial counsel for Citigroup in successfully defending a $7.5B claim brought by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Kenneth Feinberg F e in b e r g

Rozen ( N ew York) His record in the highest pro-

file, most public victim compensation cases made him the only logical choice when Massachusetts sought counsel to administer the One Fund — the victim assistance fund established in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Ralph Ferrara P r osk a ue r

( Was h ington, D.C.) A gifted and versatile litigator,

Ferrara, the former general counsel of the SEC, is reportedly leading an internal investigation into HP’s ill-fated $10.2B purchase of Autonomy Corp.

Mark Filip K ir kla n d

& Ell is ( Ch ic ago) The former federal judge and Deputy U.S.

Attorney General has represented corporate defendants in some of the biggest cases in history, including BP Exploration and Production’s resolution of charges stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and resultant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

David Finger F ing e r

& Sl a n ina ( Wilmington) Frequently litigating in Delaware’s

Court of Chancery and Superior Court, as well as Delaware’s federal District Court, Finger successfully challenged at the District Court level the Delaware Court of Chancery’s new arbitration program for violating the public’s right of access.

John Finley Bl a c k st o n e

( N e w York) He’s firmly ensconced as chief legal officer of

one of the most powerful investment firms in the world as the company prepares an IPO for Hilton Worldwide that could raise up to $30B.

Ora Fisher L a t h a m

& W a t k in s ( Menlo Park, Calif.) The vice chair of Latham who

made the firm a Silicon Valley force is considered one of the most powerful and influential transactional lawyers in California.

Robert Fiske D a vis

P olk ( N e w York) He’s packed more into a career than most entire

law firms — with private practice, prosecutions and government service at the highest levels.

Keith Flaum W e il

G otsh a l ( R edwood Sh ores , Calif.) The Silicon Valley majordomo

continues to dominate in technology M&As, representing tech giant Oracle in its $2.1B acquisition of Acme Packet, and Riverbed Technologies in its $1B acquisition of OPNET.

Photo by: Eli Meir Kaplan

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Donald Flexner B oie s

S c h ill e r ( N ew York) The name partner and antitrust wiz-

ard has represented ALCOA, AT&T, American Express, Chevron, DuPont, Delta Air Lines, Hillenbrand Inc., Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., Honeywell International, Northwest Airlines, and Southwestern Bell during his storied career.

Jodi Flowers Mo t l e y

R ic e ( Mt. Pl eas ant, S.C.) The co-head of the firm’s unparal-

leled anti-terrorism and human rights practice has made great strides in recent years for victims of the BP oil spill, the Jakarta hotel bombings and Qaddafi’s crimes in Libya while fighting for transparency in the use of conflicts minerals.

Laura Foggan W il e y

R e in ( W a sh ington, D.C.) One of the most successful advo-

cates for the insurance industry to ever practice, Foggan’s work remains unrivaled in its influence and track record of victories establishing favorable precedents for insurers.

David Fox Kir kla n d

& Ell is ( N e w York) One of the leading members of Kirkland’s

corporate group, Fox has advised on some of the most complex transactions of the past year including Clearwire Corp. in Sprint’s acquisition of a stake in the company and The Blackstone Group in its approximately $26B acquisition proposal for Dell.

David Frederick Ke ll ogg

H ub e r ( Was h ington, D.C.) He literally wrote the book

on appellate advocacy and has been in front of the Supreme Court 41 times, winning cases nine years running, most recently for Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds.

Dennis Friedman G ib son

D unn ( N ew York) In a 35-year career, Friedman has

been recognized as a top M&A lawyer nationally and for cross-border transactions, representing a long list of blue-chip clients including HP, Tenet Healthcare and Kraft Foods.

Joseph Frumkin S ull iva n

& C r o mw ell ( N ew York) The managing partner of

S&C’s M&A group, Frumkin has had a hand in some of the largest deals in history as counsel for AT&T; currently, he’s advising the nation’s second-biggest telecom firm on its $1.2B acquisition of Leap Wireless.

Agnieszka Fryszman C oh e n

Mils tein ( Was h ington, D.C.) She heads up Cohen

Milstein’s extraordinary International Human Rights and Pro Bono practice, bringing light to some of the darkest corners of U.S. and corporate activity in wartime; her Nepali human trafficking case against U.S. defense contractor KBR has been scheduled for trial next year.

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Photo by: Gregory Cowley

Kelly Dermody Lieff Cabraser (san francisco)

William Treanor Georgetown Law Center (Washington, D.C.)

By Margot Slade

William Treanor Public service, in many forms

ing, both because I thought I could make a difference as and

a scholar and a teacher, and because it would allow me

several incarnations, runs through William Treanor’s

to move into government at different points in my career

life. It motivated his transfer to Yale Law School from

and have a role in public affairs. ...

Harvard (“Yale had more of a public service focus,” Tre-

LD: What were the hardest adjustments as you transi-

anor, a Yale undergraduate, says.) It fueled his frequent

tioned from seven years at Fordham to Georgetown?

forays into state and national government—on a New

WT: ... The principal work challenge I have faced is the

York State commission investigating political corrup-

way in which the dramatically changing job market is

tion; as an attorney in the Iran-Contra Special Prosecu-

affecting law schools, a change that largely overlapped

tor’s Office; and as a special assistant U.S. attorney,

with my move. The number of entry-level associate posi-

misdemeanor trial unit, for the District of Columbia.

tions at firms of 100 people or more was cut roughly in

Even his entry into legal academia—at Fordham Law,

half in a very short time. At Georgetown, in the summer

and then Georgetown Law Center—was premised on the

of 2008 more than 70 percent of our second-year stu-

argument by a young scholar, Henry Louis Gates Jr., that

dents were working at firms with more than 100 law-

he would serve a variety of publics answering a host of

yers. In 2010, the summer I arrived here, the figure was

needs.

34 percent. We are back up to more than 50 percent

now, but I don’t expect the number to be substantially

It’s been a turbulent two years, in which law students

were buffeted by changes in the legal profession and job

larger than that in the near future.

market, high tuition rates, higher debt and choosing

between the competing realities of the law they’d like to

aware of the changes in the job market, the number of

practice and that which of necessity they must practice.

applications, understandably, has dropped sharply. At

Treanor’s response as dean of Georgetown Law Center:

Georgetown, we have gone from 12,500 applicants to

Become a leader in crafting and implementing innovative

7,500 applicants. The great challenge I face—that every-

approaches to law students’ education.

one in legal education faces—is how to respond to this

LAWDRAGON: What put you on the law school track,

very different market for graduates.

given that you first earned a graduate degree in history?

LD: How are you responding?

WILLIAM TREANOR: I was fascinated by government and

WT: A number of law schools have cut the size of their

politics, even as a young child. I remember that one of

entering classes, sometimes significantly. Often, this

my first books was a comic book biography of President

has been primarily an effort to keep the quality of the

Kennedy that I read over and over; he became my hero.

entering class from declining too sharply at a time when

I also remember that my parents and their friends were

applications have sharply declined.

involved in the Civil Rights movement. That made a big

impression on me. I thought of government as a way to

dropped, the quality of the entering class has remained

make a difference in people’s lives and to help them,

strong. In fact, while there has been a slight dip in the

and, early on, I decided that the best way to become

LSATs, there has been an increase in entering students’

involved in government was to become a lawyer. When I

GPAs. Nonetheless, I’ve charged a faculty committee

got to college, however, I was torn. I loved academics,

with analyzing the size issue. This year’s entering class

and particularly history. Henry Louis Gates, who is now

will be slightly smaller than last year’s. Our current

one of the great figures in education but was then a

approach is look to each year at how many new stu-

very young assistant professor, was my mentor and

dents we enroll. At the same time, any significant cut,

encouraged me to go into academics. He convincingly

without some means for gaining other revenues, would

argued that, as a scholar and teacher, I could influence

result in a huge reduction in the resources that we

students and readers in a profound way.

would be able to devote to students.

As I was thinking through career paths, I read

William O. Douglas’s autobiography, and the way in

be to put our resources into improving counseling,

which he had moved between law school teaching and

increasing financial aid and strengthening our already

government service—before he joined the Supreme

strong curriculum.

Court—made a big impression on me and helped shape

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

my career plans. I decided to go into law school teachPhoto by: Eli Meir Kaplan

I SSUE 14

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As potential applicants to law schools have become

At Georgetown, while the number of applications has

An alternative to cutting numbers of students would

limelights/william-treanor. l awdragon.com

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Charles Ruck Latham & Watkins (Costa Mesa and New York)

500

Sergio Galvis S ulliva n

& C r omw ell ( N ew York) Galvis advised Bancolombia S.A.

(Colombia) in its $2.1B purchase of HSBC Bank (Panama) S.A. and its subsidiaries, one of the largest-ever foreign acquisitions by a Colombian company; besides heading up S&C’s Latin American Group, he is head of the firm’s global recruiting efforts.

James Garner S h e r

G a r n e r ( N ew Orleans ) Among the most revered attorneys in

New Orleans, he represented the city through the U.S. Supreme Court to protect its right to regulate and upgrade the taxi cab industry against great opposition.

Steve Gavin W in ston

& S t r a wn ( Ch ic ago) The former chair of Winston’s corporate

practice recently represented Groupon Inc. in connection with its high-profile IPO and advises well-known companies including Jim Beam Brands, Morningstar, Nuveen Investments, Luxottica, Vera Bradley, Echo Global Logistics, InnerWorkings, CIVC Partners, and Water Street Healthcare Partners.

David Gelfand U . S .

D e p a r t m e nt of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) In August, Gelfand

was named Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation in the Antitrust Division after an illustrious career at Cleary Gottlieb, where he represented both Google and GlaxoSmithKline on antitrust matters.

Paul Geller R o b b in s

G e ll e r ( B oc a Raton, Fla.) The name partner is involved in

some of the country’s most high-profile class actions, from advising on top securities and banking matters to representing iPod owners prevented from playing music from non-Apple sources on their devices.

Michael Gerrard C ol um b ia

Law Sc h ool / Arnold & Porter ( N ew York) As senior

counsel to Arnold & Porter and as director of Columbia’s Center for Climate Change Law, he’s at the forefront of environmental law globally, fighting for reduction of carbon emissions and mitigation of climate-change effects.

Ian Gershengorn U . S .

D e p a rtment of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) Recently named

Principal Deputy Solicitor General, he’s played a key role in defending the Affordable Care Act and other contested federal programs enacted during the Obama administration.

Glenn Gerstell Mil b a nk

( W a s h ington, D.C.) The managing partner of Milbank’s

Washington office has few peers when it comes to law regarding the communications and telecom industry, and was President Obama’s choice to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.

Photo by: Amy Cantrell

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Douglas Gibson C oving ton

& B urling ( Was h ington, D.C.) Gibson represents the

panoply of acronyms that comprise the major professional sports in America — the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, the USTA and others — and chances are if you’re watching a sporting event on television, he had something to do with it.

James Giddens Hughes Hubbard (New York) The chair of his firm’s corporate reorganization and bankruptcy group is the top expert on brokerage firm liquidations, continuing his service as trustee of the two largest in history — Lehman Bros. and MF Global.

Ruth Ginsburg U . S .

S up r e m e C ourt ( Was h ington, D.C.) The liberal stalwart and

champion of equality under the law marked 20 years in office, becoming the first Supreme Court justice to officiate at a same-sex wedding.

Tom Girardi G ir a r di

K e e se ( Los Ang eles ) Smart, creative and charismatic — and

that’s from opposing counsel — Girardi has been among the elite in class action suits in the U.S. for more than 40 years and was a lead plaintiff attorney in NFL concussion litigation settled recently for $765M.

Robert Giuffra S ull iva n

& C r o mwell ( N ew York) One of the nation’s top litiga-

tors, Giuffra successfully defended Porsche against claims that it defrauded hedge funds of $1.4B during the automaker’s failed takeover of Volkswagen, winning a dismissal in appellate court in New York.

Jay Goffman Sk a dde n

( N e w Y or k ) Global head of Skadden’s corporate restructur-

ing group, Goffman advised AMR’s unsecured creditors in American Airlines’ Chapter 11 and subsequent $11B merger with US Airways, as well as Central European Distribution Corp., the world’s largest vodka producer, in its successful prepackaged plan of reorganization.

Arthur Golden D a vis

P o lk ( N e w York) The senior Davis Polk partner represent-

ed H.J. Heinz in its $28B acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, and ConAgra in its $6.8B acquisition of Ralcorp.

David Goldschmidt Ska dde n

( N ew York) Goldschmidt advises banks and issu-

ers on financing matters and has extensive expertise in benchmark offerings for REITs. He recently represented HCP, an S&P 500 health care REIT, in its sale of 22 million shares of common stock, and has handled a number of multibillion-dollar offerings for American Capital Agency.

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Photo by: Laura Barisonzi

Sandra Leung Bristol-Myers Squibb (new york)

Geoffrey Howard BINGHAM (San FRANCISCO)

By Xenia Kobylarz

GeoffREY Howard Oracle’s record-setting

GH: My practice has stayed consistent, focusing on $1.3 billion

copyright, internet intrusion, data security and trade

copyright damage award in December 2010 was a break-

secrets cases, mostly involving competitors.

through moment for Bingham McCutchen partner Geof-

LD: Most large general practice firms can claim to be

frey Howard, co-lead counsel for Oracle, who had worked

able to handle any size litigation for clients, but in your

on the case for four years. Oracle tapped Howard to lead

view what makes Bingham’s litigation group different

its investigation of possible copyright infringement

from the others?

claims against German rival SAP in 2006. That was just

GH: We live and breathe our clients’ business. We try to

one of the numerous tasks the 1991 graduate of Harvard

understand it technically, strategically and legally. We

Law School was juggling.

are creative in molding the litigation strategy to fit our

clients’ business objectives. And we have a pretty good

He also was multitasking with firm leadership roles.

In 2007, Howard became regional managing partner

track record of getting excellent results.

of Bingham’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

LD: After law school, did you really want to be a litiga-

He was also promoted from being co-chair of the firm’s

tor? What attracted you to that practice?

intellectual property litigation practice to co-chair of

GH: Yes, I really did. I wanted to try cases and to get

Bingham’s 400-lawyer litigation practice. One might

involved in cutting-edge technology.

think that left very little time to do much of anything

LD: There are various ways one can become partner in a

else, but the talented and versatile lawyer—he’s also ad-

big firm. What was your path?

vised alcohol and tobacco industry groups in developing

GH: I worked hard, I listened to and observed people I

legislative, legal and public relations strategy—recently

considered great lawyers, and I tried to learn from every

managed to take up gardening too.

mistake. I was lucky to work with great teachers and

LAWDRAGON: How did you end up being one of the lead

clients.

litigators for Oracle’s software piracy case against

LD: There has been a huge drop in the number of people

SAP?

applying to law school because of the dismal job market

GEOFF HOWARD: I got a call one day from Oracle saying

for lawyers. Would you still have chosen a career in the

they had been the victim of a massive downloading

law today?

attack against their password-protected customer web-

GH: It’s impossible to say, but I suspect so. If there has

site, and could I help investigate the source and put a

been a drop, I suspect it is from a group of people not

stop to it. I started that day. The jury verdict in that

really committed to the law or unsure of what to do. The

case is considered the largest-ever jury award for copy-

most talented people who see the law as the best fit for

right infringement so far.

their goals, whatever those might be, are still going to

LD: But what else, aside from the magnitude of the dam-

school, and still thriving.

ages award, made that case unique for you personally

LD: Did you have a favorite professor or class?

and professionally?

GH: It’s hard to pick a favorite but my first-year criminal

GH: It is rare to discover that the most senior manage-

law class with Kathleen Sullivan certainly stands out,

ment of one of the world’s leading technology compa-

not just because she was such a great teacher but also

nies is involved in, by their own admission at trial, know-

because my dad visited me and decided after sitting in

ing copyright infringement to gain an unfair competitive

on that class to change careers and apply to law school.

advantage against their top rival.

It was fun to share that anecdote with Kathleen when

LD: Can you describe the days of preparation leading to

she and I found ourselves later working together in pri-

the jury trial?

vate practice.

GH: Trial preparation is always intense and this case

LD: Did your dad go to law school before, during or after

was no exception. Let’s just say that the entire legal

you graduated from law school? What was that like, hav-

team and a good many of the witnesses got to spend

ing your dad follow your footsteps, so to speak?

quite a bit of quality time together.

GH: He graduated two years after me. It was great fun

LD: What kind of cases are you handling right now after

getting the chance to be his role model for a change.

you’ve switched hats from being the chair of the firm’s

We would talk law all the time.

IP litigation practice to co-chair of the firm’s litigation

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

practice?

limelights/geoffrey-howard.

Photo by: Gregory Cowley

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Jane Goldstein R op e s

& G r a y ( Bos ton) The prolific co-head of Ropes & Gray’s

M&A practice represented Party City Holdings in its $2.69B sale to Thomas H. Lee Partners while also advising Advent International Corp., Berkshire Partners and Weston Presidio in the transaction.

Marcia Goldstein W e il

G o t sh a l ( N ew York) Goldstein is U.S. counsel for the

Special Administrators of MF Global UK in the largest European restructuring since Lehman and the eighth-largest restructuring in US history; she was also instrumental in helping the Administrators reach a $1.4B settlement agreement with the Trustee for the SIPA liquidation of MF Global Inc.

Sandra Goldstein C r a va t h

( N e w York) The firm’s head of litigation is a stand-

out in securities, M&A and other complex commercial litigation, winning summary judgment dismissal of a 13-year-old securities class action for Xerox arising out of its 1998 restructuring with over $2B alleged damages and successfully handling numerous lawsuits stemming from multibillion-dollar transactions.

Tom Goldstein G o l dst e in

R usse ll ( Was h ington, D.C.) He’s been a pioneer in the

practice of law before the Supreme Court, and SCOTUSblog, which he co-founded, received the Peabody Award in 2013 for excellence in electronic media and is the most widely read source of news about the Supreme Court.

Jamie Gorelick W ilme r H a l e

( W as h ington, D.C.) Always busy with high-stakes

litigation and investigations, Gorelick in the past year has served as counsel for clients such as BP, Google, HSBC, URS and MIT.

J. Warren Gorrell H o g a n

Love ll s ( Was h ington, D.C.) Gorrell has been co-

chairman of an international powerhouse since the merger of Hogan & Hartson with London-based Lovells, but also still manages a full corporate caseload, recently representing Thomas Properties Group in its $1.2B merger agreement with Parkway Properties.

Ilene Knable Gotts W a c h te ll

L ipton ( N ew York) Gotts is one of the nation’s

foremost antitrust lawyers and has advised principals on M&A deals including Publicis/Omnicom, Essilor/PPG Industries, Deutsche Telekom/MetroPCS, ConAgra/ Ralcorp, PPG Industries/Georgia Gulf, Aetna/Coventry, International Paper/TempleInland, CenturyLink/Savvis, Publicis/Rosetta and Google/Nortel, among others.

Stuart Grant G r a n t

& E ise n h o f e r ( Wilmington) This internationally recognized

and often groundbreaking advocate for institutional investors has served as lead counsel in six of the eight largest settlements in the history of Delaware Chancery Court.

LAWDRAGON

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500

Nicholas Gravante B oie s

Sc h ill er ( N ew York) While continuing to mastermind

founder John Ferolito’s multibillion dollar battle over AriZona Iced Tea, Gravante remains counsel of choice to major players in the art world in New York and Toronto, several high-end hedge funds, and blue-chip insurance companies such as Lloyd’s in their most complex commercial litigations.

Sal Graziano B e r n ste in

L itowitz ( N ew York) One of the best securities litigators

in the country, Graziano has recovered billions on behalf of investors, including $668M as lead counsel in the combined litigation against Merck and Schering-Plough.

Mark Greene C r a va th

( N e w York) The established M&A star with blue chip cli-

ents such as Novartis, Saint-Gobain, Schneider Electric, and Mylan, Greene represented Unilever in the sale of its WishBone and Western dressings brands to Pinnacle Foods Inc. and the sale of its global Skippy business to Hormel Foods.

Douglas Greenswag K & L

G ates ( Seattle) The IP and patent expert was co-lead

counsel for Carnegie Mellon in convincing a jury that Marvell Technology Group infringed on CMU patents that make hard drives faster to the tune of a $1.1B verdict.

Joseph Gromacki Je nne r

& Bloc k ( Ch ic ago) The chair of Jenner & Block’s cor-

porate and transactional practices has proven himself one of the country’s leading M&A and securities lawyers with numerous blockbuster deals, including GM in its $50B sale out of bankruptcy and $23B IPO.

Nicholas Groombridge Paul

Weis s ( N ew York) As trial counsel for GE v.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, he obtained verdict of infringement and $170 million damages in apatent dispute involving wind turbine technology, the latest in a long string of favorable results over the past 25 years.

Daniel Grunfeld Mo r g a n

Lewis ( Los Ang eles ) Since returning to private practice

from his stint at the Los Angeles mayor’s office, Grunfeld moved from Kaye Scholer to Morgan Lewis as leader of the firm’s significant West Coast litigation practice.

Alan Gura G ur a

& P osse ssk y ( Alex andria, Va.) Gura, who successfully challenged

Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban before the Supreme Court, is handling a number of recent Second Amendment cases that seem likely to make their way to the top of the court system including Kachalsky v. Cacace, a case regarding the constitutionality of New York’s “may-issue” concealed carry law.

I S S U E 14

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

Agnieszka Fryszman Cohen Milstein (Washington, D.C.)

500

Nina Gussack P e p p e r

H a m il ton ( Ph iladelph ia) Pharmaceutical and medical

device companies know Gussack as a top gun for defense, and she was lead counsel for GlaxoSmithKline as the company was able to settle without trial extensive claims in connection with GSK’s anti-diabetes drug Avandia.

Richard Hall C r a va th

( N e w Y o rk) A longstanding M&A veteran, Hall is an

expert in handling multibillion-dollar deals such as the sale of Life Technologies to Thermo Fisher for $13.6B, Weyerhaeuser’s purchase of Longview Timber for $2.65B and Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s takeover of GrainCorp of Australia for approximately $3.2B.

Kamala Harris C a l if or n ia

A ttorney G eneral ( Sac ramento) Harris is making her

mark as California’s No. 1 elected lawyer, working for passage of the state’s Homeowner Bill of Rights, taking tough stands on environmental issues and bringing more law enforcement resources to fight human trafficking crimes.

William Hartnett C a h ill

G o rdon ( N ew York) The firm’s chairman recently rep-

resented underwriters and arrangers in several IPOs, acquisition financings and bond offerings and served as M&A counsel to ICON in its acquisitions of PriceSpective and ClinForce and Akos.

Ronan Harty D a vis

P olk ( N e w York) One of Davis Polk’s major litigation talents,

this specialist in antitrust and enforcement matters represented H.J. Heinz in its acquisition by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway and coordinated the worldwide regulatory filings required by Heinz.

Michael Hausfeld H a usf e l d

LLP ( Was h ington, D.C.) He’s at the forefront of the liti-

gation against major banks over LIBOR manipulation, has been a quarterback on the recently settled NFL retired players suit over head injuries and reached a settlement in a case against video game maker Electronic Arts over the use of college athletes’ names and likenesses.

Kris Heinzelman C r a va th

( N ew York) Dean of the securities bar, Heinzelman

sets the gold standard for representing investment banks and companies in major corporate finance transactions, including public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, and recently completed the successful IPO of Diamond Resorts International.

William Henderson Indiana University School of Law — Maurer (Bloomington, Ind.) The director of the Center on the Global Legal Profession at IU’s Maurer School of Law has been a thought leader on the subject of the role of lawyers and the business of law in modern society, both asking the right questions and supplying sometimes unpopular answers.

Photo by: ELI MEIR KAPLAN

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

Robert Giuffra Sullivan & Cromw ell (new york)

By john ryan

Robert Giuffra As the son and sibling of lawyers, Robert

He had a laser-like focus on the key issues. The Chief

Giuffra may have been born to be in the profession. But

and unduly complicated writing.

you still need to get results to stand out at one of the

nation’s most prominent firms, Sullivan & Cromwell, and

the ruling and to provide the support; it wasn’t to write

earn a perennial spot in our elite Lawdragon 500 guides.

a law review article or to announce some new multi-

Many of the world’s leading financial institutions and

factor test that would only confuse lower courts.

other corporate clients call on the New York-based part-

I’ve always tried to remember that simplicity is the

ner for their most important cases; he also has achieved

best advocacy. I learned from the Chief to figure out the

great results for individuals caught up in tricky disputes.

winning arguments and then to drive them home in the

Like many of the best litigators, Giuffra excels in

most common-sense way possible.

the courtroom and also in convincing prosecutors and

LD: After your clerkships, you must have had some

regulators not to charge clients facing white-collar in-

options in terms of where to seek employment. Why did

vestigations. Giuffra went to Princeton for his under-

you want to join Sullivan back in 1989?

graduate degree and received his J.D. from Yale Law

RG: S&C is a special firm. I was attracted by the firm’s

School in 1987, after which he clerked for 2nd U.S.

culture, clients and lawyers. We tend to work on the

Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ralph Winter and U.S.

most challenging cases. We value teamwork. From my

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He

earliest days at the firm, I had great mentors, who gave

has been with Sullivan since 1989, though he has done

me as much responsibility as I could handle. Most of the

multiple stints in the federal government, serving in all

firm’s partners are lifers, and many of our clients have

three branches.

been with us for decades. Our model is simple and

LAWDRAGON: Do you recall when exactly or why you

somewhat old-fashioned: to recruit the best lawyers, to

wanted to become a litigator with the type of practice

train them internally, to provide the best client service,

you have? Was there a course or professor in law school

and to be commercial in trying to solve our client’s

that was particularly important in this decision?

problems.

ROBERT GIUFFRA: My father is a litigator. Even in his

LD: You also have served in a number of government

80s, he still goes to work. Growing up, I watched him try

capacities. What led to your interest in taking time

cases. Around the dinner table, he told us exciting sto-

away from private practice to take on such roles?

ries about his opponents and clients. It certainly made

RG: If the job is right, working in the government can be

an impression. My younger brother and I are both trial

wildly rewarding. I’ve worked in all three branches of

lawyers, and one of my sisters is a lawyer, so we all

the federal government. When I was in my early 20s, I

went into the family business.

At Yale Law School, I

worked in the Reagan White House. I drafted short

enjoyed corporate and securities law more than some of

speeches, briefing papers and letters. I met the

the more theoretical courses in the curriculum. My two

President. I even saw Frank Sinatra rehearse before a

years of clerking—particularly watching lawyers argue

state dinner. It was beyond exciting to walk into the

cases—convinced me that my future was in the court-

White House every day.

room. I’ve never really wanted to do anything else, other

than to play on the PGA Tour, but I wasn’t a good

a litigator than serving as a law clerk; I was fortunate

enough golfer.

to clerk for two of the best judges—Judge Ralph Winter

LD: Can you talk a bit about what it was like to clerk for

of the Second Circuit and Chief Justice Rehnquist.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist? Can you share some-

Serving as Chief Counsel of the Senate Banking

thing that you learned from him or took away from your

Committee involved everything from organizing hear-

experience that has been instrumental in your success

ings to supervising investigations to drafting legisla-

over the years?

tion. I managed a big staff. I learned about the press

RG: The Chief was brilliant. He also was incredibly down

and politics. It’s all served me well in representing our

to earth. Clerking for him taught me how to persuade a

clients through courts, agencies and Congress in crisis

really smart judge. Over the course of a year, I watched

situations.

him decide more than 100 cases involving some of the

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

most difficult issues of statutory and constitutional law.

limelights/robert-giuffra.

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I S S U E 14

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was a wonderful writer. He didn’t like long sentences He always said that the job of an opinion was to state

I don’t think there’s a better way to learn how to be

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Edward Herlihy W a c h t e ll

L ip t o n ( N ew York) Wachtell’s co-chairman added to

his long string of billion-dollar deals in 2013, advising Leap Wireless on its $1.2B takeover by AT&T, representing Texas television company Belo Corp. in a deal with Gannett valued at $2.2B, and working a $6.9B effort to take BMC Software private.

Russ Herman H e r m a n

H e r m a n ( N ew Orleans ) Herman added to his work on the

historic Chinese Drywall litigation by helping to secure federal court approval of a settlement with manufacturers, distributors and other defendants worth in excess of $1B, with claims pending against another manufacturer.

Steve Herman H e r m a n

H e r m a n ( N ew Orleans ) He’s one of the two co-leads

responsible for managing the Deepwater Horizon Litigation, including an eight-week liability trial and a multibillion-dollar settlement.

Lynne Hermle O r r ic k

( Me nl o P ark, Calif.) She’s defeated the certification of

class actions in employment cases time and time again for tech companies and big retailers ranging from Apple to Banana Republic.

Renata Hesse U . S .

D e p a r t m e n t of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) The Deputy

Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division stressed vigorous enforcement while also leading the discussion on the future of patent and IP law.

Eric Holder U . S .

D e p a r t m e n t of Jus tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) Amid the ever-swirling

controversies that sometimes almost define his job, Holder has also made concrete initiatives to lessen harsh sentences for drug offenses and to protect voting rights in the wake of the SCOTUS decision in Shelby County v. Holder.

Shawn Holley K in se ll a

W e itz m a n ( Santa Monic a, Calif.) Though she is mostly

known for putting up with Lindsay Lohan, the one-time public defender is a high-powered litigator and veteran of more than 60 trials, going back to O.J. Simpson.

Gary Horlick G a r y

H o r l ic k ( W a shington, D.C.) When it comes to international

trade, dumping, duty and fair-trade disputes, Horlick is recognized as perhaps the world’s leading legal expert, handling GATT, WTO and FTA negotiations for governments and businesses.

Geoffrey Howard B ing h a m

( S a n Franc is c o) With his expertise in Internet intru-

sion, software and telecommunications technology, Howard has been a fierce advocate for Oracle and Qualcomm, among other IP-rich heavyweights.

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Photo by: Greg Endries

Steve Susman s us man godfrey ( h ous ton and N e w Y o r k )

Alison Ressler Sullivan & Cromwell (los angeles)

500

Hamish Hume B o ie s

S c h il le r ( Was h in g ton , D. C.) The high-stakes litigator played a

key role defeating a $13B claim by the Lehman bankruptcy estate against Barclays, and is now leading a class action “Takings” case alleging that the federal government appropriated billions in profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders.

James Hurst W in st o n

& S tr awn ( Ch ic ag o) He obtained a 9-0 ruling from the

Supreme Court for clients Caraco and Sun Pharmaceuticals in the Court’s first-ever case involving the federal statute governing competition between generic and brand-name drug makers.

Andrei Iancu I r e l l

& Ma n e lla (Los An g eles ) A leading IP litigator and his firm’s

managing partner, Iancu recently secured a $495M settlement for TiVo Inc. in its latest patent dispute, bringing the total amount recovered for his longtime client to $1.6B.

Sherrilyn Ifill T h e

NAACP Le gal Defen s e and Educ ation F und ( New York) The vet-

eran of civil rights litigation has an array of major initiatives before her, among them countering the Supreme Court’s invalidation of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act and bringing a civil rights framework to address economic injustice.

Mel Immergut Mil b a n k

( N e w York) Now chairman emeritus, Immergut leaves

behind — or perhaps, just to the side — an extraordinary record in building Milbank into an international powerhouse, and he remains an adviser in the highest business and legal circles.

Matthew Ingber Ma y e r

B r o w n ( N ew York) He’s handling several high-profile

residential mortgage-backed securities cases arising out of the financial crisis, including the landmark $8.5 billion settlement between Bank of America and The Bank of New York Mellon, that are shaping the law in this area.

William Isaacson B o ie s

S c h iller ( Was h in g ton , D. C.) He won a landmark

$54.1M jury verdict — trebled by the judge to $162.3 million — against Chinese companies liable for fixing prices and limiting supply of vitamin C in the U.S.

Vicki Jackson Ha r va r d

L a w Sc h ool ( Camb rid g e) The Thurgood Marshall

Professor of Constitutional Law and expert on gender and the law and gender equality issues was appointed amicus curiae by the Supreme Court in the landmark United States v. Windsor case that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act.

Valerie Ford Jacob Fr ie d

Fran k ( New York) Fried Frank’s chair and capital

markets expert has steered the firm through tough times and positioned the firm for the future, expanding its presence in Asia.

Photo by: Amy Cantrell

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Sean O’Shea O’Shea Partners (new york)

By john ryan

sean o’shea sean o’shea’s

tion. I was asked to take over a case that was in disarfather thought he was “crazy” to

ray right before trial. It involved an arson and fraud in

leave a prominent law firm like Latham & Watkins to

which a heroic firefighter had died trying to save

take a job as a federal prosecutor in New York, but the

trapped upper-floor occupants of a commercial building.

move paid dividends for the young litigator in the form of

It involved able and well-funded defense counsel,

invaluable trial experience. Over a 10-year stint, O’Shea

sophisticated forensic proof, a legendary trial judge

tried more than 35 federal trials and ended up heading

with the Hon. Jack B. Weinstein, difficult evidentiary

the Business and Securities Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attor-

issues and several difficult cross-examinations of expert

ney’s Office for the Eastern Distrcit of New York.

witnesses.

O’Shea confounded his father again by then starting

It held all the drama that you could seek in a jury trial

his own practice instead of returning to law firm life.

and resulted in a hard-fought victory. Ultimately, a book

The benefit of this more difficult path is that New York-

was written about it. And to make it really memorable

based O’Shea Partners, founded in 1996, has allowed

my first child was born the day after the jury returned

him to take a wide range of civil and criminal litigation

its verdict.

for individuals and businesses without fear of conflict,

LD: Once returning to private practice, why did you

including on the plaintiffs’ side.

decide to start your own firm, as opposed to practicing

O’Shea did his undergrad work at the University of

at an existing partnership?

Illinois and received his J.D. from Northwestern

SO: When I left Latham for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,

University School of Law. He began his career in Chicago

my father said I was crazy to leave that renowned firm

before leaving for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York.

for a government job. He thought I had really lost it

LAWDRAGON: Why did you become a trial lawyer?

years later when I left the U.S. Attorney’s office and I

SEAN O’SHEA: I wanted to be a trial lawyer because the

told him I was not planning to take any of the offers of

idea that I had of a lawyer was of an advocate fighting

partnership at a large firm and instead start my own

in court. I was inspired by legendary criminal trial law-

firm. I knew that it would be harder at first to do it this

yers in Chicago, such as Pat Tuite and John Powers

way, but I wanted to practice conflict-free and take any

Crowley, where I began my practice of law after law

case I wanted. And it has worked out that way.

school. They encouraged me to seek a position as an

Assistant U.S. Attorney.

corporations and investment funds on the plaintiff

LD: Many lawyers who arrive at large firms stay there,

side unimpeded by formal and informal conflicts. I

or at least hope to. What was your motivation for leav-

have also been able to do very interesting financial

ing private practice to begin a stint at the U.S.

contingency cases that have added a dimension to my

Attorney’s Office in New York?

practice that would not have existed if I had returned

SO: I left a great law-firm environment at Latham &

to big-firm practice. That has led overall to a much

Watkins, working with inspiring lawyers to pursue a

more exciting practice.

job at the U.S. Attorney’s Office because it is a rec-

LD: Many law students aspire to have a successful liti-

ognized way to learn the craft of trying cases in fed-

gation practice like yours, where they actually get to

eral court. I was able to immediately assume a lead-

try high-stakes cases. What advice would you give

ing trial role in jury trials that continued for 10 years.

them?

LD: You eventually assumed a leadership position

SO: I would advise young lawyers that sometimes the

there

cases.

path is not necessarily a straight one. I am a believer

Nevertheless, is there a case or experience that

in the merits of big-firm experience because it teaches

stands out to you as particularly memorable, or one

thoroughness and how to produce first-rate work prod-

you find yourself reminiscing about more than others?

uct through the expenditure of great effort.

SO: My practice at the U.S. Attorney’s Office eventu-

One must recognize, however, that success there

ally resulted in specialization in corporate and white-

may not be an end in itself. You need to be ready to

collar crime, and I had the irreplaceable experience

leave your comfort zone and try other things to attain

of facing off against the best of the white-collar bar

real career satisfaction.

in New York and Washington, D.C. Perhaps my most

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

memorable case was one not in my area of specializa-

limelights/sean-oshea.

and

worked

Photo by: Greg Endries

on

many

high-profile

I S S U E 14

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I have been able to represent individuals as well as

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Hilarie Bass Greenberg Traurig (miami)

500

Dennis Jacobs U . S .

C o ur t of Appeals for th e 2 nd Circ uit ( N ew York) Judge

Jacobs, generally identified as a conservative jurist, wrote the 2-1 majority opinion in Windsor v. U.S. in which the 2nd Circuit ruled that section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act “violates equal protection.”

Michael Jacobs Mor r iso n

& Foers ter ( San Franc is c o) He is one of the nation’s

leading litigators with the caseload to prove it: lead counsel for Novell in SCO v. Novell, co-lead counsel for Oracle in Oracle v. Google and for Apple in Apple v. Samsung.

Jesse Jenner R o p e s

& G r a y ( New York) This patent veteran led the trial team for

Motorola Mobility against Microsoft in the first trial to consider how to determine FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) royalty rates for standard-essential patents.

Elena Kagan U . S .

S up r e m e C o urt ( Was h ington, D.C.) The youngest justice both in

tenure and age, Kagan, in both substance and style, in written opinions and oral argument, has established herself as a counterweight to the high court’s conservative tilt.

Roberta Kaplan P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) Kaplan will no doubt have more time to

advise blue-chip corporations on complex litigation now that she’s argued and won what she’s called “a simple case” that took a long time: United States v. Windsor.

Brad Karp P a ul

W e iss ( N e w Y o rk) Chairman since 2008, the gifted Karp has Paul

Weiss on a solid upswing with gross revenues up 12.4% last year and profits per partner climbing 8.2% while representing clients such as the NFL and Citigroup.

David Karp W a c h te ll

L ip t o n (N ew York) The M&A partner heads the Wachtell

team that has advised NYSE Euronext on its $8.2B acquisition by ICE, and was counsel to AOL on the sale of a $1B patent portfolio to Microsoft.

Jay Kasner Sk a dde n

( N e w Y ork) The leader of Skadden’s securities litigation prac-

tice secured a grant of certiorari in the Supreme Court for UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico and is representing UBS AG in connection with lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency against 17 of the world’s largest banks seeking to recover billions of dollars in compensation for alleged mortgage-backed securities losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the financial crisis.

Marc Kasowitz K a sow it z

B e ns on ( N ew York) The litigation superstar is repre-

senting Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners in multibillion-dollar matters related to the bankruptcy of LightSquared, and Democrats in the New York State Assembly have turned to Kasowitz for advice on dealing with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s anti-graft Moreland Commission.

Photo by: Josh RITCHIE

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Cynthia Urda Kassis S h e a r m an

& Sterling ( N ew York) Kassis has a proven

ability to wrap her head around billion-dollar deals and projects and has particular expertise in joint venture transactions in central and south America.

Neal Katyal H og a n

L ove lls ( W a sh i ngton, D.C.) As expected, the former Acting

U.S. Solicitor General hasn’t missed a beat in private practice and has now argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court in the past four years with two more ahead — among the most of all high court practitioners.

David Katz W a c h t e ll

L ip t o n ( N e w York) He’s a professor at NYU and Vanderbilt

along with being a Wachtell M&A stalwart, advising Chesapeake Energy Co. on a string of multibillion-dollar divestitures and new partnerships including a $1B joint venture with the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec).

Christopher “Kit” Kaufman Lath am

& Watkins ( Menlo Park, Calif.) There

may be bigger deals in the galaxy but perhaps none has been under more scrutiny than the $4B transaction that brought client Lucasfilm into the Disney empire.

Skip Keesal Ke e sa l

Y oung ( L ong Beac h , Calif.) A true gentleman and the consum-

mate professional, Keesal continues to add to his reputation as one of Southern California’s top trial lawyers — regardless of the venue or subject matter involved.

Jennifer Keller K e ll e r

R a c k a uc kas ( Irv ine, Calif.) Keller, who led MGA to victo-

ry over Mattell in the “Barbie v. Bratz” battle of the dolls, is currently representing McGraw Hill in defending subsidiary S&P against fraud charges over the ratings agency’s downgrade of U.S. government debt.

David Kendall W illia m s

& C o nno ll y ( Was h ington, D.C.) Kendall has spent his

career in the upper echelon of defense attorneys in every level of the justice system — from being arrested in 1960s civil rights protests to advising presidents and arguing before the Supreme Court over life-and-death constitutional issues.

Michael Kendall Mc D e r m ott

( B os ton) A highly experienced trial lawyer, he has

won trials and arbitrations ranging from criminal charges to high-stakes patent trials — including successfully defending Seikagaku and Zimmer against Genzyme Corp.’s patent case — and from probate disputes to class actions.

Anthony Kennedy U . S .

S up r e m e Court ( Was h ington, D.C.) Though he serves

now on the Roberts Court, it is Kennedy’s vote that most often is considered in play on cases involving gay rights, religion, abortion and the death penalty, and he wrote for the 5-4 majority in the landmark gay rights case Windsor v. U.S.

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Photo by: ANdrew Kahl

Megan McIntyre Grant & Eisenhofer (Wilmington)

Gary Horlick law offices of Gary n. Horlick (washington, D.C.)

By john ryan

Gary Horlick Gary Horlick’s

GH: The single most important thing needed for sucfirst foray into international

cess in this area is the traditional lawyerly skills: care-

trade law may have happened by chance, but the born-

ful preparation, analytic thought, hard work, and the

and-raised and still Washington, D.C.-based attorney

ability to present your client’s case coherently. It helps

made the most of the opportunity by ascending to the

enormously to have lived in another country—any other

very top of the practice. Horlick represents American

country—and to speak reasonably well in another lan-

and foreign clients, including companies, trade associa-

guage. You cannot possibly speak every possible lan-

tions and governments, in complex trade negotiations

guage, but speaking one other language helps you

and disputes. In addition to his time in private practice

understand how English—even though a global lan-

(mostly in big firms, though he is now solo), Holick also

guage now—can be easily misunderstood in another

worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he

language.

headed the Import administration, and in the U.S. Sen-

ate Finance Committee, where he was international

the material with one of the excellent teachers that can

trade counsel.

be found across the U.S. and elsewhere, and also intern-

Horlick earned his J.D. at Yale Law School and his

ships such as with the WTO, congressional committees,

B.A. at Dartmouth. He also received an M.A. in interna-

government organizations, and law firms with leading

tional law at Cambridge University.

trade practices.

LAWDRAGON: How did you become interested in an

LD: Another interesting part of your practice is that

international trade practice?

you’ve been a solo practitioner for a while. Why did you

GARY HORLICK: ... I was born and raised in Washington,

decide to go out on your own, instead of continuing to

D.C.—Go Nationals!—and was vaguely interested in the

practice at a large law firm?

type of government regulatory practice I began in, but

GH: I’m thoroughly enjoying being my own boss, but I

certainly not my particular area, which I had never

spent most of my career very happily in large, high-

heard of until law school, as no one taught it there.

quality law firms. I started at Steptoe & Johnson, a

One day in my first year in a firm, a family friend who

wonderful firm, which is now my landlord, and left when

was mentoring me asked me if I wanted to work on a

I was offered a very interesting government job. I spent

case with him. By chance it turned out to be in the inter-

19 wonderful years at O’Melveny & Myers, in a very

national trade area and once I worked on one case, I

small, two-partner high-level practice. When the other

knew enough to be assigned to a second case and so on

partner told me he planned to retire—demographics is

and so on, just as many other lawyers wind up in their

everything, his children were older than mine, and were

niches. Another key factor is my parents more or less

finishing college—I moved to a larger practice at Wilmer,

bribed me to study overseas a year, which got me inter-

Cutler & Pickering. Wilmer then merged with Hale &

ested in international issues.

Dorr, one of the most successful law firm mergers, but

LD: What has kept you at it over your years in practice?

one which unforeseeably left me with a cascading

GH: I have been blessed that I work in an area which I

series of conflicts.

find extremely interesting, although it may be an

acquired taste. My practice has also given me the

Mart, Siemens, Akzo Nobel, and others for client con-

opportunity to work with people and organizations all

flict reasons, I realized that the merged firm’s increas-

over the world. There can be an amazingly close rela-

ing success at attracting clients was creating more

tionship between a client and lawyer, which drops many

and more in conflicts for me, so I left, though I con-

of the normal cross-border barriers. The client—which,

tinue to see many of my former partners at Wilmer,

of course, may be an American company, but foreign

O’Melveny and Steptoe as friends, and, frequently, co-

nationals too—sees you as his or her champion and on

counsel. ...

his or her team, and in many respects it is a closer rela-

tionship than living oversees as a student or at a job.

I have neit her far-flung of fices nor ot her practices

LD: I know you also get to interact with students

wit h colleagues doing t hings t hat make me lose

through teaching. What advice would you give law stu-

clients.

dents or young lawyers interested in developing a simi-

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

lar type of practice?

limelights/gary-horlick.

Photo by: Eli Meir Kaplan

I S S U E 14

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In a competitive environment it helps to have studied

After I had to turn down General Motors, Nike, Wal-

The advantage of being a sole practitioner is t hat

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500 Thomas Kennedy Sk a dde n

( N ew York) Kennedy advises the big names in tech,

media and telecom on M&A deals, including representing Sprint Nextel in its $21.6B sale to Softbank, the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company, as well as the telecom giant’s simultaneous acquisition of Clearwire.

David Kessler K e ssl e r

T op a z ( R adnor, Penn .) Few plaintiff attorneys have

played a larger role in recovery of investor funds in the wake of the international financial crisis and Kessler obtained a $2.4B settlement in a Bank of America case and $3.2B from Tyco International.

Jeffrey Kessler W in st o n

& S t r a wn ( N ew York) The firm’s global antitrust and

sports litigation chair enjoyed another banner year, winning the high-profile Saints Bounty litigation against the NFL; representing major clients in seven different antitrust multidistrict litgations; winning a major salary cap arbitration for Jeremy Lin and other players against the NBA; and handling numerous global cartel investigations for multinational companies around the world.

Robert Khuzami SEC

( W a sh ing ton, D.C.) After four years under the bright

lights as the SEC’s enforcement chief, Khuzami returned to private practice, choosing Kirkland from a host of suitors.

Paul Kiesel K ie se l

L a w ( B e ve r l y Hill s ) Among the leading personal injury law-

yers in California and nationwide, he’s been national lead counsel in the federal multidistrict (and multi-year) litigation against GlaxoSmithKline for injuries caused by its pharmaceutical drug, Avandia.

Kenton King Sk a dde n

( P a l o Alto) Silicon Valley’s King, who co-heads

Skadden’s global corporate transactions and M&A group, has played a lead role in three of the world’s five largest-ever technology deals. He recently guided Yahoo! in its $7.1B Alibaba stake sale, the largest e-commerce M&A transaction in history and the largest-ever M&A deal between a U.S. and Chinese company.

Dale Kinsella K in se ll a

W e itz m a n ( Santa Monic a, Calif.) Kinsella is in the van-

guard of entertainment lawyers at the highest levels in Hollywood, representing clients including Oscar winners, TV producers and major film companies in high-stakes intellectual property disputes.

Adam Klein O utte n

& G ol de n ( N e w York) He’s co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in law-

suits challenging employment practices at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and the federal Census Bureau, as well as going to bat for low- (or no-) paid interns everywhere in ongoing litigation with Fox and Condé Nast.

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Jeffrey Klein W e il

G o t sh a l (N ew York) When it comes to employment discrimi-

nation, healthcare benefits, and trade secrets litigation, clients such as Merrill Lynch, MasterCard International, UnitedHealth Group and Avon have Klein on speed dial.

Thomas Kline Kl in e

& S p e c ter ( Ph iladelph ia) His firm has been a leader in cata-

strophic injury litigation and whistleblower representation for a generation and, in 2013, he won one of the largest verdicts ever for an undocumented worker in obtaining a $5M award for a man crushed to death by a collapsing excavation site.

Lou Kling Sk a dde n

( N e w Y or k) Clients such as DuPont and News Corp. turn to

Kling for representation on multibillion-dollar M&A and corporate finance deals.

Recent work includes the $4.9B sale of DuPont Performance Coatings to Carlyle and News Corp.’s ongoing $12B split of its publishing and entertainment businesses.

Ethan Klingsberg Cle a r y

G ottlieb ( N ew York) Go-to counsel for major M&A,

raid defense, SEC and fiduciary duty matters for a slew of high-profile clients, including Google, Home Depot, Stanley Black & Decker, Family Dollar, and Agilent.

Edwin Kneedler U . S .

D e p a r tment of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) Currently Deputy

U.S. Solicitor General, the 35-year DOJ veteran has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, a benchmark reached by fewer than 10 attorneys in U.S. history.

Meyer Koplow W a c h t e ll

L ipton ( N ew York) Koplow is perhaps best known for

having been the principal negotiator of the $206B Master Settlement Agreement that resolved issues between the major tobacco companies and the states in 1998, but he’s currently a lead adviser for major banking interests in ongoing litigation and settlements related to the national mortgage and banking crisis.

Alan Kornberg P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) He is No. 1 at Paul Weiss for complex

bankruptcy and corporate reorganization representations, advising Australian-based Nine Entertainment Group in the restructuring of nearly $2B of debt and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and its affiliates in their chapter 11 cases involving more than $3B in debt.

Linda Kornfeld Ka sow it z

B ens on ( Los Ang eles ) She’s represented companies in

high-stakes insurance coverage litigation for more than 20 years and currently advises Penn State in its efforts to recover all expenses relating to the Jerry Sandusky abuse claims.

Andrea Kramer McDermott (Chicago) Kramer’s practice is characterized by her versatility and interdisciplinary approach to derivative products, hedging, energy trading, and insurance company investment operations for both big corporations and high net-worth individuals.

I S S U E 14

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

Paul Geller Robbins Geller (boca raton)

500

Jason Kravitt Ma y e r

B r own (N ew York) The founder of Mayer Brown’s securiti-

zation practice captained the legal structuring of the $60B asset-backed commercial paper vehicle, Straight-A Funding, which funded almost a year’s worth of student loans during the worst part of the financial crisis.

Rachel Krevans Mo r r ison

& Foers ter ( San Franc is c o) She’s recognized as at the

pinnacle of the profession for intellectual property disputes in technology, winning in contentious cases involving IP on DVRs, cable and satellite TV and computer-phone interfaces to HIV and cancer treatments, vaccines, and blood and antibody research.

Walter Lack Eng str om

L ip sc o mb ( Los Ang eles ) Lack and his firm have built an

enduring national reputation by winning billions for clients in cases across class actions, personal injury, environmental, insurance and toxic tort litigation.

William Lafferty Mo r r is

N ic h ols ( Wilmington) When it comes to complex litiga-

tion involving fallout from the financial crisis or bigtime M&As, few lawyers know the ins and outs of the Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme Court better than Lafferty.

Stephen Lamb P a ul

W e iss ( W ilmington) Among other high-end clients, the for-

mer Delaware judge is advising Barnes & Noble’s special committee on a possible takeprivate bid by its former chairman and represented M&F Worldwide in a landmark case that earlier this year established a new standard of review for buyouts by controlling shareholders.

Jeffrey Lamken Mo l oLa mk en

( Was h ington, D.C.) One of the premier appellate

lawyers in the country, Lamken has argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and briefed on dozens more.

Carolyn Lamm W h it e

& C a se ( Was h ington, D.C.) Among the world’s leading

international arbitration and litigation practitioners, Lamm represented tens of thousands of Italian bondholders in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina, successfully arguing that sovereign bonds were protected “investments” — which allowed for the first-ever mass claim in investment arbitration history to proceed to the merits.

Christopher Landau Kir kland

& Ell is ( Was h ington, D.C.) Landau has worked

in front of every federal appeals court in the country and has developed a habit of winning cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently for Credit Suisse Securities.

Steven Lane H e r m a n

H e r m a n ( N ew Orleans ) Known as one of the South’s most

tenacious attorneys on behalf of plaintiffs and victims, the managing partner has led his firm as it developed a flourishing national reputation.

Photo by: JOSH RITCHIE

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Linda Kornfeld Kasowitz Benson (los angeles)

By Xenia Kobylarz

Linda Kornfeld Kasowitz Benson

years. Unfortunately, with disasters comes substantial Torres & Friedman partner

financial loss. And, given the interconnected nature of

Linda Kornfeld has a lot in common with today’s law

our global economy, regardless of where the disaster

school graduates. She graduated from George Washing-

takes place, businesses around the world can lose busi-

ton University School of Law at the height of an eco-

ness and profits. I have been quite busy in the last two

nomic recession, in the early 1990s. Her first position as

years helping companies recover those losses. With

a securities litigator fell through a day after she took the

each disaster comes a new coverage issue that often

bar exam when the firm called to say the economy was

leads to insurer efforts to modify policy language to nar-

forcing it to pay incoming associates to find other work.

row the available insurance protection for the next

“I called the other firm where I clerked during my sec-

disaster. As a result, I have been busy helping my cli-

ond law school summer to get advice regarding what to

ents during the policy procurement process to modify

do, and one of the two head coverage partners, Kirk

policy language to increase the chances that insurance

Pasich, who was in search of a first-year coverage law-

will pay in the future.

yer, hired me on the spot,” says Kornfeld, who is based

LD: What are the keys to your success in this field?

in Los Angeles. “Twenty-two years later, and I’m still

LK: Creative and analytical thinking. On a regular basis

loving that field of practice.”

as an insurance recovery litigator I address fact pat-

In that 22-year period, Kornfeld not only learned to

terns and policy language that I have not previously

love the insurance coverage litigation practice but

considered. This means that in order to convince the

also made a name for herself by amassing large recov-

insurer or insurers to perform under their policies, I

eries in the hundreds of millions of dollars for individ-

must apply one of my strongest skills, creative thinking,

ual, institutional and corporate insurance policyhold-

to come up with unique policy interpretation approach-

ers, including utilities, movie studios, nonprofits, tele-

es that lead to successful recoveries for my clients. My

coms and real estate developers. She is currently

ability to create unique and successful coverage argu-

helping Penn State University obtain insurance liabili-

ments has been the key to my success.

ty coverage for all expenses relating to the Jerry

LD: What’s the most important advice or lesson you’ve

Sandusky sexual abuse claims. In addition, she is rep-

ever gotten than contributed to your success?

resenting businesses that suffered multimillion-dollar

LK: Three things. First, to most effectively advance your

losses after Hurricane Sandy with their insurance cov-

client’s interests it is important to have life balance—

erage disputes.

find something outside the law that provides a true

LAWDRAGON: What makes insurance coverage unique?

escape from the law. I have done that successfully over

LINDA KORNFELD: Unlike most forms of corporate litiga-

the years with horses.

tion, insurance recovery litigation helps corporate legal

departments become profit centers as we help them

case in the conference room. As lawyers we can spend

maximize their insurance assets. Also, as world events

a lifetime questioning from all sides the merits of an

happen, such as Superstorm Sandy, major bank failures,

approach. So many lawyers can get so caught up in the

sex abuse scandals, and the like, insurance coverage

“what ifs” that they lose the ability to do what’s neces-

issues follow. ... No two coverage cases are the same.

sary to get to the right result. Jerry’s advice has taught

As a result, I regularly get to create new arguments to

me to not overthink issues when my gut knows the right

support coverage under policy language that has not

approach.

previously been judicially interpreted. I love that, as an

Third, it is clearly true that one attracts more bees

insurance recovery lawyer, I have so much opportunity

with honey than with vinegar. I was told early in my

to think creatively, create new law and help my clients

career that relationships are the key to accomplishing

recover millions in insurance assets.

important goals. When representing my clients, I strive

LD: With natural and man-made disasters dominating

to establish strong working relationships with all rele-

the headlines these days, would you say these are high

vant parties. Throughout my career that approach has,

times for professionals like you?

without a doubt, benefitted my clients’ interests and

LK: The Japan earthquake, the Thai floods, Hurricanes

made the practice of law significantly more enjoyable.

Irene and Lee, Superstorm Sandy, tornadoes and other

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

disasters have dominated the headlines for the past two

limelights/linda-kornfeld.

Photo by: AMY CANTRELL

I S S U E 14

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Second, direct from Jerry Oshinsky, do not lose your

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Travis Laster D e l a w a r e

C our t o f Ch anc ery ( Wilmington) The vice chancellor

doesn’t shirk, defer, or coddle, as demonstrated in his recent decision to halt the $8.2B Vivendi stock buyback with which the media company is attempting to shed majority ownership of Activision Blizzard.

Benjamin Lawsky N e w

Y o r k S tate Department of Financ ial Serv ic es ( N ew

York) The Empire State’s first Superintendent of Financial Services has led high-pro-

file investigations into international money laundering and recently turned his eye on insurance industry accounting practices, opting New York out of of an agreement on new capital reserve standards.

Mark Lebovitch B e r n st e in

Litowitz ( N ew York) One of the top litigators in the

country prosecuting M&A shareholder plaintiff litigation, Lebovitch is a powerful force for corporate governance and management reform with important, precedent-setting cases protecting the shareholder franchise and holding corporate management accountable.

William Lee W ilme r H a l e

( B o ston ) The IP expert has been lead trial counsel for

Apple in the “smart phone war” patent suits and in several cases between Broadcom and Qualcomm while still finding time to teach at Harvard.

Yoon-Young Lee W ilme r H a l e

( Was h ington, D.C.) As chair of WilmerHale’s

broker-dealer compliance and regulation practice, Lee works with clients at the highest corporate levels on governance, conflict of interest and compliance with federal securities laws and SRO regulations.

C. Ray Lees C omme r c ia l

L a w G r o up ( Oklah oma City) The consummate dealmak-

er has represented Chesapeake Energy Co. in a series of multibillion-dollar divestiture deals as the company raised more than $5B to pay down debt.

David Lender W e il

G o t sh a l ( N e w York) The chair of Weil’s litigation department

secured a $170M jury verdict for General Electric in a patent case against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries relating to wind turbine technology; he has also obtained numerous victories in courts around the country for StubHub in consumer fraud class actions.

Daniel Lennon L a t h a m

& W a t k ins ( Was h ington, D.C.) The chair of Latham’s cor-

porate practice advises some of the firm’s most prestigious clients, including The Carlyle Group, Onex Partners, Platinum Equity, HCR ManorCare, and Allison Transmission.

Sandra Leung B r ist o l - My e r s

S quibb ( N ew York) The Association of Corporate

Counsel named Leung, the company’s general counsel since 2007, winner of the 2013 Excellence in Corporate Practice Award.

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Andrew Levander D e c h e r t

( N ew York) Representing some of the whitest of

the white collars with a client list that reads like a Who’s Who of the financial meltdown, in 2013 he’s taken charge of the complex defense of MF Global Inc. CEO and former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.

Jeffrey Lewis Cl e a r y

G o t t l ieb ( N ew York) In an exceptionally complicated cross-

border transaction, Lewis guided Chilean state-owned copper company Codelco in obtaining a $2.8B minority stake in a coveted copper mine’s vast reserves to settle a dispute over contract options.

Victor Lewkow Cle a r y

G o t t lieb ( N ew York) In 2013, Lewkow represented the

board of directors and special committee of National Financial Partners in NFP’s $1.3B sale to private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn.

David Lira G ir a r di

K e e se ( Los Ang eles ) Lira’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court

victory on preemption keeps product liability claims alive, and he has upcoming trials involving claims of catastrophic product failures, premises liability involving multiple deaths and the Bryan Stow/Dodgers beating case.

Judith Livingston K r a m e r

Dill of ( N ew York) With 30 verdicts and hundreds of

settlements in excess of $1M, Livingston is one of the most respected and successful trial lawyers in the United States — and the first woman admitted to the Inner Circle of Advocates.

George Lombardi W in st o n

& Strawn ( N ew York) He obtained a $1B jury ver-

dict — the third-largest U.S. jury verdict in 2012 and the fifth-largest patent jury verdict in history — in favor of client Monsanto Co. against principal competitor DuPont Company in a case involving complex patent, antitrust and contract issues.

Simon Lorne Mill e nnium

P a rtners ( N ew York) A former SEC General Counsel

and Munger Tolles partner, Lorne remains one of the top minds on the inside, overseeing global legal, regulatory, compliance and internal audit functions at the $18B New York hedge fund.

Jonathan Lowy B r a dy

C e n ter to Prev ent Handgun Violenc e ( Was h ington, D.C.)

State by state and court by court, Lowy has fought the legal fight against gun violence and has helped establish precedent across the country holding gun companies accountable.

Martin Lueck R o b in s

K a p l a n ( Minn eapolis ) A bet-the-company trial lawyer, Lueck

scored a summary judgment for Promega Corp. against patent-infringement claims brought by a competitor over DNA fingerprinting products, among other achievements.

I S S U E 14

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

Jeffrey Mu単oz Latham & Watkins (houston)

500

Alexander Macgillivray Tw itter

( San Franc is c o) Under his four-year ten-

ure, Twitter has been a champion of user rights, privacy and the First Amendment; we have no doubt he’ll have a prominent voice on those issues wherever he goes.

Lisa Madigan Ill in o is

A ttorney G eneral ( Springfield) Madigan has lost none of

her drive and fire in a decade in office, and has passed up a shot at the Illinois governorship to run for reelection as attorney general in 2014.

Floyd Mandell K a t t e n

( C h icago) One of the nation’s leading intellectual proper-

ty litigators year after year, companies such as Microsoft, Skype, Bausch & Lomb, Topshop, Yahoo! and AIG, among others, turned to Mandell to obtain successful outcomes in high-profile trademark litigation.

Neal Manne S usm a n

G odf r e y ( Hous ton) In addition to serving as managing

partner, Manne continues his far-flung litigation practice for both plaintiffs and defendants: He is representing plaintiffs in patent litigation against AT&T in New York, and defending Vitol in multibillion-dollar litigation in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Gregory Markel C a dw a l a d er

( N ew York) He played the lead role in U.S. litiga-

tion related to Elan Corp.’s successful response to the hostile takeover bid by Royalty Pharma, while handling numerous other cases involving M&As, Boards of Directors and Special Committees, as well as antitrust claims.

David Marriott C r a va t h

( N e w York) A versatile litigator who has tried five

cases in the past year alone, Marriott handles a wide range of matters, including intellectual property, securities and antitrust, for an impressive clientele that has included IBM, NCR and Novartis.

Katharine Martin W il so n

Sons ini ( Palo Alto) Martin is key member of Wilson

Sonsini’s impressive M&A roster, with milestone deals under her belt for McClatchy ($6.5B acquisition of Knight Ridder) and LinkedIn ($353M IPO and $621M follow-on offering).

Terri Mascherin Je nne r

& Bloc k ( Ch ic ago) This accomplished litigator has

achieved precedent-setting victories for her clients, including in Ventas v. HCP, a significant appellate win for Ventas resulting in a $227M recovery for tortious inference; and in People of the State of Illinois v. Hyungseok Koh, winning acquittal for a pro bono client accused of murdering his adult son.

Garry Mathiason L ittl e r

( San Franc is c o) He presides over perhaps the nation’s

most respected and not coincidentally, largest employment and labor practice, advising more than 8,000 corporate clients and 75 percent of Fortune 100 companies.

Photo by: Felix Sanchez

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l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

500 Colette Matzzie P h illip s

& C o h en ( Was h ington, D.C.) Matzzie is a star litigator at

D.C.’s top whistleblower firm, and has obtained settlements against some of the nation’s largest corporations, including Verizon ($96.5M) and Boehringer Ingelheim ($95M).

Michele Coleman Mayes N e w

York Public Library ( N ew York) The move

from corporate boardrooms to the task of working to reinvent one of the world’s great libraries was a natural for this trailblazing attorney.

Edwin Maynard P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) The U.S.-Canadian border is Maynard’s

frontier as he represents clients such as Agrium Inc., Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the Canadian government on multibillion-dollar transactions and offerings.

Brian McCarthy Ska dde n

( L os Ang eles ) McCarthy regularly advises high-pro-

file clients in the media and entertainment industry, including representing The Walt Disney Co. in its $4B acquisition of Lucasfilm and Summit Entertainment in its $412.5M acquisition by Lions Gate.

Harold McElhinny Mo r r ison

& Foers ter ( San Franc is c o) He was lead trial

counsel for Apple’s billion-dollar jury win over Samsung in the smartphone wars and continues to aggressively press Apple’s claims in court and before the ITC.

Patrick McElhinny K & L

G a te s ( Pitts burgh ) He was co-lead of the team that

won a $1.2B judgment against Marvell Technology Group for infringing two Carnegie Mellon University patents covering disk-drive technology.

Patrick McGroder Gallagher & Kennedy (Phoenix) The “go-to” lawyer in Phoenix for any high-profile civil tort action has topped 100 cases with a verdict or settlement of $1M or more — an obvious choice to take on the U.S. government in the “Fast & Furious” case.

Megan McIntyre G r a n t

& E ise nh ofer ( Wilmington) This uncommonly talented

advocate for institutional investors has been instrumental in the growth of Grant & Eisenhofer and recently netted a $110M settlement for plaintiffs challenging Kinder Morgan’s acquisition of El Paso Corp.

Mike McKool Mc Kool

Sm ith ( D a ll as ) McKool is among the best courtroom attor-

neys in the country, representing major airlines, energy companies, telecommunications firms and investment banking houses before juries from coast to coast.

Mary McLaughlin U . S .

D ist r ict Court for th e Eas tern Dis tric t of Once chief counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Penn s ylv a n ia ( P h il a de l p h ia ) Terrorism, Technology and Government, this federal judge is also serving, simultane-

ously, a term on the no-longer-so-secret U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

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Katharine Martin Wilson Sonsini (Palo alto)

Craig Wildfang Robins Kaplan (Minneapolis)

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

By john ryan

K. Craig Wildfang In researching the

If those payment card acceptance costs paid by mer-

Lawdragon 500 guide,

chants decline, we would expect that consumers will

it was hard to overlook the $7.25B settlement reached

benefit. There have been recent studies that show that

by merchants (about seven million of them) with Visa,

under the current environment the average household

Mastercard and several major banks over contested

pays over $400 per year in interchange fees. We expect

interchange fees. The settlement, which also included

that number to decline.

reforms of the credit card industry, has been cited as

LD: Was this the most difficult antitrust action you’ve

the largest-ever settlement of a private case under the

handled, or do any of your past cases rival it?

Sherman Act. Craig Wildfang, who represented the class

CW: I have been privileged to handle a number of big,

of plaintiff merchants, is a veteran antitrust partner at

complex antitrust cases over the last 25 years, many

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in Minneapolis.

involving cutting-edge legal issues, but I think this case

was the most difficult. Everything about the case was

Wildfang has a long track record of success in private

practice and also served in the Justice Department,

large, complex, and difficult.

from 1993-1996, as Special Counsel to the Assistant

taken over seven years just to get to this point, and we

Attorney General for Antitrust. He is a 1977 graduate of

are not yet completely done.

the University of Minnesota Law School; he also did his

LD: What did your learn from your time as special coun-

undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota.

sel in the Antitrust Division?

LAWDRAGON: Can you give some context for how this

CW: My time serving as special counsel to the Assistant

credit card case arose in 2005?

Attorney General in the Antitrust Division was extremely

CRAIG WILDFANG: Prior to our initiating the litigation

rewarding. It required me to become immersed in com-

that became In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and

plex antitrust cases all day every day at the very highest

Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1720, vari-

level. It was rather like getting an advanced degree in

ous practices and rules of Visa and MasterCard had

antitrust by having the opportunity to work with some of

been the subject of antitrust litigation for over 20 years.

the most experienced antitrust lawyers in the world. I

However, none of those prior cases was an attack on the

cannot point to any one thing that I can say was a con-

very structure of Visa and MasterCard as bank-owned

crete benefit to my private practice, but I am confident

joint ventures, which is what MDL 1720 was.

that my experience there made me a better lawyer.

In 2005, regulatory action by Congress on the

LD: What led you into antitrust law? Was this an area

Federal Reserve Board was considered by all industry

you had always wanted to practice in?

participants as highly unlikely. I had previous experi-

CW: Even as far back as law school I was very interested

ence with antitrust issues in the payment card industry,

in antitrust law. In my first job out of law school I was

both at the Department of Justice and representing pri-

in-house counsel for a trade association, and my princi-

vate plaintiffs against Visa and MasterCard. I had

pal exposure to antitrust issues there was writing

become convinced that only a broad, frontal attack on

memoranda to the board of directors reminding them of

the Visa and MasterCard joint venture structure would

the things they could not talk about in their board meet-

solve the competitive problems in the industry.

ings. After I left that job and established my own law

LD: What is the anticipated impact on consumers?

firm, I was fortunate enough to find a really interesting

CW: We expect consumers to benefit significantly from

case involving a cutting-edge antitrust issue on which I

the lower costs that we expect merchants will have to

ultimately prevailed after eight hard years of litigation,

pay for accepting payment cards in the future.

including one trip to the Court of Appeals.

The

And, of course, it has

retail industry in the United States is very highly com-

After that case, I found increasing opportunities to

petitive, and economists tell us that in such competitive

direct my practice towards complex antitrust litigation

industries prices to consumers are very close to the

such that in a matter of a few years that was really all I

marginal costs of the sellers. Since the interchange

was doing. I consider myself extremely fortunate to

fees that merchants are charged by the issuing banks

have found an area of practice which I enjoy so much

are a significant portion of their marginal costs, we

and which has enabled me to provide a comfortable liv-

expect that consumers ultimately pay most of those

ing for my family.

costs through higher costs of goods and ser vices

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

they buy.

limelights/craig-wildfang.

Photo by: Kelly Loverud

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500

500 William McLucas W ILME R H A L E

( WAS H IN G TON , D.C .) The leader of WilmerHale’s

vaunted securities practice is among the most sought after advisers in the country when it comes to complex regulatory issues.

John Mead SUL LIVA N

& C R OMW E LL (N EW YORK) As longtime principal outside coun-

sel to Goldman Sachs and also to CIT Group, Mead is among the most influential lawyers in the investment banking world.

Christopher Meade U. S.

T R E A SURY DEPARTMEN T ( WAS H IN G TON , D.C .) Widely

admired for his grasp of complex policy and legal issues, Meade won Senate confirmation to the top legal job at the U.S. Treasury Department in April.

Mark Mendelsohn P A UL

W E ISS ( WAS H IN G TON , D.C .) No one knows the intricacies

of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) better than the guy who was the law’s principal architect while at the Justice Department, and Mendelsohn’s expertise is near priceless to Paul Weiss corporate clients.

Gilbert Menna G OODW IN

P R OC T E R ( BOS TON ) The numbers tell the story —

Menna has been involved on behalf of the firm’s clients in REIT transactions totaling more than $100B, with over $90B in M&A transactions and $15B in equity or debt securities transactions.

Mark Menting SULLIVA N

& C R OMWELL ( N EW YORK) Menting’s work for ING Groep

was topped off with a series of worldwide asset sales amounting to more than $15B including the biggest U.S. bank deal since 2009 — a $9B sale of the group’s online banking service, ING Direct USA, to Capital One Financial Corp.

Lee Meyerson SIMP SON

TH A C H E R ( N EW YORK) Client TD Bank Group called on

Simpson Thacher’s trusted M&A head for its $668M acquisition of Epoch Holding Corp. and the $6B purchase of Target’s U.S. credit-card portfolio.

Harvey Miller W E IL

G O T SH A L ( N E W YORK) Miller is busy with phase 2 of the

Lehman Chapter 11 plan — the commencement of the liquidation of remaining assets and the first distribution of approximately $19B — and he helped guide American Airlines through its bankruptcy into an attractive merger candidate.

Patricia Ann Millet A KIN

G UMP ( WAS H IN G TON , D.C .) The co-head of her firm’s

Supreme Court practice is awaiting hearings and a Senate confirmation vote on her appointment as Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Michael Millikin G E N E R A L

MO T O RS C O. ( DETROIT) He’s been chief counsel for GM

as the automaking giant emerged from Chapter 11 and returned to profitability.

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Martha Minow H a r va r d

La w Sc h ool ( Cambridge) The dean of Harvard Law has

had an unequaled career in public service and public interest law, in parallel with her life at the pinnacle of legal academia — and as an acknowledged key influence on President Barack Obama.

Ted Mirvis W a c h te ll

L ip t o n ( N ew York) The legendary litigator continues to steer

Bank of America’s federally approved $8.5B mortgage-backed securities settlement to completion over lingering objections raised by institutional investors.

Steven Molo Mo l oLa mk e n

( N e w York) Molo is a leading courtroom star whose

busy and diverse practice currently includes representing investors in mortgage-backed securities in cutting-edge litigation around the country.

Gladys Monroy Mor r iso n

& Foers ter ( Palo Alto) One of the nation’s best patent

attorneys, Monroy has provided crucial services to a wide range of life sciences companies such as Chiron Corp., Genencor, Targeted Genetics, Cerus Corp. and many others.

Thomas Moore K r a m e r

D ill of ( N ew York) One of the leading medical malprac-

tice attorneys in the nation, Moore won a jury verdict of $130M on behalf of an injured child — the second-largest malpractice verdict in New York history — relegating his 2012 verdict of $121M to third place.

James Morphy S ull iva n

& C romw ell ( N ew York) Consistently ranked by his

peers as one of the top M&A and corporate governance attorneys in the world, Morphy facilitated the $29.1B acquisition of Medco by Express Scripts, finalized in 2012 after a lengthy government antitrust investigation.

Mark Morton P o t t e r

Ande r son ( Wilmington) Morton remains the go-to lawyer in

Delaware for corporations and boards for transactions, with many billions of transactions to his name, and invaluable corporate governance advice.

Sara Moss T h e

E sté e L a ude r C o mpanies ( N ew York) As Executive Vice President and

General Counsel, Moss leads all of the worldwide legal functions of the company and its portfolio of 30 brands and plays a key role in the company’s global growth and expansion.

Ronald Motley Motl e y

R ic e (Mt. Pleas ant, S.C.) One of the nation’s most effec-

tive plaintiff advocates from Big Tobacco to BP until his death in 2013, Motley continued to break new ground with Almog v. Arab Bank on behalf of victims of Palestinian terrorist organizations. (Ronald Motley: 10-21-44 to 8-22-13.)

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Mary Kay Vyskocil Simpson Thacher (New york)

500

Jeffrey Muñoz L a t h a m

& W a t kins ( Hous ton) A major player in the energy

industry handling big-ticket deals and projects, Munoz represented PXP in its $5.55B acquisition from BP of its interests in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas properties.

Susan Murley W ilm e r H a l e

( Bos ton) Murley serves as co-managing partner of the

esteemed firm while handling transactional matters for a range of companies in life sciences, bio-tech and other high-tech industries.

Francis Patrick Murphy Corboy

& Demetrio ( Ch ic ago) The nation’s best at

porch and deck defect cases, Murphy also excels in representing other injured individuals and is a big reason why Corboy & Demetrio is the top all-around plaintiff-side shop in the Windy City.

Sean Murphy Mil b a nk

( N e w York) A top litigator at defending investment

advisers in complex securities cases, he is among the few to have successfully tried several billion-dollar cases to verdict and recently won a motion to dismiss for Putnam Investments.

Scott Musoff Ska dde n

( N e w Y ork) Musoff’s counsel is sought for securities and

other complex commercial litigation matters, with recent successes for CIBC, BlackBerry, Computer Sciences Corp and Travelzoo.

Michael J. Myers Off ic e

o f th e new York Attorney G eneral En v ironm ental

Protec tion B ur e a u ( Alb a n y ) Among the best Clean Air Act advocates in the nation,

Myers has earned praise for successfully defending New York’s environmental goals and forging multi-state coalitions to advocate for tougher standards.

Toby Myerson P a ul

W e iss ( New York) The co-head of Paul Weiss’ prestigious

M&A practice represented Reckitt Benckiser Group in its successful unsolicited $1.4B cash tender offer to acquire Schiff Nutrition International.

Clifford “Mike” Naeve Skadden

( Was h ington, D.C.) Naeve, the leader of

Skadden’s energy practice group and head of its Washington, D.C., office, is a former FERC commissioner who handles commercial and regulatory matters for energy clients, including recent work for Duke Energy Corp., GenOn Energy, Entergy Corp. and Northeast Utilities.

Gary Naftalis K r a m e r

L e vin ( N ew York) The master of white-collar criminal

defenses is just as effective when called on in complex civil disputes, such as his successful defense of Sirius XM Radio dismissing a breach of contract suit by Howard Stern seeking $330 million in damages.

Photo by: GREG ENDRIES

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Max Berger Bernstein Litowitz (new york)

By JOHN RYAN

Max Berger The world knows Max Berger

that’s what I try to do. The same holds true for people for

that I photograph.

his precedent-setting recoveries in the area of securi-

LD: We’ve interviewed you many times about your prac-

ties fraud at New York-based Bernstein Litowitz Berger

tice, which requires some tough litigation work. Does

& Grossmann, where he is the senior founding partner.

your photography work provide any benefit to your legal

After every big financial scandal, it seems Berger and

work, or is it completely separate?

his firm are at the center of the fight representing inves-

MB: I feel a little schizophrenic because my art is ex-

tors. The New York Times profiled him in October 2012

tremely important to me, and so is my work, but yet I

after he netted a $2.4 billion settlement with Bank of

have to wear two completely different hats when I’m do-

America over its Merrill Lynch acquisition.

ing them. You know, in one I have to be a fierce litigator

But Berger has a softer, artistic side as a longtime

and in my other world I have to be a sensitive, insightful,

and talented photographer. In April, his travel-inspired

creative person.

photography was displayed at the 25CPW Gallery in New

York, in a show called “Places”—his second successful

I do feel that really this helps me create a balance in

show. All of the proceeds from the show will be donated

my life between my creative artistic side and my profes-

to City Year New York and InMotion.

sional side. I think the spillover is really very beneficial.

I think I could actually be more creative in the way I look

Lawdragon interviewed Berger at the gallery and pro-

I don’t ever intend to retire, I love the work I do and

duced a mini-documentary about him and his photog-

at my cases and prosecute my cases.

raphy. The video can be seen on Lawdragon’s YouTube

channel: http://www.youtube.com/lawdragonvideo

for my co-counsel and my adversaries in cases that

LAWDRAGON: How did you become interested in photog-

are not used to seeing a person in my position in this

raphy?

light. It throws them off a little bit to see me this way,

MAX BERGER: Ever since I could remember I loved pho-

to look at my books of photographs. I can’t tell you

tography. When I would I would see a scene that inter-

how many phone calls I’ve gotten when the invitations

ested me, I would actually frame it in my mind as if it

went out to this show, all the people calling me say-

was a photograph—as if I was taking a photograph, and

ing, “You know that there’s a photographer with your

it just came naturally to me to do that. So I’ve been tak-

name?” I said, “Well, that photographer happens to

ing pictures for decades. Generally, in the past, it was

be me.”

just memorializing events with friends, family, trips,

LD: Can you explain why you combined your art show

whatever, but I didn’t think of my photography in an ar-

with charity, and why these two organizations in particu-

tistic way. ...

lar?

Fifteen years ago or so people started commenting

MB: I’m very fortunate in the sense that I’ve had a suc-

on how beautiful my photographs were and at first I

cessful legal practice, and I also believe very much in

didn’t really take it seriously or think much about it. But

giving back and in philanthropy. Early on, I felt that I

then I started to tap into the artistic side of me, and also

could combine watching people see my work with phi-

my wife and I were traveling extensively at the time. So

lanthropy, and these two organizations are particularly

my travel photography became a vehicle for me to ex-

special to me.

press myself artistically as well as a way to memorialize

the people and the places I had seen in my travels.

young citizens between the ages of 17 and 24 take a

LD: Why the title “Places”?

year off from whatever they’re doing to dedicate them-

MB: Most of my photographs are taken in my travels,

selves full time to public service, working in schools

and my wife and I travel to pretty diverse locations all

throughout New York to help inner city kids do better

around the world. I always wanted to photograph places

in school and move on in a productive way. InMotion

and people and scenes that I was visiting in a way which

provides free legal services to at-risk women, including

was unconventional. If I’m in a place, I want to think

those in situations where there is domestic abuse and

of what may be interesting that people might not oth-

they need lawyers. For me, it’s a win-win. I get to show

erwise see. If I can present that in a creative, inspir-

my work, to sell my work, and fortunately I don’t need

ing way then they’ll see something beyond what one

the proceeds so they can go to these very, very worth-

would typically see when thinking about a place. And

while organizations.

Photo by: GREG ENDRIES

I S S U E 14

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It actually provides a very interesting commentary

City Year New York, which is part of AmeriCorps, has

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Daniel Neff W a c h te ll

L ip t o n ( N e w York) Wachtell’s co-managing partner is front

and center in one of the biggest deals of the year, representing Verizon Communications in its $130B acquisition of the 45 percent interest in Verizon Wireless owned by Vodafone Plc.

Sharon Nelles S ull iva n

& C r o mwell ( N ew York) She’s built an extraordinary

record in representing major clients in critical, complex matters, including class actions arising from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme brought against Standard Chartered Bank while also advising Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and Eastman Kodak.

Steven Newborn W e il

G o t sh a l (Was h ington, D.C.) Newborn continues to be a

top choice among antitrust lawyers for Fortune 100 companies in their most important mergers, having gained antitrust approvals for the largest deals in the history of J&J, Kinder Morgan, Sherwin Williams and Walgreens.

Blair Nicholas B e r n st e in

Litow it z ( San Diego) Another Bernstein Litowitz part-

ner who has netted billions for investors, Nicholas lately has specialized in representation of large institutional investors in private “direct” or “opt-out” actions (including the Tyco, Qwest and Marsh & McLennan cases) and has done the same for clients damaged by the financial crisis.

Kenneth Nissly O ’Me l ve n y

( Me nlo Park, Calif.) Companies facing IP and patent

cases related to electronics, computer and semiconductor technology would be hard pressed to find better counsel than O’Melveny’s Silicon Valley all-star.

Thomas Nolan Ska dde n

( L os Angeles ) A top litigation all-star and chair of

Skadden’s west coast litigation practice, his recent work includes successes in headline litigations for MGA and Toyota.

Beth Noveck N e w

Y o r k L a w S c h o o l ( N ew York) A leading thinker and advocate on

information and governance issues, Noveck served in the White House as the first deputy chief technology officer and founder of its open governance initiative; she also founded the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School and is on leave from there as she heads up The Governance Lab at NYU.

Eileen Nugent Sk a dde n

( N e w Y ork) In addition to advising on corporate gover-

nance and conflict-of-interest situations, the global co-head of Skadden’s transactions practice advised on Becker Underwood’s $1B acquisition of BASF, Norwest Equity Partners’ sale of Caliber Company to ATK, Dover’s spin-off of certain of its communication technologies businesses, and Deloitte’s asset purchase agreement with Monitor.

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Terry O’Reilly O ’R e illy

L a w ( Hailey, Idah o) His long track record of massive ver-

dicts and settlements kept him on the shortlist for those seeking compensation for air and vehicular crashes.

Sean O’Shea O ’S h e a

P a r t n e r s ( N ew York) This former federal prosecutor headed

the Eastern District of New York’s Business and Securities Fraud Unit before establishing his own litigation practice and reputation as one of the city’s top trial lawyers.

Bill Ohlemeyer B oie s

S c h ill er ( Armonk ) He’s long been considered among the

nation’s best trial lawyers, representing heavyweight clients around the world; recent cases include defending Herbalife against charges that it operates as a pyramid scheme, and solving a variety of problems for clients in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ronald Olson Mung e r

T olle s ( Los Ang eles ) The longtime name partner at MTO

continues to guide the firm forward, taking the lead in high-profile matters as they arise, while also making time to serve as a director of concerns ranging from the Mayo Clinic to Berkshire Hathaway.

Ted Olson G ib so n

D unn ( W a sh ington, D.C.) The legendary Olson, who has argued

60 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, was in the lead in winning Hollingsworth v. Perry at the Supreme Court, overturning California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages.

Jerold Oshinsky Ka sow it z

Bens on ( Los Ang eles ) The “dean” still handles the

highest-profile insurance coverage cases for policyholders, including the Penn State and Duke University cases, while building out his work as an arbitrator.

Barry Ostrager S im p son

T h a c h er ( N ew York) This litigation veteran continued

his winning ways, securing a dismissal of a UBS securities fraud case for J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs and other underwriter defendants.

Wayne Outten O utte n

& G ol den ( N ew York) The go-to lawyer for high-level exec-

utives in employment disputes and transitions has long been a leader in representing individuals, with numerous multimillion-dollar recoveries to his name.

Keith Pagnani S ulliva n

& C romw ell ( N ew York) The co-head of S&C’s healthcare

and life sciences group most recently represented Praxair in its $1.1B acquisition of NuCO2 and Priceline in its $1.8B acquisition of Kayak Software.

Robin Panovka W a c h te ll

L ipton ( N ew York) Ranked among the leading REIT and

real estate M&A lawyers and co-author of “REITs: Mergers and Acquisitions,” he has also been a major force in representing World Trade Center owners Silverstein Partners in the site’s rebirth.

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Ted Wells paul weiss (new york)

500

C. Allen Parker C r a va th

( N ew York) Parker, a preeminent corporate lawyer who

has represented JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Studios, Kissinger Associates and Permira in a storied career at Cravath, was named presiding partner of the firm in 2012, just the 15th person to serve in the position.

Brian Pastuszenski G oodwin

Proc ter ( Bos ton) The redoubtable Goodwin

Procter litigation talent remains incredibly busy defending a wide range of proceedings against Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide as well as securities litigation matters against other financial institutions and corporate giants.

Kathy Patrick G ib b s

& B r un s ( Hous ton) Patrick continued the momentum of her

$8.5B mortgage-bond settlement with Bank of America with a $400M settlement with Credit Suisse in the National Century Financial Enterprises Securities Litigation, for a total of $1B recovered in the litigation.

Kathleen Peterson R ob in s

Kaplan ( Minn eapolis ) This renowned leader of the

plaintiffs’ bar for medical malpractice cases continued to rack up massive settlements for injured clients and their families.

Carter Phillips S idl e y

A ust in ( Was h ington, D.C.) He notched another victory at

the U.S. Supreme Court in Ken Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, convincing a 5-4 majority that the government has to pay for all contract support costs for tribal contractors under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

Stacy Phillips P h ill ip s

L e r n er ( Los Ang eles ) Entertainment and political figures,

high-profile executives and entrepreneurs, and many others continue to make Stacy Phillips their top choice for comprehensive family law services.

Regina Pisa G oodw in

P r o c te r ( Bos ton) The veteran corporate adviser and

firm leader is among the most recognized and award-laden of all trailblazers in the legal profession.

Aaron Podhurst P o dh ur st

Ors ec k ( Miami) As lead plaintiff’s co-counsel,

Podhurst Orseck successfully represented plaintiffs in the huge multidistrict class action bank overdraft fee litigation stemming from bank policies to manipulate transactions on debit card checking accounts so that customers were charged multiple improper overdraft fees.

Jonathan Polkes W e il

G o t sh al ( N ew York) This former federal prosecutor and

the chair of Weil’s securities ligation practice has played a starring role in the defense of clients caught up in the financial crisis.

Photo by: HUGH WILLIAMS

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500 Mark Pomerantz P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) Pomerantz has always stood out as

white-collar litigator, representing major institutions and individuals in their most sensitive federal and state investigations and enforcement actions.

Lawrence Portnoy D a vis

P o lk ( N ew York) The nation’s biggest companies and

financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Bank of America, all call on Portnoy for major securities litigation and enforcement and regulatory matters.

Richard Posner U . S .

C o ur t of A ppeals for th e 7 th Circ uit ( Ch ic ago) The legend

was at the center of the dispute between Apple and Google subsidiary Motorola, and in a widely read decision dismissed both companies’ claims; he also expounded in other outlets on perceived problems with the patent system.

Robert Post Y a l e

La w S c h o o l ( N e w Hav en) The noted First Amendment and legal histo-

ry scholar has kept a steady hand at Yale while trying innovations, such as the new Ph.D. program.

Nicholas Potter D e b e vo ise

& Pl impton ( N ew York) A master at M&A with focus on

the insurance industry, Potter is a regular at billion-dollar deals, including client Sun Life’s $1.35B sale of its U.S. annuity business and other assets to Guggenheim Partners.

Robert Profusek Jon e s

D a y ( N e w York) The leader of Jones Day’s powerhouse

M&A practice, Profusek oversaw multibillion-dollar deals involving Blackstone, Proctor &Gamble, T-Mobile and WL Ross a year after saving Potash from a $43B hostile takeover bid and steering Continental through its merger with United Airlines.

Steven Quattlebaum Q ua ttl e baum

G rooms ( Little Roc k, Ark.) With more than

100 trials under his belt, Quattlebaum is on the region’s short list for any company caught up in complex commercial litigation and disputes involving toxic tort and products liability.

John Quinn Q uinn

Em a n ue l ( Los Ang eles ) He remained busy in the courtroom for

his high-profile clients while leading his firm to new regions, and new heights, with lateral hires and contingency-fee victories.

Randall Rader U . S .

C o ur t of A p peals for th e Federal Circ uit ( Was h ington, D.C.)

The respected jurist has served as chief judge of the influential appellate circuit since 2010, is the author of the most commonly used textbook on U.S. patent law and has taught the next generation of patent and IP professionals.

John Rapisardi O ’Me l ve n y

( N e w York) O’Melveny did well by hiring this restruc-

turing veteran, who has worked on several high-profile matters recently, including representing the U.S. Treasury and the President’s task force in the automotive bankruptcies.

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C. Steven Yerrid Yerrid law (tampa)

Brian Tamanaha WASHI NGTON UNIVERSITY School of Law (St. LOUIS)

By Katrina Dewey

Brian Tamanaha Legal education is down and out.

to believe the economics are so broken we will muddle

It’s official. Students are asked to pay sky-high tuition

ple offering proposals for solutions will be overtaken by

for degrees that offer about the same odds of getting

events. I offered some proposals, but I have no great

a job as winning a blackjack hand. At least in Vegas,

conviction about them being enacted.

you can still head downtown to the Golden Nugget and

LD: What do you think will be the long-term consequenc-

wager just $5. The price for today’s law students? The

es of your book?

average 3L is down $100,000 by graduation day.

BT: I don’t know. It’s ironic that we argue for the neces-

Brian Tamanaha captured their plight with his book,

sity for tenure to give professors the ability to say what

“Failing Law Schools”. He became one of the nation’s

needs to be said. Yet we have all these concerns about

leading advocates of law school reform by focusing on

tenure and the cost of that being passed directly to the

the students—a rare break from past analyses, which

students. Whatever the consequences are, it’s fine. I

tended to focus more on professors and counting foot-

wrote it because it needed to be written.

notes. Currently the William Gardiner Hammond profes-

In a couple years, what I wrote will be widely accepted.

sor of law at Washington University School of Law in St.

One thing has already been vindicated. In the penulti-

Louis, Tamanaha also brought to his critique a stint as

mate chapter, I say law schools will be devastated by a

interim dean at St. John’s Law School in New York.

collapse in applications. Everything I wrote is happening

LAWDRAGON: Why did you write the book?

and I wrote it two years ago. There are so many distor-

BRIAN TAMANAHA: I wrote the book because the infor-

tions in the market that the reckoning has been delayed,

mation needs to get out. I wanted to study the econom-

but now it’s coming with a vengeance.

ics of legal education in terms of cost and return and

LD: What was your own law school experience like?

why it costs so much. These are things people on the

BT: I liked law school a lot. For me, it was an intellectual

outside don’t understand, why things cost what they do.

awakening. Prior to law school, I wasn’t a good student.

My objective was to demystify it.

I grew up in Hawaii as a surfer. Still am. I was more pas-

LD: Did you imagine the attention it would draw?

sionate about surfing than school. When I got to law

BT: Whenever I write a book, I have an imagined audi-

school I learned amazing things; I learned how govern-

ence. For “Failing Law Schools,” my audience was my fel-

ment works. I thought law school was fantastic. As a

low law professors. I felt they weren’t paying attention, in

lawyer, I was a public defender, I clerked for a federal

particular, to the consequences of the high cost to stu-

judge, and I worked in Micronesia for two years. I owe

dents. Tuition has gone up every year for 30 years, and

everything to having gone to law school.

by large amounts in the past 10 years in particular. I sim-

ply asked, ‘What are the consequences to our students’?

are schoolteachers and I borrowed to go to law school.

I also wanted to write for outsiders, for parents and stu-

In law school I had an offer to work at a corporate law

dents thinking about law school, to give them a warning.

firm, but I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to do public ser-

They need to seriously evaluate the economic aspects.

vice. I became a public defender. I managed my monthly

LD: Some have accused you of being anti-law school.

payments, no sweat. When I look back on that experi-

BT: I’m not anti-law school, but it is about making a

ence, it saddens me that today’s students don’t have

wise decision and understanding what you’re getting

that freedom.

into. I think what’s happening in law schools is part of

a broader situation in higher education. We’re just the

The numbers would scare me. I was raised to live with-

most extreme corner.

in my means. Had I gone to school today, I guarantee I

LD: Are you getting many invitations to faculty cocktail

would have taken that corporate law job. So what was

parties these days?

possible a generation ago, 30 years ago, has been taken

BT: No. I said what I had to say. I don’t think I have any

away by us. And we’ve done that unthinkingly. I do feel a

particular wisdom. I just think the system is so broken it

sense of responsibility for it. Our failure to do something

can’t be fixed. I’m giving you my rational conclusion. We

to stop this has made what past generations could do no

like to be can-do, solve the problem people, but I don’t

longer possible. And that’s a regret for me.

think it can or will be fixed.

See the full Q&A at www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-lim-

What comes next, I don’t have the answers for. I tend

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I S S U E 14

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along and change will be imposed on us financially. Peo-

That’s part of the reason I wrote the book. My parents

If I was coming up today, I wouldn’t go to law school.

lights/brian-tamanaha.

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Sara Moss EstĂŠe Lauder (new york)

500

Gordon Rather W r ig h t

L in d s ey ( Little Roc k, Ark.) As one of the state’s most

highly respected trial lawyers, Rather’s own expert testimony helped persuade the trial court judge to award $180M in attorneys’ fees on a $1.2B judgment that is the largest in Arkansas history.

Elizabeth Raymond Ma y e r

Brown ( Ch ic ago) A stand out of Mayer Brown’s

corporate practice, Raymond is one of the Windy City’s most trusted attorneys for big ticket M&As and other complex transactions.

Kenneth Reilly S h o o k

H a r dy ( Miami) Among the most formidable courtroom

defenders for large corporations, Reilly has been a top choice for complicated class actions and suits targeting the tobacco industry.

Alison Ressler S ulliva n

& C romw ell ( Los Ang eles ) Ressler is currently a major

player in a prospective multibillion-dollar deal for video games giant Activision Blizzard; and she advised Cymer in its $3.9B acquisition by ASML Holding.

Richard Revesz N e w

Y or k Univ ers ity Law Sc h ool ( N ew York) Revesz is heading

back to full-time faculty after helping to make NYU a leader in many fields and implementing curriculum changes to make students better prepared for the job market.

R. Bruce Rich W e il

G o t sh a l ( N ew York) The head of Weil’s IP and media practice

won a landmark appellate victory for client DMX before the 2nd U.S. Circuit in its royaltybattle lawsuit with BMI and ASCAP, perhaps the year’s biggest decision in the industry.

Patrick Richard N ossa m a n

( San Franc is c o) He represented the FDIC in a

month-long trial against former officers of the failed IndyMac Bank, with $169M verdict for negligence and breaches of fiduciary duty.

Lisa Rickard U . S .

C h a m b e r Ins titute for Legal Reform ( Was h ington, D.C.) Rickard

has led a powerful legal effort to reform the nation’s civil justice system at both the state and federal level, winning passage of the Class Action Fairness Act and helping to defend key provisions at the Supreme Court.

Brian Riopelle Mc G uir e

W o o ds ( Ric h mond, Va.) Coming off his $920M jury ver-

dict for DuPont — the largest in Virginia history — Riopelle is representing numerous telecommunications companies in high-stake patent cases across the country.

Darren Robbins R o b b in s

G ell er ( San Diego) One of the brightest stars in the

securities class action bar maintains an impressive pace, securing settlements and filing new actions against a wide range of defendants.

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500 John Roberts U . S .

S up r e m e C o ur t ( Was h ington, D.C.) The chief justice dismayed

conservatives a year ago by upholding Obamacare but in general has continued to pull SCOTUS to the right, dissenting in just 11 of 73 argued cases in the most recent session.

Mark Robinson R ob in son

C a l c a gnie ( N ewport Beac h , Calif.) Robinson won the

much-deserved Lifetime Legal Achievement Award from Consumer Watchdog, but he’s far from done, appointed co-lead counsel in the MDL for the Zoloft birth defect litigation.

Perry M. Rosen U . S .

D e p a r tm e n t of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) Rosen plays a

key role in litigation related to the Obama administration’s environmental plans, representing the EPA in a number of high-profile matters.

Jonathan Rosenberg O ’Me l ve ny

( N ew York) The former federal prosecutor is

a star at O’Melveny in securities litigation and white-collar matters; he scored big victories for Bank of America in the federal mortgage-backed litigation against Countrywide.

Mimi Rosenberg L e g a l

A id S oc i ety of N ew York ( N ew York) This longtime, tire-

less public interest advocate earned special praise in the past year for her work on behalf of public housing tenants affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Steven Rosenblum W a c h t e ll

L ipton ( N ew York) Rosenblum has been repre-

senting Michael Dell in his drawn out and apparently successful battle to take his namesake computer and technology company private in a deal valued at $25B.

E. Joshua Rosenkranz Orrick (New York) Sought after by companies as diverse as Apple, Morgan Stanley, DISH Network and Union Carbide, this appellate titan with a knack for winning the unwinnable appeal recently worked his magic in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, the most important copyright case to reach the Supreme Court in years.

Paul Rowe W a c h te ll

L ip t o n ( N e w York) Rowe has a prominent role in several current and recent high-profile M&A cases, including the representation of CONSOL

Energy in litigation arising out of its acquisition of CNX Gas, of Copano in litigation arising out of its $3B merger with Kinder Morgan, and of Wynn Resorts Ltd. in litigation surrounding redemption of stock held by a minority shareholder.

Charles Ruck La t h a m

& W a t k in s ( Cos ta Mes a, Calif.) A bicoastal M&A power oper-

ating out of Orange County and New York, Ruck represented Quest Software in its $2.4B acquisition by Dell and Actavis in its $8.5B acquisition of Warner Chilcott, among other deals.

Philip (Pete) Ruegger S im p son

Th ac h er ( N ew York) A longtime standout in transactional work, Ruegger closed out a successful era as firm chairman while also

earning the Legal Aid Society’s Servant of Justice award.

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Stephen Zack Boies Schiller (miami)

Adam Klein OUTTEN & GOLDEN (New York)

By Xenia Kobylarz

Adam Klein As head of Outten & Golden’s

every other employee-rights class action that I’ve hanem-

dled, we have considered the federal government to be

ployment class action practice, Adam Klein has suc-

supportive of our interests.

cessfully challenged employment practices at some of

the largest companies in the world, including Wal-Mart,

recently filed a helpful amicus brief at the 2nd Circuit in

IBM and Verizon. Recently, the 1990 graduate of Hofstra

a lawsuit against Gristede’s. Here, the federal govern-

Law has set his sights on the financial services industry,

ment is the defendant and no other federal agency may

where he said there are “massive differences in pay be-

participate in this case for any reason.

tween men and women and whites and minorities.” Klein

LD: What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned

is co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in lawsuits against Gold-

that has aided you in your practice?

man Sachs and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

AK: Trust your instincts, but never worry about changing

He’s also litigated nationwide, class action discrimi-

your mind when faced with new information. Also, man-

nation lawsuits against Smith Barney and Morgan

aging talent is a critical skill within a law firm. The

Stanley and went after MetLife with a “glass ceiling”

lawyers and other employees within our firm are criti-

gender discrimination class action.

cally important to our success—it is an undervalued

asset.

Currently, he’s busy litigating a potentially mammoth

For example, the United States Department of Labor

employment class action against the federal Census

LD: Does handling massive employment class action

Bureau, challenging the agency’s use of arrest and

cases make you cynical about U.S. workplace condi-

criminal history records as a screen for employment.

tions? How have things changed or stayed the same in

LAWDRAGON: You have an undergraduate degree from

this area of law?

Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor

AK: We are making progress. I remember the days

Relations. Is this the reason why you have focused on

before Anita Hill and the idea that workplace harass-

employment class action litigation?

ment was unlawful. I remember growing up in a racially

ADAM KLEIN: Historically, the ILR School’s primary

segregated community in Riverhead, N.Y., and not think-

focus was on traditional labor interests both from the

ing twice about the plight of people who lived on the

union and management perspectives. In the mid-1980’s,

wrong side of Main Street. There are still many chal-

the ILR School didn’t consider individual worker rights

lenges in terms of racial and gender equality in the

to be part of that mandate, largely because statutory

workplace, but we have made real progress.

rights for individual workers were extremely limited.

LD: Is there an industry or sector that you think still has

Within a year of graduating from law school, however,

a particularly long way to go in terms of leveling the

three major civil-rights statutes were enacted into law

playing field?

that

workplace—the

AK: Several. The number of racial minorities working in

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil

professional positions within the financial services

Rights Act of 1991 and Family and Medical Leave Act of

industry is miserably low. We continue to see massive

1992. In combination, these three new employee-rights

differences in pay between men and women and whites

statutes led to the creation of a plaintiff-side employ-

and minorities. I was recently told by a management-

ment bar and the advent of employment class action

side attorney that women are paid less than men in the

litigation. It was a natural fit to apply my ILR training to

financial services industry—but we can’t pursue a legal

this new field.

remedy unless we are able to isolate a particular

LD: You are currently handling an employment class

employment practice that is causally related to the

action suit against the federal Census Bureau. What

compensation disparities. It’s an interesting dynamic.

makes this case unique from other major cases you’ve

LD: Did you have a mentor when you first started out as

handled in the past?

a lawyer? If so, how did you cultivate that relationship?

AK: First, the size. The putative class is estimated to be

AK: I’ve had a few people who mentored me as a young

around 400,000 people. Since the Supreme Court deci-

lawyer. My first boss, Malcolm Davis, was a positive

sion in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, courts have expressed added

influence. Rick Seymour was another; he was and still is

concern about the size of a class action in terms of its

indefatigable.

viability and manageability. The other unique aspect of

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

this case relates to suing the federal government. In

limelights/adam-klein.

radically

changed

Photo by: LAURA BARISONZI

the

U.S.

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Kathryn Ruemmler W h it e

H ous e ( Was h ington, D.C.) The former Latham &

Watkins partner will return to private practice next year after finishing out an impressive tenure as a trusted adviser to the president on judicial nominations, political appointments, counterterrorism and health care, among other issues.

Maritza Ryan U . S .

Mil ita r y A c a de my ( Wes t Point, N .Y.) Ryan earns high marks as

the head of the law department at West Point and as a trailblazer helping to change the culture of the institution.

Faiza Saeed C r a va t h

( N e w Y or k ) M&A superstar and co-head of Cravath’s M&A

group represented Starbucks in its purchase of specialty tea retailer Teavana, and has seen more than her fair share of blockbuster deals for clients such as Bacardi, DreamWorks, Hasbro, Kraft Foods, Moody’s, Morgan Stanley, Time Warner and Viacom.

Kelli Sager D a vis

W r ig h t ( Los Angeles ) She successfully defended A&E Television

Networks against a theft-of-ideas lawsuit over one of its TV series, and in separate case against a lawsuit brought by an individual who said his publicity rights were violated in an episode of “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.”

Susan Saltzstein Sk a dde n

( N e w York) Her recent wins include an appellate affir-

mance on behalf of UniCredit in Madoff-related litigation and securing a critical dismissal for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in connection with foreign exchange-related class action claims.

Hollis Salzman R ob in s

K a p l a n ( N ew York) Salzman has become a major force in

the antitrust bar with hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements in recent years, and is serving as co-lead counsel in a private civil action over alleged price-fixing in the auto parts industry.

Gloria Santona Mc D on al d’s

( O a k Brook, Ill.) Santona keeps her place among

the most admired and effective corporate counsel in the nation in her management of the company’s vast legal affairs at home and around the world.

John Savarese W a c h te ll

L ip t o n (N ew York) This former prosecutor’s experience

includes major investigations arising out of the financial crisis of 2008, representing JPMorgan and other major firms in cases that include litigation involving the Madoff Ponzi scheme.

William Savitt W a c h t e ll

L ip t o n (N ew York) Savitt is advising Saks in high-profile

litigation regarding the company’s proposed $2.9B takeover by Hudson Bay Co. after recently representing Michael Dell in successfully fighting off Carl Icahn’s attempts to stop the $25B takeover of Dell Inc.

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Antonin Scalia U . S .

S up r e m e Court ( Was h ington, D.C.) Long regarded as the

intellectual power of the High Court’s conservative wing, Scalia continues to talk the judicial minimalism talk and walk the walk, but his opposition to equal rights for gays was surmounted in 2013.

Jonathan Schiller B o ie s

S c h ill er ( N ew York) The international arbitration and

financial litigation aficionado amped his game with a London office to handle the world’s most vexing legal problems for the likes of Barclays and Goldman Sachs.

Jeffrey Schlegel Jon e s

D a y ( Hous ton) The intensely busy co-head of Jones

Day’s energy practice has recently played a role in deals totaling many billions of dollars in value, including advising Chesapeake Midstream Partners in its $2B sale of Chesapeake Energy’s ownership interests to Global Infrastructure Partners.

Allison Schneirov Ska dde n

( N ew York) Co-head of Skadden’s private equity

group, Schneirov recently advised Permira Funds and the Marazzi Group in Marazzi’s $1.5B acquisition by Mohawk Industries and Freescale Semiconductor in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering.

Paul Schnell Ska dde n

( N e w Y o rk) Schnell routinely advises global corporations on

M&A deals, including the $2.6B carve-out IPO of Pfizer’s Animal Health business (Zoetis) and the $13.4B split-off of Pfizer’s remaining interest in Zoetis, as well as the $1B and $9.8B acquisitions by Joh. A. Benckiser of Peet’s Coffee & Tea and D.E. MASTER BLENDERS 1753.

Rodd Schreiber Sk a dde n

( C h ic ago) The leader of Skadden’s Chicago corporate

practice, Schreiber represented The GEO Group, a REIT and operator of private correctional facilities, in its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering, and he also advised the company in its conversion to a REIT, the first-ever fully integrated correctional facilities operator to obtain this status.

Amy Schulman Pf iz e r

( N e w York) Schulman played a key role in Pfizer litiga-

tion, patent protection and its $11.85B sale of Pfizer Nutrition to Nestle, and was selected to lead the company’s consumer healthcare business unit.

Robert Schumer P a ul

W e iss ( N ew York) The head of Paul Weiss’ prolific corpo-

rate department always has his hand in multibillion-dollar deals, including client HCP’s $1.73B acquisition of a housing portfolio and Nexen’s acquisition by CNOOC for $15B.

Ronald Schutz R o b in s

Ka p l an ( Minn eapolis ) Recognized as one of the nation’s top

litigators, Schutz recently won an $8M patent infringement jury verdict against Apple.

I S S U E 14

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500 Christian Searcy S e a r c y

D e nne y ( Wes t Palm Beac h ) Searcy added to his track

record of impressive verdicts and settlements, including a $46M settlement from polo tycoon John Goodman for the family of his drunk-driving victim.

Christopher Seeger S e e g e r

W e is s ( N ew York) Hard to find a more intense

competitor than Seeger: He is co-lead counsel in the NFL concussion litigation, liaison counsel in the Mirena IUD birth control litigation and won a gold medal in the 2012 Pan American Games in submission wrestling.

Virginia Seitz U . S .

D e p a r t m e n t of J us tic e ( Was h ington, D.C.) The former long-

time Sidley Austin appellate partner is the first woman to head the Office of Legal Counsel, wielding influence in the areas of drone strikes and recess appointments.

Joseph Sellers C oh e n

Mil st e in ( Was h ington, D.C.) He is pursuing landmark

employment cases on behalf of women at Walmart following the issuance of new class certification guidelines from the U.S. Supreme Court and also for the women at Sterling Jewelers, one of the nation’s largest jewelry store chains, in arbitration, among others.

David Sentelle U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) The veteran jurist rounded off an incredibly influential five-year stint as chief judge of the D.C. Circuit and more than two-and-a-half decades on the bench before taking on senior status in February.

Bruce Sewell A p p l e

( C up e r tin o , C alif.) Sewell helped guide Apple through a diffi-

cult year and continues to manage a wide range of complex legal matters and lawsuits in an always evolving competitive landscape.

Karen Patton Seymour S ulliv an

& Cromw ell ( N ew York) The former prosecutor, perhaps best known as lead trial counsel for the government in the trial of

Martha Stewart, is now co-managing partner of Sullivan’s litigation group and focused on white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations.

Samuel Seymour S ull iva n & C r omw ell ( N ew York) The former president of the New York City Bar Association is managing partner for S&C’s criminal defense and investigations group and has handled the resolution of government investigations for ABN AMRO, The Bank of New York, Spiegel, Inc., UBS, Bankers Trust Company, Statoil ASA, Moody’s Investors Service, and Wachovia Bank, among many others.

Kannon Shanmugam

W ill ia ms & Conn oll y (Washington, D.C.) The young

superstar notched his 13th Supreme Court argument, including Maryland v. King — the landmark case on the constitutionality of DNA testing of arrestees.

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Colette Matzzie Phillips & Cohen (washington, D.C.)

Diane Sullivan Weil Gotshal (princeton, n.j. and New York)

By Xenia Kobylarz

Diane Sullivan If you run a big corporation

enough to split his apple—his lunch—with me. It taught that is

me winning the case was about hard work even at the

a frequent target of massive product liability lawsuits,

expense of food!

you want Diane Sullivan on your speed dial. The Weil

LD: There has been a lot of news lately about women

Gotshal & Manges litigation partner has gone to bat in

leaders and how to succeed in the boardroom, mostly

court for some of the biggest targets of product liabil-

sparked by Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In: Women,

ity suits—tobacco companies and Big Pharma—and pro-

Work and the Will to Lead.” Have you had a chance to

duced a batting average in jury trials in the Hall of Fame

read the book or read the stories about it?

category. In 2011, after more than three months of trial,

DS: I have read it and recognized many of the situations

a jury handed Philip Morris a complete defense verdict

Sheryl writes about. It has been provocative and has

in a lawsuit brought by the City of St. Louis and a group

spawned a lot of conversation and analysis about things

of hospitals seeking $455M plus punitive damages for

women may do to improve their chances for success—

treating tobacco-related illnesses.

which is a good thing.

At trial she famously told the jury during closing

LD: Do you have your own success mantra for women

arguments that “cigarettes are dangerous and they’re

trying to make it in the legal profession?

addictive, and a lot of people, a lot of people have suf-

DS: Take risks. Go for it.

fered because of their choice to smoke.” But hospitals,

LD: Have you ever hit a glass ceiling in your line of work,

she said, didn’t lose money as a result of people smok-

or anywhere else for that matter? If so, how did you

ing. Quite the contrary. “[H]ospitals, they make money

manage to break through?

on our bad habits,” she argued.

DS: Trial work, particularly in the commercial litigation

Sullivan is a 1987 graduate of the University of

space, is a male-dominated field. Many women trial law-

Pennsylvania Law School. With her move to Weil from

yers of my generation or older were relegated to the

Dechert in February 2012, Sullivan gained more breadth

mass tort/product liability arena where there were

in her litigation. Earlier this year, she secured a signifi-

clear benefits to being female when companies often

cant defense verdict on behalf of ESPN involving more

faced sympathetic plaintiffs and or women’s health

than $150M in claims brought by Dish Network.

products were at issue. There was a sense that there

LAWDRAGON: You’ve represented pharmaceutical com-

was no real need for women in big time commercial

panies, tobacco companies and more recently cable

cases or that the gals were not smart enough for that

sports network ESPN in various matters, from patent

work. That’s changing and I’ve enjoyed crossing over to

infringement, breach of contract claims to consumer

the big case commercial litigation trials. I look forward

fraud claims. How did you establish a reputation as the

to seeing more women as lead trial lawyers in that

go-to-trial-lawyer for these disparate industries across

arena.

various practice areas?

LD: Let’s talk law school: Did you have a favorite law

DIANE SULLIVAN: Trial work is the art of effective com-

professor or course?

munication, including effective storytelling. The ability

DS: Civil Procedure at Penn was both terrifying and fas-

to successfully communicate with juries and distill com-

cinating. Stephen Burbank, a well-known expert in the

plex issues into a simple, believable narrative through

area and professor taught the course at the University

openings and closings and witness examinations is a

of Pennsylvania law school and was a big believer in the

skill set that translates across industries and types of

Socratic method!

cases. The more complex the case, the greater the need

LD: Best advice you’ve ever received from a fellow trial

to use simple words, themes and effective and enter-

lawyer?

taining graphics to communicate your story in an easy-

DS: Trial work is theater; it’s a show to be choreo-

to-understand fashion.

graphed into an effective story.

LD: You’ve done multiple trials in your 26-year career.

LD: Who is Diane Sullivan outside of law?

Do you still remember your first trial?

DS: I love the Jersey Shore and Bruce Springsteen and

DS: Yes—the first one was with an old-time, well-regard-

being there with family and friends. We took a beating

ed New Jersey trial lawyer, Al Besser. He

from Sandy, but we’ll be back Jersey Strong!

worked

through lunch during trial, so I remember being a young

See the full Q&A http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

associate and starving at lunch time, and Al being kind

limelights/diane-sullivan.

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 David Shapiro B oe r sc h

S h a p ir o ( Moraga, Calif.) The former Boies Schiller part-

ner and federal prosecutor with an accomplished track record will now bring his litigation talents to clients from his own practice.

Stephen Shapiro Ma y e r

B r own ( Ch ic ago) The much-admired former Deputy

SG and founder of Mayer Brown’s appellate practice added to his stellar record by winning the major patent case Mayo Clinic v. Prometheus in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gerald Shargel W in ston

& S t r a wn ( N ew York) Winston scored big by acquiring

this former solo practitioner, who is never far from a high-profile criminal case or scandal, as with his representation of New York state Sen. Malcolm Smith on bribery allegations.

Joseph Shenker S ull iva n

& C r o mw ell ( N ew York) The managing partner of S&C

since 2010, Shenker also continues as a personal adviser to dozens of the world’s most active and influential business leaders.

Barry Sher P a ul

H a sting s ( N e w Y ork) The chair of his firm’s securities litigation

practice, Sher has an impressive string of recent victories, including the widely-cited HSH v. UBS case in which he defeated fraud and other claims arising in a structured financial products transaction.

Leopold Sher S h e r

G a r n e r ( N e w Orleans ) As always, the New Orleans standout

skillfully, steadily, expertly and wisely guided clients through complex, difficult and ultimately successful deals.

Victor Sher S h e r

L e ff ( S a n F r a n c is c o) Sher won a major case in the 2nd U.S.

Court of Appeals affirming the $105M verdict for New York against ExxonMobil for MTBE contamination in drinking water, among other major victories for his firm.

Jonathan Sherman B o ie s

S c h ill er ( Was h ington, D.C.) Sherman has been lead

counsel in high profile commercial matters pending in the U.S. and in Europe, such as a $9 billion RICO claim dismissed against Qwest Communications, and has built a national reputation for business defamation, media defense, First Amendment and general constitutional law.

Paul Shim Cl e a r y

G o t t l ie b ( N e w Y o rk) A regular dealmaker for TPG Capital, Shim

also represented Thrifty in its $2.3B acquisition by Hertz among other big-ticket deals.

Johnathan Short In te r c on t in e ntal

Ex c h ange, Inc . ( Canton, Mas s .) As ICE gen-

eral counsel, he’s led the way on the exchange’s $8.2B purchase of NYSE Euronext, securing the attendant federal and EU approvals.

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Roman Silberfeld R o b in s

Kaplan ( Los Ang eles ) Robins Kaplan’s West Coast

anchor boasts an incredible litigation track record in intellectual property disputes, class actions and all manner of complex business disputes.

Gerald Silk B e r n ste in

L itow it z ( N ew York) A key factor in the firm’s place atop

the plaintiff securities bar, Silk has long led the case evaluation team and is a trusted adviser to the firm’s institutional investor clients worldwide advising them on their rights with respect to claims involving losses on their portfolios.

Joe Sims Jon e s

D a y ( W a sh ing t o n, D.C.) American Airlines called on this unstoppa-

ble veteran to handle the antitrust issues related to its hopes to create the world’s largest airline with its $11B merger with US Airways.

Jonathan Singer F ish

& R ic h ards on ( San Diego) This highly sought-after life

sciences IP trial counsel represented the Mayo Clinic in its ground-breaking Supreme Court win in Mayo v. Prometheus Labs, which invalidated the Prometheus patents and allowed Mayo to launch an important diagnostic test for Crohn’s disease.

Steven Singer W ilm e r H a l e

( New York) Among the nation’s busiest dealmakers

and head of WilmerHale’s transactions team, Singer boasts an expertise in the areas of life sciences, technology and pharmaceuticals and health care.

Steven Singer B e r n ste in

L itowitz ( N ew York) This veteran securities litigator has

played a lead role in several of his firm’s history-making cases, most recently in those securing the largest recoveries to come out of the mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.

Stuart Singer B oie s

S c h ill e r ( Fort Lauderdale) He’s handling important defense

work for a range of clients including the nation’s largest cruise line, the largest producer of renewable energy in the U.S., and one of the country’s leading law firms while also serving as lead counsel in major class-actions.

Paul Singerman B e r g e r

S ingerman ( Miami) The restructuring master continues

his dominant position in the region; he’s represented the Chapter 11 Trustee for Rothstein, Rosenfeldt & Adler in the wake of its Ponzi scheme.

Pankaj Sinha Ska dde n

( W a sh ington, D.C.) Sinha has represented a string of high-

profile energy companies, including USEC, a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel, in its sale of NAC International to a subsidiary of Hitachi Zosen Corporation and Helmerich & Payne in its sale of a stake in Atwood Oceanics via a share repurchase program.

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500 Daniel Slifkin C r a va t h

( N e w Y or k) The incisive litigator has a successful track

record in high-stakes class action defense, securities and shareholder derivative matters, among others, particularly for financial services companies, recently securing headline-grabbing victories for JPMorgan Chase in residential mortgage-backed securities litigation.

Brad Smith Mic r oso f t

( R e dm on d, Was h .) It’s dizzying to keep track of all the work

under Smith’s domain across 55 countries and 1,100 employees, with the NSA surveillance requests coming publicly into the mix in the past year.

Paul Smith Je nne r

& Bloc k ( W a sh ington, D.C.) With 14 U.S. Supreme Court argu-

ments under his belt, Smith is one of the most sought-after appellate litigators and brings a substantive expertise in media and first amendment cases.

Robert (Jay) Smith D L A

( B a l timore) One of DLA’s M&A stars represented

Teavana in its $620M acquisition by Starbucks and Human Genome Sciences in its $3.6B acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline.

Orin Snyder G ib so n

D unn ( N e w Y ork) The former prosecutor turned top litigator

represented Apple in a high-profile case over e-book pricing and also won a settlement valued at more than $1B for Cablevision in its long-running dispute with DISH Network over VOOM HD.

Amy Solomon G ir a r di

K e e se ( Los Ang eles ) One of the stars of Girardi’s power-

house plaintiffs’ team, Solomon has tried more than 30 trials and also racked up an impressive string of multimillion-dollar settlements — a safer course for defendants.

Edward Sonnenschein La t h am

& Watkins ( N ew York) Long a driving force in

establishing Latham as a corporate powerhouse, this versatile M&A and securities lawyer continues to lead many complex public and private transactions and forge relationships with major corporate clients and PE firms such as KKR, Carlyle, Global Infrastructure and GTCR.

Larry Sonsini W il so n

S on sin i ( P alo Alto) A preeminent figure in the history and

culture of Silicon Valley, Sonsini’s legal work has helped define the last four decades of technological innovation and the firm under his stewardship is poised to further its influence going forward.

David Sorkin K KR

( N e w Y o r k ) KKR made the right move back in 2007 by tapping

one of the nation’s best private equity attorneys as its first-ever GC; Sorkin had advised on many of KKR’s deals as a partner at Simpson Thacher.

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John Bouma Snell & Wilmer (Phoenix) Photo by: xxxx xxxxx

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Jonathan Schiller Boies Schiller (new york)

By Katrina Dewey

Jonathan Schiller Jonathan Schiller

cused, wrongly, of bribing Ferdinand Marcos in order to is famous as a founder

obtain an order for a nuclear plant in the Philippines.

of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, of course. And rightly so.

As it turned out - and as we were able to prove in inter-

In 16 short years, the firm he founded with David Boies

national arbitration and in front of a jury in New Jersey

and then Don Flexner has rocketed to the top ranks not

-Westinghouse paid its sales representative in the Phil-

just of profitability but also of being hired by the most

ippines, Herminio Disini, for his efforts in securing the

coveted clients. Schiller himself is the author of many of

contract. And he was recognized by our state depart-

those client engagements, particularly in the financial

ment as a reliable and responsible sales representative

sector, where he has successfully handled billion-dollar

for American companies.

matters for Barclays and Goldman Sachs.

We were benefitted in our proof that Imelda Marcos

Lesser-known, perhaps, is the role Schiller’s business

went on trial shortly before our cases and that trial ex-

savvy has played in creating pricing and client strate-

humed the revenues she and her husband received and

gies that have run rings around its more established

their sources - their Swiss bank accounts were exposed.

peers. Their reputation preceded them to London recent-

And so we were able to take those public court records

ly, where a general counsel told us he needed to hire

and put them in to our international arbitration in Laus-

lawyers whose reputation ensured he meant business.

anne, Switzerland, and demonstrate to the tribunal that

His choice? Boies Schiller. Perhaps it’s no surprise then

while we had paid Mr. Desini a substantial sum for his

that the firm is in the midst of opening in London, where

efforts, he had kept his money.

it will be managed by Natasha Harrison, who brings 16

LD: One of the firm’s signature achievements is the flex-

years of experience in securities and finance litigation,

ible-fee arrangements you’ve offered, including success

most recently representing every major bondholder in-

fees, since opening. Is the use of such arrangements

volved in the Icelandic bank collapse. The office is ex-

growing in the international setting?

pected to provide additional heft to the firm – and Schil-

JS: I think our approach appeals to international clients

ler’s - international arbitration portfolio, which is among

who are coming to the U.S. market concerned about fees

the most prominent in the world.

that top national firms charge. They’re excited about a

Lawdragon: Do you ever take a moment of self-satis-

fee approach that manages their complex matters. And

faction with the firm’s success?

in the past five to seven years, I’ve seen flexible fees

Jonathan Schiller: I don’t pat myself on the back,

including contingency fees become associated with suc-

and I don’t think David or Don does either. We don’t re-

cess in international arbitration.

ally have the time to do that, and it is not our style. We

When I first started practicing it wasn’t that way. But

certainly take pride in what we have accomplished, and

now with the stakes so high in certain kind of cases,

we are particularly delighted in the exciting work that is

clients are asking lawyers to take some risk and align

brought to us and the quality of the young lawyers that

themselves with the client. From the UK to Europe to the

we attract. I still wake up every morning looking forward

Middle East, there are clever general counsel trying to

to what the day offers and always hoping the phone will

secure the best talent they can and doing it on financial

ring with a client with a difficult and important problem.

terms that are mutually beneficial. I think we stand for

LD: Tell us about the London office and the role it plays

that proposition.

in the firm’s expanding international arbitration work.

LD: You’ve accomplished so much. Of what are you most

JS: One of the reasons we’re opening in London, in ad-

proud?

dition to being available to serve core clients like Bar-

JS: You mean my family or professionally? I am enor-

clays and HSBC who are headquartered there, is that

mously proud of my children, and can’t say enough about

it’s an arbitral center where we’ve worked for many de-

how happy I am to practice with my son, Josh. I’m also

cades. But we will now have a chance to grow that work

extremely honored to serve on the Columbia University

by having an office there with UK arbitration specialists

Board of Trustees. But, of course, I love what my part-

in addition to ourselves to face the Middle East and Asia

ners and I have created with Boies Schiller & Flexner,

in addition to serving our U.S. and European clients.

and that many of the approaches we’ve developed have

LD: Do you remember your first international dispute?

helped clients. That means something to me.

JS: Yes, I certainly do. I represented as a younger lawyer

See the full Q&A at www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-lime-

Westinghouse Electric Corporation. They had been ac-

lights/jonathan-schiller.

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Sonia Sotomayor U . S .

S up r e m e Court ( Was h ington, D.C.) Her “My Beloved

World” memoir was an extraordinarily revealing look at the making of a High Court judge and she has become one of the most visible justices ever — did you catch her on The Colbert Report?

Robert Spatt S im p so n

T h a c h e r ( N ew York) A regular adviser on billion-dollar-plus

deals, Spatt worked on client McKesson’s $2.1B acquisition of PSS World Medical, and is helping Smithfield Foods in its strategic combination with Shuanghui International.

Shanin Specter Kl in e

& S p e c te r ( Ph iladelph ia) Specter scored a record-setting

$109M jury verdict against West Penn Power for the family of a woman electrocuted by a fallen power line, then settled the case for $105M.

Sri Srinivasan P r in c ip a l

D e p ut y Solic itor G eneral of th e United States

(Was hi ngt on , D . C . ) The word “bipartisan” doesn’t apply to much these days except

the support for Srinivasan’s appointment to the influential D.C. Circuit appeals court: He received a 97-0 vote in the Senate and is likely to be on future shortlists for the Supreme Court.

Richard Stark C r a va th

( N e w Y o r k) For over 20 years, Stark has tackled

high-stakes commercial litigation matters, including cutting-edge securities, IP and antitrust issues for clients such as IBM, Qualcomm, Xerox and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and currently he is defending Credit Suisse in residential mortgage-backed securities actions nationwide.

Eugene Stearns S te a r n s

W e a ve r ( Miami) Peers continue to point to Stearns as

the litigator of choice in Florida for all matter of complex cases, a reputation earned over four decades of excellence.

Myron Steele Delaware Supreme Court (Dover, Del.) Someone will have huge shoes to fill at the end of November when Steele retires as Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice with three years remaining on his 12-year term, after 25 years as a judge in the state.

Laura Stein The Clorox Company (Oakland, Calif.) She has enjoyed success throughout her award-studded career, in private practice, at H.J. Heinz Co. and since 2007 as general counsel of Clorox, where she has guided the company through a rejected takeover bid and dozens of transactions while showing a commitment to pro bono work.

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Leopold Sher Sher Garner (new orleans)

Keith Flaum Weil Gotshal (Redwood Shores, Calif.)

By Xenia Kobylarz

Keith Flaum Changing law firms twice

KF: Given the nature of my practice over the years, in three

including my focus on handling deals involving publicly

years could present some serious speed bumps on a

traded companies and deals involving actual or poten-

lawyer’s career path. But not if you’re Keith Flaum, one

tial conflicts of interest, I’ve been dealing with lawsuits

of the most sought-after deal lawyers in the technology

challenging the deal for quite some time. Whether I’m

sector. The 1989 graduate of UC Davis School of Law

on the buy side or the sell side, it is critical to make

has built such a rock-star reputation advising on some

sure that the boards of both companies are well-

of the largest, headline-grabbing deals in the technol-

advised, that the disclosures relating to the deal are

ogy sector—including eBay’s purchase and subsequent

robust and that the companies know to expect deal liti-

sale of Skype, Applied Materials’ acquisition of Varian

gation. I’m happy to see the Delaware courts getting

Semiconductor, and Oracle’s acquisitions of Taleo, Elo-

tougher with strike suits.

qua and Acme Packet—that he has his very own M&A

LD: What makes a good M&A lawyer?

client-groupies.

KF: I think that there are many factors that make an

When he left Cooley LLP in 2009 for Dewey & LeB-

M&A lawyer a good one, including being very well-pre-

oeuf, many if not all of his clients went with him, includ-

pared, highly interested in many areas of the law, good

ing longtime client eBay. And when Dewey imploded in

with numbers, detail-oriented, great at drafting and

2012, Flaum’s M&A team, co-headed by partner Richard

incredibly responsive. As with any profession, I also

Climan, reportedly started off a bidding war between ri-

think that it is critical to enjoy what you do.

val firms. Weil Gotshal & Manges won and, so far, no

LD: The recession has had a deep impact on the legal

buyer’s remorse. Flaum didn’t miss a beat. He immedi-

market, and it has made the lateral market for partners

ately got to work creating more billion-dollar deals, in-

pretty active and fluid. And based on your own success-

cluding Illumina’s successful defense of Roche’s $6.2

ful experience of having to switch firms twice in three

billion hostile takeover attempt.

years, what’s the secret to a smooth transition? How

LAWDRAGON: You belong to that rare group of M&A law-

did you ensure that what’s going on in the back-end of

yers who routinely handle multibillion-dollar deals.

your job doesn’t negatively impact the matters you’re

What makes a deal unique and challenging these days?

handling?

Is it the price tag, the economy, geography, industry,

KF: Yes, the recession has had, and is continuing to

regulations or people involved?

have, a major impact on the legal profession. There

KEITH FLAUM: Each deal is unique and challenging in

have been several keys to my successful transition.

its own way. The price tag alone is certainly not unique.

First, in both of my recent changes, I moved with an

The uniqueness and challenges in a deal come from

incredibly talented group of people that I have worked

structuring complexities, people/cultural issues, regu-

with for many years. Rick Climan and I have been work-

latory complexities, conflict and related fiduciary duty

ing together for 18 years now, Jane Ross for 13 years,

issues, drafting complexities or a combination of the

John Brockland for 14 years, etc.

above. I handle many cross-border deals, including

throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and else-

transition for our clients. That meant staying focused on

where, which adds to the complexity—and fun!

the clients’ needs, including by not letting the things

LD: What do you consider the most significant or the

around us distract us from the task at hand and transi-

most challenging deal you’ve ever had to negotiate in

tioning to places that had very talented lawyers and a

your career?

team-oriented culture.

KF: I have been incredibly lucky to have had the oppor-

LD: How would you describe your partnership track?

tunity to work with great companies and really smart

Was it a traditional course or an unconventional one?

people on some of their most challenging and interest-

KF: My partnership track was very traditional—although

ing deals. It is impossible to pick the most challenging

it spanned three firms. I had great mentors at all three

deal—simply because each has its own challenges. I’ve

firms—mentors who wanted me to succeed and did

enjoyed them all—well, almost all.

everything they could, from training to transitioning cli-

LD: Now that most M&A deals are being routinely chal-

ent relationships, to make that happen. Mentoring and

lenged in derivative actions, how has that affected your

a lot of hard work were key. See the full Q&A at http://

practice?

www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-limelights/keith-flaum.

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Second, our primary focus was on ensuring a smooth

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Bryan Stevenson E q ua l

Just ic e Initiativ e of Alabama ( Montgomery) The tireless

work of the Equal Justice Initiative under Stevenson remains as essential as ever to combat disparities in our justice system — even with the improvements the organization has been instrumental in pushing.

Geoffrey Stone Un ive r sity

o f C hic ago Law Sc h ool ( Ch ic ago) President Obama

picked Stone for his panel of experts to review NSA activities, recognizing him as among the most important scholars in an era of ongoing debates about surveillance and privacy.

Leo Strine D e l a w a r e

C our t o f C h anc ery ( Wilmington) The popular chancellor,

known for frank language from the bench and in opinions, is already being talked about as a possible successor to Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele, who is stepping down.

Lawrence Sucharow L a b a ton

Suc h arow ( N ew York) An admired veteran of the

class action bar and crusader against Wall Street wrongdoing, Sucharow has led his firm to more than $8B in recoveries over the years in securities, antitrust and other class actions.

Susanna Suh C a h ill

G o r do n ( N e w York) Bank of America, UBS, Barclays, PNC

Bank, Morgan Stanley and other giants have all called on this lending and capital markets star of Cahill Gordon’s corporate practice.

Brendan Sullivan W ill ia m s

& C onn oll y ( Was h ington, D.C.) The legend keeps

his place atop the short list of defense lawyers for those caught up in the most sensitive investigations, and his successful defense of Sen. Ted Stevens continued to reverberate with the release of the Justice Department’s report on its prosecutors’ misconduct.

Diane Sullivan W e il

G o t sh a l ( P r inc eton, N .J .) This Hall of Fame trial lawyer

won a major defense verdict for ESPN against the Dish Network in a three-week jury trial in New York, and is lead trial counsel in major cases for GE, Philip Morris USA, Repsol and others.

Kathleen Sullivan Q uinn

Em a n uel ( N ew York) The chair of her firm’s appellate

practice scored a 9-0 victory in April 2013 in the U.S. Supreme Court for Royal Dutch Petroleum in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, a landmark decision holding that Alien Tort Statute suits may no longer be brought against corporations for their conduct in foreign nations with questionable human rights records.

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Steven Sunshine Sk a dde n

( Was h ington, D.C.) As North American group leader

of Skadden’s antitrust and competition practice, Sunshine represents clients in all aspects of antitrust litigation, mergers and acquisitions, counseling and grand jury investigations, most recently advising Anheuser-Busch InBev in securing antitrust approval of its $20.1B acquisition of Modelo.

Steve Susman S usm a n

G odf rey ( Hous ton) The crafty veteran continues to help

guide his litigation firm to great heights and earn the praise of a diverse range of clients for his handling of their most important claims.

Ariana Tadler Mil b e r g

( N e w York) This savvy litigator continues to demon-

strate both legal and business acumen by developing new practice areas, including her growing E-Discovery practice and a series of pioneering consumer cases addressing the misuse of “All Natural” advertising of foods containing genetically modified organisms.

Brian Tamanaha W a sh ing ton

Univ ers ity Sc h ool of Law ( St. Louis ) The prolific

scholar has played a key role in pushing and framing the much-needed debate over legal education with his seminal critique “Failing Law Schools.”

John Tarantino A dl e r

P o ll oc k ( Prov idenc e, R.I.) Tarantino successfully repre-

sented the state House of Representatives against a constitutional challenge to the House redistricting and continues to represent the Governor, treasurer and state retirement system in challenges to changes in the pension system.

Tina Tchen W h it e

H ouse ( W a shington, D.C.) The former litigation partner at

Skadden took her legal talents to the White House, first at the Office of Public Engagement and now as chief of staff to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Clarence Thomas U . S .

S up reme Court ( Was h ington, D.C.) Thomas, the most

reticent of justices, provides a consistent vote for the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc and, in a noted concurrence in 2013, criticized Affirmative Action admission plans adherents for echoing “the hollow justifications advanced by the segregationists.”

Mary Ann Todd Mung e r

T oll es ( Los Ang eles ) Todd continues to play a starring

role in MTO’s M&A activity, representing Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in its $28B acquisition of H.J. Heinz Co. and also in the company’s $2B purchase of the slice of Israeli toolmaker International Metalworking Cos. BV that it didn’t already own.

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Amy Solomon Girardi Keese (los angeles)

500

Robert Townsend C r a va t h

( N ew York) As the highly regarded co-head of

Cravath’s M&A group, Townsend represented AmerisourceBergen in cementing its strategic relationship with Walgreens and Alliance Boots and Lender Processing Services in its $2.9B sale to Fidelity National Financial.

Robert Townsend Mor r iso n

& Foers ter ( San Franc is c o) The leading West

Coast dealmaker represented SoftBank in its contested acquisition of control of Sprint and in its indirect acquisition of Clearwire, both deals having encountered topping bids

by DISH Network’s Charlie Ergen.

William Treanor G e o r g e town

Law Sc h ool ( Was h ington, D.C.) Treanor has guid-

ed the center through difficult times, maintaining its excellence while expanding its commitment to public service.

David Tulchin S ull iva n

& C r omw ell ( N ew York) The trial ace who was

Microsoft’s lead national counsel for ten years of antitrust litigation has most recently won courtroom victories for GAF Materials Corp. in defending against charges that the company’s best-selling Timberline™ shingle is defective.

Jonathan Turley G e or g e

W a s h ington Law Sc h ool ( Was h ington, D.C.) Turley

continues to showcase many of the rewarding possibilities of the J.D., combining serious scholarship, teaching, TV commentary, an insightful blog, public service and a range of fascinating cases in the areas of terrorism and military law.

Ted Ullyot F a c e b ook

( N e w Y o r k) The former associate White House counsel

helped guide Facebook through a bevy of complicated legal issues in a critical phase of its history before moving on to his next adventure.

Anton Valukas Je nne r

& Bloc k ( Ch ic ago) The esteemed firm chairman has kept

at it following his work on Lehman, representing North Carolina utilities regulators in the investigation of issues related to the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy.

Robert Van Nest K e k e r

& V a n N es t ( San Franc is c o) This IP litigation standout

successfully represented Google against the $6B patent and copyright infringement case brought by Oracle over the Android operating system.

Robert Varian O r r ic k

( S a n Franc is c o) He has been successfully defending

Chesapeake Energy Corp. against shareholder lawsuits that have received widespread national media attention, obtaining dismissals of more than a dozen securities class action and derivative cases without a loss.

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Baher Azmy Center for Constitutional Rights (new York)

By JOHN RYAN

Baher Azmy Any Lawyer Interested

LD: What was that like? in tackling the

BA: I was the third civilian lawyer to go to Guantanamo

most prominent human rights issues of our time would

and it was an incredibly intimidating experience, the con-

find a satisfying home at the Center for Constitutional

trast between the brutal detention conditions and the

Rights, or CCR, a New York based nonprofit that advo-

profound humanity and connection I had with my client.

cates for rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and

He, like so many Guantanamo detainees who have been

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As legal di-

released or are still there, was simply in the wrong place

rector, Baher Azmy manages the broad array of CCR’s

in the wrong time. The case against him was factually

litigation involving issues of terrorist detentions, crimi-

preposterous and we were able to put enough pressure on

nal justice reform, corporate human rights abuses and

his home government, the German government, to start

many types of discrimination.

negotiating for his release, which they finally started do-

ing in 2006 and he was released in August 2006.

Lawdragon interviewed Azmy at CCR’s offices on May

13. At the time, CCR clients and others were on hun-

LD: You’ve said before that the president has the power

ger strikes at Guantanamo Bay, and the group was in

to close Guantanamo.

the midst of its trial against the NYPD over its stop-and-

BA: President Obama has come to blame other political

frisk policy. In August, a New York federal judge sided

actors for the predicament in Guantanamo, for his failed

with the plaintiffs, finding that the policy discriminated

promise to close it. But what’s clear is that he has all of

against minorities, and ordered reforms.

the power he needs to close the prison. There are cur-

The interview was made into a mini-documentary

rently 86 men, over half the men there who have been

about Azmy and CCR, which can found at Lawdragon’s

cleared unanimously for release. So he’s fully invested

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/lawdragonvideo.

with the authority to do so. We hope he will finally start

LAWDRAGON: Did you always imagine having this type of

acting on the commitment he made a long time ago, oth-

job, when you were in law school?

erwise he will own this legacy as much as George Bush.

BAHER AZMY: In law school I always wanted to do civil

LD: Can you talk about some of other of your cases?

rights work, but in law school I never could dream about

BA: The work that every one is doing here is so impor-

being in the position that I’m in now where I get to work

tant, not just Guantanamo work, but international hu-

on so many critical areas of civil rights and human rights

man rights work and domestic civil rights work. We’re

work that is both on the cutting edge and serving really

involved in one of the most historic civil rights trials in

important communities in need.

the city, probably in the country. It’s an eight-week trial

LD: What path brought you here?

against the New York Police Department called Floyd vs.

BA: After law school, I clerked for the Court of Appeals

The City of New York, which challenges a long pattern

in Philadelphia, then I was in private practice for about a

and practice of unconstitutional and ultimately race-

year and a half before becoming a clinical law professor

based stop and frisks of individuals in primary brown

at Seton Hall Law School. I worked with third-year law

and black communities in New York. This promises to

students on public interest cases, including immigrants

create a significant change in the way the NYPD under-

rights and prisoners rights cases, and then eventually

takes it’s policing.

started working on Guantanamo and other kinds of na-

LD: What do you find satisfying about your job?

tional security issues.

BA: What’s satisfying about it is working with the cli-

Back when I started getting involved in Guantanamo,

ents and partners who are so committed to the causes

the Center for Constitutional Rights had been the first and

of changing the political and social landscape in which

practically the only organization who dared take on the

they live. Like the massive coalition of community

Bush administration and represent individuals in Guan-

groups who is united for change against the NYPD. Or

tanamo. Soon after they won a Supreme Court victory in

LGBT groups who are challenging persecution in Uganda

the Rasul vs. Bush case in 2004, CCR started looking for

and really take these enormous risks to challenge in-

lawyers to represent individuals who CCR happened to

dividuals persecuting them. Or Guantanamo detainees

know were at Guantanamo. Through connections with CCR

who are finally standing up in this form of peaceful pro-

lawyers they asked if I want to represent one individual, a

test through a hunger strike. I think it’s an incredible

Turkish-German individual named Murat Kurnaz. I did rep-

honor to work with those who are most affected and also

resent him and that was a transformative experience.

most committed to serve for change.

Photo by: GREG ENDRIES

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Christine Varney C r a va t h

( N e w York) The former U.S. Assistant Attorney

General for Antitrust and FTC Commissioner now formulates global antitrust strategy and secures regulatory clearance for a host of Cravath clients, including Grupo Modelo in its $20.1B acquisition by AnheuserBusch InBev and Delta in its joint venture with Virgin Atlantic.

Donald Verrilli Soli c itor

G e ne r a l, US Departme nt of J us ti ce ( W a sh i ng to n , D.C .)

The quietly effective appellate master continued to prove that President Obama chose wisely in naming him as successor to Justice Elena Kagan, this time coming out on the winning side in the gay-marriage debate and on many other high court arguments.

D. Jean Veta C ovi ng to n

& B u r li ng ( W a s h i ng to n , D.C .) She gutted most of the

SEC’s case against former IndyMac Bancorp CEO Michael Perry and then settled what could have been a $600M FDIC case for the FDIC’s right to seek $11M from IndyMac’s insurance carriers, a $1M payment from Perry and his agreement not to re-enter the banking industry.

Mary Kay Vyskocil Simp s o n

T hach er ( N ew York) An impressive trial attorney

and one of the very best in insurance and reinsurance litigation, the Simpson Thacher senior litigation partner won appellate rulings confirming earlier victories for a Travelers Co. affiliate and for Equitas.

Helgi Walker G i bs on

D unn ( W as h i ng to n , D.C .) The best of the best in her field

continued to wage battle for client Verizon over the FCC’s net-neutrality regulations and wield tremendous influence.

Kent Walker G oo g le

( M o un t a i n View, C alif.) He handles the hot seat like no

other in-house counsel, managing Google’s many novel legal dilemmas around the world, from the U.S. to China to the European Commission.

Daniel Wall L a th a m

& W a tkins ( Sa n F rancisc o) This star of the antitrust bar

defended Apple against a class action brought by iPhone users and represented Live Nation in its successful arbitration of claims brought by a rival ticket seller.

Dennis Wasser Wass e r

C o o p e r ma n (Los Angele s) This veteran of high-profile

divorces presides over one of the most respected and sought-after practices for the most challenging family law disputes.

Laura Wasser W ass e r

C oop e r ma n (Los Angele s) Referred to as the “The Disso

Queen,” Wasser remained a news fixture for her work in negotiating dissolutions, including client Kim Kardashian’s with Kris Humphries.

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Regina Pisa Goodwin Procter (boston)

George Bason Davis Polk (new york)

By Xenia Kobylarz

George Bason There are two

intellectual capability. We think firms who can offer other Georges in George R. Ba-

these qualities will always be competitive.

son, Jr.’s family tree, his grandfather and his father,

LD: What’s the most exotic place you’ve had to go to for

which is why he got the nickname “Gar.” But it is safe

business?

to say the Davis Polk & Wardwell partner is the only

GB: I’ve been to Russia, China, Japan, Peru, Mexico,

George Bason that has earned numerous American Law-

Brazil and to most countries in Europe. It’s hard to say

yer “Dealmaker” and other M&A distinctions.

which is the most exotic place. However, I’ve learned

His A-List pedigree is well earned. The Harvard Law

useful tidbits. For instance, if you go to a board meeting

School graduate maintains a busy practice handling

in Cuzco, Peru, make sure you don’t mind the high alti-

some of the most complex and largest deals, year after

tude. But don’t worry, you can buy bottles of oxygen if

year. In 2008, for example, he played a lead role in help-

you do.

ing ink the $306 billion loss protection deal between

LD: We keep reading that the legal market has changed

Citigroup and the U.S. government. More recently, in

and corporate counsels are becoming more cost-con-

February, Bason took center stage advising CNOOC in

scious than ever. Has that affected your practice?

its $15.1 billion acquisition of Nexen.

GB: Cost-consciousness applies to all aspects of the

In addition to his practice, Bason has helped preside

legal profession. We feel that good lawyers need to

over one of the most active and profitable M&A groups

embrace cost-consciousness and work with clients to

in the world. Davis Polk’s M&A group got the top spot in

deliver top quality legal product in a thoughtful, effi-

Bloomberg’s

cient and economically sensible way.

latest

Global

Advisory

Mergers

&

Acquisitions Rankings, which ranks law firms based on

LD: Law school was a while back, but do you have any

the total value of their corporate clients’ M&A transac-

regrets from your time then?

tions in the first three months of 2013. The group

GB: I skipped Administrative Law. I wished I’d taken it.

advised on 30 transactions with a combined total value

LD: You worked out of Davis Polk’s Paris office both as

of $92.7 billion, according to the survey.

an associate and as a partner for two multi-year stints.

LAWDRAGON: How do you juggle the demands of your

What was that like? Why did you decide to live in Paris

own busy practice with managing a practice as big and

twice during your career?

as high-profile as your firm’s?

GB: Paris was an amazing experience personally and

GEORGE BASON: I’ve been head or co-head of the prac-

professionally. For a lawyer to work in an overseas con-

tice since around 2002. From 2002-2005, I was co-head

text is tremendously helpful in terms of developing both

with Dennis Hersch, then the head from 2006-2012,

at an interpersonal level and also professionally. I

then co-head with David Caplan beginning in 2012. Our

learned the importance of developing adaptability while

group is an incredibly cohesive and cooperative group of

not losing sight of what’s important in a critical trans-

friends and colleagues. That makes David Caplan’s and

action, which is a key part of living overseas. My experi-

my tasks working as co-heads of the group much easier.

ences in Paris have been extremely important to the

That being said, we are both first and foremost practi-

international component of my practice, which is still

tioners.

critical to what I do.

LD: You’ve done more than your fair share of deals in

LD: If you can only give one piece of advice to an aspir-

your more than 30-year career. Does it ever get old?

ing lawyer, what would that be?

GB: It never gets old for me. One of the great things

GB: You are in a service profession—return calls quickly

about M&A is that every deal is different. The technol-

and be enthusiastic.

ogy, approach and the ins and outs of the practice are

LD: I read that you like to travel and take photographs.

changing at an incredibly rapid pace, which means it’s

How did those interests develop and how do you fit this

always new and fun.

into your work schedule?

LD: Most of the transactions these days are global, and

GB: I’ve been an avid amateur photographer since 1969,

Davis Polk competes with bigger law firms in terms of

and always carry a camera with me when I travel. From

attorney count and offices worldwide. What keeps the

1969 to 2006 I shot in black and white film, developing

firm competitive in this market?

and printing it myself. After 2006, I made the switch to

GB: We like to think that we offer an unparalleled mix-

digital. See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.

ture of global reach, cutting edge deal technology and

com/lawyer-limelights/george-bason.

Photo by: LAURA BARISONZI

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Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

500

500 Seth Waxman W ilm e r H a l e

( W a sh ington, D.C.) The appellate legend reached

another milestone by reaching 65 oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, and he earned a huge victory before the court for Monsanto in a patent infringement case.

Joseph Wayland ACE

L im ite d ( N ew York) ACE scored big when it hired this for-

mer Simpson Thacher partner and high-ranking DOJ official to oversee the company’s global legal affairs as its general counsel.

B. Trent Webb S h o o k

H a r dy ( Ka ns as City, Mo.) The chair of Shook Hardy’s

intellectual property litigation group has secured his place as one of the most sought after IP litigators capable of handling cases across a range of technologies and industries.

Dan Webb W in st o n

& S t r a wn ( N e w York) Winston’s chairman handles extreme

high-stakes disputes in both civil and criminal contexts, ranging from the criminal trial of businessman William Cellini on charges related to the Rod Blagojevich conviction to a recent arbitration win on behalf of Ernst & Young in one of the longest and largest auditor liability cases ever tried.

Perrie Weiner D L A

( L os Ang e l e s) A go-to adviser for hedge funds facing complex

civil and regulatory suits and CEO’s squaring off against the SEC, Weiner is also involved in other high-stakes class action cases — including the recent explosion of consumer Right of Privacy class actions under the TCPA.

Theodore Wells P a ul

W e iss ( N e w York) The ever-busy litigation co-chair at Paul

Weiss secured settlements for Merck in the class action related to Vytorin, and for Bank of America in the class action over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

William Whelan C r a va th

( N e w York) Leader of Cravath’s securities practice and

an acknowledged expert in representing issuers and investment banks in IPOs, highyield and investment grade debt offerings and follow-on equity offerings, as well as corporate clients that have included Benchmark Electronics, CBS, OneBeacon Insurance, Symetra Financial and White Mountains Insurance.

John White C r a va th

( N e w Y o r k ) One of the most trusted and sought-after advis-

ers to corporate America for the past decade, this former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance currently serves as co-chair of Cravath’s corporate governance and board advisory practice counseling businesses at the highest levels.

LAWDRAGON

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Mary Jo White SEC

( W a sh ington, D.C.) White, a former litigation chair at

Debevoise & Plimpton and onetime U.S. attorney for New York, did the public and her president a favor by returning to government service as chair of the SEC.

K. Craig Wildfang R o b in s

Kaplan ( Minn eapolis ) A highly respected antitrust

veteran, Wildfang led the $7.25B settlement with major credit card companies and banks on behalf of U.S. merchants, a deal that also included reforms of the payment card industry.

Richard Wiley W il e y

R e in ( Was h ington, D.C.) The former FCC chairman and

general counsel leads the nation’s top communications practice and counts as clients AT&T, JP Morgan, Motorola, CBS and Sirius/XM, among many others.

Beth Wilkinson P a ul

W e iss ( Was h ington, D.C.) One of the nation’s top litigators,

who earned accolades for prosecuting Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, guided the FTC in its deal with Google.

Ann Claire Williams U . S .

Court of Appeals for th e 7 th Circ uit ( Ch ic ago) The

longtime judge has also built an extraordinary international reputation, training and teaching lawyers and judiciary for legal crises in troubled areas around the world.

Gregory Williams R ic h a r d s

Layton ( Wilmington) A perennial star of

the Delaware Chancery Court, Williams has recently represented the outside directors of Dell with respect to the Dell going-private litigation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Honeywell, JP Morgan and the New York Stock Exchange and its directors.

Michael Wiseman S ulliva n

& Cromw ell ( N ew York) The managing partner of

Sullivan’s financial institutions group is a key adviser to AIG, Goldman Sachs and a host of financial institutions as they move to comply with new regulatory requirements embodied in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Donald Wolfe P otte r

Ande r so n ( Wilmington) The esteemed firm leader of Potter

Anderson represented Softbank in its acquisition of Sprint/Clearwire, Intercontinental Exchange in its acquisition of NYSE Euronext and Michael Dell in the acquisition of Dell.

Jonathan Wolfe Sk ol off

& Wolfe ( Liv ings ton, N .J .) Proving his diverse litigation

talents, Wolfe represented Katie Holmes in her New York divorce from Tom Cruise and successfully defended a hedge fund against an $8B RICO claim.

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Lawrence Sucharow Labaton Sucharow (new york)

By john ryan

Lawrence Sucharow Lawrence Sucharow

defunct, who had offered him a job but at slightly less says that “anger” at

salary than the one he accepted. I applied and got the

the endless string of Wall Street scandals has been an

law clerk job.

important motivating force in his distinguished career

It wasn’t until after I accepted that I learned that

spanning more than three decades. But his reputation

they were a boutique that specialized in the arcane field

as a reasonable and courteous litigator amongst de-

of plaintiff securities actions—one of maybe only five to

fense attorneys contributed equally to his place on our

ten firms in the United States that regularly did so at

most recent Lawdragon 500 annual list.

the time. I gained valuable experience, enjoyed the

Sucharow is chair of New York’s Labaton Sucharow,

work and never looked back. I also liked the fact that I

which specializes in securities and antitrust class

opposed all the classic “white-shoe” firms that had

actions. The firm counts more than $8 billion in settle-

rejected my job applications when I was graduated from

ments for clients over the years.

law school.

LAWDRAGON: I notice you did your undergrad work at

LD: Was there a case early on that you feel really helped

Baruch and then law school at Brooklyn Law. Have you

establish your reputation in the field?

always been in the area?

LS: I believe my reputation was established more by how

LAWRENCE SUCHAROW: I have always been a “New

I treated my colleagues and adversaries rather than any

Yorker.“ I was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Queens, and

particular case. I believe that I am persuasive and that

have always worked in Manhattan, even though I have

many of my ideas had and have merit since they are

lived in New Jersey for the past 35 years.

accepted and successfully implemented. I take a very

LD: How did you decide to go to law school? And spe-

practical approach to litigation and disagreements and

cifically why did you choose Brooklyn Law?

tend to propose practical solutions which work for both

LS: I wish I could say it was a lifelong goal or dream to

sides. Unlike many litigators, I don’t fight for the sake

go to law school. But, actually it was a decision by

of fighting. I fight when other alternatives have been

default. I knew I wanted to be a professional, or at least

exhausted. I find there is much common ground if you

my mother wanted me to be one. I took a citywide exam

have a meritorious claim.

and qualified to go to Brooklyn Tech High School for

LD: What has kept you at it? What about this practice

engineering. To put it mildly, it wasn’t an area that

keeps you passionate on a daily basis?

reflected my talents. I went to the Baruch School of The

LS: Two things come to mind. The first is anger. Yes,

City College of New York for accounting and found

anger at how many on Wall Street treat their investors.

myself bored. I would have tried medical school, but I

Even after scandals break and reforms are promised,

can’t stand the sight of blood, so….

it’s not long until the next scandal is revealed. It’s truly

As for why Brooklyn Law, it was and is a well- respect-

appalling to me how many in the executive suites at

ed law school with, most importantly, an evening divi-

America’s top companies believe they are entitled to

sion. That was critical for a lower middle-class kid like

great riches at the expense of their company’s share-

me who had to work while attending high school and

holders. The second is the firm, my family. I work every

college, yet alone law school. I have been forever grate-

day to assure the success of the firm both reputation-

ful to the law school for fighting the trend of other law

ally and financially. I have a lot of respect for my part-

schools in discontinuing evening classes. It gives thou-

ners, associates and employees and want to be sure the

sands of students like me that most important gift—

firm continues for them.

opportunity.

LD: Is there a lawyer on the other side of the table you

LD: After passing the bar, what led you into plaintiff-

run up against regularly whom you particularly admire,

side securities litigation?

and why?

LS: Once again I wish I could say it was planned and

LS: That’s a loaded question. Let me answer this way. I

then accomplished. The truth is it happened by acci-

have yet to find a litigation partner at Wachtell Lipton

dent. My law school friend and now partner, Joel

that is not unfailingly courteous, direct, honest, and a

Bernstein, took a law clerk job after his second year of

partner in trying to secure a reasonable solution to a

law school. My wife and I thought that was a great idea

litigation without any gamesmanship.

and I asked Joel if, as a result of his search, he knew of

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

any openings. He pointed me to a three-lawyer firm, now Photo by: GREG ENDRIES

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500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Lisa Damon Seyfarth Shaw (bo ston)

500

Marc Wolinsky W a c h te ll

L ipton ( N ew York) A renowned litigator who negotiat-

ed the largest insurance settlement in history over the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, Wolinsky recently took the lead in defending HP in a shareholder class action over its 2011 $10.2 billion purchase of Autonomy Corp.

Nicole Wong T h e

W HITE HOUSE ( Was h ington, D.C.) President Obama tapped the

former Twitter legal director and leading thinker on privacy and technology issues to serve as his deputy chief technology officer.

Diane Wood U . S .

C our t o f A p peals for th e 7 th Circ uit ( Ch ic ago) She’s been called

the “unflinching and spirited intellectual counterweight” to her Circuit’s conservative heavyweights and she continues to be a possibility for a U.S. Supreme Court appointment.

C. Steven Yerrid T h e

Y e r r id Law Firm ( Tampa) Nearing the mark of 200 ver-

dicts and settlements of $1 million or more, one of the nation’s best trial lawyers has taken on BP in his latest quest.

Michael Young W illk ie

F a r r ( N ew York) The financial crisis has thrust the lead-

er of Willkie’s securities litigation and enforcement group into the defense of risk management at such companies as AIG and made him one of the nation’s leading experts on enterprise risk management and its defense.

Stephen Zack B oie s

S c h ill e r ( Miami) The former ABA president specializes in

civil litigation and has long been in the top echelon of lawyers in international law and public service, as recognized by his recent appointment by President Obama as a United Nations representative.

Kenneth Ziman Ska dde n

( N ew York) Ziman advises on complex high-profile bank-

ruptcy and restructuring matters, including representing Exide Technologies in Chapter 11 proceedings, as well as LifeCare Holdings and its debtor affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases.

David Zornow Sk a dde n

( N e w York) Global head of Skadden’s litigation/contro-

versy practices, Zornow has played an instrumental role in defending both individuals and corporations in connection with the government’s insider trading crackdown, notably obtaining favorable outcomes for Rajiv Goel, former Intel executive, and for Yves Benhamou, a world-renowned hepatologist.

Damien Zoubek C r a va t h

( N ew York) This M&A star has had lead roles in advising

on a string of multibillion-dollar deals for blue chip clients such as Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, IBM, Qualcomm, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Credit Suisse.

Photo by: KEN RICHARDSON

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500 Richard Revesz NYU school of law (new york)

LAWDRAGON

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By Margot SLADE

Richard RevesZ Richard “Ricky” Revesz seems determined

schools. I wanted to change that—and not only because

to put the top talent at New York University School of

sense of worth and accomplishment that I did.

Law on a career path to academia. Dean emeritus and

Collaborating with faculty is also a way to encourage

Lawrence King Professor of Law, he has a simple strat-

talented law students to enter academia. ...

egy: Treat students as colleagues on published papers

LD: What are your other core values?

and research projects to give them confidence in what

RR: Mentoring—not just to help students get jobs,

they can achieve. That’s what his adviser did for Revesz,

although mentors play a critical role in helping students

a Princeton graduate, when he earned an M.S. in envi-

get jobs that are distinctive, that are personally fulfill-

ronmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute

ing and particularly hard to get. But getting back to the

of Technology. There was no such equal opportunity, he

larger concept of mentoring, I’m a huge believer in edu-

says, during his JD years at Yale Law.

cation as a creator of human capital. That’s why we

Revesz has gone far in redressing this weakness in

increased opportunities at NYU Law for students who

the legal education culture. He co-authored seven

are the first in their families to go to graduate or profes-

papers with students in his 11 years as NYU Law dean,

sional school, for students from socio-economically

hoping to lead faculty members (and, perhaps, academ-

disadvantaged backgrounds.

ics at other law schools) to do the same. Opportunities

And I don’t mean that we simply hand over scholar-

to collaborate have been key to nurturing high-quality

ship money, although that’s obviously important. We’ve

performance among his faculty, too, with Revesz build-

added enrichment programs so these students are

ing academic teams—a “critical mass of strong people”

exposed to people and ideas that they probably would

interacting with each other—whose combined talents

not have encountered at home.

have established NYU Law as a leader in many fields.

LD: What law school graduates can achieve in terms of

LAWDRAGON: You took an unusual approach to faculty

careers these days seems tempered by a changing job

hiring. What was it, and why use it?

market. How is NYU Law responding?

RICHARD REVESZ: Most law schools rely on the Noah’s

RR: We’ve long been a leader in legal education, and

Ark model for faculty hiring. You go after two people in

we are continuing in that role with a series of curricu-

each field and stop. I felt we’d improve the average

lar changes approved in 2012-13. The initiatives draw

quality of what we were doing by bringing in a critical

on recommendations by a special committee of the

mass of strong people so that we dominate a field. I’ve

board and are aimed at ensuring that our graduates

focused on some 12 fields in which I believe NYU Law is

are optimally prepared for the evolving needs of today’s

now the leader academically.

legal marketplace. To prepare students for increasing-

And it’s not the students alone who benefit. Our fac-

ly globalized law practice, for example, we’re expand-

ulty members have opportunities for powerful collabora-

ing our already robust international offerings to

tions. Most people we wanted to recruit wanted to be

include new study abroad programs in Buenos Aires,

the most prominent academic in their field. I don’t

Paris and Shanghai. In Washington, D.C., a new semes-

believe you can do that sitting in your study thinking

ter-long clinic for third-years offers intensive study and

deep thoughts and publishing periodically. You need to

practical training in the role of government, combining

intersect with other smart, interesting people. Many

four days a week of work in a federal office with a

academics from peer institutions saw that at NYU Law

weekly seminar.

they could make these connections. ...

At all levels of the JD program, the law school will

LD: Why is collaboration a core value for you?

increase training in leadership and financial and busi-

RR: I was treated as an equal by my adviser at MIT,

ness literacy. Finally, to help students prepare for prac-

where I studied engineering. It’s something I really

tice in a particular area of law, we are introducing a

came to value, since it gave me so much confidence as

Professional Pathways scheme that provides advice on

a grad student to be considered a colleague. I can’t

a sequenced course of instruction, as well as career

describe the sense of loss when that disappeared in law

guidance from faculty members, career counselors and

school. You find faculty-student collaborations all the

alumni.

time in graduate schools, particularly among science

See the full Q&A at http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-

faculty. It turns out that they are very unusual in law

limelights/richard-revesz.

Photo by: GREG ENDRIES

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I feel that law students should experience the same

l aw d r a g o n . c o m

500

Lawdragon Lawyer Limelight:

Photo by: Josh Ritchie

Bob Paul Geller’s dog (Boca Raton)

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W W W. L AW D R A G O N . C O M

SEE YOU IN COURT

KHORRAMI BOUCHER SUMNER SANGUINETTI, LLP

The partners of Khorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti, LLP have recently combined their talents. Collectively, they have secured more than $5 billion in judgments and settlements.

That’s a big number.

Bigger still is the impact Ray Boucher, Shawn Khorrami and their partners have had on the lives of their clients, who include individuals abused by priests, patients given dangerous pharmaceuticals, consumers who have been defrauded, and residents of New Orleans whose homes and lives were shattered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

We are proud and honored to be included in the Lawdragon 500. And even more proud of the trust

over 25,000 current clients have put in our hands and referring lawyers all over the country have put in our firm.

From Left: Ray Boucher and Shawn Khorrami

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