Rankings: MVPs of the Year

Law360’s MVPs of the Year recognizes the five attorneys who had extraordinary wins and contributed most to their practice area in the past year. The series showcases standout attorneys across the practice areas and industries covered by Law360.
  • November 20, 2019

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Elizabeth T. Davy

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's Beth Davy has provided ace anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance advice to banks at home and abroad, including helping guide an important Dubai-based bank to a $40 million settlement with New York regulators and counseling Chase on a $5.3 million deal with federal authorities, landing her among Law360's 2019 Banking MVPs.

  • November 20, 2019

    MVP: Morgan Lewis' Steven A. Reed

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's Steven A. Reed built on a notable 2018 district court win to establish a powerful appellate level precedent stifling the Federal Trade Commission's ability to challenge conduct that happened exclusively in the past, netting him a spot as one of Law360's 2019 Competition MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Hagens Berman's Steve W. Berman

    Steve W. Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP won a big fight for student-athletes against the NCAA this year that will help them receive more benefits in exchange for their labor, landing him on the list of Law360's 2019 Class Action MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Fenwick's Susan S. Muck

    San Francisco-based Susan S. Muck of Fenwick & West LLP secured dismissal of a shareholder's proposed class action against GoPro Inc. over alleged financial misstatements, in addition to obtaining a favorable settlement in an investor suit for solar power provider Sunrun Inc., landing her among Law360's 2019 Securities MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Steve Holley

    Steve L. Holley of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP helped push through Bayer's $62 billion buy of Monsanto by securing approval from antitrust watchdogs around the world, landing him on the list of Law360's 2019 Competition MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Weil Gotshal's Allison Liff

    Over the past year, Allison Liff of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP advised Syncreon Group Holdings BV on a global financing and groundbreaking balance sheet restructuring, helped Goldman Sachs' merchant banking division finance its acquisition of Restaurant Technologies Inc., and assisted Sovos Brands in financing its merger with Noosa Yoghurt LLC, landing her among Law360's 2019 Banking MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Kirkland's Jim Hurst

    Jim Hurst of Kirkland & Ellis LLP triumphed in two major jury trials within an exceptionally tight window last year, securing a defense verdict for Alere Inc. in a patent infringement suit just weeks after helping a Bristol-Myers Squibb unit fend off a potential billion-dollar trade secrets claim, landing him among Law360's 2019 Trials MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Perkins Coie's Shannon M. Bloodworth

    Shannon M. Bloodworth of Perkins Coie LLP has secured several pharmaceutical victories for Mylan, including in patent cases separately brought by Teva and Horizon Pharma over their respective drugs, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2019 IP MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Skadden's Steven Matays

    Steven Matays of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP handled taxes for the mammoth deal merging Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co., and separately guided the tax aspects of the merger between Worldpay Inc. and FIS, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 Tax MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Gibson Dunn's Jason C. Schwartz

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's Jason C. Schwartz secured a win for a Sprint contractor in a case over sales workers' classification, led the team tasked by Wynn Resorts to probe alleged sexual misconduct by then-CEO Steve Wynn and represents Amazon in an ongoing job ad bias case, earning him a place among Law360's 2019 Employment MVPs.

  • November 19, 2019

    MVP: Cooley's David Peinsipp

    Cooley LLP's David Peinsipp, motivated by an interest in the intersection of technology and everyday life, has been on the front lines lately of some of the biggest initial public offerings by startups, including Uber's $8.1 billion IPO, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2019 Capital Markets MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Paul Weiss' Brad S. Karp

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP chairman Brad S. Karp led The Blackstone Group out of danger in a multibillion-dollar suit over its asset management and helped the Bank of New York Mellon ink a $72.5 million deal in a suit over American depositary receipts, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2019 Banking MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Skadden's James R. Carroll

    James R. Carroll of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's Boston office battled the IRS in federal tax court to deliver a complete win for clean coal investors and helped BlackRock knock down one of the largest ever excessive-fee suits against a mutual fund, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 Trials MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Paul Weiss' Scott Barshay

    Scott Barshay of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP juggled a number of billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions in the last year, including leading IBM's $34 billion acquisition of an open-source software pioneer, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 M&A MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Sharon L. Nelles

    Sharon Nelles of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's litigation group successfully steered underwriter clients through two precedential post-Cyan state court securities cases that have helped define the bounds of last year's landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2019 Securities MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Davis Polk's Rachel Kleinberg

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's Rachel Kleinberg led her firm's tax team in advising Brookfield Business Partners LP in acquiring the power solutions business of Johnson Controls International for $13.2 billion, advised VF Corp. as it spun off wholly owned subsidiary Kontoor Brands Inc., and guided Kitty Hawk Corp. in forming a strategic partnership with Boeing, placing her among Law360's 2019 Tax MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Quinn Emanuel's Shon Morgan

    Shon Morgan of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP persuaded the full Ninth Circuit to overturn an appellate panel's ruling in a case involving Hyundai's fuel economy ratings, salvaging a major settlement — an achievement the firm calls perhaps the most significant class action ruling of the year — and landing Morgan among Law360's 2019 Class Action MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Covington's Richard Rainey

    Covington & Burling LLP partner Richard Rainey led the team that persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal agencies can't attempt to invalidate patents through the America Invents Act, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Seyfarth's Gerald L. Maatman Jr.

    Over the past year, Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner Jerry Maatman has guided employers through high-stakes cases that required cutting-edge legal arguments, including helping freight company C.H. Robinson scuttle an attempt to notify workers who had signed arbitration agreements of a pending collective action, securing him a spot among Law360's 2019 Employment MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Davis Polk's Alan Denenberg

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP partner Alan Denenberg guided an array of initial public offerings in a whirlwind year for deals, overcoming obstacles posed by the government shutdown in early 2019 and later advising underwriters for ride-hailing giant Uber's blockbuster listing, landing him among Law360's 2019 Capital Markets MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Cohen Milstein's Sharon K. Robertson

    Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC's Sharon K. Robertson has helped plaintiffs score big wins in antitrust cases accusing pharmaceutical companies of not playing by the rules, including a nearly $104.8 million settlement for Lidoderm end-payors in a suit alleging a pay-for-delay scheme, landing her among Law360's 2019 Life Sciences MVPs.

  • November 18, 2019

    MVP: Paul Weiss' Rick Rule

    Charles F. "Rick" Rule of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP helped shuttle Cigna through its $67 billion purchase of Express Scripts amid a challenging regulatory environment, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 Competition MVPs.

  • November 15, 2019

    MVP: Wachtell's Joshua Cammaker

    Joshua Cammaker of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has handled a number of complex transactions for major corporations in the past year, including the reorganization of United Technologies Corp. and its merger with Raytheon Co., earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2019 M&A MVPs.

  • November 15, 2019

    MVP: Steptoe & Johnson's John Molenda

    Steptoe & Johnson LLP partner John Molenda won a long-fought patent victory on behalf of Sanofi and Regeneron, while separately preparing to take Apotex to trial against both Pfizer and Celgene, earning him a spot among Law360's 2019 Life Sciences MVPs.

  • November 15, 2019

    MVP: Sanford Heisler's Deborah Marcuse

    Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP's Deborah Marcuse has more than held her own in litigation against a series of big targets this year, including an Ivy League university, BigLaw firms and a multinational drug maker, earning herself a spot on the list of Law360's 2019 Employment MVPs.

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