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 30, 2012

    IP MVP: Jones Day's Greg Castanias

    Jones Day's Greg Castanias convinced the Federal Circuit to uphold Myriad Genetics' breast cancer gene patents for a second time in 2012, scoring a victory for the entire biotechnology industry in the patent test case and earning himself a spot on Law360's list of Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • November 30, 2012

    Bankruptcy MVP: Kirkland's Paul Basta

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner Paul Basta had a banner year in 2012, successfully bringing warring parties to the bargaining table in out-of-court restructurings and helping The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. navigate a rocky Chapter 11 case, earning him a spot among Law360's Bankruptcy MVPs.

  • November 30, 2012

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Legal Top Guns From 52 Firms

    Over the next several weeks, Law360 will profile the winners of this year's MVP awards honoring attorneys whose achievements in major litigation or transactions have set a new standard for accomplishment in corporate law.

  • December 22, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Cleary Gottlieb's Steven Wilner

    There are billions of reasons why Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP's Steven Wilner could be on Law360's list of 2011 real estate MVPs — $7 billion to $10 billion in development deals, to be more precise — but his presence on the list can really be summed up in five words: casino gambling in New York City.

  • December 21, 2011

    IP MVP: Quinn Emanuel's Charles Verhoeven

    As lead counsel for Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Motorola Inc. in smartphone patent litigation, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's Charles Verhoeven is the general called upon to lead the troops in the smartphone wars, making him one of Law360's Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • December 20, 2011

    IP MVP: Crowell & Moring's Michael Songer

    In September, Crowell & Moring LLP's Michael Songer scored a $920 million jury verdict for DuPont Co. in its suit against Kolon Industries Inc., a victory that closed the book on one of the largest trade secret misappropriation cases in history and landed Songer a spot on Law360's list of intellectual property MVPs.

  • December 19, 2011

    IP MVP: Munger Tolles' Rohit Singla

    When a trial court deemed his client Abbott Laboratories' patent for blood glucose test trips unenforceable, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP partner Rohit Singla had just an inkling of what the future held: a landmark 2011 Federal Circuit decision that not only reversed that ruling, but also fundamentally changed how courts view inequitable conduct battles in patent cases, an outcome earning him a spot on Law 360's list of Intellectual Property MVP's.

  • December 19, 2011

    Product Liability MVP: King & Spalding's Chilton Varner

    In October, King & Spalding LLP's Chilton Davis Varner won her second pharma liability trial in less than a year when she secured a victory for Merck & Co. in a plaintiffs' choice bellwether case in Fosamax multidistrict litigation, earning her a spot among Law360's product liability MVPs.

  • December 16, 2011

    Product Liability MVP: Dechert's Diane Sullivan

    Using her ability to interestingly and effectively convey the facts of high-stakes tort disputes to juries, Diane Sullivan of Dechert LLP helped Philip Morris USA Inc. beat a group of hospitals' $455 million dollar suit over the costs of treating uninsured smokers, earning her a place among Law360's Product Liability MVPs.

  • December 16, 2011

    IP MVP: Paul Hastings' Jeff Randall

    Paul Hastings LLP's Jeff G. Randall convinced a Texas federal judge to throw out a $626 million jury award against Apple Inc. this April in Mirror Worlds LLC's case over patents for document management and display technology, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • December 15, 2011

    IP MVP: WilmerHale's Bill Lee

    For a patent attorney whose credentials and past victories have already established him as one of the greats in his field, winning the reversal of a $1.67 billion verdict in 2011 was yet another triumph for WilmerHale's Bill Lee as he made his way onto Law360's list of Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • December 15, 2011

    Product Liability MVP: Kirkland's Andrew McGaan

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP's Andrew McGaan has won over juries in emotionally charged cases against tobacco giants, winning wrongful death disputes and a 12-year battle waged by Missouri hospitals, earning him a place among Law360's Product Liability MVPs.

  • December 14, 2011

    Product Liability MVP: Reed Smith's Patrick Bradley

    Reed Smith LLP's Patrick E. Bradley earned his place among Law360's Product Liability MVPs by delivering 2011 courtroom victories for Cirrus Aircraft in manufacturing defect suits stemming from fatal plane crashes — including litigation over the high-profile wreck that killed former New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.

  • December 14, 2011

    IP MVP: Morgan Lewis' Daniel Johnson

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP patent litigator Daniel Johnson Jr. helped ActiveVideo Networks Inc. score a $140 million patent infringement judgment against communications giant Verizon Communications Inc., earning him a spot on Law360's list of IP MVPs.

  • December 13, 2011

    Privacy MVP: Cooley's Michael Rhodes

    Cooley LLP partner Mike Rhodes has a record of demolishing lawsuits that accuse Facebook Inc. of stepping on users' privacy rights — one that keeps the social media giant coming back and earns him a spot among Law360's Privacy MVPs.

  • December 13, 2011

    Product Liability MVP: Skadden's John Beisner

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's John Beisner convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to a settlement program he created resolving thousands of personal injury claims against Merck & Co. Inc. in multidistrict litigation over the painkiller Vioxx, one of several victories that earned him a spot among Law360's product liability MVPs.

  • December 13, 2011

    Environmental MVP: Latham & Watkins' Janice Schneider

    Latham & Watkins LLP partner Janice Schneider spent the past seven years helping San Diego Gas & Electric navigate scrutiny by government agencies and opposition by environmental groups against its $2 billion renewable energy transmission line across California, and helped construction get under way in the fall of last year, landing on Law360's list of Environmental MVPs.

  • December 13, 2011

    IP MVP: Winston & Strawn's Jim Hurst

    Jim Hurst of Winston & Strawn LLP has been on a winning streak for the past year, racking up eight separate trial victories in the last 18 months for clients such as Abbott Laboratories, a feat that earned him a place on Law360's roster of Intellectual Property MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    Privacy MVP: Reed Smith's Mark Melodia

    It's a common dilemma: A company suffers a data breach, and one of its customers launches a class action. Reed Smith LLP partner Mark S. Melodia helped one client find an uncommon solution, staving off traditional credit monitoring and saving it cash — the sort of inventive thinking that landed him a spot on Law360's list of Privacy MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    Environmental MVP: Vorys Sater's Mark Norman

    As lead attorney for Hamilton County, Ohio, in a federal crackdown on sewage overflows, Mark Norman of Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease LLP negotiated a consent decree that allowed the county to commit an additional $1.79 billion in infrastructure improvements while protecting the county's finances and ratepayers, earning him a spot among Law360's Environmental MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    IP MVP: Kirkland & Ellis' Luke Dauchot

    As lead trial counsel for Medtronic Inc. subsidiary Warsaw Orthopedic Inc. in its patent dispute with NuVasive Inc., Luke Dauchot of Kirkland & Ellis LLP parlayed his extensive knowledge of the patents-in-suit along with his ability as a team leader into a jury award worth over $100 million, earning him a spot on Law360's list of IP MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    Media & Entertainment MVP: Gibson Dunn's Orin Snyder

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Orin Snyder spent this year successfully defending well-known clients that ranged from the world's largest online social network to a daytime talk show co-host, landing him a spot among Law360's Media & Entertainment MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    Private Equity MVP: Latham & Watkins' Howard Sobel

    Pulling off a leveraged buyout these days is hard enough, but the $2.6 billion acquisition of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. in June by two private equity firms scores extra points for creativity and performance under pressure, earning Latham & Watkins LLP partner Howard Sobel, who represented the buyers, a spot among Law 360's Private Equity MVPs.

  • December 12, 2011

    Insurance MVP: Covington's William Skinner

    William Skinner of Covington & Burling LLP helped Chiquita Brands International Inc. secure a ruling that its insurer must cover the cost of defending suits alleging that the company is liable for thousands of killings by Colombian extremists, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Insurance MVPs.

  • December 09, 2011

    Media & Entertainment MVP: Paul Hastings' Eric Greenberg

    Crafting a joint venture among networks and affiliate broadcasters to bring live television and video on demand to mobile devices is just one of the accomplishments this year that makes Paul Hastings LLP partner Eric Greenberg one of Law360's Media & Entertainment MVPs.

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