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 21, 2011

    M&A MVP: Cleary's Ethan Klingsberg

    As Family Dollar Stores Inc. faced a drawn-out fight to fend off a $7 billion hostile takeover by a major shareholder, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP partner Ethan Klingsberg encouraged the board to try and make peace while sticking to its growth plan. The moves paid off for the North Carolina-based retailer, which is now thriving, and landed Klingsberg a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 18, 2011

    M&A MVP: Baker Botts' David Kirkland

    In the past year, Baker Botts LLP's David Kirkland has been the deal maker par excellence in the energy sector, representing energy service giants John Wood Group PLC, Schlumberger Ltd. and offshore driller Pride International Inc. in transactions valued at $12.5 billion, earning him a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 18, 2011

    Appellate MVP: Kirkland & Ellis' Jay Lefkowitz

    Jay Lefkowitz of Kirkland & Ellis LLP defied expectations when he convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in Pliva v. Mensing that federal laws shielded generic-drug makers from state failure-to-warn claims, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Appellate MVPs.

  • November 18, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Skadden's Harvey Uris

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's Harvey R. Uris has brought extensive business know-how and multidisciplinary expertise to bear on a variety of major real estate deals, including Centro Properties Group's $9.4 billion sale of its U.S. shopping centers to the Blackstone Group LP, making him one of Law360's real estate MVPs of 2011.

  • November 18, 2011

    Securities MVP: Gibson Dunn's Adam Offenhartz

    A securities litigator who doubles as a mergers and acquisitions specialist, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Adam Offenhartz has developed a formidable tool set for fending off hostile takeovers, skills he displayed during his defense of Tenet Healthcare Corp. in a wide-ranging merger battle, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Securities MVPs.

  • November 17, 2011

    Appellate MVP: WilmerHale's Mark Fleming

    Armed with a self-effacing, eloquent argument style, Mark Fleming of WilmerHale pulled off a historic Supreme Court upset for his client in Stanford v. Roche this year, a landmark patent case win that has earned him a spot on Law360's roster of 2011 Appellate MVPs.

  • November 17, 2011

    M&A MVP: Fried Frank's Alan Kaden

    For his work in helping the country's biggest private company, food and agricultural products giant, Cargill Inc., conduct a tax-free spinoff of its public fertilizer subsidiary, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP tax partner Alan Kaden has earned a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 17, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Kirkland & Ellis' Stephen Tomlinson

    When Anglo Irish Bank Corp. decided to shed its U.S. commercial property loan portfolio, it looked to Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner Stephen Tomlinson to assist in one of the largest sales of troubled commercial real estate assets since the financial crisis, helping him earn a spot on Law360's list of Real Estate MVPs.

  • November 17, 2011

    Securities MVP: Cleary Gottlieb's Thomas Moloney

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP partner Thomas Moloney's contribution to the July dismissal of $6.6 billion in common law claims brought by Madoff trustee Irving Picard against HSBC Holdings PLC has helped earn him a spot on Law360's list of Securities MVPs.

  • November 17, 2011

    M&A MVP: Morgan Lewis' Michael King

    As energy and mining giants such as BHP Billiton Ltd. enter the market for the U.S.' vast shale oil and gas reserves, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Michael King has been at the center of the action, earning him a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 16, 2011

    Appellate MVP: Morgan Lewis' Ted Cruz

    A nuanced legal strategy and attention to outside stakeholders helped Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Ted Cruz convince the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a new legal standard for patent infringement this year, one of several victories that earned Cruz a spot on Law360's list of appellate MVPs.

  • November 16, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Fried Frank's Jonathan Mechanic

    A series of blockbuster real estate deals — including a lease agreement for the anchor tenant of the new World Trade Center building — has earned Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP partner Jonathan Mechanic a spot on Law360's list of Real Estate MVPs.

  • November 15, 2011

    Appellate MVP: Dechert's G. Eric Brunstad Jr.

    Defending the family of oilman J. Howard Marshall II against the late Anna Nicole Smith's long-running claim to his fortune, G. Eric Brunstad Jr. of Dechert LLP convinced the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year to find that a bankruptcy court lacked the constitutional authority to enter a final $474 million judgment for the former Playboy model, earning Brunstad a spot on Law360's list of Appellate MVPs.

  • November 15, 2011

    Securities MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Robert Giuffra

    During the past year, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner Robert Giuffra Jr. has won court victories that trimmed billions in potential damages from a putative securities class action against UBS AG and sustained a $5 billion fraudulent conveyance action against MBIA Inc., earning him a spot on Law360's list of Securities MVPs.

  • November 15, 2011

    M&A MVP: Skadden's Tom Greenberg

    Taking a lead role in a pair of $6 billion acquisitions in 2011 — including consumer products giant DuPont's purchase of a Danish food ingredients firm — has earned Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP partner Thomas W. Greenberg a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 15, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Dechert's Rick Jones

    Dechert LLP's Richard D. Jones has helped hundreds of millions of dollars worth of commercial mortgage-backed securitization transactions go through this year as old rules are being applied in new and innovative ways, earning him a spot among Law360's Real Estate MVPs.

  • November 14, 2011

    M&A MVP: Gibson Dunn's Dennis Friedman

    Advising Hewlett-Packard Co. in its $10 billion purchase of U.K. software company Autonomy Corp. PLC is just one of the deals that has earned Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Dennis J. Friedman a spot on Law360's list of M&A MVPs.

  • November 14, 2011

    Real Estate MVP: Bingham's Richard Fries

    In hindsight, the planned conversion of a 32-story windowless building in lower Manhattan to condominiums at the height of the real estate boom seemed doomed to failure. But Bingham McCutchen LLP's Richard Fries managed the Herculean task of finding a new buyer and keeping the whole mess out of court, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Real Estate MVPs.

  • November 14, 2011

    Securities MVP: Quinn Emanuel's David Elsberg

    David Elsberg, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, led the way to successful arbitration in some of the biggest securities cases this year, including a more than $6 billion settlement for Washington Mutual Inc. bondholders in their case against JPMorgan Chase NA, earning him a spot on Law360's list of Securities MVPs.

  • November 14, 2011

    Appellate MVP: Gibson Dunn's Theodore Boutrous

    Earlier this year, Theodore Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to dismantle the largest class of plaintiffs ever certified, handing his client Wal-Mart Stores Inc. a historic victory and making him an easy pick for Law360's list of Appellate MVPs.

  • November 10, 2011

    Law360 Names 2011 MVPs

    Over the coming weeks, Law360 will profile the winners of its 2011 MVP awards honoring attorneys whose accomplishments in major litigation or transactions have raised the bar in corporate law this year.

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