Rankings: Practice Groups of the Year

Law360’s Practice Groups of the Year highlights up to five practice groups that notched the biggest litigation victories or deals of the year. Winners are recognized for the size, complexity and significance of the deals or litigation they worked on.
  • January 30, 2013

    Media & Entertainment Group Of The Year: Paul Weiss

    Helping Warner Music Group Cprp. navigate intellectual property challenges presented by its $3.3 billion sale to Access Industries Inc. and defending the National Football League as it faces a wave of lawsuits over former players' head injuries are just two of the high-profile representations that earned Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP a spot among Law360's Media and Entertainment Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 30, 2013

    Private Equity Group Of The Year: Weil Gotshal

    Despite a dampened deal market in 2012, attorneys at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP harnessed the diversity of their client roster to land more than a dozen billion-dollar deals, including a record-setter in China, earning a spot among Law360's Private Equity Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 30, 2013

    Government Contracts Group Of The Year: Mayer Brown

    Mayer Brown LLP helped BAE Systems PLC win an $800 million ammunition manufacturing contract from an incumbent with decades of experience, while scoring victories in two high-profile cases involving organizational conflicts of interest, earning it a place among Law360's Government Contracts Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    Class Action Group Of The Year: Labaton Sucharow

    Labaton Sucharow LLP secured more than $2.3 billion in class action settlements for plaintiffs in high-stakes securities and antitrust matters in 2012, including a $725 million deal in litigation against American International Group Inc. and a $295 million pact with The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc., earning it a place among Law360's Class Action Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    Private Equity Group Of The Year: Simpson Thacher

    Standing behind some of 2012's largest fundraisings and more complex private equity deals, such as the $6.7 billion stake sale of a European pharmacy operator to Walgreen Co., is a well-oiled Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP team that has earned a spot on Law360's Private Equity Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    Media & Entertainment Group Of The Year: O'Melveny

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP landed the creators of "Call of Duty" a "life-changing" settlement to end their dispute with Activision Blizzard Inc., helped Warner Bros. Entertainment maintain control of its "Superman" rights and assisted in Lions Gate Entertainment's emergence as an industry heavyweight, earning the firm a spot among Law360's Media and Entertainment Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    International Trade Group Of The Year: Steptoe & Johnson

    Steptoe & Johnson LLP's international trade attorneys helped LG Electronics beat anti-dumping and countervailing duties in an important U.S. International Trade Commission ruling and secured a major victory in Louis Vuitton Malletier SA's counterfeiting battle, earning them a spot among Law360's International Trade Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    Insurance Group Of The Year: Simpson Thacher

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's insurance practice defeated on appeal two long-running asbestos cases worth $1 billion against longtime client Travelers Indemnity Co. and its affiliates, solidifying its position among Law360's Insurance Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2013

    Government Contracts Group Of The Year: Hogan Lovells

    The government contracts group at Hogan Lovells had a banner year in 2012, securing back-to-back wins for Lockheed Martin Corp. in deftly fending off a pair of bid protests to contract awards worth hundreds of millions of dollars, landing the team among Law360's Government Contracts Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    Insurance Group Of The Year: O'Melveny & Myers

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP's ability to win insurers a say in a reorganization plan in one bankruptcy and to outsmart a state intent on saddling its client with almost $70 million in workers' compensation costs in another is what makes the firm's insurance team a Law360 Insurance Practice Group of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    Government Contracts Group Of The Year: Crowell & Moring

    Crowell & Moring LLP's tenacity for its government contracts clients, from fending off more than a dozen challenges to a $220 million military health care award to finally scoring a client $10 billion worldwide criminal justice development contract after three rounds of protests, has earned the firm a spot among Law360's Government Contracts Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    Private Equity Group Of The Year: Ropes & Gray

    Ropes & Gray LLP led two of the world's largest private equity firms — Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital — in several multibillion-dollar, cross-border transactions in the last year while maintaining a global presence in middle-market private equity deals, earning a spot on Law360's Private Equity Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    Media & Entertainment Group Of The Year: Munger Tolles

    Entertainment attorneys from Munger Tolles & Olson LLP tackled legal challenges ranging from securing approval for Universal Music Group Inc.'s $1.9 billion purchase of EMI Group Ltd. to fending off reality television copyright accusations for ABC Inc., earning themselves a spot on Law360's list of Media and Entertainment Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    Class Action Group Of The Year: Kirkland & Ellis

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP helped BP PLC ink an estimated $7.8 billion in class action settlements last year covering economic and property damages and medical claims in multidistrict litigation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, work that helped place the firm among Law360's Class Action Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 28, 2013

    International Trade Group Of The Year: Sidley Austin

    Sidley Austin LLP's attorneys successfully represented Japan in disputes over the United States' use of a controversial method of calculating anti-dumping duties and secured major victories for aviation giant Airbus SAS in its epic dispute over European Union subsidies, earning them a spot among Law360's International Trade Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    Insurance Group Of The Year: Latham & Watkins

    Lawyers with Latham & Watkins LLP's insurance group scored big in 2012, recovering hundreds of millions for clients and advancing novel legal arguments that could eliminate a long-standing defense used in California by insurers to avoid payouts, earning the firm a spot on Law360's Insurance Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    Class Action Group Of The Year: King & Spalding

    King & Spalding LLP rescued several companies from costly class actions in 2012, protecting The Home Depot Inc. from a $400 million class action over its employee retirement plan and resolving a years-long battle over GlaxoSmithKline PLC's antidepressant Paxil — which earned it a spot as one of Law360's Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    Private Equity Group Of The Year: Paul Weiss

    A dedication to pursuing sophisticated private equity fundraisings and transactions for the industry's largest clients led to several blockbuster deals for the private equity group of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, earning it a spot on Law360's PE Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    Media & Entertainment Group Of The Year: Katten Muchin

    Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP's media and entertainment attorneys ended 2012 with a trail of trial victories and successful deals for high-profile clients, including Michael Jackson's estate and the distributor of the hit film "Drive," earning themselves a spot among Law360's Media and Entertainment Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    International Trade Group Of The Year: Curtis

    Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP’s newly launched international trade practice started with a splash, as a landmark victory overturning the U.S. Department of Commerce’s imposition of countervailing duties against nonmarket economies including China helped place it among Law360's International Trade Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 25, 2013

    Government Contracts Group Of The Year: Arnold & Porter

    The government contracts pros at Arnold & Porter LLP had the Beltway buzzing in 2012, notching precedential wins against Uncle Sam that protected the rights of clients such as Systems Application & Technologies Inc. and Raytheon Co., established rights for contractors in general and helped earn the firm a place among Law360's Government Contracts Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 24, 2013

    Private Equity Group Of The Year: Kirkland & Ellis

    With nearly 350 attorneys and almost as many clients, Kirkland & Ellis LLP boasts what is likely Big Law's biggest and broadest private equity practice. In 2012, it proved it was one of its most capable, too, tackling a dozen billion-dollar buyouts from large-cap investors and covering the middle market from Chicago to Shanghai.

  • January 24, 2013

    Insurance Group Of The Year: Anderson Kill

    Anderson Kill & Olick PC’s insurance recovery attorneys compelled insurers to cough up coverage for the Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund cleanup and helped to create Ohio law surrounding insurance coverage for retail computer hacking incidents, landing the firm a spot among Law360’s Insurance Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 24, 2013

    Media & Entertainment Group Of The Year: Covington

    Covington & Burling LLP won a landmark decision for independent television networks when it convinced the Federal Communications Commission that Comcast Cable Communications LLC discriminated against Tennis Channel Inc. by placing the channel on a more expensive cable-sports package, helping the firm earn a spot on Law360's Media and Entertainment Practice Groups of the Year.

  • January 24, 2013

    International Trade Group Of The Year: Akin Gump

    Playing a key role in opening up China’s auto insurance market to international players and preventing Samsung Electronics Co. from facing hundreds of millions of dollars in anti-dumping duties were just two of the major achievements landing Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP among Law360’s International Trade Practice Groups of the Year.

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