Wilkinson Stekloff

In just over four years, Wilkinson Walsh has established itself as the leading trial litigation boutique in the country. Our innovative business model allows us to serve our clients efficiently while maintaining our commitment to developing the next generation of trial lawyers. We have achieved successful outcomes for our clients before, during, and after trial in some of the toughest jurisdictions in America, with a growing bench of trial lawyers. Since the firm's founding, nine Wilkinson Walsh lawyers have had first- or second-chair roles in prominent trials, and many more have achieved significant on-their-feet experience, including through pro bono cases.

Our model is working. Based on our successes so far, Benchmark Litigation has twice named Wilkinson Walsh the "Boutique Firm of the Year," calling the firm a "litigator's dream shop." Vault has recently ranked Wilkinson Walsh as the third most selective midsize law firm, the second best midsize law firm for compensation, and the third best midsize law firm for diversity. Our attorneys and trial wins have also received countless accolades in leading industry publications including The American Lawyer, Law360, and Chambers.

Our attorneys have now tried over 130 cases to verdict, almost 20 of which occurred since the firm opened its doors. We know that trials are won by tight-knit teams of smart, innovative, and highly skilled litigators committed to delivering excellent results for their clients. That is who we are. Our lawyers include:

The American Lawyer Litigator of the Year and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
Multiple Law360 "MVPs" for Trial Practice
Five former federal prosecutors and a former federal defender
A former Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel in the White House Counsel's Office
Former law clerks to federal trial and appellate judges across the country, including seven former Supreme Court clerks
Our associates are the best and brightest young lawyers in the country. Educated at the nation's best law schools, these top-caliber women and men have exceptional energy, experience, and talent. They have spent considerable time in the courtroom and they share our passion for trial work as well as our commitment to outstanding client service.

National Success
Our results speak for themselves. Together, we have successfully tried cases to juries and judges across the country, from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco to New York, Washington, Philadelphia, and Boston?and many places in between (including St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Omaha). We have litigated multiple bet-the-company cases and proven that we can deliver results to our clients before, during, and after trial.

Some of our most significant victories since our founding include:

Winning an outright defense verdict in a multi-state class action trial involving One A Day multivitamins. Plaintiffs alleged that Bayer made false, misleading, and deceptive statements about One A Day. Before trial, Wilkinson Walsh's motions practice reduced the potential damages from over $4 billion to $600 million. At trial, based on devastating cross-examinations by Wilkinson Walsh's attorneys, the defense rested without calling a single witness. After just over an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a complete defense verdict.
Winning five bellwether trials in mass tort proceedings involving the blood thinner Xarelto. Plaintiffs claimed that our client, Bayer, had failed to provide adequate warnings to doctors about risks associated with Xarelto. In the first two federal trials in New Orleans, Wilkinson Walsh secured unanimous defense verdicts within two hours of closing arguments. Then, in the first three state-court trials in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Wilkinson Walsh secured two defense verdicts and a judgment notwithstanding an adverse verdict in a third case.
Winning a defense jury verdict for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in a defamation suit brought in the Los Angeles Superior Court by former University of Southern California (USC) assistant football coach Todd McNair.
Winning a complete defense verdict for Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris unit in a three-week jury trial in St. Louis, just weeks after the firm's founding. Plaintiffs sought more than $1.5 billion in compensatory and punitive damages based on claims that the company had deceived smokers with the marketing of Marlboro Lights. The jury issued a complete defense verdict after deliberating for less than an hour.
Winning summary judgment for Georgia Pacific LLC in an antitrust class action lawsuit involving over $10 billion in claimed damages. The court's decision came just one day after it had preliminarily approved a settlement in which Georgia Pacific's co-defendants agreed to pay over $350 million.
Serving as lead counsel for the NCAA at summary judgment and trial in a challenge by certain current and former NCAA college football and basketball student athletes to NCAA rules limiting the level of athletics-based financial aid and benefits that student athletes may receive. Plaintiffs set out to fundamentally change college athletics in America by attacking their defining characteristic?that student athletes are amateurs?making this one of the most important cases in the NCAA's history. After a three-week bench trial, the district court enjoined certain limitations on benefits that student-athletes may receive, but reaffirmed the procompetitive value of the NCAA's rules and rejected Plaintiffs' broader-ranging efforts to transform college athletics.
Securing a complete dismissal of a securities fraud class action in the Eastern District of Virginia for MAXIMUS Inc., before any discovery was taken, and successfully defending that dismissal on appeal.
Obtaining the unprecedented dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against the economic development arms of the Habematolel Pomo Tribe of Upper Lake. The Bureau withdrew its case in early 2018 rather than respond to Wilkinson Walsh's motion to dismiss.
Successfully arguing for the court to dismiss Plaintiffs' biggest win?a $250 million award for false designation?in Zenimax Media et al. v. Oculus VR. Wilkinson Walsh represented all Defendants in this case, including Oculus VR and its parent company Facebook. Wilkinson Walsh prevailed on most of the claims at trial, with Plaintiffs receiving only a small fraction of the damages they sought. In addition to reducing the damages further based on Wilkinson Walsh's post-trial arguments, the court denied Plaintiffs' motion to enjoin the use of disputed technology in the Oculus Rift headset?allowing Oculus VR to market and sell its products without restriction?and granted Defendants' motion for sanctions.

Locations	No. of Attorneys
Los Angeles, CA	3
Washington, DC	28

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Antitrust and Competition	4
Corporate	8
Corporate - Securities and Capital Markets	1
Entertainment and New Media	1
Environmental and Land Use	3
Government Contracts	2
IP - Litigation General	1
Litigation	19
Litigation - General (consumer)	7
Litigation - Insurance	1
Litigation - Mass Torts	3