Winner: Fox Rothschild GENERAL LITIGATION

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Winner: Fox Rothschild GENERAL LITIGATION PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017 GENERAL LITIGATION (LARGE FIRMS) Winner: Fox Rothschild GENERAL LITIGATION (MIDSIZE FIRMS) Winner: Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young APPELLATE Winner: Morgan Lewis & Bockius CLASS ACTION Winner: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check INSURANCE Winner: Reed Smith INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Winner: Dechert PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY Winner: Swartz Campbell GENERAL EXCELLENCE Winner: InterDigital IN-HOUSE LEGAL WORK Winner: JLT Re CORPORATE COMPLIANCE Winner: United States Steel GC IMPACT WINNERS Mark A. Hershey, Armstrong World Industries Debbie Lofton, Qlik EDITOR’S NOTE e consider ourselves very fortunate to garner such a consistently enthusiastic response to our Litigation Departments of the Year and GENERAL LITIGATION W 4 Legal Departments of the Year honors. Fox Rothschild (Winner, Large Firms) We’re fortunate for two reasons. First, the continued support and participation allows GENERAL LITIGATION us to recognize the fantastic, and often unsung, efforts 5 of Pennsylvania litigators and corporate counsel. We Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young feel these honors provide law firms and in-house (Winner, Midsize Firms) departments with a platform to demonstrate the often groundbreaking work they do on a regular basis. APPELLATE Second, these honors give us an opportunity to peek 6 behind the curtain and really get a sense of the amount Morgan Lewis & Bockius (Winner) of innovation, teamwork and tenacity that goes into running a successful litigation team or legal depart- 7 CLASS ACTION ment. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check (Winner) This year we’ve expanded the Q&A format we adopt- ed in 2016 to include not only our Legal Departments winners and the two chief legal officers we’re honoring 8 INSURANCE with GC Impact Awards, but also our Litigation Reed Smith (Winner) Departments honorees. What you’ll find in reading these is that a large part of INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY what elevates great litigators and corporate counsel is a 10 simple unwillingness to back down from a challenge. Dechert (Winner) We hope that you find these interviews inspiring. All of us at The Legal would like to congratulate the PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY winners and thank all the firms and companies that 11 Swartz Campbell (Winner) participated this year. Those who helped shape the submissions deserve an added round of applause—we know how much work went into making them. GENERAL EXCELLENCE 12 We hope to hear from even more of you next year. InterDigital (Winner) One final note: This magazine is the result of tireless efforts by many members of our staff, but I’d like to IN-HOUSE LEGAL WORK extend a special thank you to Kristie Rearick, our maga- 13 zines & supplements editor, who helmed this project JLT Re (Winner) from beginning to end. CORPORATE COMPLIANCE 14 United States Steel (Winner) GC IMPACT 15 (Winner, Mark A. Hershey) Zack Needles GC IMPACT 16 Managing Editor (Winner, Debbie Lofton) Copyright © 2017. ALM Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited U.S.P.O. No. 309260 Published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The Legal Intelligencer 3 LITIGATION DEPARTMENTS OF THE YEAR Photo by Nanette Kardaszeski Nanette by Photo Back row left to right: John Cornell Fuller, Stephan A. Cornell, Stephanie Resnick, Maura L. Burke, Brett A. Berman, Gerald E. Arth. Front row from left to right: Ronald L. Williams, John J. Haggerty, Jacqueline M. Carolan, Abraham C. Reich. GENERAL LITIGATION (LARGE FIRMS): FOX ROTHSCHILD ox Rothschild’s victories stemmed clients’ goals in ways that went be- by proving that UCB’s initial legal from litigating on both sides of the yond a mere court victory. action was perfectly justified since it Fcourtroom aisle. In some cases Tennis star Maria Sharapova’s vic- was supported by good evidence. The the firm recovered funds or awards for tory is simply impossible to measure courts found that UCB could not have clients, but more often the firm’s victories in dollars alone. By proving that she known, without a full court hearing took the form of fending off attacks and had been punished unfairly for an and testimony from witnesses, that major financial threats and restoring its inadvertent doping violation, Fox got its trade secrets claims would not be clients’ reputations. Sharapova back on the professional sustained. Fox’s client not only won The firm achieved a total victory when tennis tour and helped her to restore the lawsuit, but walked away with the it defeated a $76 million legal malprac- her reputation, which was vital to re- court’s imprimatur that its litigation tice suit brought against client Kirkland covering her numerous opportunities conduct was never improper. for endorsement deals. & Ellis. Fox Rothschild was also called A Fox team also stopped Tris upon to represent Maria Sharapova in Is it a penchant for efficiency or a will- Pharma in its tracks when the ge- ingness to go the distance as effective her doping case last year and partner neric manufacturer launched a second trial advocates that gives the litigation John Haggerty was able to successfully round of litigation. Tris had been ac- department its reputation? get the tennis start’s career and reputa- cused in a prior suit of stealing trade It is a combination of both. When tion back on track. secrets from a former employee of it comes to litigation, it is important UCB Manufacturing so that Tris could to meet clients’ needs in an efficient What are some of the department’s begin marketing a generic version of manner, but also in a comprehensive most satisfying successes of 2016 Tussionex, the popular cough syrup. way that advances their unique goals. and why? When Tris was cleared of wrongdo- To do so requires a thorough under- Some of the 2016 litigation ing in that case, it filed a new suit standing of their businesses and their successes for Fox Rothschild’s accusing UCB of using the first case circumstances. Pennsylvania offices were especially to establish a monopoly. Fox secured gratifying because they achieved our a complete victory, upheld on appeal, Fox continues on 17 4 Pennsylvania Legal & Litigation Departments of the Year LITIGATION DEPARTMENTS OF THE YEAR Photo by Nanette Kardaszeski Kardaszeski Nanette by Photo Back row left to right: Marissa Parker, Mark D. Villanueva, Paula D. Shaffner, Corey S.D. Norcross, Joseph T. Kelleher and Samantha Kats. Front row (seated) left to right: Michael D. O’Mara and Jeffrey A. Lutsky. GENERAL LITIGATION (MIDSIZE FIRMS): STRADLEY RONON STEVENS & YOUNG early a third of Stradley Ronon assessment appeal, forcing a county- with Petrobras while the class action Stevens & Young’s litigation wide reassessment of all properties. remains in protracted litigation. Nclients have been with the firm In the securities fraud litigation, we In a matter that has significant local for more than 10 years and nearly 200 represented more than 100 investors, impact, we obtained a mandatory in- litigation client relationships have en- including some of the largest mutual junction from the Delaware County dured for more than 20 years. funds in the country, in a series of Court of Common Pleas requiring Recent successful matters ranged lawsuits against Brazilian oil giant the reassessment of all properties in from representing more than 100 Petrobras stemming from the com- Delaware County. Our team argued mutual fund clients in multibillion- pany’s decade-long bid-rigging and that the county’s failure to reassess dollar global securities fraud liti- bribery scheme. This litigation was properties since 1998 created perva- gation against Brazilian oil indus- a watershed case for securities fraud sive inequities in the taxation of prop- try giant Petrobras to pursuing a class-action opt-outs with many major erties, violating the Uniformity Clause local real estate assessment appeal U.S. mutual fund complexes electing of the Pennsylvania Constitution. in Delaware County that ultimately to file direct lawsuits instead of pas- We have long been known for our forced a countywide reassessment of sively participating in the class action. work in the insurance industry and 2016 all properties. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who was no exception. We secured victo- presided over the litigation, noted that ries in varied insurance-related cases for What were some of the depart- the case “evolved into one that is pri- Chartis Property Casualty, Golden Rule ment’s most satisfying successes of marily a non-class action.” We led this Insurance, the Pennsylvania Insurance 2016, and why? groundswell, filing the first of the opt- Department, Standard Fire Insurance In 2016 we continued our string out cases and representing the largest and Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of litigation successes with victories group of opt-out plaintiffs. Because In addition, Stradley has for ranging from a favorable settlement of our unique combination of litiga- more than 20 years represented the for mutual fund clients in a multi- tion prowess and mutual fund industry Pennsylvania state legislature in a billion-dollar global securities fraud experience, we were able to position case to prosecuting a local real estate our clients for favorable settlements Stradley continues on 17 The Legal Intelligencer 5 LITIGATION DEPARTMENTS OF THE YEAR APPELLATE MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS Kardaszeski Nanette by Photo organ Lewis & Bockius’ ap- pellate group scored victo- Mries for clients in no fewer than eight federal circuits, in addi- tion to state appeals court, last year. In the process, the firm’s litigators helped to shape the law going forward, such as in the unanimous Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that dis- Morgan Lewis’ appellate litigation team (from left to right): Troy S. Brown, Karen missed a securities fraud suit against Pieslak Pohlmann, Steven A. Reed, Marc J. Sonnenfeld (seated), John Lee and Sarah Morgan Lewis client General Cable E. Bouchard. Corp., while also clarifying the law on molded verdict against it in a long- The Supreme Court denied the plain- corporate scienter.
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