Editor/columnist for the Am Law Litigation Daily. Kentuckifornian. RTs = RTs
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Articles by Ross Todd
In a Congressional Investigation, ‘You’re an Exhibit in Their Story’
L-R: Giancarlo Pellegrini of Squire Patton Boggs, Raphael A. Prober and Karen E. Christian of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Courtesy photos Take a seasoned litigator, put them in a congressional deposition and they'll quickly discover that many of the tools they normally use to maintain some semblance of control are missing. No objections. No rules of evidence. No neutral judge. Potentially no dependable attorney-client privilege. And every answer might become tomorrow’s sound bite.
Litigation Leaders: Steven Geise of Jones Day on What the ‘One Firm’ Approach Means to Litigators
Steven N. Geise of Jones Day. Courtesy photo Welcome to another edition of our Litigation Leaders series, featuring the litigation practice leaders at some of the biggest and most innovative law firms in the country. Meet Steven Geise, who co-leads the business & tort litigation practice at Jones Day alongside partner John Majoras. Geise previously served as a leader in the firm’s San Diego office for more than a decade. Geise is from Olean, New York, a small town near the Pennsylvania border.
Litigators of the Week: A First Amendment Win for CNN, Politico and MS NOW Against White House Press Ban
(l-r) Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., Katie Townsend, and Connor Sullivan of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Courtesy photos Our Litigators of the Week are Theodore Boutrous Jr., Katie Townsend and Connor Sullivan of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. We shouted them out last month after they secured a temporary restraining order on behalf of CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO and individual reporters after the president said on Truth Social that he was “banning” the news organizations from the White House.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock A Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan team led by Alex Spiro, Michael Swartz and Minji Reem helped Better.com founder Vishal Garg cap a remarkable corporate comeback after his August ouster as CEO. The team navigated litigation on two fronts—the Southern District of New York and Delaware’s Court of Chancery—as Garg mounted a consent solicitation aimed at removing five directors of the digital mortgage platform.
‘More Women in the Discussion’: Building a Broader Securities Defense Bar
Joni S. Jacobsen of Dechert. Courtesy photo Five years ago, Joni Jacobsen, the global co-chair of the securities and complex litigation practice at Dechert, took a hard look at the Chambers rankings in her practice area and the panels of lawyers that D&O insurers recommended. She says she found that women were under-represented at the top levels of the field, particularly on the defense side.
Judge Alsup, Senior Jurists Share Insights at Trial Advocacy Program
(l-r) William Frentzen of Morrison & Foerster, retired U.S. District Judge William Alsup, and senior judges Jeffrey White and Susan Illston. Photos: courtesy/LAW.COM Three judges who have combined for more than 81 years on the bench—retired U.S. District Judge William Alsup and his former Northern District of California colleagues, Senior Judges Jeffrey White and Susan Illston—shared a courtroom Thursday night for the first annual trial advocacy program named in Alsup’s honor.
The Witness Has to Get Hot Before You Raise the Temperature
(l-r) William Frentzen of Morrison & Foerster, retired U.S. District Judge William Alsup, and senior judges Jeffrey White and Susan Illston. Photos: courtesy/LAW.COM Three judges who have combined for more than 81 years on the bench—retired U.S. District Judge William Alsup and his former Northern District of California colleagues, Senior Judges Jeffrey White and Susan Illston—shared a courtroom Thursday night for the first annual trial advocacy program named in Alsup’s honor.
Litigators of the Week: Using Newly Uncovered Evidence to Knock Out a Nearly $50M Arbitration Award for OptumRx
L-R: Michael Holecek, Zachary A. Kady and Nadia Alhadi of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Courtesy photos Our Litigators of the Week are Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Michael Holecek, of counsel Zachary Kady and associate Nadia Alhadi. They persuaded a federal judge in Florida to take what he described as an “exceptional” step: wiping out a $48.36 million arbitration award against their client, pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx, in its entirety.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week we have a Milbank team led by partners Richard Parker and James Weingarten that represented the State of California in an antitrust challenge to Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery after federal enforcers cleared the deal without conditions.
What Changing Juries Haven't Changed: Credibility Still Counts in the Courtroom
Fred W. Alvarez (L) of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass, and Arturo J. González of Morrison & Foerster. Courtesy photos One of the biggest changes that Morrison & Foerster trial partner Arturo González has seen during his 41 years of practice is the changing demographics of jurors, particularly in his home state of California. “When I started, the juries of California were primarily white,” said González, speaking Friday as part of a half-day forum put on by the San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association.
What Changing Juries Haven't Changed: Credibility Still Counts in the Courtroom
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For 2 Latina Chief Judges, Being First Means Making Sure They Aren’t the Last
Chief District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, of the Northern District of California, and Chief Judge Mary Helen Murguia of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Photos: LAW.COM Mary Murguia, the first Latina to serve as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, says the responsibility that comes with being a "first" can be reduced to a fairly simple goal: Don't be the last.
Litigators of the Week: Hitting Apple With Record $5.7B Patent Verdict
L-R: Tigran Guledjian, Scott L. Watson and Lance Yang of Quinn Emanuel. Courtesy photos Our Litigators of the Week are Tigran Guledjian, Scott Watson and Lance Yang of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. They helped their client Taction Technology secure a record $5.7 billion patent damages verdict against Apple Inc. last week from federal jurors in San Diego.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock Let’s start with Mark Harris, John Roberts and their team at Proskauer Rose, who continued the firm’s high stakes work for the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico in the Commonwealth’s bankruptcy-type restructuring proceedings.
What the Military Taught Two Morgan Lewis Trial Lawyers About Leading, and What They Had to Unlearn
(l-r) Donny English, left, and Jason Mills, right, of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Courtesy photos Morgan, Lewis & Bockius litigation partner Jason Mills has a quick answer when asked what experience from his time in U.S. Marine Corps he would give to an aspiring trial lawyer. He just wouldn't necessarily wish it on anybody. As a Marine lawyer in Iraq, Mills once found himself waiting on a jury that was deliberating when nearby rocket fire landed.
The Story Behind King & Spalding’s Leadership Structure for Litigation
King & Spalding offices in Atlanta. Photo: John Disney/ Law.com Welcome to part two of our Litigation Leaders conversation with Andrew “Andy” Bayman, who co-leads the product liability and mass torts practice at King & Spalding. As you’ll read below, Bayman previously led the firm’s 550-litigation trial and global disputes practice group.
The Story Behind King & Spalding’s Unique Leadership Structure for Litigation
King & Spalding offices in Atlanta. Photo: John Disney/ Law.com Welcome to part two of our Litigation Leaders conversation with Andrew “Andy” Bayman, who co-leads the product liability and mass torts practice at King & Spalding. As you’ll read below, Bayman previously led the firm’s 550-litigation trial and global disputes practice group.
Litigation Leaders: King & Spalding’s Andy Bayman on Leading Both Trial Teams and Mass Tort Strategy
Andrew "Andy" T. Bayman of King & Spalding. Courtesy photo Welcome to another edition of our Litigation Leaders series, featuring the litigation practice leaders at some of the biggest and most innovative law firms in the country. Meet Andrew “Andy” Bayman, who led the former trial and global disputes practice group at King & Spalding. Bayman, who is based in Atlanta, now co-leads the firm’s product liability and mass torts practice with Tracie Renfroe in Houston.
Litigators of the Week: A Nine-Digit Tax Win for ExxonMobil Over Qatari Gas Deal
L-R: James P. Rouhandeh, Antonio J. Perez-Marques, and Lara Samet Buchwald of Davis Polk & Wardwell. Courtesy photos Our Litigators of the Week are James Rouhandeh, Antonio Perez-Marques and Lara Samet Buchwald of Davis Polk & Wardwell. Back in November 2024, the Davis Polk team took home Runners-Up honors after securing a big win for ExxonMobil Corp. in the first phase of a bifurcated tax dispute with the federal government.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week is a team from Latham & Watkins that knocked out an antitrust class action accusing client Novartis of improperly using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Orange Book to delay generic competition for blockbuster heart drug Entresto.
Move By Dela. Star Litigator From Wachtell to Gibson Dunn Highlights Growing Trend of High-Profile Big Law Departures
Credit: Aan/Adobe Stock Given the number of jaw-dropping moves over the past year-plus in Big Law, it seems it’s never been more attractive for superstar partners to switch firms. At the same time, some firms have been taking steps to make it harder and more expensive for their own stars to walk out the door. Those countervailing thoughts hit me as I read through a pair of articles by my colleagues Andrew Maloney and Caroline Byrne yesterday morning.
Reporter Turned Researcher: Contributing Editor Laura Lorek on Her Master’s Thesis About Texas Lawyers’ AI Use
Litigation Daily contributing editor Laura Lorek receiving a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in August. Courtesy photo Let’s start this morning with a hat tip to Litigation Daily contributing editor Laura Lorek. After three years of online studies, last month Laura received her Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Texas Tech University at a ceremony in Lubbock.
As Big Law’s Stars Become Fair Game, Firms Raise the Cost of Leaving
Credit: Aan/Adobe Stock Given the number of jaw-dropping moves over the past year-plus in Big Law, it seems it’s never been more attractive for superstar partners to switch firms. At the same time, some firms have been taking steps to make it harder and more expensive for their own stars to walk out the door. Those countervailing thoughts hit me as I read through a pair of articles by my colleagues Andrew Maloney and Caroline Byrne yesterday morning.
Will More Judges Speak Out?
Screenshot of The New York Times. Courtesy image We hope you enjoy this excerpt from Litigation Daily, the exclusive source for sharp commentary on mega court battles, winning strategies and the issues that obsess elite litigators. Law.com subscribers can sign up for The AmLaw Litigation Daily newsletter here. Last week the New York Times published an extraordinary story drawing on interviews with seven judges on the federal bench in Minnesota.
After Minnesota Judges Speak Out, Will Others Follow?
Screenshot of The New York Times. Courtesy image Last week the New York Times published an extraordinary story drawing on interviews with seven judges on the federal bench in Minnesota. The piece detailed both the extent to which judges there coordinated their work to deal with the influx of cases in the wake of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s surge of activity in Minneapolis last winter and their frustrations with the federal government repeatedly flouting their rulings.
Litigators of the Week: A Philadelphia Defense Verdict in First Neutrogena Sunscreen Recall Trial
Allison M. Brown (L) of Kirkland & Ellis, and Michael A. Brown (R) of Nelson Mullins. Courtesy photos Our litigators of the week are Alli Brown of Kirkland & Ellis and Mike Brown of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. They represented the company formerly known as Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (now Kenvue) in the first case to go to trial claiming that trace amounts of benzene in Neutrogena brand aerosol sunscreens can cause a rare form of blood cancer.
Litigators of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week is the defense team that represented hip-hop artist Durk Banks, better known as Lil Durk, in a federal murder-for-hire trial.
Looking at the Global 200 Through a Litigation Lens
Credit: K/Adobe Stock Reading through the stories from my colleagues on Law.com’s business of law and international desks accompanying this year’s Global 200, I found myself thinking back to my recent conversation with BJ Trach, the new global chair of litigation and trial department at Latham & Watkins. The Global 200, for those who don’t know, is the ranking of the 200 largest law firms in the world by gross revenue we publish each September.
What Big Law’s Practice Group Leaders Say the Job Is Really About
L to R: Sarah Heaton Concannon of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Betty X. Yang of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Friven Yeoh of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Carrie DeLone of Hogan Lovells. Courtesy photos Practice group leaders occupy a distinctive place in Big Law. They are still active practitioners, often handling some of a firm's most significant matters, while simultaneously helping shape the strategic direction of practices that can span offices and dozens of lawyers.
Beyond Storytelling: Why the Best Closings Function as Roadmaps to Verdict
San Diego employment lawyer Anthony Vargas speaking during a NITA webinar on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Image from web video Most trial lawyers spend tons of time honing their storytelling skills. But according to retired Immigration Judge Zol Rainey and San Diego employment lawyer Anthony Vargas, the most effective closings do more than tell a compelling story. They show jurors exactly how to get from the evidence they have heard to the verdict lawyers want them to reach.
Litigators of the Week: Report Finds Clippers Circumvented NBA Salary Cap Through Kawhi Leonard's Endorsement Deals
David B. Anders of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Courtesy photo Our Litigators of the Week are David Anders, Aline Flodr and Alex Mackler of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, who led the firm’s investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap rules by facilitating endorsement deals to pay star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week are litigators at Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis and Troutman Pepper Locke representing defendants in the paraquat mass tort in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, who got a significant win in a bellwether case that had been teed up for trial in November. Carpentry contractor Brian Parker alleged that exposure to the herbicide while he was working on projects at Conte Farms in Tabernacle, New Jersey, led him to develop Parkinson’s disease.
Litigation Leaders: Brithem’s Lauren Tabaksblat on Building a Trial Team, Not a Founder Platform
Lauren Tabaksblat, co-founder of Brithem. Courtesy photo Welcome to another edition of our Litigation Leaders series, featuring the litigation practice leaders at some of the biggest and most innovative law firms in the country. Meet Lauren Tabaksblat, who co-founded Brithem LLP with partner Michael Bowe last September.
Q&A: Legal Team Behind Google's Victory Over DOJ Attempt to Break Up Ad Tech Business
(l-r) Jeannie Rhee, Bill Isaacson, and Karen Dunn, of Dunn Isaacson Rhee. Courtesy photo We hope you enjoy this excerpt from Litigation Daily, the exclusive source for sharp commentary on mega court battles, winning strategies and the issues that obsess elite litigators. Law.com subscribers can sign up for The AmLaw Litigation Daily newsletter here.
Litigators of the Week: Google Beats Back DOJ’s Attempt to Force Sale of Its Ad Tech Business
(l-r) Jeannie Rhee, Bill Isaacson, and Karen Dunn, of Dunn Isaacson Rhee. Courtesy photo For preventing the Justice Department from breaking apart Google’s advertising technology business, Karen Dunn, Jeannie Rhee and William Isaacson of Dunn Isaacson Rhee are our Litigators of the Week.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week we have Phyllis Jones and Nicole Antoine of Covington & Burling and Rachel Cannon of Steptoe, who led a trial team representing Mead Johnson in the first bellwether in federal multidistrict litigation claiming the company’s preterm formula causes the gastrointestinal illness necrotizing enterocolitis.
Latham’s New Global Litigation Chair Sees Clients More Willing to Push Cases to Trial
BJ Trach, Global Chair of the Litigation & Trial Department with Latham & Watkins. Courtesy photo Let’s start this morning with a little news from Latham & Watkins, where Boston litigation partner and former executive committee member BJ Trach has taken on the role of global chair of the firm’s litigation and trial department.
When Leadership Emerges From Service Rather Than Ambition
Monica Call of Foley & Lardner, Carter Dugan of Norton Rose Fulbright, Joe Mahady of Reed Smith, and Dan Goettle and Leif Sigmond of Baker & Hostetler. Courtesy photos For many litigators, the formative years of private practice are defined by climbing. You make partner, build a book of business, land bigger matters and earn greater responsibility. Yet once lawyers rise to lead major law firm offices, their definitions of success often morph.
Kirkland and Quinn Walking Different Paths Into the Same Litigation Future
L-R: Andrew A. Kassof of Kirkland & Ellis, Bill Burck and Michael Carlinsky of Quinn Emanuel. Courtesy photos Over the past few weeks, my colleagues Amanda O'Brien and Andrew Maloney have produced fascinating looks at how litigators at a couple of the nation's most successful law firms are thinking about growth, technology, talent and pricing.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Credit: jiris/Adobe Stock First up this week is a trial team at McKool Smith led by Nick Mathews and Warren Lipschitz that represented AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Nokia in patent litigation where ASUS Technology Licensing and its affiliates were seeking more than $430 million.
Litigators of the Week: 11th Circuit Vacates DOT Order Targeting Delta’s Joint Venture With Aeromexico
Eugene Scalia (L) and Amir C. Tayrani (R) of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Courtesy photos Our Litigators of the Week are Eugene Scalia and Amir Tayrani of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who have represented Delta Air Lines in challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation’s order withdrawing approval of the company’s joint venture with Aeromexico.
Dela. Win Nets Litigator of the Week Shout-Out
We hope you enjoy this excerpt from Litigation Daily, the exclusive source for sharp commentary on mega court battles, winning strategies and the issues that obsess elite litigators. Law.com subscribers can sign up for The AmLaw Litigation Daily newsletter here. A team led by Steve Perlstein, George Stamatopoulos and Zach Rosenbaum of Kobre & Kim scored a win for former American International Group who claim they're owed deferred compensation.
A Data Breach Crossroads
A notice of a class action settlement Litigation Daily columnist and editor Ross Todd received noting he was part of a "data security incident" at the used clothing retailer Crossroads Trading Co. (top) that coincidentally arrived on the same day as a "Sell-by-Mail" bag from the same company (bottom). Photo: Ross Todd/LAW.COM The conveniences of modern life come with their own special set of, er, inconveniences. See the image above.
Beyond the Feel-Good Case for Giving Associates Courtroom Opportunities
Andrew Clubok (L) of Latham & Watkins, and Nikki Stitt Sokol (R) of Meta Platforms. Courtesy photos In a profession where courtroom appearances are coveted, Andrew “Andy” Clubok spends substantial time and energy convincing Latham & Watkins partners to give those appearances away. Not because the firm's litigators don't want them. Quite the opposite. "All of us love being in court, and we all love arguing," Clubok told me when we caught up last week.
The Art of Switching Gears: Preparing For Three Major Arguments at Once
Weil partner Drew Tulumello. Courtesy photo The black binders were everywhere. Last month, Drew Tulumello, co-chair of litigation at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, found himself preparing dispositive motions in three very different cases headed to court in rapid succession. "The preparation obstacles are significant," Tulumello told me this month while on vacation in Wyoming.
Litigators of the Week: Two Big D.C. Circuit Decisions Over Pentagon's Chinese Military Company Designations
Derek L. Shaffer (L) of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and James E. Tysse (R) of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Courtesy photos Over the course of four days this past week, the D.C. Circuit issued a pair of rulings mapping a new playbook for challenging a "Chinese military company" designation from the Pentagon. On Aug. 14, Derek Shaffer and his team at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. won a partial reversal for drone maker DJI on administrative law.
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
A team led by Steve Perlstein, George Stamatopoulos and Zach Rosenbaum of Kobre & Kim scored a win for former American International Group who claim they're owed deferred compensation. Last week, in a 151-page opinion, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath in Delaware held that about $37 billion the insurance giant transferred to its derivatives trading unit—the now-bankrupt AIG Financial Products Corp.— was an equity infusion rather than debt.
Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Co-Chair on Building Teams for Risks ‘You Can’t Yet Look Up’
Eversheds Sutherland Atlanta offices. Photo: John Disney/ALM Welcome back to the second part of our Litigation Leaders conversation with Michael Bahar, the co-head of global litigation at Eversheds Sutherland, who is based in Washington, D.C. Yesterday, we discussed how his military service has shaped his approach to leadership.
Litigation Leaders: Michael Bahar of Eversheds Sutherland on Why Great Leaders Start With Wanting to Lead
Michael Bahar of Eversheds Sutherland. Courtesy photo Welcome to another edition of our Litigation Leaders series, featuring the litigation practice leaders at some of the biggest and most innovative law firms in the country.
Litigator of the Week: A Landmark Multibillion Dollar ‘Forever Chemicals’ Settlement for the State of New Jersey
William J. Jackson of Kelley Drye & Warren. Courtesy photo Our Litigator of the Week is William J. Jackson of Kelley Drye & Warren, who represented the State of New Jersey against DuPont and 3M in litigation involving so-called forever chemicals. After more than six years of hard-fought litigation, the state’s effort to hold the companies accountable for PFAS contamination conclude with what U.S. District Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb described as a “fair and reasonable” compromise.
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