Beth A Wilkinson

Career

Beth has served as lead counsel in over 50 jury trials, including numerous bet-the company, multi-billion-dollar cases. She has developed an unrivaled record of victories in federal and state courts throughout the country. Her career has taken Beth from the Army to a leading role in the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers to nationally recognized work as a litigation partner at two of the nation’s most prominent law firms, and to founding Wilkinson Stekloff.

Most recently, Beth was lead trial counsel for Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision—the second-largest merger in history and the biggest involving a technology company. She defeated the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the transaction after a five-day trial that began less than four weeks after the FTC filed its federal court complaint and directed all aspects of litigation strategy from the time the acquisition was announced in January 2022, positioning the case for a federal court victory on an unprecedented timetable. American Lawyer named Beth “Litigator of the Week” and described the firm as “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit,” for leading the successful defense.

Professional Memberships

Beth is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of American Law Institute (ALI), and a Legal 500 “Leading Trial Lawyer.” In 2022, Legal 500 inducted Beth into its Hall of Fame. She has been named The American Lawyer “Litigator of the Year,” a Law360 “Trial Ace” and “Trial MVP,” and a National Law Journal “Winning Litigator.”

In addition, Chambers and Partners has repeatedly named Beth a national “Star Trial Lawyer” and recently honored her for her “Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession.” Chambers described Beth as “the best trial lawyer there is,” a “superstar,” and a “lion at the bar,” noting her “supreme advocacy” and “unparalleled experience acting as lead trial counsel.” Beth has also been chosen for Benchmark Litigation’s elite group of the 10 leading women litigators who stand out from its iconic “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list, as well as the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers,” and has been recognized by Benchmark as a “Litigation Star.”

Clients

Beth litigates cases of all kinds, including white collar, antitrust, mass tort and product liability, contract, commercial, and class actions. She also represents clients in front of the Department of Justice, Congress, and other government agencies.

Work Highlights

Beth’s other notable representations include:

• Lead trial counsel for a major chemical manufacturer in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation in the District of South Carolina. The multidistrict litigation, involving alleged PFAS groundwater contamination from the use of AFFF, is considered the most significant PFAS litigation in the country. Directed overall trial strategy in both the MDL and various state courts and was set to serve as lead trial counsel for the manufacturer in the first bellwether trial in the AFFF MDL, which was halted when the remaining parties announced a settlement to end all water-provider claims brought against the manufacturer.

• Lead trial counsel defending Altria Group, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries in the first government entity bellwether trial, brought by the San Francisco Unified School District, in multidistrict litigation arising out of Altria’s minority investment in JUUL Labs, Inc. Just one day after Beth and the Wilkinson Stekloff team completed cross examinations in plaintiff’s case and the defense case was about to begin, plaintiffs agreed to a global settlement with Altria that resolved the personal injury, consumer class action, and government entity cases brought in over 6,000 e-vapor cases in state and federal courts.

• Lead trial counsel for Altria Group, Inc. in an administrative trial related to the FTC’s challenge of Altria’s $12.8 billion minority investment in JUUL Labs. Obtained a full dismissal of claims against Altria by the FTC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge. Also lead counsel for Altria in putative class action lawsuits pending in the Northern District of California related to the JUUL Labs investment.

• Lead trial counsel for the NFL in a national antitrust MDL lawsuit brought by putative class members challenging the League’s broadcast arrangement for its Sunday Ticket Package. The District Court dismissed all of Plaintiffs’ claims, with prejudice. The Ninth Circuit subsequently reversed that decision, and the case is scheduled for trial in February 2024.

• Lead trial counsel for Bayer in the multi-district litigation involving the blood-thinner Xarelto, and in the first Xarelto state-court trial. She obtained complete defense verdicts in two MDL bellwether trials and judgment for Bayer, notwithstanding a plaintiff ’s verdict, in the state-court bellwether.

• Lead trial counsel for Georgia-Pacific in a multi-billion-dollar federal court class action alleging Sherman Act violations by the largest manufacturers in the containerboard and corrugated products industries. The court granted summary judgment for Georgia-Pacific one day after it had preliminarily approved a settlement in which the company’s co-defendants agreed to pay over $350 million.