Litigation: General Commercial: The Elite | USA

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is universally recognized as a preeminent litigation firm with first-class expertise across civil and criminal disputes. The firm houses an enviable bench of outstanding courtroom advocates who act on market-leading litigation, drawing on strength in areas such as product liability, IP, antitrust and wider commercial claims. It also boasts a dominant securities litigation practice that attracts leading financial institutions, alongside multinational corporates from a breadth of industries.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan possesses a dominant commercial litigation team that consistently demonstrates leading courtroom expertise for both plaintiffs and defendants. The firm's broad civil capabilities include notable strength in product liability, intellectual property and antitrust disputes. The team is also highlighted for its strong securities practice, fielding experience in bringing high-value claims against financial institutions on behalf of institutional plaintiffs. The firm draws from its expert appellate practice to handle state and federal appeals, including extensive experience appearing before the US Supreme Court.

Susman Godfrey is an expert commercial litigation boutique offering deep expertise in representing plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes disputes across a range of industries, including the financial services, energy and technology sectors. The firm fields a leading group of trial lawyers who regularly appear in bench and jury trials, as well as alternative dispute resolution and appellate proceedings. Its lawyers possess extensive experience advising on financial fraud disputes, antitrust matters and wider high-value class action claims.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has an accomplished practice that combines extensive experience in securities disputes with notable commercial litigation capabilities. Its litigators have deep expertise in a broad range of civil disputes, including significant class actions and bankruptcy-related litigation. The firm is highlighted for its impressive global reach, which allows it to regularly act on cross-border investigations and civil disputes. The group counts a number of leading banks and wider financial institutions among its illustrious client base, alongside roles acting for major corporates and senior officers and directors.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has a strong presence in business-critical civil and criminal litigation and is highly regarded for its deep bench and expert representation of financial institutions and global corporations. The firm's preeminent M&A litigation capabilities are demonstrated by its frequent handling of high-stakes takeover and corporate governance disputes, with extensive experience appearing before the Delaware Court of Chancery. Its lawyers are also noted for their handling of cross-border mandates involving issues such as antitrust and securities fraud.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges possesses a longstanding commercial litigation practice that is held in high regard for the breadth of its industry expertise. Its lawyers act for clients such as insurers, media and entertainment companies and financial institutions on trade secrets disputes, IP litigation, antitrust proceedings and wider class actions. The firm offers a dedicated securities group whose expertise includes class actions, as well as M&A litigation and corporate governance disputes. Its litigators draw on a wealth of experience practicing before the Delaware Court of Chancery.

King & Spalding boasts a robust commercial litigation practice offering expertise in a whole host of disputes, with experience handling financial services, real estate and auditor defense work. It possesses additional strength in consumer class actions, as well as toxic torts. The firm has growing prowess in securities litigation and is frequently sought after by notable corporates and their directors and officers when faced with claims of fraud, misleading statements and market manipulation.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is an elite litigation boutique that is particularly highlighted for its representation of institutional plaintiffs in major securities litigation, with in-depth experience in bringing claims against leading financial institutions, investors and government entities. The firm acts for an impressive client base which includes high net worth individuals, investors, major corporates and sovereign states. It is also noted for its strong offering in general commercial litigation, with a strong track record of success in defending against antitrust, mass tort and insurance disputes.

Jones Day offers a broad commercial litigation practice, bolstered by significant arbitration, mediation and appellate capabilities. It is well versed in claims involving product liability issues, breach of contract disputes and securities litigation. The firm draws on significant cross-border expertise as well as strong nationwide capabilities. It represents a broad array of clients including financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and automotive manufacturers.

Kasowitz is a specialized litigation firm, well regarded for its expert handling of sophisticated commercial claims. It acts on disputes such as market manipulation suits, antitrust conspiracy claims and creditors' actions brought against private equity firms. The firm has a respected practice acting for plaintiffs in complex securities cases, including matters arising from the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. It also represents hedge fund clients in significant opt-out disputes against issuers. Its diverse client base comprises senior professionals, private equity investors, governmental entities and multinational corporations.

Kobre & Kim is a prominent litigation boutique that provides individual and institutional clients with top-flight representation in high-profile commercial disputes as well as criminal and regulatory investigations. It is widely commended for its handling of complex multijurisdictional and international disputes on behalf of a broad client base. The firm offers particular strength in asset recovery and arbitral enforcement matters, as well as representation of trustees in financial products litigation.

Morrison Foerster houses an accomplished group of trial lawyers with broad civil litigation expertise, which includes handling high-value privacy, IP and product liability disputes. It regularly defends against class actions, including antitrust, securities and consumer cases. It acts for an impressive roster of technology giants, alongside roles for major retail companies, manufacturers and financial institutions.

O'Melveny & Myers operates a highly active commercial litigation practice, which draws on additional expertise in regulatory investigations. The firm has broad civil disputes capabilities which include handling cases involving alleged false advertising and antitrust claims. It offers expert representation of a strong roster of financial institutions and underwriting syndicates in securities class actions and derivative suits, with significant experience in M&A litigation. It fields a strong group of trial lawyers who frequently appear in federal and state courts across the USA. Its broad commercial client base includes companies from the real estate, financial services and healthcare sectors.

Sidley Austin fields extensive securities litigation capabilities, drawing upon a deep bench of experienced trial lawyers and SEC alumni. It has notable expertise in representing international issuers in class actions and acting for public companies in shareholder actions resulting from M&A. The firm also has a strong practice acting for accounting firms in various auditor liability matters. It also possesses a notable depth and breadth of commercial litigation skills in areas including antitrust, insurance and bankruptcy litigation, acting for its broad client base in cases at both trial and appellate levels.