676 BENCHMARK LITIGATION

Top 100 TrialLawyers inAmerica

BENCHMARK LITIGATIONBENCHMARK LITIGATION

677BENCHMARK LITIGATION

Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America

State litigation stars� Blue indicates a CHANGED FIRM.� Green indicates a NEW ADDITION TO THE STARS LIST.� Purple indicates firms that are exclusively PLAINTIFF.� Orange indicates future stars that have been PROMOTED TO STARS.

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Dane Butswinkas Williams & Connolly Washington, DC � � �

Heidi Hubbard Williams & Connolly Washington, DC � � ��

Brendan Sullivan Williams & Connolly Washington, DC �

Robert Van Kirk Williams & Connolly Washington, DC � � � �

Washington, DC is another market wellstocked with trial talent, and in this marketWilliams & Connolly – called “the Rolls-Royce of firms” – is positively brimmingwith namechecked trial lawyers. “So manyWilliams & Connolly people are respectedtrial lawyers that it’s really hard to choosewho should make your list without makingit look like the list is unbalanced in theirfavor,” confides one DC competitor. “Theyhave also been hugely successful atgrooming younger partners to be up to

snuff with the older heavy hitters.” Thecelebrated trial acumen of DaneButswinkas was on full display when he, aslead trial counsel for AstraZeneca, scored alandmark antitrust win in a class actioncase alleging that the client, along withcertain generic pharmaceutical companies,violated federal and state antitrust lawswhen they settled Hatch-Waxman patentcases that AstraZeneca had brought toenforce its patents for Nexium, a proton-pump inhibitor with annual sales in the

billions of dollars. The case was triedbefore a Massachusetts federal jury startingin October 2014 and in December, the juryreturned a verdict in favor of the client. Inthe product liability capacity, anotherwidely championed trial lawyer, HeidiHubbard, scored an August 2014 jury trialvictory for Pfizer involving the drugPondimin (part of the fen/phencombination, sold under Wyeth before itbecame a Pfizer entity), which was allegedto cause primary pulmonary hypertensioninjury. The jury sided with Pfizer/Wyeththat the warning accompanying the drugwas adequate in alerting consumers of itspotential side effect risks. Robert Van Kirkis the recipient of a vibrant level of praise aswell. “Bob Van Kirk exudes a laid-back,youthful vibe and that seems more typicalof an eager associate rather than a trialbulldog, and some of his opponents havebeen foolish enough to assume this, only toget totally tripped up when they’re againsthim in court and they realize they’re upagainst a tenacious fighter who reallyknows his stuff.”

Top 100 Triallawyers inAmerica