Wilkinson Stekloff

Wilkinson Stekloff is a leading litigation boutique with offices in Washington, DC and New York City. Since its founding in 2016, the 40-lawyer firm has tried over 20 cases to verdict, stacking up win after win. Small but mighty, the firm focuses on winning high-stakes trials while actively encouraging its attorneys to take on pro bono matters. Notably, Wilkinson Stekloff eschews the traditional billable model, both in terms of client fee arrangements and attorney timekeeping at the firm, which is appreciated by all parties.

A 21st Century Firm

Wilkinson Stekloff was founded in 2016 by a group of former BigLaw litigators to focus on winning high-stakes trials. On the basis of the firm’s success in its first four years, Benchmark Litigation named Wilkinson Stekloff the Boutique Firm of the Year twice, praising it as a “litigator’s dream shop.” After recent trial wins, such as the successful defense of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard—the second-largest merger trial in American history and the biggest involving a technology company—Wilkinson Stekloff has been described by American Lawyer as “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit.”  Founding members Beth Wilkinson and Brian Stekloff lead the firm’s formidable team of lawyers, including former federal prosecutors and Supreme Court clerks.

No Limits

Wilkinson Stekloff’s attorneys have experience in class actions and antitrust, products liability, and sports matters. Nevertheless, the firm doesn’t box its lawyers into practice groups and says that it “can litigate any case, anytime, anywhere.” Among the firm’s clients are household names such as Altria, Bayer, Cargill, Facebook, FedEx, Georgia-Pacific, Microsoft, Monsanto, the NCAA, the NFL, and Pfizer.

The firm also maintains a commitment to pro bono clients, with over half of its lawyers taking on pro bono work each year. Wilkinson Stekloff’s attorneys have handled matters related to domestic violence, employment discrimination, incarceration reduction, and other important issues.

Stand Up

The firm isn’t merely focused on winning cases, however. It prides itself on “developing the next generation of trial lawyers.” This means that Wilkinson Stekloff attorneys get on their feet. Since the firm’s founding, nearly one-quarter of its attorneys have served as first or second chair at trial. Early-career attorneys are actively encouraged to gain stand-up experience through pro bono matters. 

Moreover, the firm thinks outside the box to meet client needs, exchanging the typical billable model for individualized billing methods. By offering fixed-fee arrangements for all cases, Wilkinson Stekloff gives clients certainty around their budgets even in the most contentious trials, allowing the firm to employ its depth of talent from strategy sessions to court hearings without affecting the client’s bottom line.

• Achieved headline-making results for Microsoft in the second-largest merger trial in American history over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Defeated the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to stop the transaction after a five-day trial that began less than four ways after the FTC filed its federal court complaint. Directed all aspects of litigation strategy from the time the acquisition was announced, positioning the case for federal court victory on an unprecedented timeline.
• Secured an unprecedented FTC dismissal on behalf of Altria following an administrative trial before the FTC over Altria's minority investment in JUUL Labs, Inc. The Chief Administrative Law Judge dismissed in their entirety claims by the FTC that Altria and JUUL violated antitrust laws. Following appeal, the FTC dismissed its complaint against Altria.
• Won the first-ever jury verdict for Monsanto in litigation over claims that the herbicide Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Clark, the first case involving a child plaintiff, was the fourth case in this mass tort to go to trial; three previous trials resulted in multi-million-dollar verdicts against Monsanto.
• Outright defense verdict as lead trial counsel for Bayer in multi-state class action involving One A Day multivitamins and hundreds of millions in claimed damages. Following our cross-examinations, the defense rested without calling witnesses. After one hour of deliberations, the jury returned a complete defense verdict.
• Trial counsel for Bayer in a mass tort litigation involving the blood-thinner Xarelto. Won six separate trials (three state, three federal) before Bayer entered a favorable overall settlement.