The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Neil Alacha attended Yale Law School, where he served as a Coker Fellow for a Constitutional Law course and was the co-recipient of the Harlan Fiske Stone Prize (best oral argument by a student in moot court), the Potter Stewart Prize (best overall and written advocacy in moot court), and the William K.S. Wang Prize (recognizing superior performance in corporate law).
Before law school, Neil earned an M.Phil. in international relations from the University of Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was the Top Individual Taster at the 65th annual Oxford-Cambridge varsity blind wine-tasting match. Neil earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in social studies from Harvard College, where he was captain of the National Championship Mock Trial Team and president of Harvard Model Congress.
Before joining the firm, Allison Walter was a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the DOJ. Prior to this, she completed a fellowship at the Campaign Legal Center and clerked for Judge David W. McKeague of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Allison attended the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She was an editor of the Law Review, a member of the National Moot Court Team, and a participant in an immigration law clinic. She also served as a teaching assistant for legal writing and as a research assistant to Professors Daniel Epps and Travis Crum.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
Allison: Wilkinson Stetkoff specializes in taking cases to trial. We take matters at all different stages and litigate them with an eye toward how the evidence will be presented at trial and how a judge or jury will receive the evidence. To this end, we focus on taking a massive record and distilling it into a cohesive, compelling narrative.
Neil: We are a boutique trial firm with no departments or tracks. We all practice civil litigation, with an emphasis on trial work, at all stages: Sometimes we are hired before a complaint is filed, and sometimes we are hired on the eve of trial after summary judgment is denied. Everything we do is with an eye to trial, and our strategic decisions are often shaped by what would benefit the client most should we find ourselves at trial. This is fairly unique in the litigation practice area. We often have co-counsel that focus on discovery or brief writing so we focus on our comparative advantage: trial strategy.
What types of clients do you represent?
Allison: The firm represents a variety of clients across multiple practice areas including big companies such as Cargill, Visa, 3M, Medtronic, and HPE as well as sports associations such as the NCAA and NFL. We also represent pro bono clients and have been recognized for it, consistently earning a top spot in Law360 Pulse’s pro bono rankings and being named to the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll each year. Because the firm is small, we can have a more hands-on relationship with our clients.
Neil: We represent clients that are leaders in their respective industries, often household names such as Amazon, Cargill, ExxonMobil, Medtronic, the NFL, Valve, and Visa.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
Allison: The firm takes a variety of cases and focuses on cases that are likely to go to trial. These cases include antitrust, products liability, and sports matters, along with pro bono cases from criminal appeals to Supreme Court amicus briefs. In my first few months at the firm, I worked on a contract dispute, multiple antitrust matters, a pro bono Voting Rights Act case, and a pro bono criminal appeal.
Neil: I work on two main matters. I am part of the firm’s trial team in a products liability litigation representing a major medical device manufacturer and on a team representing a multinational corporation in consumer protection litigation brought by various state attorneys general and municipalities.
At the time of this interview, multiple 2026 trials are set for the former, and we are in the early stages of discovery for the latter.
How did you choose this practice area?
Allison: I like trial court litigation because it requires telling a compelling story to win over a jury. I worked in communications before law school, so I like putting that skill set to use in a different context. Plus, trial court litigation is fast-paced, and there are always new problems to solve; it keeps you sharp!
Neil: Watching Law & Order as a kid made me want to be a lawyer. I was interested both in the law generally and in trial work specifically. When searching for a firm, I was especially interested in litigation-only trial firms, and Wilkinson Stekloff is just that!
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
Allison: There really is no typical day for trial court litigation. Depending on the stage of the case, a day could include researching a tough legal question, preparing a deposition outline, writing a motion, prepping a witness for examination, or appearing in court. The variety of work involved in this type of practice keeps things interesting.
Neil: What’s typical is that nothing is typical (and that’s just the way I like it). Assuming I am not at trial or in a deposition or hearing, I usually have two or three meetings with a client or witness or am in a team strategy meeting. I’m usually working on a deposition or trial examination outline, researching or writing on an issue, writing a legal memo for the team, or preparing slides for a mock jury exercise.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
Allison: If a person thinks they may want to do trial court litigation, clerking can provide a lot of insight into what the job is like. The more you can see lawyers stand up in court—good and bad—the more you’ll learn what it takes to be an effective advocate. Taking pro bono cases can also provide opportunities for new lawyers to get into court and get experience early. I also recommend joining clinics in law school for more real-world experience before you graduate.
Neil: Put yourself in settings where you have to advocate both orally and in writing for or against a position (especially if it is not a position of your choosing). Take clinics where you have your own clients and need to think strategically about the best way to meet their goals. Choose as wide a range of black-letter law courses as you can.
What do you like best about your practice area?
Allison: I love the fast pace and energy of trial court litigation. I like the challenge of always having a new problem to solve. Having trial as a guiding force helps give the work clear purpose and a concrete goal. Seeing the case transform from a trove of documents and deposition transcripts into a compel-ling narrative to be presented to the jury is really rewarding.
Neil: I like that we have matters at various stages and various time horizons. We typically have an active or impending civil lawsuit or administrative proceeding, and we tend to be on the defense side, so our clients are repeat players. We get to think about big-picture trial strategy and let it inform the small-picture decisions we make daily.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
Allison: Junior associates at the firm have good opportunities to do substantive work. In my first few months at the firm, I served subpoenas, led meet-and-confers, helped interview and retain experts, prepared deposition outlines, and worked on a brief submitted to the Supreme Court. Junior associates also draft motions, prep witnesses for depositions, prepare slide decks for jury exercises, and help develop the theory of the case.
Neil: Junior lawyers are often the first set of eyes on key documents and the first drafters of briefs, factual and legal memos, and deposition/trial examination outlines. They may compile a key admissions checklist for a deposition or cross-examination at trial, recommend selections for an exhibit list, or work with others on a slide deck for a jury exercise or opening statement. They participate in strategy meetings and discussions and are valued for their fresh perspective.
What kinds of experiences can summer associates gain in this practice area at your firm?
Allison: At smaller firms like ours, summer associates are integrated into the team. They might attend trial or a jury exercise, research tough legal questions, draft portions of motions, observe and help with depositions, and generally participate in all phases of litigation. Summer associates get to experience what it’s like to work at the firm.
Neil: Anything and everything an associate does, a summer associate does. If the firm is at trial or a mock jury exercise during the summer, we have summer associates there. Summer associates are assigned to one or two case teams, similar to associates, and are assigned their own, real work, often tag-teaming with an associate for guidance and support. They are part of team and client meetings and should expect to voice and defend their perspectives!
How is practicing litigation in a boutique different from practicing in a large law firm?
Allison: The size of the firm is great because everyone knows each other. Although you’ll work on specific case teams, you’ll get to interact with everyone at the firm. Because the firm is small, case teams are small, so you get more opportunities to develop skills, interact with clients, and work closely with partners and more-senior attorneys.
Neil: We all know one another—at every level of the firm, attorneys and non-attorneys alike—and generally know what everyone else is working on. We are assigned to a small number of case teams that each have regular meetings and a teamwide task list. Every member of a case team gets to know the client. Unlike large firms that may handle a large number of matters for a given client, we generally are hired only where we are needed most for the key litigation that matters most to the client. We do not bill by the hour; we work out a different fee structure for each case based on its individual needs, so associates are neither required nor expected to keep track of how much time they spend on things. What matters for us is output, not input, which is more fulfilling than the typical BigLaw model and is better for our clients. The firm feels personal, not bureaucratic.