Winston Taylor LLP

From its 19th-century Chicago roots, Winston & Strawn has become a global law firm with nearly 1,000 attorneys across the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. Winston is known for its work in middle-market private equity, intellectual property, labor and employment, renewable energy, sports law, and white collar expertise.

Diversifying with the Times

The firm that eventually became Winston & Strawn opened its doors in the Windy City in 1853 under the leadership of Harvard grad Frederick Hampden Winston, who played a vital role in Chicago’s emergence as a powerful business and financial center. Winston left the practice in the hands of his son Frederick Seymour Winston in 1885 to become the American Minister to Persia under President Grover Cleveland. Silas Strawn joined the firm in 1892 and practiced there for the next 53 years, 40 years as managing partner.

The late 20th century saw the firm increase the firm headcount from double to triple digits. Most recently, the firm formed YuandaWinston in a strategic alliance with the law firm Yuanda in China, and through strategic lateral hires, including litigators from Scheper Kim & Harris LLP in Los Angeles, it continued expanding. In May 2022, the firm opened a Miami office with six partners from South Miami firms. In January, the firm and Taylor Wessing’s U.K.-led business announced that the partnerships of both firms had voted decisively in favor of combining to establish Taylor Wessing, a premier transatlantic law firm. The combined firm is expected to launch in the summer of 2026. The combined business will have 20 offices. New locations outside the United States will include Amsterdam, Cambridge, Dubai, Dublin, Eindhoven, and Liverpool.

Cornerstone Practices and Clients

Winston practices in a range of sectors, including the financial service, technology/media/telecom, health and life science, energy, and consumer product industries. Winston’s impressive client roster includes Abbott Labs, Cisco, VMware, Motorola, TreeHouse Foods, and several top private equity firms.

Winston is associated with several prominent corporate brands, and the firm represents a range of Fortune 100 companies in diverse transactional and litigation matters. Its work for Panasonic has included numerous antitrust cartel investigations and litigations around the world, including the defeat of a major price-fixing consumer class action. Discover, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and other big financial institutions regularly tap Winston lawyers to handle a host of matters ranging from large corporate financings, litigation, and class actions to investigations and regulatory matters.

The NFL Players Association go-to litigator Jeffrey Kessler has earned notoriety for the firm for his representation of players Tom Brady, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Ezekiel Elliott, among others, in high-profile arbitration hearings. Kessler is also known for his representation of the U.S. Women’s National Team in its successful fight for equal pay against the U.S. Soccer Federation and his stunning win—at trial and on appeal—for a group of college athletes in their historic fight against the NCAA’s limitations on colleges and universities provision of education-related benefits in addition to tuition.

Prioritizing People

Winston isn’t focused solely on its current all-star attorneys; it is also committed to acquiring top talent to promote professional development and wellness. The Director of Coaching and Well-Being helps attorneys reach their highest level of performance through career and wellness coaching, the Director of Professional Development and two career development advisors—one for litigation and one for transactional associates—help junior associates become well-rounded attorneys, and the Chief Opportunity & Inclusion Officer moves the firm’s opportunity and inclusion  goals forward. Additionally, the firm offers multiple outlets for attorneys to grow professionally and personally, including Winston University training programs; the Winston for Good Corporate Social Responsibility program; 10  firmwide affinity groups, which are open to all lawyers, including the Black Lawyers Network, the DiverseAbility Network, the Family Network, the First-Gen Professionals Network, La Alianza at Winston, the Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) Network, the Military Service Network, the Winston Asian Leadership Initiative, Winston PRIDE, and the Women’s Leadership Initiative. Winston Wellness initiatives are focused on attorney and business professional mental health.

• Winston and co-counsel secured a landmark antitrust settlement delivering nearly $3 billion to former college athletes and creating a revenue-sharing system of more than $20 billion. The agreement ends scholarship limits; preserves name, image, and likeness payments; and transforms college sports. It resolved the House, Hubbard, and Carter cases after year-long negotiations and court approval in June 2025.
• In a months-long San Diego jury trial, Winston defeated NuVasive’s $49M damages claim against Alpha Tec after limiting the case to unenforceable noncompete issues under California law. Winston preserved the verdict, defeated NuVasive’s new-trial motion, and now defends the win on appeal as Alphatec’s revenue and valuation surged during the litigation.
• Represented Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS), a global provider of technology, equipment, and services for the cryogenic and gas processing industries, in its $13.6 billion sale to Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR), a leading multinational energy technology company.
• Represented JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) as administrative agent and joint lead arranger in six revolving loan facilities totaling $7.5 billion to Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC) to support its spin-off of Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CEG) into a standalone energy producer and transitioning Exelon into a pure-play electricity transmission and distribution company, which is now the largest electric utility in the United States.

• A Best Company to Work for Among U.S. Law Firms, 2024-2025—U.S. News & World Report
• Scored 100% on the Corporate Equality Index, 2009-2025—Human Rights Campaign
• Best Law Firms for Women and Diversity, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024—Seramount
• 98 national Tier 1 rankings, 2025—Best Law Firms
• No. 6 for Job Satisfaction in the Midlevel Associate Survey, 2025—The American Lawyer