For Immediate Release January 21, 2016

Transcription

1 For Immediate Release January 21, 2016 Nationally Recognized Litigators Wilkinson, Walsh and Eskovitz Open Elite, Boutique Trial Firm Experienced trial lawyers will serve clients from offices in D.C. and L.A. Washington, D.C. Beth Wilkinson, Alexandra Walsh and Sean Eskovitz, today announced the opening of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, a boutique law firm of elite trial lawyers who together have tried more than 100 cases to verdict. They will be joined by Eric Liebeler, Brant Bishop and Brian Stekloff in opening up the firm. From its offices in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, the firm will represent clients across the country, including the National Football League, Pfizer, Altria, Medtronic, Georgia Pacific and Major League Baseball. The six founding partners of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz include two former federal prosecutors; a former federal defender; a former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk; and a former head of litigation for a Fortune 500 company. Ranging in age from 39 to 53, these lawyers have prosecuted cases for the Justice Department, represented companies and individuals in highprofile criminal matters, and defended numerous Fortune 500 cases in complex civil litigation. Our partners are a team of litigation all-stars focused on winning high-stakes trials. We come from the country s top litigation firms and between us, have tried more than 100 jury trials. The new firm will be even better positioned to bring our trial expertise to our clients biggest cases, said Beth Wilkinson. We see a real need for this specialty and skill in the market. We d also like to thank Paul, Weiss and all of our former firms for the wonderful experiences we had and the talented lawyers we got to work with, Wilkinson added. We are thrilled to be launching an enterprise specializing in trial work, said Alexandra Walsh. We are also one of the first top trial firms founded by two women. That gives us a new and critical perspective in serving our clients, mentoring younger lawyers, and running a law firm. Sean Eskovitz, who will head up the Los Angeles office, said, We represent a new generation of legal talent, with formidable trial experience and skills. We are uniquely situated to empower younger attorneys. Wilkinson and Walsh most recently practiced together as partners at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Eskovitz was a partner at Munger Tolles & Olson. They will be joined as founding partners by Eric Liebeler (most recently head of litigation at Siemens Corporation,

2 formerly of Kirkland & Ellis), Brant Bishop (formerly of Kirkland & Ellis) and Brian Stekloff (formerly of Covington & Burling). Wilkinson was recently named Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer. She and Walsh have recently won a string of defense victories for clients such as Pfizer, Altria, and Kynetic, in cases involving securities, products liability and consumer class action claims. Wilkinson was also a lead prosecutor in the case against Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Walsh was a lead trial lawyer in the team that obtained a near-billion dollar verdict for Liberty Media Corporation in its securities fraud suit against French media conglomerate, Vivendi. Eskovitz has notched courtroom victories as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and then in multiple civil trials for semiconductor company Rambus and Altria. Most recently, Eskovitz successfully defended Philip Morris USA at trial in a consumer class action case concerning Marlboro Lights. Liebeler has kept one foot in the courtroom, even while managing a complex docket in-house at Siemens. He recently argued to the Second Circuit that a whistleblower provision of the Dodd- Frank statute has no reach outside the territorial United States. Stekloff has achieved several courtroom victories, including for Pfizer and Eli Lilly. Bishop has scored wins for companies in a wide array of complex litigation contexts, including recently securing a complete victory for a group of over 90 companies from which the Republic of Iraq sought tens of billions of dollars based on contracts with the Saddam Hussein regime in the United Nations Oil-for-Food program. Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz is scheduled to try cases for Pfizer, Altria, and Medtronic later this year. The firm also represents the NFL and Georgia Pacific in pending litigation involving potential class action claims. For more information: Photos of the partners are attached. ### Contact: Ben Geldon, bgeldon@skdknick.com

3 Beth Wilkinson is a founding partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Washington D.C. Prior to founding the firm, she spent seven years as a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison. She s spent 30 years developing an unrivaled record of success in both federal and state courts. Beth has won major trials as lead counsel for companies including Pfizer, Philip Morris USA, Microsoft, Major League Baseball and the NFL. Before entering private practice, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and also helped run the Justice Department s Terrorism and Violent Crime Section. She was one of the prosecutors in the 1995 Timothy McVeigh trial, and was retained by the Federal Trade Commission to lead its antitrust probe of Google. American Lawyer recently named her Litigator of the Year, and she was the 2015 recipient of Chambers prestigious Business Trial Lawyer of the Year award. Law360 named her a Trial Ace, and National Law Journal named her to their Winning Litigator list. She s also the only two-time recipient of the Justice Department s highest award. Beth graduated from Princeton University and the University of Virginia School of Law. She s a retired captain in the U.S. Army, and has helped lead the fight against capital punishment in her work as co-chair of the Constitution Project s Death Penalty Initiative. Alexandra Walsh is a founding partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Washington D.C. Prior to founding the firm, she spent three years as a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison. She has successfully represented companies and individuals in a range of civil and criminal matters at both the trial and appellate level. Her corporate clients have included Pfizer, Citigroup, Georgia Pacific and Major League Baseball. She has also represented high-profile individuals facing prosecution, including Scooter Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Alexandra was recently named as a rising star by Chambers and was on Washingtonian s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 list. Alexandra is a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and United States Appellate Court Judge Merrick Garland. She graduated from Bowdoin College and Stanford University Law School. Sean Eskovitz is a founding partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Los Angeles. Prior to founding the farm, he was a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. His practice has focused on trial work in state and federal courts, including representing individuals and companies involved in high-tech, entertainment, gaming, renewable energy, real estate and finance. Sean has represented companies including Morgan Stanley, Altria, and American Express, along with individuals like artist Dr. Dre, film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, fashion designer

4 Joseph Abboud, and record producer Jimmy Iovine. He also has helped lead numerous consumer class action suits, and was part of the team that Law360 recognized as Class Action Practice Group of the Year. Before entering private practice, Sean served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He prosecuted cases involving bank fraud, money laundering, violent crimes, and racketeering. Sean served as a clerk to United States Appellate Court Judge Paul Niemeyer. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and New York University Law School. Eric Liebeler is a founding partner and the managing partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Washington D.C. Most recently he was vice president and associate general counsel at Siemens Corporation. He oversaw all United States litigation for the company, including RICO, intellectual property, product liability, employment and arbitration matters. Eric was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. During his time there he tried approximately a dozen cases as first or second chair. He was named a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2005 and Eric was a clerk to U.S. Appellate Court Judge J.L. Edmondson. He graduated from MIT and the Duke University School of Law. Brian Stekloff is a founding partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Washington D.C. Most recently he was special counsel at Covington & Burling. Brian s broad practice area has included representing corporations and individuals in pharmaceuticals, sports, financial services and healthcare at the trial level. Brian s clients have included major corporations like Bayer, Eli Lilly, JPMorgan, and the NFL. He was part of the team The American Lawyer recognized as Litigation Department of the Year: Product Liability in Prior to entering private practice, Brian served in the public defender s office for the Southern District of Florida. He represented indigent defendants in a variety of criminal cases involving fraud, corruption, violent crimes, narcotics and immigration offenses. He still represents indigent defendants on a pro bono basis in Maryland. Brian graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Georgetown University Law Center. Brant Bishop is a founding partner of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, based in Washington D.C. Prior to founding the firm, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where he worked for 18 years

5 representing large corporations like ConocoPhillips, Facebook, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Insurance and Siemens in complex high-stakes litigation. Among other successes, Brant successfully defended a group of more than 90 companies against RICO claims filed by the Republic of Iraq against firms that contracted with the Saddam Hussein regime under the Oil-for-Food Program. In addition to his legal work, Brant helped to found two non-profit educational organizations and currently serves on the board of Mentors International, which provides microfinance and mentoring programs to clients in the Philippines, Latin America, and Ghana. Brant served as clerk to U.S. Appellate Court Judge Paul Niemeyer. He graduated from Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School.