Mayer Brown has been named a “Firm of the Year” by Law360 for the fourth consecutive year—the only law firm to hold this distinction. The firm earned this honor by prevailing in eight categories in the publication’s “Practice Groups of the Year” series: Appellate, Banking, Benefits, Consumer Protection, Environmental, Project Finance, Securitizations and Tax.
Appellate – Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Appellate practice group of the year for obtaining an impressive number of victories for major clients in 2019, including representing Google in the US Supreme Court and Facebook in California federal court, as well as a big win for arbitration clauses. Partner Nicole Saharsky told Law360 that the group’s success stems from its breadth and depth across a wide variety of areas, ranging from employment and environmental to bankruptcy and litigation. Partner Andrew Pincus added that another differentiator is the team’s ability to effectively move the law in the areas it’s working in. (View article.)
Banking – Mayer Brown landed a spot among Law360’s Banking practice groups of the year for securing numerous banking litigation wins over the past year, including defending HSBC against Anti-Terrorism Act claims of financing terror activities in the Middle East. Partners Christopher Houpt and Mark Hanchet credited the global practice’s achievements to its deep integration of banking litigators and specialized experts on the transactional side. (View article.)
Benefits – Mayer Brown was recognized as a Law360 Benefits practice group of the year for defending universities in major Employee Retirement Income Security Act suits and securing wins in the benefits litigation space. The publication highlighted the firm’s role in securing a victory for George Washington University in a Washington DC federal judge’s decision to toss a proposed class action accusing the school of mismanaging workers' retirement savings. "The firm's commitment to having transactional and litigation benefits attorneys is consistent with our positioning as a top-tier firm for multinational clients,” partner Brian Netter told Law360. (View article.)
Consumer Protection – Mayer Brown helped household names, including Facebook, Google and Nestlé, fend off several major suits brought by consumers over the past year, earning the firm a place among Law360’s Consumer Protection practice group of the year for the third consecutive year. The publication cited the firm’s March 2019 victory in the US Supreme Court, in which the justices remanded an $8.5 million privacy class action settlement against Google. Partners Lauren Goldman and Archis Parasharami attributed the firm’s success to its congenial and cooperative culture. (View article.)
Environmental – For the second consecutive year, Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Environmental practice group of the year for securing high-stakes and complex litigation wins in the environmental space, including securing litigation wins against the Obama administration’s rule expanding the reach of the Clean Water Act and helping a gas company defeat accusations that it polluted a Chicago suburb through abandoned gas pipelines. “The cohesive and seamless staffing that we have between our environmental lawyers, our litigators and our appellate specialists adds a layer of comprehensiveness and sophistication in analysis and strategy that I think gives us an advantage compared to many firms in the market,” partner Rich Bulger told the publication. (View article.)
Project Finance – For the third consecutive year, Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Project Finance practice group of the year for handling major projects in 2019. The firm acted as lead bond counsel in an $8.5 billion plan to revamp Chicago O'Hare International Airport, helped negotiate a forward-looking parking deal between an investment company owned by the Australian government and a Boston college, and represented an energy company in the $8.6 billion privatization of a Brazilian natural gas transport company. According to partner Joseph Seliga, the group’s capabilities are highlighted by the representation of different types of clients, from lenders to equity investors to public sector entities, and handling of a broad array of asset classes, including different areas of infrastructure. (View article.)
Securitizations – Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Securitizations practice group of the year for being at the forefront of securitization trends and handling cutting edge transactions in 2019, including a $300 million securitization involving solar tax equity structures. Mayer Brown is also one of the firms leading the charge on securitizing non-qualifying mortgage loans. “Our goal is always to be a full-service structured finance practice, and to be in every significant asset class. So we’re always looking at new areas as they develop,” partner Julie Gillespie told Law360. (View article.)
Tax – Finally, Mayer Brown was named a Tax practice group of the year by Law360 for earning key victories and handling major matters on behalf of high-profile clients, including representing Bank of America in a tax refund battle and securing a rare bench opinion in a major tax case involving partnership bona fides. In addition, the tax group worked on at least two major matters involving media and telecom entrepreneur Patrick Drahi in 2019. (View article.)
Appellate – Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Appellate practice group of the year for obtaining an impressive number of victories for major clients in 2019, including representing Google in the US Supreme Court and Facebook in California federal court, as well as a big win for arbitration clauses. Partner Nicole Saharsky told Law360 that the group’s success stems from its breadth and depth across a wide variety of areas, ranging from employment and environmental to bankruptcy and litigation. Partner Andrew Pincus added that another differentiator is the team’s ability to effectively move the law in the areas it’s working in. (View article.)
Banking – Mayer Brown landed a spot among Law360’s Banking practice groups of the year for securing numerous banking litigation wins over the past year, including defending HSBC against Anti-Terrorism Act claims of financing terror activities in the Middle East. Partners Christopher Houpt and Mark Hanchet credited the global practice’s achievements to its deep integration of banking litigators and specialized experts on the transactional side. (View article.)
Benefits – Mayer Brown was recognized as a Law360 Benefits practice group of the year for defending universities in major Employee Retirement Income Security Act suits and securing wins in the benefits litigation space. The publication highlighted the firm’s role in securing a victory for George Washington University in a Washington DC federal judge’s decision to toss a proposed class action accusing the school of mismanaging workers' retirement savings. "The firm's commitment to having transactional and litigation benefits attorneys is consistent with our positioning as a top-tier firm for multinational clients,” partner Brian Netter told Law360. (View article.)
Consumer Protection – Mayer Brown helped household names, including Facebook, Google and Nestlé, fend off several major suits brought by consumers over the past year, earning the firm a place among Law360’s Consumer Protection practice group of the year for the third consecutive year. The publication cited the firm’s March 2019 victory in the US Supreme Court, in which the justices remanded an $8.5 million privacy class action settlement against Google. Partners Lauren Goldman and Archis Parasharami attributed the firm’s success to its congenial and cooperative culture. (View article.)
Environmental – For the second consecutive year, Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Environmental practice group of the year for securing high-stakes and complex litigation wins in the environmental space, including securing litigation wins against the Obama administration’s rule expanding the reach of the Clean Water Act and helping a gas company defeat accusations that it polluted a Chicago suburb through abandoned gas pipelines. “The cohesive and seamless staffing that we have between our environmental lawyers, our litigators and our appellate specialists adds a layer of comprehensiveness and sophistication in analysis and strategy that I think gives us an advantage compared to many firms in the market,” partner Rich Bulger told the publication. (View article.)
Project Finance – For the third consecutive year, Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Project Finance practice group of the year for handling major projects in 2019. The firm acted as lead bond counsel in an $8.5 billion plan to revamp Chicago O'Hare International Airport, helped negotiate a forward-looking parking deal between an investment company owned by the Australian government and a Boston college, and represented an energy company in the $8.6 billion privatization of a Brazilian natural gas transport company. According to partner Joseph Seliga, the group’s capabilities are highlighted by the representation of different types of clients, from lenders to equity investors to public sector entities, and handling of a broad array of asset classes, including different areas of infrastructure. (View article.)
Securitizations – Mayer Brown was named a Law360 Securitizations practice group of the year for being at the forefront of securitization trends and handling cutting edge transactions in 2019, including a $300 million securitization involving solar tax equity structures. Mayer Brown is also one of the firms leading the charge on securitizing non-qualifying mortgage loans. “Our goal is always to be a full-service structured finance practice, and to be in every significant asset class. So we’re always looking at new areas as they develop,” partner Julie Gillespie told Law360. (View article.)
Tax – Finally, Mayer Brown was named a Tax practice group of the year by Law360 for earning key victories and handling major matters on behalf of high-profile clients, including representing Bank of America in a tax refund battle and securing a rare bench opinion in a major tax case involving partnership bona fides. In addition, the tax group worked on at least two major matters involving media and telecom entrepreneur Patrick Drahi in 2019. (View article.)
