Rankings: Rising Stars

Law360’s Rising Stars profiles the top legal talent under 40. The winners are comprised of top litigators and dealmakers practicing at a level usually seen from veteran attorneys. Submissions highlight the winner’s age and reasons why his or her record deserves attention.
  • March 24, 2011

    Rising Star: Akin Gump's Nathan Oleson

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's Nathan Oleson has helped big-time clients such as Allstate Insurance Co. and Starbucks Corp. escape their workers' wage-and-hour claims, demonstrating an ability to strategize creatively that makes him one of Law360's five employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 24, 2011

    Rising Star: Hunton & Williams' Tauna Szymanski

    Hunton & Williams LLP's Tauna Szymanski has become a point person at the firm for environmental commodities, working with big-league energy players such as BP PLC and earning a spot on Law360's list of five environmental lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 23, 2011

    Rising Star: Dechert's Will Sachse

    Representing Baxter Healthcare Corp. in a mass tort over the anti-heartburn medicine Reglan and helping to defend AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Inc. in litigation over the schizophrenia drug Seroquel has earned Dechert LLP partner Will Sachse a place on Law360's list of five product liability lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 23, 2011

    Rising Star: Winston & Strawn's Nash Long

    A string of successes in defending coal-fired power plants against Clean Air Act enforcement actions helped earned Nash Long of Winston & Strawn LLP a place among Law360's five environmental attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 23, 2011

    Rising Star: Morgan Lewis' Michael King

    In a career spanning just over a decade, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Michael R. King has already earned a reputation as a go-to attorney in the oil and gas field, helping companies like ConocoPhillips Co. and BG Group PLC ink billion-dollar deals, just some of the accomplishments that earned him a spot on Law360's list of five energy lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 23, 2011

    Rising Star: Fisher & Phillips' Richard Meneghello

    Richard Meneghello has not only won important employment litigation victories for clients like Office Depot Inc. and DHL Express Inc., he has also taken on the role of managing partner for Fisher & Phillips LLP's office in Portland, Ore., earning him a spot on Law360's list of five employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 22, 2011

    Rising Star: Sanford Wittels' Katherine Kimpel

    Katherine Kimpel was less than four years out of law school when she made partner at Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP and served as lead counsel in a blockbuster sex discrimination suit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., achievements that earned her a spot on Law360's list of five employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 22, 2011

    Rising Star: Baker Botts' Scott Janoe

    Baker Botts LLP's Scott Janoe helped Esso Standard Oil Co. prevail in a high-stakes citizen suit in Puerto Rico over land and water contamination, one of several accomplishments that landed him among Law360's five environmental lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 22, 2011

    Rising Star: Winston & Strawn's Scott Glauberman

    Winston & Strawn LLP's Scott Glauberman convinced the Illinois Supreme Court to adopt new jury instructions and scrap a $27 million verdict against Ford Motor Co., before defeating class certification in the so-called McDonald's Corp. obesity case, earning him a spot on Law360's list of five product liability lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 22, 2011

    Rising Star: King & Spalding's John Crespo

    A track record of working on high-price oil and gas deals throughout Latin America and the U.S. helped earn King & Spalding LLP partner John Crespo a spot on Law360's list of five energy attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 21, 2011

    Rising Star: Beveridge & Diamond's Lily Chinn

    Upon joining Beveridge & Diamond PC, Lily N. Chinn jumped into a lead role defending PPG Industries in a complex $135 million toxic tort suit, scoring a defense victory for the chemical manufacturer in one of the most environmentally friendly jurisdictions in the U.S. — and earning her a spot on Law360's list of five environmental lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 21, 2011

    Rising Star: King & Spalding's Wade Coriell

    King & Spalding LLP partner Wade M. Coriell has argued, and won, some of the largest arbitration cases on record involving major companies and foreign governments, including Chevron Corp.'s battle with the Ecuadorean government, earning him a spot on Law360's list of five energy lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 21, 2011

    Rising Star: Munger Tolles' Malcolm Heinicke

    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP partner Malcolm A. Heinicke recently defused a putative class action by security officers challenging Guardsmark LLC's uniform maintenance and rest period policies, augmenting a formidable track record that has earned him a spot on Law360's list of five employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 21, 2011

    Rising Star: King & Spalding's Robert Friedman

    Robert Friedman was at the forefront of King & Spalding LLP's defense of GlaxoSmithKline PLC and its embattled antidepressant Paxil in 2010, coordinating defensive discovery across hundreds of suits in state and federal courts, just one of the accomplishments that earned him a spot on Law360's list of five product liability lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 18, 2011

    Rising Star: Reed Smith's Nicolle Snyder Bagnell

    Reed Smith LLP partner Nicolle Snyder Bagnell secured a key victory for the oil and gas industry in a major battle with lessors over the interpretation of Pennsylvania's Minimum Royalty Act that could have invalidated tens of thousands of oil and gas leases potentially worth billions of dollars, garnering her a spot on Law360's list of five energy lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 18, 2011

    Rising Star: Jenner's Amanda Amert

    Jenner & Block LLP partner Amanda Amert chairs the firm's Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation practice and helped craft an innovative settlement for General Dynamics Corp. in a class action over its 401(k) plans, earning her a spot on Law360's list of five employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 18, 2011

    Rising Star: Best Best & Krieger's Chris Calfee

    Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tapped Best Best & Krieger LLP's Christopher H. Calfee to help formulate the state's cutting-edge guidelines for analyzing greenhouse gas emissions, a distinction that earned him a spot on Law360's list of five environmental lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 18, 2011

    Rising Star: Mayer Brown's Henninger Bullock

    Starting with a handful of cases over heartburn drug Reglan, Mayer Brown LLP's Henninger "Hank" Bullock is now handling thousands of Reglan cases nationwide, earning him a spot on Law360's list of five product liability attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 17, 2011

    Rising Star: Baker Botts' Aaron Streett

    Arguing for dozens of defendants in a putative class action with the potential to result in more than $1 trillion in damages, Baker Botts LLP's Aaron Streett convinced an appeals court to dismiss the case in a ruling that has had widespread influence, helping earn him a spot on Law360's list of five appellate lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 17, 2011

    Rising Star: Skadden's Ingrid Vandenborre

    Ingrid Vandenborre brought in major items of business for Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's Brussels office last year, after handling landmark conduct cases for Intel Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, making her one of Law360's five competition lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 17, 2011

    Rising Star: Kirkland's Daniel Wolf

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner Daniel Wolf 's work with Avis Budget Group Inc. in its $1.52 billion bid to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., and his representation of ABB Ltd. in its $4.2 billion purchase of Baldor Electric Co., have earned him a spot on Law360's list of five M&A lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 17, 2011

    Rising Star: Kirkland's David Seligman

    David Seligman of Kirkland & Ellis LLP guided Trans World Airlines Inc. and United Air Lines Inc. to steady landings in each of their bankruptcies and has since provided winning restructuring counsel to a slew of big-name domestic and international clients, earning him a spot on Law360's list of five bankruptcy lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 16, 2011

    Rising Star: O'Melveny & Myers' Matt Shors

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP partner Matt Shors has played a strong hand in overturning or drastically reducing multimillion-dollar verdicts leveled against pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. Inc., earning him a spot on Law360's list of five appellate lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 16, 2011

    Rising Star: Brown Rudnick's Gordon Novod

    Brown Rudnick LLP partner Gordon Z. Novod has played a key role in helping creditors achieve good returns from major bankruptcies including those of the Tribune Co. and General Motors Corp., earning him a spot on Law360's list of five bankruptcy lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 16, 2011

    Rising Star: Wilson Sonsini's Scott Sher

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC partner Scott Sher was a force behind some of the biggest technology acquisitions of 2010, helping to win European Commission approval for Oracle Corp.'s $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. and Federal Trade Commission backing for Intel Corp.'s $7.7 billion acquisition of McAfee Inc., earning him a spot on Law360's list of five competition lawyers under 40 to watch.