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.
  • August 10, 2018

    Rising Star: Wigdor's Michael Willemin

    Wigdor LLP’s Michael Willemin has helped workers for such titans of finance and media as JPMorgan Chase and Fox News bring suits to right alleged workplace wrongs in his young career, earning him a spot as one of five employment law attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 09, 2018

    Rising Star: Paul Hastings' Felicia Davis

    Paul Hastings partner Felicia A. Davis helped narrow a suit accusing Google Inc. of underpaying women in California and beat back a sweeping Fair Credit Reporting Act class action brought on behalf of roughly 20,000 Disneyland job applicants, securing herself a place among five employment attorneys honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 08, 2018

    Rising Star: Katz Marshall's Alexis Ronickher

    Katz Marshall & Banks LLP partner Alexis Ronickher has successfully represented clients in sexual discrimination and harassment cases, including a former congressional staffer who brought allegations against then-Congressman Patrick Meehan, and in whistleblower actions, making her one of five employment attorneys under age 40 honored as a Law360 Rising Star.

  • August 07, 2018

    Rising Star: DLA Piper's Evan Parness

    DLA Piper partner Evan Parness has handled a variety of complex employment disputes and counseling matters in his career, including playing a key role on the team that recently won dismissal of a suit alleging NYU discriminated against a former professor, earning him a spot as one of five employment law attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 06, 2018

    Rising Star: Gibson Dunn's Greta Williams

    Greta Williams of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP scored back-to-back wins for a Sprint contractor in two New York wage-and-hour suits and played a major role in the investigation of sexual harassment allegations against a Vox Media executive who was ultimately fired, making her one of five employment attorneys under 40 selected by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 27, 2018

    Law360 Names Top Attorneys Under 40

    The 168 attorneys selected as Law360's 2018 Rising Stars are lawyers whose accomplishments belie their age. From guiding eye-popping deals to handling bet-the-company litigation, these elite attorneys under 40 are leading the pack.

  • July 20, 2017

    Rising Star: Citizens Bank's Joel Barras

    Citizens Bank’s Joel Barras has accumulated many successes in representing major corporations and nonprofit organizations in the employment realm, including helping Verizon work through last year’s strike, earning him a spot as one of five employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 19, 2017

    Rising Star: Gibson Dunn's Gabrielle Levin

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s Gabrielle Levin knocked her first-ever jury trial out of the park recently, winning a potentially costly retaliation suit for HSBC and helping earn herself a spot as one of five labor and employment attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 19, 2017

    The 2017 Rising Stars, By Firm

    Law360's Rising Stars recognizes attorneys under 40 who have demonstrated outstanding career accomplishments. This year, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP led the pack with eight Rising Stars each, followed by Latham & Watkins LLP, Mayer Brown LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, which had six apiece. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP rounded out the group with five Rising Stars.

  • July 18, 2017

    Rising Star: Cohen Milstein's Kalpana Kotagal

    Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC’s Kalpana Kotagal is dedicated to advocating for equity and diversity in the workplace, including by representing tens of thousands of women who have accused Sterling Jewelers Inc. of widespread gender bias, earning her a spot as one of five employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 17, 2017

    Rising Star: Barnes & Thornburg's David Pryzbylski

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner David Pryzbylski recently helped a New York company escape a potentially seven-figure collective action with hardly a scratch and got an arbitrator to side with his client in a union spat over contract language, securing him a spot as one of five labor and employment attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 14, 2017

    Rising Star: Sanford Heisler's Alexandra Harwin

    Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP’s Alexandra Harwin scored a favorable settlement for workers in a gender bias suit against Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG and is currently pursuing high-profile sex discrimination claims on behalf of female attorneys against BigLaw powerhouses Proskauer Rose LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP, making her one of five employment attorneys under 40 recognized by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 14, 2017

    Law360 Names Top Attorneys Under 40

    The 156 attorneys selected as Law360's 2017 Rising Stars are lawyers whose accomplishments belie their age. This elite group of attorneys, all under 40, have distinguished themselves by handling bet-the-company litigation and brokering deals that make headlines.

  • April 08, 2016

    Rising Star: Rutan & Tucker's Maria Z. Stearns

    Rutan & Tucker LLP partner Maria Z. Stearns convinced a judge and a class of workers to accept vouchers instead of cash to settle a wage and hour class action, a rare form of payment for the type of case that earned her a spot among Law360's top seven employment attorneys under 40.

  • April 07, 2016

    Rising Star: Orrick's Renee Phillips

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's Renee Phillips has developed a reputation as a premier whistleblower defense lawyer and won high-profile discrimination cases for clients like Holland & Knight LLP, placing her among Law360's top employment lawyers under 40.

  • April 06, 2016

    Rising Star: Sanford Heisler's Felicia Medina

    Sanford Heisler Kimpel LLP’s Felicia Medina has carved an impressive path over the course of her 10-year legal career, being named managing partner of the plaintiff-side firm’s San Francisco office and securing numerous positive outcomes in employment cases against corporate giants like Daiichi Sankyo Inc., earning her a spot on Law360’s list of employment Rising Stars.

  • April 05, 2016

    Rising Star: Jones Day's Jonathan Linas

    Jones Day partner Jonathan Linas' early success in helping McDonald's Corp. defeat a class certification bid by workers alleging the fast-food giant unfairly shortchanged them on hours worked opened the door for him to play a key role in McDonald's high-profile joint-employer fight with the National Labor Relations Board, earning him a spot among Law360's Rising Stars.

  • April 04, 2016

    Rising Star: Norton Rose's Shafeeqa Watkins Giarratani

    Norton Rose Fulbright partner Shafeeqa Watkins Giarratani has climbed her firm's ranks from receptionist all the way to decorated trial and appellate attorney, earning her a spot on Law360's list of top labor and employment attorneys under the age of 40.

  • April 01, 2016

    Rising Star: Ogletree Deakins' Elizabeth Falcone

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC’s Elizabeth Falcone worked on the contentious discovery and class certification faces in a landmark California Supreme Court decision on meal breaks and notched appellate wins for clients such as Home Depot, making her one of Law360’s 2016 top employment attorneys under 40.

  • April 01, 2016

    The 2016 Rising Stars, By Firm

    Law360's Rising Stars recognizes attorneys under 40 who have demonstrated outstanding career accomplishments. This year, Quinn Emanuel led the pack with eight Rising Stars, followed by Gibson Dunn, Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher with seven Rising Stars each. Baker & Hostetler, Latham & Watkins, King & Spalding and Shearman & Sterling each boast five Rising Stars apiece.

  • March 31, 2016

    Rising Star: Fox Rothschild's Colin Dougherty

    With a series of wage-and-hour victories under his belt for major clients like DirecTV Inc., Colin Dougherty of Fox Rothschild LLP has shown he's a force to be reckoned with in the employment arena, particularly when it comes to worker classification issues, landing him on Law360's 2016 list of top employment attorneys under 40.

  • March 30, 2016

    Law360 Names Top Attorneys Under 40

    We're pleased to announce Law360's Rising Stars for 2016, our list of 179 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • April 27, 2015

    The Rising Stars Of Employment Law

    These young lawyers are powerhouses of employment law, and each earned a spot on Law360's list of top attorneys under 40.

  • April 23, 2015

    Rising Star: Sanford Heisler's Felicia Medina

    Just nine years after graduating law school, Felicia Medina is already a managing partner at plaintiffs firm Sanford Heisler Kimpel LLP, where she handles a slate of employment-related suits against major companies like Daiichi Sankyo Inc., making her one of Law360's top employment lawyers under 40.

  • April 22, 2015

    Rising Star: Fisher & Phillips' Matthew Simpson

    Fisher & Phillips LLP partner Matthew Simpson helped a consumer reporting agency defeat attempts to certify a class action in Georgia consisting of thousands of people who had adverse background reports, helping him snag a spot among Law360's top employment attorneys under 40.