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 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 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 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.

  • April 01, 2010

    Rising Star: Winston & Strawn's Amanda Sommerfeld

    Winston & Strawn LLP partner Amanda Sommerfeld has secured a series of wins for Black & Decker Corp. and a ruling for SkyWest Airlines Inc. that California meal and rest period laws are preempted by federal airline laws, earning her a place among Law360's 10 employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 01, 2010

    Rising Star: Covington & Burling's Seth Safra

    Convincing the Internal Revenue Service that professional baseball teams merit millions of dollars in tax deductions for injured players’ salaries wasn't easy, but it is just one of the accomplishments that lands Covington & Burling LLP partner Seth Safra on Law360's list of 10 employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 31, 2010

    Rising Star: Reed Smith's Casey Ryan

    Casey Ryan has helped Verizon Communications Inc., the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and others obtain summary judgment and trial victories in race, gender and disability discrimination suits, all while acting as a Reed Smith LLP deputy practice group leader. For these reasons and more, she has gained a spot on Law360's list of 10 labor and employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 30, 2010

    Rising Star: O'Melveny's Adam Karr

    Innovative thinking in combating claims against DirecTV Group Inc. in three separate suits over the enforceability of release agreements in California is just one example of the analytical prowess that separates O’Melveny & Myers LLP's Adam Karr from other young attorneys, earning him a spot on Law360's list of 10 labor and employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 29, 2010

    Rising Star: Debevoise & Plimpton's Jyotin Hamid

    When General Electric Co. was hit with a $50 million suit accusing it of trying to steal Metito (Overseas) Ltd.'s trade secrets, the company turned to Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and rising star Jyotin Hamid, who got the lawsuit thrown out — just one of the feats that helped land Hamid on Law360's list of 10 employment lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 26, 2010

    Rising Star: Baker Donelson's David Gevertz

    His deft hand in guiding the Cracker Barrel chain through a thicket of headline-grabbing racial discrimination lawsuits and his subsequent victories in trade secrets cases have led Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC labor and employment department vice chair David Gevertz to a coveted spot among 10 employment lawyers under 40 honored by Law360 as a rising star.

  • March 25, 2010

    Rising Star: Haynes & Boone's Matthew Deffebach

    Haynes & Boone LLP partner Matthew Deffebach has defeated the conditional certification of a 2,000-person class of Texas hospital workers and secured a key victory for employers before the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, earning him a spot on Law 360's list of 10 employment attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 24, 2010

    Rising Star: Linklaters' Bindu Culas

    Linklaters LLP partner Bindu Culas helps clients craft corporate pay packages and shape benefits solutions for high-value deals such as recent multibillion-dollar pickups involving The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and BP PLC, earning her a spot on Law 360's list of 10 employment attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 23, 2010

    Rising Star: Ogletree's Ron Chapman Jr.

    With clients such as Blockbuster Inc., FedEx Office, The Hertz Corp. and Greyhound Lines Inc., and a record of bringing in $5.3 million in business in 2009, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC shareholder Ron Chapman Jr. has earned a spot on Law360's list of 10 rising stars among employment law attorneys under 40.

  • March 22, 2010

    Rising Star: Morgan Lewis' Sarah Bouchard

    Just months shy of her 40th birthday, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Sarah Bouchard has developed such a sophistication in litigating whistleblower suits that she has been tapped to lead her firm's Sarbanes-Oxley subpractice, earning a spot as one of Law360's 10 employment attorneys under 40 to watch.