Covington & Burling LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2013

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

Covington & Burling fields an exceptionally strong life sciences group, earning 21 listings across the IP, product liability, regulatory and transactional areas. With high-profile clients – including GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, King Pharmaceuticals and Hoffmann-La Roche – the firm is undoubtedly a leader in the field. Eight practitioners are included from the DC office alone. Richard Kingham is an IP and regulatory expert and focuses his practice on food and drug law. He is considered “impressive” in his dealings with major life sciences companies and pharmaceutical trade associations. Alongside him, Ellen Flannery is a “fantastic” lawyer with a “thorough” knowledge of regulations and their practical application to leading companies. Chair of the product liability and mass torts practice group, Mike Brock is a “talented litigator” and is “trusted” by clients in high-stakes defence claims. In London, James Beery is “highly recommended” for both regulatory and transactional work. Shanghai-based Weishi Li is rated an “absolute specialist” in IP, as well as for transactional advice. Genevieve Michaux conducts a “stellar” regulatory practice in Brussels and is also highlighted as a product liability expert. She regularly publishes articles on food and drug law and is rated as “fabulous” by our sources.

With offices in the key competition centres of Brussels and Washington, DC, the firm excels in this area. In Brussels, trade and customs specialist Georg Berrisch is an “excellent source of advice” and clients praise Damien Geradin’s “innovative and practical approach” to a broad range of competition issues focusing on intellectual property. He is also nominated as an “expert” in our regulatory communications chapter. “High flyers” Lars Kjølbye and David Hull stand out in our research, the latter having almost 30 years’ experience working with high-profile clients including Microsoft and Ryanair. Thomas Barnett and Deborah Garza are co-chairs of the antitrust and consumer law practice group in DC and both are “fantastic” on a full range of antitrust matters, often acting for multinational corporations. The former is rated for his “practical experience”, having recently served as assistant attorney general for the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice. Alan Wiseman is “globally renowned” as a leading antitrust lawyer and is a “trusted advisor” on matters ranging from mergers, cross-border investigations and litigation before the US courts.

The firm’s insurance team makes an excellent showing in our research, with seven inclusions in the insurance and reinsurance chapter. Litigator Donald Brown focuses his practice on complex insurance coverage disputes and has a “wealth of experience” representing prestigious companies. “Top-notch attorney” David Goodwin also has an impressive reputation as a litigator, mainly representing corporate policyholders in a huge range of insurance issues from property damage to business interruption loss and product liability. DC-based Mitchell Dolin is chair of the firm’s global insurance recovery practice and his litigation work is “second to none”. Colleagues William Greaney and William Skinner both “excel” in complex insurance entitlement disputes, the latter having won billions of dollars in coverage for claimants in fiduciary, employment practices and general liability. “Doyen of the bar” John Buchanan is highlighted for his “extensive experience” litigating a wide range of insurance disputes and is currently a member of the board of advisors to the American Law Institute’s project on the law of liability insurance.

Theodore Garrett received the highest number of votes in our environment research, earning him the accolade of environment lawyer of the year. He has been involved in numerous litigation and administrative proceedings, as well as transactions and compliance matters and focuses his practice on air and water quality and waste. Clients and peers alike praise his “dedication, focus and talent”. Alongside him, Donald Elliott has over 30 years’ experience in environment law, including environment enforcement litigation. The “extremely able” Cándido García Molyneux is also highlighted for his focus on EU environmental law, having worked tirelessly on matters relating to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

An impressive number of lawyers are nominated in our regulatory communications and internet, e-commerce and data protection chapters. Data protection “expert” Mark Plotkin also handles e-commerce matters and is rated for his “multidisciplinary approach”. London-based Daniel Cooper heads the global privacy and data security practice and advises companies on data protection issues under both EU and US law. Mace Rosenstein is recognised as a “fantastic lawyer” in his capacity as chair of the technology and media umbrella group.

The firm excels across numerous other practice areas, maintaining its outstanding reputation in the global legal marketplace.