Five Mayer Brown partners named 2014 “MVPs” by Law360

Mayer Brown one of 10 firms with five or more MVPs

Mayer Brown, a leading global law firm, announced that partners Henninger “Hank” Bullock, Christopher Erckert, Dale Giali, Matthew Ingber and Marcia Madsen have been named to the 2014 class of Law360 “MVPs.” This recognition honors “elite” lawyers for their successes in “high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals and complex global matters.” Mayer Brown is one of 10 firms with five or more MVPs.

A Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner in Mayer Brown’s New York office and a co-leader of his office’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice and the firm’s Product Liability & Mass Tort practice, Mr. Bullock was selected as an MVP in the Product Liability category for his recent work defending clients in litigations attempting to connect brand-name manufacturers with injury claims related to generic medications. Law360 described Mr. Bullock’s appellate wins defending Eli Lilly & Co. and Schwarz Pharma Inc. Commenting on the importance of his clients prevailing in these types of cases, he said, “The fear is [plaintiff wins] could chill innovation and force brand-name drug manufacturers to decide whether to continue to manufacture and market their product even after it goes off patent when they would become subject to this potentially new liability.” (View article.)

Law360 said Mr. Erckert, a Banking & Finance partner in the firm’s Washington DC and New York offices and leader of the DC office’s Banking & Finance practice, was selected as an MVP in the Project Finance category for “establishing himself once more as the go-to Latin America lawyer” with his work on three recent “highly complex” infrastructure deals in Peru and Mexico. The deals – for the Rutas de Lima toll road project in Peru, the Abengoa Transmision Sur power-line project running from Lima, Peru, to the Chilean border and the Energia Sierra Juarez wind power project at the US-Mexico border – were collectively worth more than $1.7 billion. “Project finance puts capital to work in a way that contributes to economic growth and improves lives. It is satisfying to be a part of that," Mr. Erckert said. Regarding the nature of working in this space now, he noted, “… with the model undergoing transformation [to an increased use of project bonds], it is also an intellectually rewarding time to be a part of the enterprise.” This is the second time in three years that Law360 has recognized Mr. Erckert’s project finance accomplishments, having named him an MVP in the category in 2012. (View article.)

As an MVP in the Class Action category, Mr. Giali was selected for his work successfully representing food industry clients in a series of false advertising suits. Law360 profiled Mr. Giali’s major legal wins within the past 12 months, including victories on behalf of Nestle USA Inc., KIND LLC and Gerber Product Co. Noting that the increase in these cases reflects the interests of the plaintiffs bar rather than deception and harm to consumers, the Los Angeles Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner said, “We have seen over last five years an influx of plaintiffs lawyers, who clearly have the time and excess capacity to take on these [food labeling] cases, expanding into this field … It’s quite clear this is a litigation mill. These come from the lawyer side, they don’t come from the consumer side.” (View article.)

Law360 said Mr. Ingber’s “helping establish a template for courts to approve settlements in private residential mortgage-backed securities litigation by working on the largest settlement of that kind” earned the New York Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner, who is also a co-leader of his office’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice, his spot on the Banking MVPs list. The publication highlighted Mr. Ingber’s use of the Article 77 proceeding to get judicial approval of a deal for The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. involving 1.6 million loans and noted his subsequent use of that proceeding in other residential mortgage-backed securities settlements. Describing his enjoyment of banking law work, Mr. Ingber said, “When you feel like you’re on the right side representing folks who have always tried to do the right thing, you can’t help but develop a real passion for representing them.” (View article.)

Like Mr. Erckert, Ms. Madsen is a repeat honoree, having been named a MVP in the Government Contracts category this year and in 2012. A Government Contracts litigator in Washington DC and leader of Mayer Brown’s Government Contracts practice, Ms. Madsen was named a 2014 MVP for her work including successfully defending Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC in what “is believed to be the largest government contract ever awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy, along with several other high-profile victories,” the publication said. Among her other “high-profile victories,” Law360 cited Ms. Madsen’s successful representation of Lockheed Martin in a protest of a contract the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded them to do further work on a long-range anti-ship missile they had developed for the agency. Ms. Madsen noted that to craft clear arguments in her work it is vital to understand the details, to comprehend exactly what the contracting agency is acquiring. “[And] regardless of the agency, they're always doing something really interesting, and we get to see a lot of it,” Ms. Madsen said. (View article.)