Mayer Brown named a Law360 “Firm of the Year” for third consecutive year

For the third consecutive year, Mayer Brown has been named a 2018 “Firm of the Year” by Law360 on the basis of its victories in seven “Practice Group of the Year” categories, including Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity & Privacy, Environmental, Food & Beverage, Government Contracts, Project Finance and Telecommunications. The award recognized four law firms for “successfully securing wins in bet-the-company matters and closing high-profile, big-ticket deals for clients throughout 2018.”

Consumer Protection – Mayer Brown guided Zillow Group Inc. through a three-year Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) investigation, which ended with the firm successfully convincing the CFPB to drop the investigation and not pursue a settlement with Zillow. The firm also secured significant wins for Nestlé Purina and other clients in labeling and false advertising class actions, which landed the firm a place among Law360’s Consumer Protection Groups of the Year for the second straight year. (View article.)

Cybersecurity & Privacy – Mayer Brown was recognized as a Law360 Cybersecurity & Privacy group of the year for securing wins for various high-profile clients, including Citigroup and AT&T, in Telephone Consumer Protection Act class actions. In addition, the firm represented Facebook in a closely watched case alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Partner Rajesh De attributed the group’s success to the experience of the firm’s attorneys, who are able to advise clients from a variety of industries on cases involving big data, biometrics, data breaches, and other cybersecurity and privacy issues. (View article.)

Environmental – Mayer Brown landed a spot among Law360’s 2018 Environmental Groups of the Year for securing a high-stakes victory at the US Supreme Court on jurisdictional questions in Clean Water Act suits and convincing the justices to keep alive a challenge to the scope of the Endangered Species Act. According to a Law360 profile, a key to the firm’s success is the effective cross-disciplinary work for clients ranging from chemical manufacturers to environmental trade associations. (View article.)

Food & Beverage – Over the last year, Mayer Brown’s Food & Beverage practice tallied up two industry-affecting wins for Foster Poultry Farms Inc. and Nestlé Purina PetCare Co., landing the firm a spot among Law360’s 2018 Food & Beverage Groups of the Year for the third consecutive year. In a profile, Law360 also recognized the firm for handling major divestitures and deals for Nestlé. (View article.)

Government Contracts – Mayer Brown was recognized as a Law360 Government Contracts group of the year for leveraging expertise in the contracting world to tackle major bid controversies, including winning a key protest of the US Army’s entry into a noncompetitive cloud migration deal. "We’ve been doing this kind of work for 40 years, so we’re pretty conversant with the legislation and the policymakers and the policies and the regs and how they affect people in industry," partner Marcia Madsen told Law360. (View article.)

Project Finance – In 2018, Mayer Brown advised underwriters on the $600 million financing for Florida’s one-of-a-kind rail service, securing the firm’s second consecutive honor as a Law360 Project Finance group of the year. The publication also recognized the firm’s role in steering Purdue University through a uniquely funded student housing project and guiding Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in its record-breaking $1.2 billion bond offering. (View article.)

Telecommunications – Finally, Law360 honored Mayer Brown with a Telecommunications Group of the Year award for the firm’s back-to-back wins for AT&T in two separate class actions. The firm was also recognized for guiding Altice Europe NV through several multibillion-dollar transactions. Partner Archis Parasharami credited the firm’s successful track record in the arbitration arena to talented colleagues who offer nearly two decades of experience crafting and enforcing those agreements. (View article.)

Law360 editors reviewed more than 700 submissions, recognizing 84 law firms as winners in 38 “Practice Group of the Year” categories.