BigLaw All Over Big Tobacco Suit

by law shucks on May 26, 2009

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It’s not just bankruptcy deals that are sucking up massive amounts of BigLaw resources.

Big Tobacco just suffered a big RICO loss at the DC Circuit, and there were major law firms all over the place.

One commenter called the MBIA suit a “Big Law orgy.” Well that deal has nothing on US v. Philip Morris et al. (D.C. Cir. No. 06-5267, May 22, 2009).

After the jump, we’ve tracked down the BigLaw firms working on the suit. There were at least a dozen, by our count.

First, the merits, as the National Law Journal put it:

The court, upholding a trial judge’s landmark ruling, found tobacco companies liable in a decades-long conspiracy to deceive consumers (pdf)about the adverse health effects of smoking, a substantial win for the Justice Department in a closely watched RICO case. The appeals court, however, rejected the government’s request to seize billions of dollars in corporate profit from companies that include Altria Group, Reynolds, and Brown and Williamson.

On to BigLaw.

According to the opinion, Michael A. Carvin of Jones Day and Miguel A. Estrada, co-chair of Gibson Dunn‘s appellate practice, argued for Big Tobacco.

Just from major firms, they were joined on the brief by:

Other BigLaw attorneys “entering appearances” for Big Tobacco were

Still more BigLaw engagements on briefs for amici:

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