Benchmark Litigation Shortlists Holwell Shuster & Goldberg for New York and Boutique Firm of the Year Awards

Co-Founding Partner Michael Shuster Shortlisted for General Commercial Litigator and Antitrust Litigator of the Year

New York—Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP has been selected to Benchmark Litigation’s 2024 U.S. Awards shortlist for New York Law Firm of the Year and Boutique Firm of the Year. This marks the third consecutive year the firm has been recognized on both lists, which honor firms for “exemplary work over the past 12 months.” In addition, Mike Shuster has been shortlisted for General Commercial Litigator of the Year for the second consecutive year. He also joins an elite list of five lawyers nationwide shortlisted for Antitrust Litigator of the Year.

The full shortlists are below:

New York Firm of the Year

• Holwell Shuster & Goldberg 
• Cravath Swaine & Moore 
• Kramer Levin
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler 
• Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz 

Boutique Firm of the Year

• Holwell Shuster & Goldberg 
• Hueston Hennigan 
• Kaplan Hecker & Fink 
• MoloLamken 
• Selendy Gay Elsberg 
• Wilkinson Stekloff 

General Commercial Litigator of the Year

• Michael Shuster, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
• Mike Carlinsky, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
• John Hueston, Hueston Hennigan 
• Hallie Levin, WilmerHale
• Kevin Orsini, Cravath Swaine & Moore 

Antitrust Litigator of the Year

• Michael Shuster, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
• David Marriott, Cravath Swaine & Moore 
• Christoper Ondeck, Proskauer
• Sara Razi, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 
• Beth Wilkinson, Wilkinson Stekloff 

Lauded by Benchmark Litigation as a firm “widely revered as one of the preeminent litigation boutiques both in New York City’s congested market and nationally,” peers and clients routinely admire HSG’s approach and litigation acumen, praising its “client service, talent, bench strength, advocacy, professionalism and strategy.” Over the last year, the firm continued to demonstrate the strength of its practice through numerous matters, including:

• Arguing for the petitioners before the Supreme Court in April 2023 in a case raising important questions over the scope of RICO.
• Securing a $69.8 million award—approximately 99% of the amount sought following a trial on damages—for Melody Business Finance in litigation against Philip Falcone.
• Securing a dismissal at the trial and appellate levels in January 2023 of all claims against the National Basketball Association in a federal antitrust suit.
• Securing a summary judgment victory for Freddie Mac that paves the way for a full recovery in a dispute regarding the proceeds of the $5.3 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, the largest residential real estate development in Manhattan.

Widely and generously praised by the industry as one of New York’s leading trial lawyers, clients tout  Mike as “fantastic with clients, has super judgment, and has the right style and charisma for a courtroom litigator.” Mike currently serves as national lead trial counsel to Visa in multidistrict class action litigation against Visa, MasterCard, JPM, and other banks seeking hundreds of billions in damages, and to Chubb in opioid coverage cases brought across the country by Amerisource, McKesson, Cardinal Health, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and other leading pharmaceutical industry participants. Mike and his team have secured several critical victories, including against CVS, Rite Aid, and McKesson. He also recently filed a rare and widely reported lawsuit in Delaware on behalf of a private equity fund, H.I.G., against another PE fund, Audax, alleging fraud and misrepresentation in the sale of a portfolio company by Audax to H.I.G.

“We are honored to be recognized by Benchmark Litigation alongside such an elite group of national litigation firms,” said Richard Holwell, co-founder of HSG and former judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “We are also proud of Mike for his well-deserved spot as a finalist for both General Commercial Litigator and Antitrust Litigator of the Year.”

The full list of 2024 award nominees can be viewed here.