Benchmark Litigation Shortlists Holwell Shuster & Goldberg for General Commercial Firm of the Year, New York Firm of the Year, and Boutique Firm of the Year
Founding Partner Michael Shuster Again Shortlisted for General Commercial Litigator and Antitrust Litigator of the Year
New York—Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP has been selected to Benchmark Litigation’s 2025 U.S. Awards shortlist for General Commercial Firm of the Year, Boutique Firm of the Year, and New York Firm of the Year. This marks the fourth consecutive year the firm has been recognized on the New York and Boutique Firm of the Year shortlists. In addition, Mike Shuster has been shortlisted for General Commercial Litigator of the Year and Antitrust Litigator of the Year for the third consecutive year.
The full shortlists are below:
General Commercial Firm of the Year
- Cravath Swaine & Moore
- Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
- Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
- Hueston Hennigan
- Susman Godfrey
- Williams & Connolly
Boutique Firm of the Year
- Elsberg Baker & Maruri
- Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
- Hueston Hennigan
- MoloLamken
- Wilkinson Stekloff Willenken
New York Firm of the Year
- Cravath Swaine & Moore
- Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
- Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
- Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
Antitrust Litigator of the Year
- David Marriot, Cravath Swaine & Moore
- Michael Shuster, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
- Christopher Ondeck, Proskauer
- Sara Razi, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Joseph Saveri, Saveri Law Firm
General Commercial Litigator of the Year
- Mike Carlinsky, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
- John Hueston, Hueston Hennigan
- Hallie Levin, WilmerHale
- Kevin Orsini, Cravath Swaine & Moore
- Michael Shuster, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg
Touted by clients and peers for its “client service, talent, bench strength, advocacy, professionalism and strategy,” over the last year, HSG continued to demonstrate the strength of its practice through numerous successes. Examples are: winning a $101 million jury verdict against Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, in a lawsuit alleging that Walmart wrongfully cancelled its contract to purchase more than $500 million in personal protective equipment; winning a significant jury verdict against Boeing, one of the world’s largest aerospace companies, in a lawsuit alleging the company stole substantial trade secrets from start-up Zunum Aero Inc. related to the development of electric and hybrid-electric aircrafts (post-verdict proceedings are ongoing); and representing Chubb as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel in Chubb’s docket of opioid coverage cases, involving some of the largest players in the industry.
Widely and generously praised by the industry as one of New York’s leading trial lawyers, clients tout Mike as “fantastic with clients,” noting he “has super judgment and has the right style and charisma for a courtroom litigator.” Among other high-profile matters, Mike currently serves as national lead trial counsel to Visa in multi-district class action antitrust litigation filed on behalf of merchants, as well as in opt-out cases brought by the world’s largest retailers relating to network rules at the heart of the Visa system. Mike will act as lead trial counsel to Visa against six behemoth retailers—Target, TJX, Macy’s, Marathon, Circle K, and The Gap—in October 2025 in the Southern District of New York.
“We are privileged to be acknowledged by Benchmark Litigation among such an esteemed group of top national law firms,” said Richard Holwell, co-founder of HSG and former judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “Additionally, we’re incredibly proud of Mike for again earning his well-deserved recognition as a finalist in both the General Commercial Litigator and Antitrust Litigator of the Year categories.”
The full list of 2025 award nominees can be viewed here.