Three Winston Partners Named Rising Stars by Law360

Winston & Strawn Partners Jonathan Amoona, Kurt Mathas, and Sean Wieber have been named 2018 Rising Stars by Law360. This annual recognition honors top legal talent under the age of 40. Honorees will be profiled by Law360 over the next several weeks.

Jonathan Amoona, a litigator in the New York office, was selected in the Sports category. Jonathan regularly represents the National Football League Players Association and NFL players. He has served as counsel in some of the most significant sports legal matters in recent history and has successfully represented numerous athletes, players unions, sports agents, and agencies.

The Law360 profile showcases Jonathan’s passion for sports and his career defending pro athletes’ collective bargaining rights, including representation of NFL stars Tom Brady and Ezekiel Elliott, as well as sports agent Dan Lozano.

On the topic of what motivates him, Jonathan stresses the importance of hard work and discipline; something he learned from running track in high school. “The long hours and hard work required in college, law school, and now as an attorney are manageable because I learned persistence through sports. To have that discipline, to keep going, even when you are exhausted, even when you feel like you cannot go anymore,” he said.

Chicago-based Litigation Partner Kurt Mathas was selected in the Life Sciences category. Kurt concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on patent litigation matters. He has over a dozen years of experience litigating complex commercial cases and has represented clients in patent cases in courts across the country in diverse industries from biotech to telecommunications.

The Law360 profile traces Kurt’s path to becoming a patent litigator. His work helping Verizon assert patents against Vonage Holdings Corp. is highlighted, as well as his involvement in a patent infringement case that helped client Teva get a generic version of the testosterone replacement therapy drug Axiron on the market. 

Kurt notes the proudest moment in his career was during a pro bono case where he secured asylum for an Eritrean immigrant who had come to the U.S. after being subjected to brutal persecution in her home country. “When the judge granted her asylum to stay in the U.S., it was just— it was a legal victory, sure, but it was a humanitarian win, and the sense of the relief and appreciation from the client was just really, really meaningful,” he said.

Litigation Partner Sean Wieber, also based in the Chicago office, was selected in the Consumer Protection category. Sean focuses his practice on class action defense of consumer protection lawsuits with an emphasis on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). He also regularly conducts highly sensitive internal investigations for publicly traded and privately held companies into issues involving the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, employee misconduct, accounting issues, whistleblower complaints, and potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and other anti-bribery laws.

The Law360 profile highlights Sean’s role as a deputy special prosecutor in the investigation the death of David Koschman. As well as his current work leading the defense in a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking access to the records from the Office of the Special Prosecutor relating to the grand jury, a case he expects to argue before the Illinois Supreme Court this year.

When asked about the future of consumer protection law, Sean expects the laws to evolve as technology changes and rulings continue. “I think we’re going to see smaller strike teams that understand the key issues clients have,” he said.