Jeffrey Kessler Named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer

Jeffrey Kessler, co-chair of Winston & Strawn’s Antitrust/Competition Practice, has been named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer.

Kessler led the Winston team that achieved a huge victory for Panasonic when the Northern District of California refused—for the second time—to certify a class of consumers alleging that Panasonic conspired with other manufacturers to fix the price of lithium ion battery cells. In denying the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their motion and try again, the court effectively ended the threat of a $1.7 billion (USD) damages claim facing Panasonic. All other defendants in the case had previously agreed to settle.

As described by The American Lawyer in the March 9 story: “On Monday, [Panasonic’s] defense team at Winston & Strawn instead made the company look like the smartest of the bunch for continuing to fight, after a federal judge in Oakland, California delivered a crushing blow to the plaintiffs' case. For that, Winston co-executive chairman Jeffrey Kessler earns the title of Litigator of the Week.”

This is the second time in three years that Kessler has received this honor. He was previously named “Litigator of the Week” for his 2015 win in the Southern District of New York on behalf of Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) in the so-called “Deflategate” case.