North America - United States • Dispute resolution

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

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With a ‘deep bench of tenacious litigators’ at its disposal, many of which display an ’exceptional breadth of expertise’, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is well-equipped to handle a wide range of product liability matters in state and federal litigation throughout the country. While being adept at handling all stages of the litigation process, the firm is particularly praised for its trial readiness, ensuring that clients receive a robust defense in the event of a trial but also favorable settlements. Chicago-based Mike Brock and Renee Smith are both ‘impressive trial lawyers’, whose subject matter versatility includes handling high-stakes auto-related product liability matters. Notably, Smith regularly represents GM in class actions and MDLs alleging damage caused by a range of product defects, including recently securing summary judgment putting an end to a class action and thousands of individual cases asserting that the auto manufacturer had conspired to install Volkswagen-type ’defeat device’ software in hundreds of thousands of trucks.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Best of the best for mass tort litigation.'
  • 'They have a deep bench of tenacious litigators.'
  • 'Their breadth of experience gives them exceptional judgment. They are very thoughtful in their approach to issues and have an unusually strong sense of the Court and its judges.'
  • 'Their skills are top notch and their sterling reputations are well-deserved.'
  • 'Mike Brock and Renee Smith are impressive trial lawyers.'

Key clients

  • GATX Corporation
  • General Motors
  • Polaris Industries
  • ZF-TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation

Lawyers

Leading lawyers

Renee Smith

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Renee Smith is a litigation partner who represents Fortune 500 companies in high-profile complex products liability, class action, and commercial litigation. Her successes include securing trial and dispositive pre-trial victories for General Motors LLC, General Motors Corporation, Abbott Labs, AbbVie Inc., Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Dow Chemical and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Renee has litigated and tried cases for multiple clients in state and federal courts across the country involving mass torts, high-stakes products liability and class action claims, complex commercial disputes, cross-border restructuring disputes and others.

Other key lawyers

Renee Smith, Mike Brock, Dan Donovan, Robert Ellis, Hariklia Karis