WilmerHale has been named a Massachusetts Powerhouse for 2022 by Law360. This series highlights firms that are handling some of the largest deals and most high-profile courtroom battles, all while making a lasting impact on the law at the state and local level.
The profile features our corporate successes, litigation wins and pro bono work. The firm has led a number of massive transactions over the last year, including advising PerkinElmer in its $5.25 billion acquisition of BioLegend. Transactional Department Chair Mick Bain notes WilmerHale’s history in representing early computer companies and biotechnology companies "separates us from the other firms."
Other matters highlighted include a win at the state's highest court for Daikin North America LLC, an HVAC components distributor, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court vacated a $10.6 million judgment in a case that clarified a key product liability doctrine. The firm also won a long-running video game patent case, as a federal judge granted summary judgment for firm client Activision Blizzard, the maker of the well-known games "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft."
"We continued to be very busy on the litigation side, both trial and appellate," said Daniel Halston, partner-in-charge of WilmerHale’s Boston office.
Additionally, the profile highlights the firm’s pro bono work, including a case that spanned more than 20 years on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children for whom the state was not providing adequate preventive and rehabilitative treatment.
The profile also touched on the firm’s Racial Justice Reform Initiative, which launched in the summer of 2020. Partner Mark Fleming, who co-leads the initiative, notes that Boston-based lawyers have been called on to work with minority-owned businesses, people who are victimized by police misconduct, and other cases in an array of matters that fall under the initiative's work.
WilmerHale was also named a Massachusetts Powerhouse in 2019 and 2021.