Q: What are some of the litigation department’s most satisfying successes of the past year and why?
A: It has been a tremendous year for S&C litigators on many fronts. On the Volkswagen diesel-emissions matters, our team worked around the clock for more than a year, steering the world’s largest automaker to global settlements with more than 40 states and class action plaintiffs as well as the DOJ and FTC. These rapid resolutions allowed Volkswagen to avoid potential litigation exposure of more than $100 billion. The challenging work continues. Recently, we achieved dismissal of a case on preemption grounds that the state of Wyoming brought against Volkswagen we hope will be a precedent for dismissal of environmental claims against the automaker by nine other states seeking billions of dollars under state statutes.
