Our Litigators of the Week are Kirkland & Ellis partners Richard (Rick) Godfrey, Wendy Bloom and Andrew Bloomer, who scored victories in separate class actions against General Motors and Polaris. Each win was impressive in its own right—but together, it put them over the top in a crowded field of nominations.

The GM class action stemmed from faulty ignition switches, which could cause cars including the Chevy Cobalt and Saturn Ion to stall, also preventing the airbags from inflating. GM's ensuing legal troubles included a massive class action alleging economic loss damages by people who owned or leased the recalled vehicles. 

When plaintiffs lawyers first filed the suit in 2014, they wanted $77 billion in damages. On March 27, they agreed to settle the case for less than 1% of that amount.