Four Covington Partners Named Law360 MVPs

Four Covington Partners Named Law360 MVPs

November 25, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC, November 25, 2015 - Law360 has named four Covington partners as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across 31 practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals, and complex global matters.

The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are:

• Ray Biagini, Government Contracts. Mr. Biagini received national attention for his work with “contractors on the battlefield” in tort litigation, as well as for his work to establish ground-breaking legal principles at the federal appellate level immunizing defense contractors from tort liability arising out of combatant scenarios. Law360 highlighted Mr. Biagini’s work on behalf of KBR, which resulted in the recovery of over $30 million in legal fees from the U.S. Army, as well as his role as an expert on contractor liability before Congress.

Mr. Biagini’s full MVP profile can be found here.

• Phyllis Jones, Product Liability. Ms. Jones handles complex litigation facing the firm’s pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Law360 praised Ms. Jones for her “impressive hat trick” this year when representing Eli Lilly, winning three separate victories in Cymbalta withdrawal risks cases. "It’s rare to get a lawyer, especially a young lawyer, who can both manage complicated litigation at a high strategic level and is equally good at standing up in court and being a trial lawyer," said Paul Schmidt, who co-chaired the three trials with Jones. "But Phyllis is terrific at both."

Ms. Jones’ full MVP profile can be found here.

• Nancy Kestenbaum, White Collar. Ms. Kestenbaum, co-chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group, handles sensitive government and internal investigations and litigation. Law360 highlighted Ms. Kestenbaum’s representation of Hyperdynamics during DOJ and SEC investigations, in which her work led to a favorable result on behalf of the Houston-based company.

Ms. Kestenbaum’s full MVP profile can be found here.

• Mark Plotkin, International Trade. Mr. Plotkin is chair of the firm’s National Security and Defense Industry Group and handles matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) as well as anti-money laundering, and Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Dodd-Frank Act compliance issues, and other bank regulatory, defense and security matters. Law360 praised Mr. Plotkin for his representation of major companies seeking CFIUS approval, such as Globalfoundries and Lenovo, calling the Lenovo approval ”one of the most consequential CFIUS reviews of the past decade.”

Mr. Plotkin’s full MVP profile can be found here.