The 2019 ALM Industry Awards at The Roosevelt in New York City. Credit: Jack McCoy.

In judging the 2019 Litigation Department of the Year contest, several law firms stood out as contenders but ultimately fell just short of the finalists. These 11 firms merited special consideration as honorable mentions.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Akin Gump brought relief to hospitals and health care providers across the country when it convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a D.C. Circuit decision invalidating the Department of Health and Human Services' attempt to reduce Medicare payments and achieved a $200 million settlement in the contentious Tribune trust litigation. The firm earned a full retraction and apology from Alex Jones in a defamation suit brought by Chobani, guided Vizio through a data privacy class action and, in another visit to the Supreme Court, protected the land and economic security of the Gun Lake Tribe.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer

From a series of high-stakes products liability cases representing pharmaceutical giants including Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Endo Pharmaceuticals to success at the Supreme Court, Arnold & Porter had a hand in headline-grabbing cases. The firm helped overturn Pennsylvania's unconstitutionally gerrymandered legislative map, convinced the high court to halt the Trump administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, and won a major patent dispute for Boston Scientific.

Covington & Burling

Covington secured a Seventh Circuit win protecting Deutsche Bank from liability under the Anti-Terrorism Act for the death and injury of American troops in Iraq. It reshaped New Jersey law by ending 2,100 cases and convincing the state's high court to adopt its recommendation to redefine the state's expert standards. The firm also ended Return Mail's 15-year fight to enforce its patent rights against the U.S. government with a U.S. Supreme Court victory, and it did it all while helping to fight against the Trump administration's transgender military ban, travel ban, discrimination against sanctuary cities and other pressing issues of public interest.

Jones Day

In a Supreme Court trifecta, Jones Day helped establish a presumption of constitutionality for longstanding religious monuments on government property, ensured that judges—not juries—must decide preemption questions about drug labels, and won a case regarding patentability challenges during inter partes review. The firm also aided Qualcomm in its global battle with Apple and protected health care titan UPMC from the extension of a consent decree with $1 billion at stake.

Latham & Watkins

Latham protected Janssen and Genmab's multibillion-dollar investment in a biologic cancer drug from a patent attack, led a successful defense of Puma Biotechnology in the first federal securities class action to reach a verdict in nearly a decade, defeated a series of lawsuits brought against Miramax following revelations of Harvey Weinstein's misconduct, and represented UnitedHealthcare in its successful challenge to an administrative rule governing Medicare Advantage payments.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Skadden shielded BlackRock from $1.55 billion in claims in one of the largest-ever mutual fund cases, won dismissal of insider trading and perjury charges against former CEO of Advanced Medical Optics James Mazzo, and secured a win for the nation of Cyprus in a billion-dollar arbitration filed against its second-largest bank after the Eurozone financial crisis. Its success went beyond paying clients, as the firm delivered a Ninth Circuit victory ensuring fair bond hearings for thousands of noncitizen detainees.

Sullivan & Cromwell

After New York City enacted a law forcing Airbnb to turn over the private data of its users, Sullivan & Cromwell helped the company curb government overreach. The firm also protected Audi and Volkswagen from putative class actions alleging conspiracy among German auto makers to stifle innovation, helped Pabst beer taps keep flowing in a dispute with MillerCoors, and guided Fiat Chrysler through a union dispute, eliminating hundreds of millions in liability and clarifying labor law principles in the Sixth Circuit.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

When Cigna needed counsel during its failed merger with Anthem, it turned to Wachtell to fend off Anthem's breach litigation and to bring its own claims for a $1.85 billion reverse termination fee that is pending decision. When Altria (formerly Philip Morris) faced nationwide tobacco litigation, it turned to Wachtell, and the firm is still working to enforce related settlement agreements. And when AOL needed help protecting against appraisal arbitrage in its $4.4 billion merger with Verizon, it turned to Wachtell. The firm remains a reliable resource for clients in need.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Weil won a defense verdict for C&S Wholesale Grocers in an $800 million antitrust class action, helped stem the tide of costly verdicts going against Johnson & Johnson in the talc mass tort with a trifecta of trial wins, and won approval of Sears' $5.2 billion sale following an expedited trial in bankruptcy court. And the firm won a First Amendment case by proving that an Arizona statute removing Mexican-American studies courses from Tucson's public schools was motivated by racial animus.

WIlliams & Connolly

Williams & Connolly delivered a defense win for former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and his defense minister in the first example of a former head of state being tried in a U.S. court, following claims they were responsible for civilian deaths during violent protests in 2003. The firm also defended The Carlyle Group and its founder, Bill Conway, in the Royal Court of Guernsey against $2 billion in claims tied to the collapse of a $23 billion fund, and won three times before the U.S. Supreme Court, in cases dealing with arbitration agreements and Dodd-Frank whistleblowers.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr

Wilmer protected the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art's ownership of Pablo Picasso's "The Actor" from a World War II-era challenge, convinced the Fifth Circuit to overturn the Department of Labor's controversial fiduciary rule, and defended Comcast from deceptive marketing claims brought by the attorney general of Washington, limiting penalties to 5% of what the state sought. The firm also overturned a death sentence and secured a new trial for pro bono client Robert McCoy in Louisiana.