Kirkland & Ellis partner William Pratt led the team that represented Discover in its landmark $2.75 billion settlement with Visa and MasterCard. We talked with him about the challenges to the litigation.

A Manhattan federal jury found that Michael Carlinsky's client, Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional steel company, was the rightful owner of a stock holding company estimated to be worth about $300 million. That by itself counts as an impressive win. But those details don't begin to explain why Carlinsky, in a victory e-mail to his partners last Wednesday night, described the case as the most unusual of his 23-year career.