Litigation Department Co-Chair Drew Tulumello was featured in The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily after securing three wins for PepsiCo, Hilton Worldwide Holdings and the University of Michigan over a six-day period. The results followed arguments on dispositive motions in three courts between July 13 and July 24.

“The black binders were everywhere,” Drew told Litigation Daily editor and columnist Ross Todd about his preparation for the arguments. “The preparation obstacles are significant,” he added. Once he realized in late June that the matters would overlap, he began preparing for all three, moving among them in blocks of several hours before focusing exclusively on each approaching argument during the final 48 hours.

The first result came on July 23, when a Baltimore state court dismissed the City of Baltimore’s remaining public nuisance claim against PepsiCo and other companies. The court concluded that Maryland law does not permit public nuisance liability based on alleged harms stemming from lawful single-use plastic products.

On July 24, a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia entered a summary judgment ruling of more than $33.6 million in Hilton’s favor and against hotel owner Sam Hirbod and affiliated entities. The court issued its ruling the same day it heard arguments in the complex contract dispute. Four days later, a federal court in Michigan dismissed a Title VII discrimination complaint against the University of Michigan.

Drew also discussed how he prepared for three judges with different courtroom styles. He described gathering information from local lawyers and attorneys who had previously appeared before each judge and, in some instances, sending team members to observe unrelated proceedings. He also explained how he increasingly supplements traditional moot courts with artificial intelligence tools to test and refine responses to anticipated questions.

“It really does come down to teams,” Drew said. Litigation partners Arianna Scavetti and Claire Chapla have worked with him for years on the PepsiCo matters, while Litigation partner and Management Committee member Chantale Fiebig worked alongside him on all three cases.

Drew said there is no substitute for “preparation and starting as early as you can.”

To read the full article, please click here.