Our Practice
Awards and Recognition
Weil partners in the New York office have been recognized for their leadership, innovation and groundbreaking successes across a variety of practice areas.
Recent achievements include:
- Executive Partner Barry Wolf was named to the Law Power 100 by City & State in 2021, and was recognized as a Distinguished Leader by the New York Law Journal and Outstanding Ally at the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards in June 2019. He was previously recognized as a Legal Innovator by the Financial Times in its 2018 North America Innovative Lawyers report.
- Head of Weil’s Intellectual Property & Media practice Benjamin E. Marks was named Law360 MVP (Media & Entertainment) in 2021. He joins five New York partners who were named Law360 MVPs in 2020: Corporate Department Chairman Michael Aiello (Mergers & Acquisitions), Andrew Chizzik (Fund Formation), Tax Department Co-Chair Joseph Pari (Tax), Amy Rubin (Benefits), and Restructuring Co-Chair Ray C. Schrock (Bankruptcy).
- Corporate Department Chairman Michael Aiello was recognized as an NACD Directorship 100 honoree in June 2022. He was previously so honored in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2014. In October 2022, he was honored with the “Impact Dealmaker Award” by The Deal.
- Private Equity partner Trey Muldrow was named a 2022 Notable Diverse Leader in Law by Crain’s New York Business.
- Litigation Department Co-Chair Jonathan Polkes was profiled as a Litigator of the Year in October 2021 by The American Lawyer. He joins Litigation Department Co-Chair David Lender who was profiled as a Litigator of the Year in December 2019 and as a Litigation Leader in March 2020 by The American Lawyer.
- Corporate Department Chairman Michael J. Aiello and Restructuring Partner Ronit Berkovich were named Northeast Trailblazers by The American Lawyer in 2022.
- Intellectual Property & Media partner and Head of Weil’s Privacy & Cybersecurity group Randi Singer was named a Media & Advertising Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal in April 2023. Previously recognized by The National Law Journal: Intellectual Property & Media practice Head Benjamin E. Marks was named a Sports/Gaming/Entertainment Law Trailblazer in November 2022; Restructuring Department Co-Chairs Matt Barr, Gary Holtzer and Ray C. Schrock as Crisis Leadership Trailblazers in September 2021; Employment Litigation partner Gary Friedman as an Employment Trailblazer in July 2021; Securities Litigation partner Stacy Nettleton as a Litigation Trailblazer in November 2020; and Restructuring partner Jacqueline Marcus as an Equality Trailblazer in September 2019. They join a total of 34 Weil lawyers nationwide who have received this honor since 2015.
- Litigation partner Diane Sullivan was named Litigator of the Year at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards in 2022; she was named among the Top 10 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation in 2021 and a Winning Litigator by The National Law Journal in August 2019; she was honored as Trial Lawyer of the Year (Non-IP Litigation) and Product Liability Attorney of the Year by Legal Media Group in its Life Sciences Awards in September 2019; and she was inducted into the Benchmark Litigation Hall of Fame in March 2019.
- Litigation Department Co-Chair and Patent Litigation and Life Sciences practices Co-Head Elizabeth S. Weiswasser was named 2022 New York Litigator of the Year by Managing Intellectual Property and 2022 Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards. She was previously named Most Innovative Legal Practitioner in the Financial Times’ 2021 North America Innovative Lawyers report. She was also was recognized among the 2021 Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business and the Top 250 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation in 2021.
- Litigation Department Co-Chair Jonathan Polkes was named 2022 Securities Litigator of the Year at Benchmark Litigation’s U.S. Awards, and he was also named with Litigation Department Co-Chair David Lender and Litigation partner Diane Sullivan to the Top 100 Trial Lawyers list by Benchmark Litigation in 2020.
- Restructuring Department Co-Chair Ray C. Schrock was recognized as Lawyer of the Year: Restructuring and Insolvency at IFLR1000’s United States Awards in September 2020, as a Top Restructuring Lawyer by Business Insider in April 2020, and as a Dealmaker of the Year by The American Lawyer in March 2020.
- Head of Weil’s Intellectual Property & Media practice Benjamin Marks and IP/Media partner Todd Larson were named among Billboard’s 2023 Top Music Lawyers list – the third consecutive year each received this honor – and Benjamin Marks was named Litigator of the Week by The AmLaw Litigation Daily in 2021.
- Restructuring partner Candace Arthur was named one of 2023’s Top Women in Dealmaking by The Deal. Mergers & Acquisitions partner Amanda Fenster received this honor in 2022.
- Tax partner Kimberly Blanchard and Public Company Advisory Group partner Lyuba Goltser were named top practitioners in their respective fields by Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards in 2020.
- All three Restructuring Department Co-Chairs, Matt Barr, Gary Holtzer and Ray C. Schrock, and Restructuring partners Ronit Berkovich and Kelly DiBlasi, were named Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers by Turnaround & Workouts 2016-2022.
- Nineteen partners have been recognized by publications such as Law360, New York Law Journal, Turnarounds & Workouts, Bloomberg Law, M&A Advisor and Legal Media Group's Expert Guides as Rising Stars in 2020-2022, including Candace Arthur, Luna Ngan Barrington, Kevin Bostel, David Cohen, Mariel Cruz, Jessica Falk, Amanda Fenster, David Nigel Griffiths, Matthew Goren, Cassie Kimmelman, Shawn Kodes, Justin D. Lee, Jessica Liou, Jenna McBain, Gabriel A. Morgan, Brian Parness, Megan Pendleton, Michelle Sargent, and Alexander W. Welch.
Pro Bono Initiatives and Community Service
Weil has performed hundreds of thousands of hours of pro bono service since our current program was launched in August 2005. In June 2018, Weil was named “Best International Firm” for Pro Bono Work and Diversity by Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards for the third consecutive year. Our program has been recognized with awards from the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers North America Report, the New York State Bar and The National Law Journal. In 2019, Weil received the International Pro Bono Excellence award from the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, which recognized the Firm’s outstanding international pro bono work before the Supreme Court of Chile on international law and the human right to a healthy environment. The Vance Center has also recognized Weil for its special report on solitary confinement, undertaken on behalf of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture. Weil attorneys also received the Cornerstone Award for distinguished service from the Lawyers Alliance for New York for representing LANY in its efforts to obtain records from the New York City Department of Finance related to the Department’s construction of the New York state property tax exemption for charitable organizations. The Firm was featured in The Am Law Daily for its significant victory for the East End Eruv Association, and religious freedom in general, in a dispute related to the establishment of an eruv - a symbolic enclosure significant to people of Jewish faith.
The New York office was also honored with the 2019 Pro Publico Award from The Legal Aid Society. The Firm has partnered with The Legal Aid Society for many years to offer legal services on a diverse range of matters, including saving homes, representing death row inmates, safeguarding prisoners’ rights, representing families at risk of homelessness in class actions and advising small businesses. In addition to our pro bono work, members of the New York office are engaged through support of local organizations including Big Brother Big Sister, PENCIL and the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in New York City. Additionally, many partners and staff serve on boards of national and local not-for-profits and charity organizations.