Litigation Department of the Year - Finalist

Kirkland was named a finalist for "Litigation Department of the Year" in American Lawyer Media's biennial survey. In the survey, Kirkland's work for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was highlighted. David Bernick took the lead for all defendants in a lawsuit brought by Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. The seven-week trial ended with the jury deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of the tobacco companies. The judge declared a mistrial and Manville dropped the case. Soon after, a different asbestos trust abandoned its case against the tobacco companies as well.

Garrett Johnson was mentioned for his defense of Motorola Inc. The company was being targeted by Scottsdale homeowners who claimed that groundwater contamination hurt their property values. While other defendants settled, Motorola went to trial after nine years of pretrial wrangling. After a four-month trial, Motorola came away with a defense verdict and the plaintiffs settled all actions against Motorola for $15 million.