WilmerHale has been named a 2025 Transportation Practice Group of the Year by Law360, recognizing the firm’s work on complex, high‑stakes transportation matters involving overlapping regulatory and litigation issues.
The recognition follows Law360’s broader designation of WilmerHale as a 2025 Firm of the Year, reflecting the firm’s strength across six total practice areas—including Appellate, Class Action, Compliance, Intellectual Property and Trials—and its record of impactful litigation victories.
Law360 highlighted WilmerHale’s interdisciplinary approach to transportation cases, noting the firm’s ability to draw on deep experience across practices to address matters that often involve multiple government agencies and legal regimes.
“Instead of having one group, we grab the very best folks who practice before those particular agencies, who know those agencies, and we get them on a team,” said Ronald Machen, chair of WilmerHale’s Litigation Department. “We go to different practice groups to get the expertise we need to handle these cases holistically. And we do it really, really well, because we are involved in the biggest matters out there.”
Among the matters cited by Law360 was WilmerHale’s representation of Norfolk Southern Corp. in securing dismissal of an investor suit seeking more than $800 million in damages following a train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. A New York federal judge dismissed the case, and the Second Circuit later upheld the ruling, finding that the company’s statements regarding safety were inactionable puffery.
“This was a very significant case for the company and the industry,” said Michael Bongiorno, co‑chair of WilmerHale’s Securities Litigation and Enforcement practice.
The ruling was notable for running contrary to a magistrate judge’s recommendation to largely deny the motion to dismiss. WilmerHale securities litigator Tamar Kaplan‑Marans, who worked on the matter, said the outcome underscored the strength of the firm’s advocacy. “It was significant,” she said. “And I think it is a testament to the strength of our advocacy.”
Read WilmerHale’s full Transportation Practice Group profile in Law360.