The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America

Honorees include Kwaku Akowuah of Sidley, Jason Peltz of Bartlit Beck and Morgan Ratner of Sullivan & Cromwell.

We’re honored to introduce The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America.

The outstanding advocates recognized here have made their mark representing clients in their most important courtroom, investigative and administrative battles. They have changed the course of industry and individual businesses, shaped our nation and the enforcement of its laws, and continued to uphold the role of the law as a beacon and shared imperative.

The lawyers honored here excel in commercial litigation, product liability, mass torts, securities and other fiduciary litigation, white collar and investigations, administrative proceedings, class actions, antitrust, energy and technology disputes, intellectual property, trademark and patent wars.

This year, we’ve enhanced our focus on an array of practices, including Appellate and Supreme Court litigation. Each and every day we see anew the importance of the advocacy and advocates who are creating our path forward.

Among those advocates are Sullivan & Cromwell’s Morgan Ratner, co-head of the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice. She previously served at the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Solicitor General, where she filed more than 150 briefs on cases involving securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, elections and criminal law. She clerked with then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit followed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Making his mark in another esteemed Supreme Court practice is Kwaku A. Akowuah, Co-Leader of Sidley’s Appellate, Supreme Court and Litigation Strategies practice. He clerked for Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York and Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the 2^nd Circuit before joining the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. There, he advised on constitutional separation of powers, interpretation of federal statutes and international law principles. He then clerked for Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court before joining Sidley.

This year’s guide features a who’s who of top trial lawyers from the nation’s greatest trial firms, including Jason L. Peltz, managing partner of Bartlit Beck. He has represented clients including Pratt & Whitney, DuPont, DirecTV, United Technologies, Bayer, the Canadian government and a host of other individuals and corporate elites in litigation on which billions turn. He clerked for Judge Gerald E. Rosen of the Eastern District of Michigan before entering private practice, joining Bartlit Beck not long after it was founded in 1993 by former Kirkland partners.

We selected this guide through a record-breaking number of submissions, alongside our original journalistic research and vetting with the nation’s leading trial lawyers. This guide is dominated by firms who principally represent corporations, typically on defense. But a significant number of the lawyers recognized here represent plaintiffs, as well. There are a record 3500 lawyers honored here, representing a ‘500’ of class actions, securities litigation, antitrust and so forth. Researching the talent of firms large and small is a joy, providing deep appreciation of the work and skills lawyers undertake to perfect their craft.

Those lawyers denoted with an asterisk are members of our esteemed Hall of Fame.

Thank you to Androvett Legal Media & Marketing for their ongoing support of this guide. 

Sitrick And Company and The Intersection podcast, from Sitrick And Company, are proud sponsors of the Leading Litigators guide. Congratulations to all the honorees!