Chambers USA 2010 Ranks Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. First for Litigation in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (June 11, 2010) - June 11, 2010 – Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. is pleased to announce that Chambers USA 2010 has again ranked the firm first again as a leading law firm for the category ‘Litigation: General Commercial’ in Minnesota. Name partner Michael V. Ciresi, firm chairman Martin R. Lueck, and partner Ronald J. Schutz continue to share the number one ranking as top Litigation: Intellectual Property practitioners in the state.  Ciresi was again ranked first as a top Litigation: General Commercial attorney in the state.  

Chambers increased the ranking of the firm’s entertainment practice this year in the category Media & Entertainment: Litigation in California, recognizing Michael Plonsker, Yakub Hazzard and Marcia Harris as top lawyers.

Chambers USA 2010 notes the following about the firm and the lawyers in Minnesota:
 
This group excels in mass tort and individual plaintiff and IP work, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. It also has expertise in a raft of other areas, including commercial, antitrust, distribution and franchise, insolvency, healthcare, insurance, personal injury, white-collar crime and securities disputes. Clients include Best Buy, Honeywell, Medtronic and Pitney Bowes.

Sources Say: "Robins Kaplan staffs leanly and gets you the results you want."

Michael Ciresi is considered "one of the most prominent plaintiffs' lawyers around." He has a broad practice which includes a substantial amount of IP work. Martin Lueck is "a first-rate trial lawyer." He is best known for his IP expertise, recently representing Honeywell in patent infringement claims brought against several consumer electronics manufacturers relating to an LCD backlight in laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and PDAs. Ronald Schutz is also a prominent IP litigator whom clients describe as "just what you want in a trial attorney: he's thorough, aggressive and in it to win."

Chambers USA 2010 notes the following about the firm and the lawyers in California:

The firm moves up in the rankings this year in recognition of its eminence in the talent area. Among the firm's impressive clients are Billy Bob Thornton, Johnny Knoxville and Jodie Foster. The group undertakes a variety of cases, with a particular emphasis on profit participation and IP matters.

Sources say: "They have impeccable business acumen as well as being fantastic trial lawyers."

Marcia Harris is praised for her "insight into cutting-edge issues." She represents talent agencies and talent in the television and motion picture areas, and profit participation and accounting disputes are among her core strengths. Yakub Hazzard focuses on soft IP, rights of publicity and privacy and breach of contract cases, with an emphasis on representing clients in the music industry. He cochairs the team with Michael Plonsker, who obtained summary judgment in a lawsuit valued in excess of $15 million, which claimed that Fox had failed to pay all profits due to a number of profit participants in the 'Dharma & Greg' TV series.  

Chambers and Partners is based in London and began as general book publishers in 1969.  Chambers’ staff of full-time researchers now prepares legal directories which assess and rank the world’s leading lawyers according to their reputations among peers and clients.  The USA Guide was first introduced in 2003 and ranks the leading firms and lawyers in an extensive range of practice areas throughout the country. The research is in-depth and client focused.  The annual Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business is read by industry-leading companies and organizations throughout the U.S. and worldwide, and is widely used by firms for referral purposes.

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. (www.rkmc.com) has been named to theAmerican Lawyer’s A-List twice (2007 and 2004) and to the National Law Journal’s “The Midsize Hotlist” (2009).  The firm’s dedication to its clients and community are illustrated by most recently being top ranked in Chambers USA for litigation, ranking #12 in the country for pro bono by The American Lawyer, receiving the “Professional Excellence Award” from the Minnesota State Bar Association for pro bono representation of survivors of the 35W Bridge Collapse, and receiving the EPA “Green Power Partner” Award.  Through the firm’s two foundations, The Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children and the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Private Foundation, over $25 million has been given since 1999.

The firm represents Fortune 500 corporations, emerging companies, entrepreneurs and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants.  The firm is frequently engaged in high-stakes, complex litigation with significant bottom-line implications for its clients, and the business lawyers handle complex transactions in a variety of market segments. Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. has over 250 lawyers located in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Naples (FL).

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