Six Covington Lawyers Named Law360 MVPs

Six Covington Lawyers Named Law360 MVPs

October 31, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO / WASHINGTON- Law360 has named Covington lawyers Alex Berengaut, Catherine Dargan, Heather Finstuen, Gretchen Hoff Varner,Robert Newman, and Gerry Waldron among its 2024 MVPs. These awards showcase standout attorneys across numerous practice areas and industries who had extraordinary wins and contributed most to their practice area in the past year, including high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals.

The Covington recipients, along with the categories under which they were recognized, are:

Technology

Alex Berengaut was recognized for his work in bet-the-company disputes for technology clients, including a preliminary injunction against Montana's ban of TikTok.

Life Sciences

Catherine Dargan was recognized for her work advising some of the world's most well-known multinational life sciences companies on their strategic transactions, including, among others, advising Bristol Myers Squibb on its $14 billion merger with Karuna Therapeutics and its $4.1 billion merger with RayzeBio, Novartis' sale of part of its portfolio of "front of eye" medicines to Bausch + Lomb Corp. in a deal worth as much as $2.5 billion, Biogen in acquiring Human Immunology Biosciences for up to $1.8 billion, and Merck in its agreement to acquire the aqua business of Elanco Animal Health for $1.3 billion and acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics for $680 million.

International Trade

Heather Finstuen was recognized for her CFIUS and foreign direct investment-related work, having secured U.S. government approval for a litany of billion-dollar overseas transactions with sensitive security implications over the past year. Heather handled numerous high stakes matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including securing CFIUS approval for BAE Systems, Inc. in a $5.5 Billion acquisition of Ball Aerospace, for Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco Corporation in a $7.9 Billion acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company, and for Stabilus SE in a $680 Million acquisition of DESTACO.

Insurance

Gretchen Hoff Varner was recognized for her work as a first-chair insurance coverage trial lawyer, including a mid-trial settlement for technology ride-sharing company Getaround eight days into a jury trial, the day after Covington rested its case, a case that raised important issues about professional standards in the insurance claims administration business.

Benefits

Robert Newman was recognized for his work as lead ERISA counsel on a Covington team that won a first-in-the-nation appeal on subject matter jurisdiction, representing Verizon in its $5.9 billion transfer of pension plan liabilities, prevailing in an ERISA lawsuit for IBM, and serving as lead employee benefits and executive compensation counsel in multibillion-dollar corporate transactions.

Telecommunications

Gerry Waldron was recognized for his work on strategic and regulatory issues with leading communications, media, and technology clients before the FCC and Congress, including a unanimous vote by the FCC on behalf of GeoBroadcast Solutions that allows radio broadcasters to deliver geo-targeted content for the first time.