Alston & Bird continues its Bay Area growth with the addition of senior litigator Jim McCabe as counsel. McCabe joins from Morrison & Foerster LLP, where he practiced for more than 30 years, most recently as senior of counsel.
“Jim is a top-notch litigator with an impeccable reputation for defending clients in high-stakes civil litigation before state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels,” said Kristy Brown, Alston & Bird partner and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. “His track record as a trial and appellate lawyer and experience across a range of commercial and regulatory litigation, including complex class actions, make him a superb choice for clients seeking sophisticated guidance on matters critical to their success.”
In a career spanning more than three decades, McCabe has distinguished himself as a trusted adviser to corporate clients, primarily in the financial services industry.
Among his many notable successes, McCabe has defended financial services companies in more than 100 different class actions and other complex civil litigation encompassing consumer reports and consumer financial products.
Over the past decade, McCabe has represented LexisNexis – a subsidiary of RELX plc – in more than 40 individual disputes and 12 putative consumer class actions asserting claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He also represented LinkedIn in defeating a putative class action that attempted to characterize the company as a consumer reporting agency. And for the Mortgage Bankers Association, he won summary judgment in a putative nationwide class action that challenged the issuance of multiple credit cards to subprime customers, serving as national coordinating counsel for the association and assisting lender defendants in defeating class certification in more than 60 cases asserting claims under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
In addition to his client work, McCabe has served as a trial skills instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the Stanford University Advocacy Workshop.
Alston & Bird also announced it will be bolstering its San Francisco office antitrust capabilities with the November relocation of partner Valarie Williams. Moving from the firm’s Atlanta office, Williams focuses her practice on antitrust litigation, with extensive experience in both prosecuting and defending complex multidistrict antitrust cases for Fortune 500 companies, including CVS Health, Microsoft, and Nokia.
Williams, who just completed a three-year term as a member of the governing body of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section, also counsels clients in M&A antitrust matters, including filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and international premerger notification laws, and in investigations by antitrust regulators such as the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
“Jim and Valarie bring exceptional litigation capabilities to our San Francisco office and broader California practice,” said Teresa Bonder, partner in charge of Alston & Bird’s San Francisco office. “Their leadership, experience, and talent deepen our bench of leading litigators and provide another powerful advantage for our clients.”
McCabe and Williams are the latest addition to Alston & Bird’s West Coast practice. In 2017, the firm extended its California presence by opening a new office in San Francisco and expanding in Los Angeles. Since then, it has added 12 partners across the state spanning a number of marquee practices, including antitrust, environmental, construction and government contracts, class actions, and intellectual property litigation.
“Jim is a top-notch litigator with an impeccable reputation for defending clients in high-stakes civil litigation before state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels,” said Kristy Brown, Alston & Bird partner and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. “His track record as a trial and appellate lawyer and experience across a range of commercial and regulatory litigation, including complex class actions, make him a superb choice for clients seeking sophisticated guidance on matters critical to their success.”
In a career spanning more than three decades, McCabe has distinguished himself as a trusted adviser to corporate clients, primarily in the financial services industry.
Among his many notable successes, McCabe has defended financial services companies in more than 100 different class actions and other complex civil litigation encompassing consumer reports and consumer financial products.
Over the past decade, McCabe has represented LexisNexis – a subsidiary of RELX plc – in more than 40 individual disputes and 12 putative consumer class actions asserting claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He also represented LinkedIn in defeating a putative class action that attempted to characterize the company as a consumer reporting agency. And for the Mortgage Bankers Association, he won summary judgment in a putative nationwide class action that challenged the issuance of multiple credit cards to subprime customers, serving as national coordinating counsel for the association and assisting lender defendants in defeating class certification in more than 60 cases asserting claims under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
In addition to his client work, McCabe has served as a trial skills instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the Stanford University Advocacy Workshop.
Alston & Bird also announced it will be bolstering its San Francisco office antitrust capabilities with the November relocation of partner Valarie Williams. Moving from the firm’s Atlanta office, Williams focuses her practice on antitrust litigation, with extensive experience in both prosecuting and defending complex multidistrict antitrust cases for Fortune 500 companies, including CVS Health, Microsoft, and Nokia.
Williams, who just completed a three-year term as a member of the governing body of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section, also counsels clients in M&A antitrust matters, including filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and international premerger notification laws, and in investigations by antitrust regulators such as the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
“Jim and Valarie bring exceptional litigation capabilities to our San Francisco office and broader California practice,” said Teresa Bonder, partner in charge of Alston & Bird’s San Francisco office. “Their leadership, experience, and talent deepen our bench of leading litigators and provide another powerful advantage for our clients.”
McCabe and Williams are the latest addition to Alston & Bird’s West Coast practice. In 2017, the firm extended its California presence by opening a new office in San Francisco and expanding in Los Angeles. Since then, it has added 12 partners across the state spanning a number of marquee practices, including antitrust, environmental, construction and government contracts, class actions, and intellectual property litigation.