Two Trial Partners Join Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2004) — McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Jason A. Levine and Richard W. Smith have joined the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office as partners in the Trial Department. Their arrival follows that of Bobby Burchfield who joined McDermott in early June. Like Mr. Burchfield, Messrs. Levine and Smith formerly practiced at Covington & Burling.
Mr. Levine focuses on complex business litigation, including all manner of business torts, contract disputes and claims under RICO and ERISA, and cases of constitutional dimension, particularly those involving federal election law, defamation and anti-spam laws. Mr. Levine has experience in all phases of civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, and he has tried numerous cases and argued several appeals. Among other recent significant matters, Mr. Levine obtained a $2.3 million summary judgment award in a suit filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, he tried a billion-dollar Natural Resource Damages case brought against a multinational mining and smelting client by the government, and he was heavily involved in the constitutional challenge to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Mr. Levine has also defended all three of the national Republican party committees in defamation and "spam" suits, obtaining either dismissals or highly favorable pre-trial settlements. He has represented several U.S. Senators and Representatives in civil litigation matters as well.
Mr. Smith is an experienced trial litigator with several bench and jury trials to his credit. His litigation practice focuses on intellectual property, products liability, federal election and campaign finance law, securities and general commercial litigation. Among other high-profile litigation matters, Mr. Smith participated in the Florida recount litigation in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election and in the constitutional challenge to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. He has represented all of the national Republican political party committees in defamation or First Amendment litigation, a professional sports league in intellectual property and personal injury litigation, a number of major pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations in products liability litigation, and various clients in securities litigation. In addition, Mr. Smith has experience counseling clients seeking to analyze their legal risks without litigation. Among other significant achievements, he has navigated major corporations through various insurance crises; advised political candidates, trade associations, corporations, and other law firms on federal and state campaign finance statutes and regulations; and has analyzed product liability risks for a variety of clients.
Mr. Levine earned his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School and his B.A. summa cum laude from Brandeis University. In law school, he also served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and New York, as well as the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Federal, Fifth and Sixth Circuits, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Smith earned his J.D. summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University and his B.A. from Vanderbilt University. While in law school, he was a member of the Order of the Coif and development editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, as well as the bars of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Eleventh Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
