Beth Wilkinson

Beth has served as lead counsel in over 50 jury trials, including numerous bet-the-company, multibillion-dollar cases. She has developed an unrivaled record of victories in federal and state courts throughout the country. Her career has taken Beth from the Army to a leading role in the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers to nationally recognized work as a litigation partner at two of the nation’s most prominent law firms, and to founding Wilkinson Stekloff. Most recently, Beth led the trial team that secured judgment as a matter of law for the NFL and its 32 member teams in a class action lawsuit challenging the distribution of the Sunday Ticket subscription package and the NFL’s media agreements more generally. Beth delivered opening and closing statements and conducted direct examinations of several key NFL witnesses, including Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones. Beth also cross-examined one of the plaintiffs’ key expert witnesses, laying the groundwork for the post-trial Daubert ruling excluding the testimony as unreliable and resulting in a complete victory for the NFL. Beth also recently served as lead trial counsel for Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision—the second-largest merger trial in American history and the biggest involving a technology company. She defeated the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the transaction after a five-day trial that began less than two weeks after the FTC filed its federal court complaint, directing all aspects of litigation strategy from the time the acquisition was announced in January 2022 to position the case for a federal court victory on an unprecedented timetable. The American Lawyer named Beth “Litigator of the Week” and described the firm as “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit” for leading the successful defense. Beth is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of American Law Institute (ALI), and a Legal 500 “Leading Trial Lawyer.” In 2022, Legal 500 inducted Beth into its Hall of Fame, and in 2024, Chambers and Partners honored her with its national “Outstanding Individual” award. She has been named The American Lawyer “Litigator of the Year,” a Law360 “Trial Ace” and “Trial MVP,” a National Law Journal “Winning Litigator” and “General Litigation Trailblazer,” a Hollywood Reporter “Power Lawyer,” and one of Washingtonian’s “Most Powerful Women in Washington.” In addition, Chambers and Partners has repeatedly named Beth a national “Star Trial Lawyer” and recently honored her for her “Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession.” Chambers described Beth as “the best trial lawyer there is,” a “superstar,” and a “lion at the bar,” noting her “supreme advocacy” and “unparalleled experience acting as lead trial counsel.” Beth has also been chosen for Benchmark Litigation’s elite group of the 10 leading women litigators who stand out from its iconic “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list, as well as the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers,” and has been recognized by Benchmark as a “Litigation Star.” She has also appeared on Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “500 Leading Litigators in America” lists, and the Daily Journal’s “National Leading Litigators” list.